A Crowning Moment For Miss Oklahoma

Lauren Nelson Is Named Miss America; Miss Texas, Miss Georgia Round Out Top 3

Miss California Jacquelynne Fontaine, center, won the talent contest and Pennsylvania's Emily Wills, right, was the swimsuit winner. They are congratulated by Miss America 2006 Jennifer Berry. (By Jae C. Hong -- Associated Press)

LAS VEGAS, Jan. 29 -- Lauren Nelson, an aspiring Broadway star, was crowned Miss America on Monday night, the second year in a row that a Miss Oklahoma has won the crown.

Nelson, 20, is a student at the University of Central Oklahoma who wants to get her master's degree in musical theater. Nelson, who told judges she wishes she were taller, sang "You'll Be in My Heart" in the talent competition and plans to promote protecting children online during her year-long reign as Miss America.

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

A Saturday-night broadcast network staple no more, the 86-year-old pageant featured Mario Lopez, of "Dancing With the Stars" and "Saved by the Bell," as master of ceremonies. The show aired on the Country Music Television channel.

This was the pageant's second year at the Aladdin Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The event moved from its home town of Atlantic City last year in an attempt to breathe new life into an institution that had fallen far from the forefront of American pop culture.

"We embrace Miss America for what is it, but we're taking what's been done before and giving that a turn," said executive producer Charlie Haykel, of Mischer Productions, the company also producing the Super Bowl halftime show.

The changes are part of a larger marketing blitz aimed at reintroducing a new generation to Miss America, a feminine idol born of a publicity stunt on the New Jersey seaside in 1921.

After a long reign as a cultural icon, Miss America has suffered plummeting ratings, 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 stripped the pageant of the failed gimmicks, and for the first time in decades brought back Miss Congeniality.

The 2006 live crowning of Jennifer Berry of Oklahoma attracted 3.1 million viewers, less than a third of the previous year's audience, but after 20 replays on CMT and sister-network VH1 it totaled 36 million viewers.

With a year to market its new product, CMT came back with its own set of gimmicks -- a Bert Parks ringtone, a $1 million giveaway for picking the winner and a reality-TV special intended to help viewers connect with the contestants in the days before the crowning.

Producers took cues from "American Idol" and incorporated interviews with judges and text-message voting after the swimsuit, talent and evening-gown competitions. Phillips, a singer and choir director's daughter, was the fan favorite in the talent competition. California's Jacquelynne Fontaine was the viewers' pick for her turn in a blue bikini, and Mississippi's Taryn Foshee was voted the favorite in the evening gown contest. The viewer vote did not count toward the overall winners.

The producers also moved the show from a date night. CMT, which reaches 83 million households, hoped the Monday-night airing would attract a broader, younger audience -- the sort of viewers whose devotion first catapulted the beauty queen to prominence.