Entertainment
3 black women win Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss America
Published
5 years agoon
By
FNN NEWSNEW YORK (AP) — When Cheslie Kryst won the Miss USA crown, it marked more than a personal triumph: It meant that for the first time, three black women are the reigning Miss USA, Miss Teen USA and Miss America.
The North Carolina lawyer completed the historic triple Thursday with pageant winners 2019 Miss America Nia Franklin and recently crowned 2019 Miss Teen USA Kaliegh Garris.
“The three young women who have focused their energy on demonstrating how standards of black beauty speak for American standards of beauty are to be commended,” said Thomas DeFrantz, a professor in the Department of African and African American Studies at Duke University.
“These three standard-bearers prove that black beauty is at the heart of a 21st century American ideal,” he added.
Franklin, from New York, won her title in September in Atlantic City, New Jersey, becoming the first woman also to win the Miss America crown without having to don a swimsuit. Garris, from New Haven, Connecticut, won her crown in April, and hopes to become a trauma nurse.
Kryst, a former Division I athlete and attorney at Poyner Spruill LLP in Charlotte, North Carolina, won her crown in Reno, Nevada. She holds an MBA from Wake Forest University.
“Mine is the first generation to have that forward-looking mindset that has inclusivity, diversity, strength and empowered women. I’m looking forward to continued progress in my generation,” said Kryst, after accepting her crown. She now advances to the Miss Universe competition.
The oldest of the three is the Miss America pageant, which began in 1921 but women of color were barred from participating until the 1940s by a rule that said contestants must be of “the white race.” Frustration led to the creation of Miss Black America contest.
In 1970, Cheryl Browne became the first black woman to participate in the Miss America pageant. Since then, more than a dozen black women have been named either Miss America or Miss USA, including actress Vanessa Williams, the first-ever black Miss America in 1983.
The Miss USA contest was created in 1952 and crowned the first African American contestant — Carole Anne-Marie Gist — in 1990. A year later, Janel Bishop won the Miss Teen USA title, becoming the first African American winner.
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Entertainment
Day 2: Grammy Nominee Jelly Roll closed out Riptide Music Festival 2023
Published
3 months agoon
December 4, 2023By
Matt WolffMAIMI, Fla. (FNN) – Day 2 offered big names in the alternative/rock world, but also had Audacy bringing back a touch of their Chili Cookoff roots with Jelly Roll headlining. The recent CMA New Artist of the Year, also nominated for 2 Grammy Awards, brought the fire…literally.
Local band Girlfriend Material opened the day with some fun songs including Adam’s Sandler’s “The Chanukkah Song”. Next, Barns Courtney had the fans jumping early as he joined them in the GA section to close our his set.
AWOLNATION showed why they get a lot of airtime on 104.3 The Shark and had the crowd clapping as they played their hit song “Sail”.
Sublime with Rome, one of the longest running bands at Riptide, played hit after hit as lead singer Rome Ramirez showed his appreciation for the road that Sublime paved. Multiple times he sang their praises as he shouted “Long Live Sublime.”
As the sun started to set on the day and festival, Lovely the Band showed why they were invited back to Riptide.
If you’ve never seen The Dirty Heads play, you might not know exactly what type of band they are. When asked on the red carpet, frontman Jared Watson said “That’s what I love about our band. I don’t think there is anyone else like us…I’m proud of that. You can call it alternative, you can call it reggae rock but it’s not really either of them…” Call it what you want (I say reggae/rap/alternative), they were obviously a crowd favorite.
Jelly Roll, who celebrated his 39th birthday on Sunday, closed out the festival singing all of his hits “Need A Favor” “Son of a Sinner”. He dropped in some cover medleys of old school country “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” and hip-hop “Boys in the Hood / Roughriders / Lose Yourself / Ms. Jackson / Just a Friend” as he shared stories of growing up being the youngest of 5. Jelly Roll is not your average man of god “I do not believe this is a concert. I believe this is family reunion of people that are human together…I believe that heaven has a smoking session and an open bar” he says right before he sang “Smoking Section”. He closed with his latest #1 Country Hit “Save Me” as sparkles rained down.
Entertainment
Day 1: Riptide offers good music and a whole lotta fun
Published
4 months agoon
December 3, 2023By
Matt WolffFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (FNN) – Audacy’s Riptide Music Festival returned to Fort Lauderdale Beach yesterday with a solid lineup of bands you’d expect to see at a festival supported by 104.3 the Shark.
Jack Kays of Cincinnati, fresh off his tour, opened things on the Demesmin & Dover Stage. Little Image, a band from Austin, TX, who met in high school were first to play on the main Riptide Stage.
The Beaches (Canada) brought some girl power with their first US Billboard charted single “Blame Brett”. While LoveJoy didn’t rate their performance very high, the crowd was high energy and singing along to “Portrait of a Blank Slate”. Young the Giant (Irvine, CA) had the fans jumping up and down as they closed their set with “My Body”. Bleachers wasted no time as they jumped right in with “I Wanna Get Better”. Jack Antonoff, formerly of fun., was highly engaged with the crowded cracking NJ/Florida jokes, bouncing around, singing all their top songs including the live concert debut of “Modern Girl”. The Black Keys closed out a solid Day 1 of music with their hits “Gold on the Ceiling”, “Little Black Submarine” and “Lonely Boy.
Having been to dozens of music festivals with fans complaining about the crowds, it was a nice change of pace to not have to fight for every inch as the early sets weren’t as heavily attended as in the past. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. For the 2nd time in a row, the main stage was set facing north instead of to the ocean. This gave a lot more room for GA/VIP to hang out.
Aside from a fun day of music, there were a ton of great activations lead by the Ford Beach House. Whether it was the cowboy hat giveaway, DJ/bands playing, a limbo contest for VIP upgrade or a dance contest to Wobble/Dougie/Gangnam Style, the fans were highly entertained during and in-between performances. Twin Peaks Sports Bar was next door showing todays big games and giving away food/drink coupons. Goya (cookies) and Jolly Time (popcorn) provided the snacks, while Celcius and El Bandido Yankee Tequilla offered free beverage samples. If you are a fan of cigars, Al Capone was giving away cigarillos wrapping paper and lighters.
There was no shortage of giveaways including hats, towels, bags, sunglasses, fly swatters/fans. If you like music, the beach and free stuff, Day 1 didn’t disappoint.
Day 1: See more event photos at Florida National News’ Facebook page.
Day 2 offers big names in the alternative rock world, but also has Audacy bringing back a touch of their Chili Cookoff roots with Jelly Roll headlining.
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Matt Wolff is a South Florida reporter for Florida National News. | info@floridanationalnews.com
Entertainment
Country Music’s Biggest Stars Flood Miami for Audacy’s Stars and Strings Concert
Published
5 months agoon
November 2, 2023By
Matt WolffHOLLYWOOD, Fla. (FNN) – Some of country music’s most decorated artists graced the stage last night for Audacy’s Stars and Strings. one Opry Member, 30+ Number 1 hits and a couple of rising stars.
HARDY, Brian Kelley, Ashley McBryde, Cole Swindell, Michael Ray and Hailey Whitters performed at the annual concert, hosted by Kiss Country 99.9 WKIS Miami Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, FL. The show supports I’m Listening, Audacy’s ongoing mental health initiative, and partnered with Wounded Warrior Project to support veterans’ mental health.
The first trio was Brian Kelley, formerly the Florida half of Florida Georgia Line, Hailey Whitters and Michael Ray, a last-minute replacement for Jordan Davis.
Next up was Cole Swindell, Ashley McBryde and HARDY, who appeared to be the crowd favorite. “Hardy! Hardy! Hardy!” was chanted before and after each song he sang.
The crowd sang along to all of the hits, including “You Ain’t Worth the Whiskey,” “God’s Country,” “One Night Standards,” “Everything She Ain’t,” “Whiskey and Rain” and “See You Next Summer.”
With all of the hits these artists have written/sang and only four songs to choose, it was impossible for them to play all of fan favorites, but they crowd was on their feet and singing from start to finish.
Throughout the night, each artist expressed their gratitude to the men and women who serve(d) this country and spoke about how important the Wounded Warrior Project was in the fight for veteran’s mental health.
Up and coming artists George Birge and Sammy Arriaga performed their songs at the pre-party while the headliners made their rounds on the red carpet and Meet-n-Greets.
Brian Kelley speaks with Florida National News on the red carpet.
Ashley McBride speaks with Florida National News on the red carpet.
Michael Ray speaks with Florida National News on the red carpet.
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Matt Wolff is a South Florida reporter for Florida National News. | info@floridanationalnews.com