Miss USA 2008

Miss USA 2008 was the 57th Miss USA pageant, held at the Planet Hollywood Theatre for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 11, 2008. At the conclusion of the final night of competition, Crystle Stewart of Texas was crowned the winner by outgoing titleholder Rachel Smith of Tennessee. Crystle represented the United States at the Miss Universe 2008 pageant, which was held in Vietnam, where she placed in the Top 10. This was also the first time in the pageant's 56-year history that two consecutive women of African Americans have been crowned.
The pageant was held at the Theatre for the Performing Arts, a 7,000-seat theater located in the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. The theater was also the location of Miss Universe 1991 and 1996 pageants. This is the first time that the Miss USA pageant was held in Nevada.
For the first time, the competition was broadcast in High Definition.
Brother/sister duo Donny and Marie Osmond hosted the live telecast for the first time, and Finger Eleven performed their single "Paralyzer". Rihanna's song Umbrella was used during the evening gown competition.
During the final show on April 11, the fifteen delegates with the highest average scores from the preliminary competition were announced. The top fifteen competed in the swimsuit competition. The top ten delegates from swimsuit competed in evening gown. The top five delegates from the evening gown competition (not averaged composite scores from both competitions) competed in the final question round to determine the winner. The judges' composite score was shown after each round of competition for only the second time since 2002.
Delegates
Contestant gallery
Contestant notes
Due to accounting errors, Christina Silva was crowned Miss California USA. When the mistake was discovered a week after the pageant, the real winner Raquel Beezley assumed the title.
Michelle Gillespie, Miss Kansas USA, is the great-great niece of Miss America 1921, Margaret Gorman of Washington, DC.
Three contestants previously competed in the Miss Texas USA and/or Miss Texas Teen USA pageants before winning titles in other states:
Candice Crawford (Missouri) placed third runner-up at Miss Texas Teen USA 2003 and 2005. She is the sister of Gossip Girl actor Chace Crawford.
Elisabeth Crawford (Michigan) was a non-finalist at Miss Texas USA 2004 to 2006
Veronica Grabowski (Nevada) competed at the Miss Texas Teen USA 2003 and Miss Texas USA 2007 pageants, finishing as a semifinalist in both years.
Amy Diaz (Rhode Island) and Danielle Roundtree (New York) competed at Miss Florida USA 2007. Diaz placed third runner-up and Roundtree was a non-finalist.
Abbey Curran (Iowa) was the first contestant with a disability. Curran was born with cerebral palsy.
Amy Diaz (Rhode Island) competed at Miss Earth 2009 in Boracay, Philippines but unplaced.
Judges
Heather Mills - activist; contestant on ABC's season four of Dancing with the Stars
Rob Schneider - actor; comedian; screenwriter; director
Kristian Alfonso - actress on NBC's Days of Our Lives; entrepreneur
Joey Fatone - former member of 'NSync; actor; contestant on ABC's season four of Dancing with the Stars; host of NBC's The Singing Bee
Christian Siriano - winner of season four of Project Runway
Amanda Beard - Olympic Gold Medal swimmer; model
Kelly Carlson - actress on FX's Nip/Tuck
Ken Paves - celebrity hairstylist
Shawne Merriman - outside linebacker for the NFL's San Diego Chargers
George Wayne - Vanity Fair magazine celebrity journalist
Robert Earl - founder and CEO of Planet Hollywood International, Inc.
See also
Miss USA 2007
Miss Universe 2008
Miss Teen USA 2008
Notes
References
External links
Miss USA official website
2008
April 2008 events in the United States
2008 beauty pageants
2008 in Nevada
Zappos Theater