BEIJING, Jan. 30 (Xinhuanet) -- Lauren Nelson, a 20-year-old aspiring Broadway star from Oklahoma won the Miss America crown Monday night and led a southern-states sweep of the top three finishers. It was the second consecutive year a Miss Oklahoma won the annual beauty contest.

    Shilah Phillips, the first black Miss Texas, was first runner-up, and Miss Georgia, Amanda Kozak, was second runner-up. Viewers voted Miss Alabama, Melinda Toole, as Miss Congeniality.

    Nelson, of Lawton, Okla., is a student at the University of Central Oklahoma and wants to get her master's degree in musical theater.

    Nelson was crowned by last year's winner, Jennifer Berry. Nelson, a blonde who told judges she wishes she was taller, sang "You¡¯ll Be In My Heart" in the talent competition and plans to promote protecting children online during her yearlong reign as Miss America.

Lauren Nelson, a 20-year-old aspiring Broadway star from Oklahoma won the Miss America crown Monday night, Jan. 29, 2007 (Photo: Dayoo.com) Photo Gallery>>>

    Along with the crown, she receives a 50,000 U.S. dollars scholarship and stands to make thousands more in appearance fees.

    The pageant tossed in a few reality-TV twists on the way toward selecting its ideal woman in a new time slot on the Las Vegas Strip.

    Mario Lopez, of "Dancing with the Stars" and "Saved by the Bell," hosted the show, its second year at the Aladdin Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The pageant moved from Atlantic City, N.J., last year in an attempt to breathe new life into an institution that had fallen far from the forefront of American pop culture.

    Although previous experiments with reality gimmicks fell flat, this year's show included viewer voting and increased participation from the panel of celebrity judges, which included MSNBC talk show host Chris Matthews.

    In one of the new features, viewers were shown a glimpse of interviews between contestants and judges, something that previously was closed. In her clip, Nelson spoke about how her faith helped her make it through the stress of pageantry.

    After a long reign as a cultural icon, Miss America's ratings have plummeted, and sexier reality shows have eclipsed her girl-next-door appeal. The addition of pop quizzes and casual-wear contests couldn't save the pageant from losing its network TV contract in 2004.

    MTV-Networks¡¯CMT picked it up in 2005 and has been attempting to restore the old girl to her former glory. It stripped the pageant of the failed gimmicks, and for the first time in decades brought back Miss Congeniality.

    (Agencies)

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