Miss USA 1998 (Jayverse)

Miss USA 1998, the 47th Miss USA pageant, was held in Shreveport, Louisiana in March, 1998. The preliminary competition was held on March 6, 1998, and the final competition on March 10, 1998. The event was won by Shawnae Jebbia of Massachusetts, who was crowned by outgoing titleholder Brandi Sherwood of Idaho.

The pageant was held in Shreveport, Louisiana for the second consecutive year; unusually Shreveport would also host the Miss Teen USA pageant later the same year. During the two weeks that the delegates were in Shreveport the city and local companies benefitted from the extra business generated by the pageant and by the publicity offered by three minutes of promotion during the live broadcast. The expected worldwide audience for the pageant was 300 million people.

The pageant was hosted by David Sidoni for the second time, and Ali Landry, Miss USA 1996 and Julie Moran, co-host of Entertainment Tonight, offered color commentary with backstage reporter Lesley Visser from UBC's Monday Night Football. She Moves provided entertainment during the competition which was broadcast on UBC and CTV on Television with a Radio Simulcast on Rhythm Radio which is syndicated to Radio Stations in US & Canada.

However the Pageant Itself a Triumphant return as 4 Former Miss Teen USA Competitors compete for a shot at winning the Miss USA Title and a Possible Career Triple Crown in Miss Universe Organization at Stake when they sang for most of the Production with She Moves performing alongside which led to a big ratings win in the Nielsens with a 12.4 Rating over an 18 Share and the pageant went on to win a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography (Margueritte Derricks) & Outstanding Directing for a Variety and Music Program (Glenn Weiss).

During the competition, in a pre-taped segment, Halle Berry, Miss Ohio USA 1986 and first runner-up to Christy Fichtner at Miss USA 1986, was awarded a Distinguished Achievement Award for her achievements in acting.

Special awards

 * Miss Congenality: Vera Morris (North Carolina)
 * Miss Photogenic: Sonja Glenn (South Carolina)
 * Style Award: Meredith Blankenship (Virginia)
 * Best in Swimsuit: Shawnae Jebbia (Massachusetts)

Delegates & Troupe
The Miss USA 1998 delegates were: The Troupe Members who performed in the 1998 Miss USA Pageant were: Lindsley Allen, Robin Antin, Carmit Bachar, Jennifer Bagerly, Kim Barnes, Carissa Blair, Earlisa Blakely, Melissa Bongiovanni, Melissa Boos, Angelique Breaux, Mary Carraway, Sheila Coleman, Nadine Ellis, Staci Flood, Kimberly Garcia, Beth Ghandi, Camille Guaty, Jennifer Gibson, Sarah Hammers, Mandy Jeffreys, Shannon Jones, Lori Jackson, Julee Kleffman, Diane Klimaszewski, Elaine Klimaszewski, Kristina Martinez, Nikki McKibbin, Jennifer McLain, Tanya Miller, Katherine Morris, Micki Munson, Michelle Nguyen, Heather Ogilvie, Staci Outhouse, Michelle Padilla, Summer Parker, Kimberly Pressler, Lani Quaglino, Bridget Richard, Samantha Sengel, Kristen Simi, Jaclyn Solinger, Jocelyn Soriano, Elizabeth Sturgeon, Jennifer Torio, Bree Turner, Cheyenne Ward, Dee Dee Weathers (who doubled her role as the announcer for that live telecast), Tiffany Westland, Brianna Wiggins, Letra Wilson, Netra Wilson, Susan Wisdom

Performances for that live telecast
Opening Number: "Take Me Higher" by She Moves with the 1998 Miss USA Contestants (with solos by 4 Former Miss Teen USA's who are competing Janel Bishop, Jamie Solinger, Charlotte Lopez & Shauna Gambil) and Troupe (Originally sung by Diana Ross)

Post-Press Conference Performance: "9.95" by Brandi Sherwood with the 1998 Miss USA Contestants and Troupe (Originally sung by Spunkadelic which was performed in the 1990 Miss Teen USA Pageant)

Swimsuit Competition: "Breaking All The Rules" & "Let's Keep it Going On" by She Moves with extra solos by Jamie Solinger and Janel Bishop (for the latter only)

Evening Gown Competition: "It's Your Love" & "Do You Know" by She Moves with extra solos by Jamie Solinger and Nicole Llewellyn

Final Look: "Wouldn't It Be Good" by She Moves with extra solos Jamie Solinger & Jaclyn Solinger with the rest of the Contestants and Troupe

Crowning Song: "Everytime You Touch Me" by She Moves with the 1998 Miss USA Contestants and Troupe (with solos by Janel Bishop, Jamie Solinger, Charlotte Lopez)

Historical significance

 * Massachusetts wins competition for the first time and surpasses its previous highest placement in 1978. Also becoming in the 26th state who does it for the first time.
 * California earns the 1st runner-up position for the fourth time. The last time it placed this was in 1988. Also it reaches the highest placement since Shannon Marketic won in 1992.
 * Missouri earns the 2nd runner-up position for the third time. The last time it placed this was in 1963.
 * Texas finishes as Top 5 for the third time and repeats the same placement as the last year 1997.
 * Utah finishes as Top 5 for the second time and repeats the same placement as the last year 1997.
 * States that placed in semifinals the previous year were Texas and Utah.
 * Texas placed for the seventh consecutive year.
 * Utah placed for the third consecutive year.
 * Louisiana and Michigan last placed in 1996.
 * Massachusetts and Missouri last placed in 1995.
 * California last placed in 1993.
 * Arizona last placed in 1992.
 * Washington last placed in 1983.
 * Vermont last placed in 1982.
 * Oklahoma breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1995.
 * Tennessee breaks an ongoing streak of placements since 1996.
 * For the second time since 1984, the pageant featured four former Miss Teen USA titleholders. Miss Teen USA 1983 and 1984 competed in the Miss USA 1984 pageant as "Miss Teen USA" plus the year that they won the title. This time, the two Miss Teen USA winners had to win their state titles first. This became the first time that two former Miss Teen USAs represented their states at Miss USA after the rule change took place in 1985.
 * Miss Teen USA 1994 Shauna Gambill, as Miss California USA 1998, placed 1st runner-up.
 * Miss Teen USA 1993 Charlotte Lopez, as Miss Vermont USA 1998, placed in the Top 10
 * Miss Teen USA 1992 Jamie Solinger, as Miss Iowa USA 1998, did not place.
 * Miss Teen USA 1991 Janel Bishop, as Miss New Hampshire USA 1998, also did not place.

Crossovers & Other Contestant Notes
Eleven delegates had previously competed in either the Miss Teen USA or Miss America pageants.

Delegates and Troupe Members who had previously held a Miss Teen USA state title and went on to win a Miss USA state title the following year were:

Troupe Members who would go on to win a Miss USA state title were
 * Melissa Leigh Anderson (Utah) - Miss Utah Teen USA 1990
 * Catherine Bliss (New York) - Miss New York Teen USA 1990
 * Janel Bishop (New Hampshire) - Miss New Hampshire Teen USA 1991, Miss Teen USA 1991
 * Kerri Parrz (Troupe Member) - Miss New Jersey Teen USA 1991
 * Nicole Llewellen (Indiana) - Miss Indiana Teen USA 1992 (Semi-finalist at Miss Teen USA 1992)
 * Jamie Solinger (Iowa) - Miss Iowa Teen USA 1992, Miss Teen USA 1992
 * Carissa Blair (Troupe Member) - Miss Texas Teen USA 1992, Miss Texas USA 1999
 * Tammie Rankin (Nevada) - Miss Nevada Teen USA 1993
 * Melanie Breedlove (Missouri) - Miss Missouri Teen USA 1993
 * Charlotte Lopez (Vermont) - Miss Vermont Teen USA 1993, Miss Teen USA 1993
 * Kelli Paarz (New Jersey) - Miss New Jersey Teen USA 1994 (Semi-finalist at Miss Teen USA 1994)
 * Shauna Gambill (California) - Miss California Teen USA 1994, Miss Teen USA 1994
 * Allison Nesemeier (North Dakota) - Miss North Dakota Teen USA 1994
 * Kimberly Pressler (Troupe Member) - Miss New York Teen USA 1994, Miss New York USA 1999, Miss USA 1999
 * Samantha Sengel (Troupe Member) - Miss New Mexico Teen USA 1994
 * Anne-Marie Dixon (Oklahoma) - Miss Illinois Teen USA 1995 (Finalist at Miss Teen USA 1995)
 * Mandy Jeffreys (Troupe Member) - Miss Texas Teen USA 1995


 * Melissa Bongiovanni - Miss Louisiana USA 1999
 * Angelique Breaux - Miss California USA 1999
 * Heather Ogilvie - Miss Texas USA 2000

Delegate who had previously held a Miss America state title were:

Troupe Member Michele Padilla went on to become a co-host on Catch 21 on GSN from 2008 to 2011 while Camile Guaty auditioned to be on Tempo's Popstars USA vying to be a part of Eden's Crush.
 * Michelle Stanley (Colorado) - Miss Colorado 1996

Judges
The 1998 Miss USA Judges who judged the Preliminaries (which weren't televised) and the Finals were


 * Donna Curtis - Executive Director of Shreveport Green
 * Pamela Dennis - Fashion Designer
 * John Elkington - Real Estate Developer
 * Howard Fine - Acting Coach
 * Andre Harrell - CEO of Harrell Entertainment
 * Nancy Kerrigan - Figure Skater
 * Andrew Krasny - Entertainment Writer
 * Jon Landau - Producer of the Movie Titanic
 * Mary Lyon - AP West Coast Entertainment Reporter
 * Dr. Karen Pendleton - Lifestyle Physician
 * Russell Simmons - Head of Def Jam Records
 * Frederique van der Wal - Victoria's Secret Model