NBC Announces The Judges For The 2008 Miss USA Pageant

NBC, Donald Trump and Paula M. Shugart, President, Miss Universe Organization, today announced the celebrity judges for the 2008 Miss USA Pageant on NBC on Friday, April 11 (9-11 p.m. ET).

The judges are: Heather Mills, contestant on season four of "Dancing With the Stars"; Rob Schneider, star of "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry"; Joey Fatone, host of "The Singing Bee"; Kristian Alfonso, entrepreneur and star of NBC's "Days of our Lives"; Olympic gold-medal swimmer Amanda Beard; Christian Siriano, this season's winner of Bravo's hit show "Project Runway"; San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne "Lights Out" Merriman; celebrity hairstylist Ken Paves; Kelly Carlson, star of "Nip/Tuck"; and Vanity Fair's celebrity journalist George Wayne.

Rock band Finger Eleven will perform their hit song "Paralyzer" live at this year's pageant. Following hitting number one on the rock and alternative charts, the song also became a crossover smash on the contemporary hit radio charts, selling over two million digital downloads and 500,000 ring tones. As previously announced, Donny and Marie Osmond will host the live telecast of the 57th Annual Miss USA Pageant from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in one of the world's most electrifying cities, Las Vegas.

"Nothing could be better than two iconic hosts, a 'paralyzing' performance and world class judges in Las Vegas with the hottest women in the country," said Shugart. "A perfect combination that will make this live telecast the sexiest and most exciting in our 57 year history!"

For the first time, the Miss USA competition will be broadcast in High Definition with Sony broadcast technology. All Mobile Video's Celebrity unit will use Sony high-definition cameras, including the model HDW-F900R cameras for capturing opening shots and pre-taped segments. Several of Sony's HDCAM™ videotape recorders will be also used during the production.

Starting a week prior to the event, the general public can go online to www.nbc.com/MissUSA and vote for the Miss USA contestant they think should be the winner of The Photogenic "Hot Shots" Award. The award goes to the contestant who best exemplifies beauty through the lens of a camera and the winner of the online vote is revealed during the live telecast. Following the west coast broadcast, the entire 2008 Miss USA Pageant will be available for online viewing.

Rachel Smith, Miss USA 2007, will crown her successor at the conclusion of the two-hour telecast to be held in the Theatre for the Performing Arts at the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino.

Miss USA travels the nation as an advocate for breast and ovarian cancer awareness, education, research, and legislation. Each contestant from 50 states and the District of Columbia will be judged in three categories: swimsuit, evening gown and interview.