Erin Brady Miss Connecticut USA 2013 is crowned Miss USA 2013

Erin Brady, Miss Connecticut USA 2013, was crowned Miss USA this evening by celebrity judges: Bob Harper, Betsey Johnson, NeNe Leakes, Wendie Malick, Jessica Robertson, Larry Fitzgerald, Nikki Bella, Mo Rocca, and Christina Milian. The Miss USA pageant was held at the Planet Hollywood Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and was hosted by Giuliana Rancic and Nick Jonas.


The Miss USA Pageant opened with a departure from the usual opening dance number with a parade of contestants. The contestants were introduced on the red carpet in a runway style show. The 51 contestants were narrowed down to fifteen semi-finalists: Texas, Ohio, Louisiana, South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Massachusetts, California, North Carolina, West Virginia, Maryland, Illinois, Nevada, Connecticut, and Utah.

After a sizzling swimsuit competition featuring music by The Jonas Brothers the contestants went from a strong fifteen down to ten: Connecticut, South Carolina, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, Nevada,  Louisiana, Utah, Alabama, and North Carolina.

The two coveted awards of Miss Congeniality and Miss Photogenic were named before the contestants competed in Evening Gown Competition.  Miss Oregon USA 2013 was named Miss Congenialty USA and won $1000.  Marissa Powell, Miss Utah USA 2013, was crowned Miss Photogenic and received $1000 and a weekend at the Trump Towers.
This year viewers were able to weigh in competition by using their Twitter accounts.  Each semi-finalist was given a unique hashtag #nextmissusa followed by their state abbreviation.  The queen with the most votes from the viewing audience advanced to the Top Five.  The woman was revealed after the contestants beautified the stage in evening gown competition. The Top Five finalists were: Utah, Alabama, Illinois, South Carolina, and Connecticut.  Texas was voted as the twitter favorite and competed with the Top Five.

The results for the 2013 Miss USA pageant are:

• Miss USA: Erin Brady, Miss Connecticut USA 2013
• First Runner Up: Mary Margaret McCord, Miss Alabama USA 2013
• Second Runner Up: Stacie Juris, Miss Illinois USA 2013
• Third Runner Up: Marissa Powell, Miss Utah USA 2013
• Fourth Runner Up: Ali Nugent, Miss Texas USA 2013
• Fifth Runner-Up: Megan Tyler Pinckney, Miss South Carolina 2013

Miss USA will win a host of prizes during her reign including a one year appearance contract, housing in a luxury apartment, and will have the opportunity to compete for the title of Miss Universe in Russia later this year.  Last year Miss USA Olivia Culpo took the title of Miss Universe after 15 years and Nana Meriwether assumed the duties as Miss USA in December 2012. Meriwether was on hand to crown Brady as the new national queen.  The United States will be watching to see if we will take the title again this year.

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