Miss USA 2016 Review: Georgia - Maine

The 65th Miss USA will be crowned on June 5th at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Olivia Jordan from Oklahoma will crown her successor at the conclusion of the event. This year, 52 young women have been battling it out for the crown. As always, the 50 states and the District of Columbia will appear on stage, but this year Miss 52 USA was selected by fans of the pageant. In a twist of fate, that contestant happens to be the girl who as Olivia Jordan's first runner-up in Oklahoma took over the title and lost out on her dream at competing on the Miss USA stage before this new element was added to the competition. This also means that Oklahoma will have two delegates in the running for the title. The 52 young women have been in Las Vegas for the last 10 days, but only one of them will move to New York City to spend the next year working for the Miss Universe Organization as Miss USA 2016. Here are our final thoughts about this year's group:


POSSIBLE WINNER - ******
POSSIBLE TOP 5 FINALIST - *****
POSSIBLE TOP 10 SEMI-FINALIST - ****
POSSIBLE TOP 15 QUARTER FINALIST - ***
UNLIKELY TO PLACE - **
HIGHLY UNLIKELY TO PLACE - *

Georgia: Emanii Davis ****

Emanii was one of my top favorites before the start of the competition and I must admit that I do wonder how her look will go over with judges. She is so fresh and she brings a different look to the table, but is it a look that will work at Miss USA? I still have high hopes for her though. 

Hawaii: Chelsea Hardin ******

Chelsea is definitely one of the top contenders this year. She is vibrant, fresh, stunning and she has one of the best bodies in the competition. Will Hawaii get their first Miss USA in almost twenty years? The chances are very good that she can be the next Miss USA should she give it her all on the final night and luck is on her side.

Idaho: Sydney Halper *****

I am almost a fan of the underdog and I am not calling Sydney an underdog at all. She is gorgeous and has what it takes to do very well in this competition. In fact, I believe she SHOULD be in the top 5. Idaho does not have a strong sash though. They have only placed four times in the 65 year history of the pageant. Miss Teen USA 1988 Brandi Sherwood assumed the Miss USA title when Brook Lee of Hawaii win Miss USA, so they (by default) have one Miss USA title. Wouldn’t it be nice to see them win outright?

Illinois: Zena Malak ***

Zena is gorgeous and exotic. She performed well in both rounds of the competition, but there are several beauties in the running for a top 15 spot. I still have faith that she could be one of the top 15 on Sunday night.

Indiana: Morgan Abel **

Although she is not one of the frontrunners for the title, I do find Morgan interesting and she has good stage presence.

Iowa: Alissa Morrison ***

This gorgeous blonde was another surprise in the preliminaries. She performed well in both rounds and might be one of the surprises of the night on Sunday. I loved her glamshot. She looks like a supermodel in it. I didn’t have her on my radar before, but now I am keeping a watchful eye on her.

Kansas: Victoria Wiggins **

Victoria has amazing stage presence. She was one of the delegates who looked the most comfortable on stage and it looked like she truly enjoyed the experience. I was impressed with her preliminary performance.

Kentucky: Kyle Hornback **

There’s a whole group of contestants this year that surprised me and Kyle is one of them. She has something really interesting about her. It could go either way for her.

Louisiana: Maaliyah Papillion **

Maaliyah has a great story to tell. She overcame her struggle with obesity and she rocked the Miss USA stage with confidence and grace. She is an inspiration and should feel very proud of what she has achieved.

Maine: Marisa Butler ***

Maine is another state that does not have one of the strongest sashes at Miss USA, but I love Marisa. I find her stunning, elegant and sweet. I was not a fan of her makeup during the preliminaries, but I though she gave two solid performances. She could very well be up there.

Photos: Miss USA