- 7 hours ago
"Being there and not having to worry about being bloated that week from eating too much, it was really nice because it can be really stressful for a lot of girls just having that extra pressure on top making sure you're speaking well," Franklin said.
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00:03Hi, this is Mariah Gullow from The Hollywood Reporter and we're in studio today with Miss
00:08America, Nia Franklin. Hi. Hi, how are you? I'm doing well. Congratulations. Thank you so much.
00:14Have you even had a moment to sleep? Yes, I have. But it's really funny, the first night I only
00:21got
00:22two hours of sleep after I woke up. Wow. Yeah, it was a late night. We've had some winners of
00:27the voice on before and they have the same thing. They end up not sleeping at all. But tell me
00:32a
00:32little bit about the moment you were crowned. Yeah, so made it to top five and from there,
00:39you know, the fourth runner it was called and so on and so forth. And then it's just me there
00:43with
00:43Miss Connecticut. And she was so excited that she could really contain herself, but I'm over here
00:48trying to contain myself. So it was it was very interesting. She was just very excited for me,
00:54it seemed like. And she said, you got this. And I was like, we're going to be great. And we
00:58kind
00:58of held our arms up together at one point. Like we like just sharing the moment because Carrie Ann
01:03took so long to announce Bridget's name. I noticed that. Like really it took a long time. I noticed that.
01:08I mean, we were about to die up there, but she finally got to it. And it was just an
01:13incredible
01:14moment that it felt like all of my hard work had paid off. And it just felt like a moment
01:18that I
01:19could, you know, just take it all in. I was definitely in shock. But I knew in that moment
01:23that I was going to make sure that this is the best year of my life so far and that
01:28I do as much
01:29as I can for this organization this year. Wonderful. And I'm dying to know all of the
01:34things that you plan to do this year. But before I do, I wanted to talk to you a little
01:39bit about
01:39the new rules. What was it like to have kind of a new competition where there were a couple of
01:45different changes in the competition? I really enjoyed it. However, going into it,
01:50I was a little nervous because it's new. And when you are involved in organization for X amount
01:55of years, for me, this was my third year being involved with the organization, you're used to
01:59the way things go. So yeah, that's why I was a little nervous. But when we got there, things were
02:03kind of explained to us more. And at that point, you know, I just decided to go with it. There
02:08was no
02:08swimsuit this year. And that was something that I came to grips with a little bit before the
02:13pageant or the competition. But being there and not having to worry about being bloated that week
02:19from eating too much or anything like that, it was really nice because that can be stressful
02:22for a lot of girls. Just, you know, having that extra pressure on top of making sure you're
02:27speaking well and presentable on stage. So it was a little bit of pressure off. But at the same
02:32time, because it was new, it was kind of like a give and take, I would say.
02:37What was the most difficult thing about the competition? What challenged you the most?
02:41I would say just probably the either evening gown portion or the on-stage question. Talent
02:48usually comes pretty easily for me because I've been doing, performing my whole life,
02:52not in front of national TV, but I felt ready for that portion of competition. But yeah,
02:57anything when it deals with just being a good communicator, we all want to be the best
03:00we can be. And so there's a 10-minute private interview with the judges that happens. And for
03:05that, you really have to make sure you're engaging them. And I would say, even aside from stage
03:09competition, that 10-minute private interview, that is so important because a lot of people
03:13in the pageant world will say, interview is not one on stage, it's one in that interview
03:17room. Because if you can really get those judges to understand the type of person you are and
03:21the things you want to do in your community and what you want to bring to the title, should
03:25you win? That's what they really see the real you. And it can be hard to do that in 10
03:30minutes.
03:30Sure. And so that was really my goal and what I was most focused on tackling and doing well.
03:35Yeah. It's such a limited amount of time and you need to get across everything. Did you find
03:40yourself talking really fast? I didn't. I was very calm the whole week. I mean, I really just like
03:46prayed for peace and serenity that week. And walking into the interview, that's what I tried to embody.
03:51And I was able to speak eloquently and to just share the things that I wanted to share. And the
03:57thing is,
03:58you're not going to be able to save the world in 10 minutes. You're not going to be able to
04:01tell them
04:01all about your life in 10 minutes. So you just try to get the most important things that matter to
04:05you. For me, that was music and advocating for the arts. That was sharing my story with my dad who
04:10had cancer and I was a stem cell donor and he's doing well today. And then it was also sharing
04:16what
04:16I wanted to do as Miss America during my year and how it would do it. So if I could
04:21just get those
04:22three things across, then I knew I would probably have a solid interview. Right. Well, let's tackle
04:28those three things. First, let's talk about the arts. Yes. You sang from an opera from La Boheme.
04:34Yes. An operatic song. What is the way to say that? An operatic song?
04:38It's called an aria. So an opera. So an opera and the most classical art operas, you have what's
04:45called arias and recitatives. Arias are the song that's more so the lyrical melodic song that the
04:52character sings. And it's where he or she is commentating on how they're feeling more so and
04:59they're reacting. But the recitative is the actual dialogue. And that happens between characters.
05:06It can be a monologue that happens. And it's more speechy singy. And so that's kind of the
05:11difference between the two. So I chose an aria, which is usually more entertaining because it's
05:16more melodic. Hmm. And you know, opera is kind of, it's a very traditional form of art. Why is it
05:23important for you to kind of keep that tradition alive? Well, it's a, it's a part of who I am.
05:29In
05:29high school, I decided that I wanted to be a music composer. And I wanted to go to school for
05:33that. But
05:34in order to do that, I needed an instrument to play. And I played piano by ear, but I didn't
05:40want to do it
05:41for college because I wanted to more so focus on my compositional skills. And if I would have chosen
05:46piano, that would have been something I would have had to work at, you know, twice as hard. And it
05:49would have just been too much when I already kind of knew how to play piano. So I decided to
05:53choose
05:53an instrument that would be more challenging for me and something that I hadn't really done before.
05:58And that was singing classically. So I decided to take lessons. And that was a great deal of my life.
06:03I mean, from the years of 2014 to 20, I'm sorry, 2010 to 2015, I was taking opera lessons and
06:10classical voice
06:11lessons. And I think it was important to showcase that as a young woman, as an African American
06:16woman, you can sing opera. And that might be a stereotype that, you know, black people don't
06:21sing opera. And I wanted to break down those stereotypes. And so it was important to do
06:24that on national TV for me.
06:26Yeah. Let's talk about the other facet, your family. How do you plan on keeping in touch with
06:31your family while you're on touring across the country for the next year?
06:36Well, I would say just phone call, only a phone call away, FaceTime. And anytime that
06:42I am in the area, they may come visit me. I know that I will possibly be having some bookings
06:47in North Carolina where I'm from, being that I went to school there and being that I competed
06:52in North Carolina actually for two years. So I'm hoping that I'll be there sometimes.
06:56And the other times, either they'll come to see me or we can FaceTime.
07:00And how's your dad doing?
07:01He's doing well. He is really happy. He's so happy that I won. And he just celebrated
07:06his five-year anniversary of the stem cell transplant that we did. So he's getting stronger
07:11every day.
07:11Wonderful. Wonderful. Okay. So now let's talk about your tour. What is the plan? What
07:17does Miss America do for the next year?
07:19Everything under the moon, under the sky. So everything from going to schools and speaking
07:24with children about our organization and kind of planting that seed for young girls and even
07:28young boys that may want to get involved with the organization one day. Because even though
07:31right now they wouldn't be able to compete, they could always volunteer. This is a volunteer
07:35based organization. And also it's really great because this organization promotes education
07:40and scholarships. So going in and talking about that. I'm actually the national ambassador
07:46for the Children's Miracle Network Hospital. That comes with the title of Miss America every
07:50year. It's been ongoing for some time now. So that's what I'll be doing going in and seeing
07:56the kids that are going through things with their families. And that's something I'm really
07:59actually looking forward to being that I've been there with my father. And I can really
08:03relate and empathize with them when it comes to that. And I am a singer, songwriter, and
08:09composer. So I want to spend this year also working on my craft too and making sure that
08:13that doesn't go to the wayside and going to different events. I hope to be able to go
08:18to the Met Opera at some point and see the opera. I was able to go last year before I
08:24was Miss
08:24New York or anything. And it's really fantastic to be in such a historic hall where Leontine
08:31Price and Renee Fleming have sang. And so I'm really excited about that.
08:36Amazing. Okay, let's talk a little bit about being Miss New York. What are the unique things
08:42about New York State that you kind of bring to the Miss America program?
08:48The Miss New York title for me was a sense of freedom, I would say. You have no box, no
08:55limits
08:55when you're Miss New York because it's really the cultural capital of the world. So it's so diverse.
09:00You can kind of push the limits on things that you wear and things that you may go to at
09:05different
09:05appearances. I actually, right before I went to Miss America, I was invited to go to the Champion
09:10Grand Opening in Soho, the clothing line. And so little things like that, that just kind
09:15of gives you a different experience than other states may have being in New York. And it kind
09:20of prepares you for all the different types of events you'll be going to during your year
09:23because you never know what you're going to get booked for.
09:26And as you kind of go across all the 50 states, is there anything that you are hoping to see?
09:32Is there anything that you're hoping will bring the country together?
09:37Yeah, I would say that for me, it goes back to good communication. So that's one thing
09:42I'll be doing all year, speaking to people, speaking to different, even administrators.
09:45I am really passionate about making sure that children have access to the arts. And a lot
09:50of it does come down to funding. And while that is an issue that can't be solved overnight,
09:55going to Washington, D.C. and lobbying and using my voice as Miss America is something
09:59I'm really, really excited about. And also just making sure that little girls and little
10:04boys have someone they can kind of look up to and aspire to be one day, to see the things
10:09that I'm doing, going to get my education, being a helping hand when it comes to even
10:13being a SimSo donor for my father, because that's something that I think more people
10:16should be educated on as well.
10:19So when you want to go to Washington and convince them that the arts should be well-funded for
10:25children, how are you going to convince them? Why are the arts so important for children?
10:29Well, they make you feel included. For me, it was being a minority at my school and feeling
10:34out of place a lot of the time. And that can lead to self-esteem issues. But thankfully,
10:38I did have the arts in my school all the way through high school. And it always made me
10:43feel like I had a place, like I had a family, a voice. And so many students that aren't
10:48even minorities need that same thing to be successful in school on a mental level. And
10:52also, children that I've worked with, I would want to share with them, I've seen the difference
10:57that music has made from going and having no experience with music, not even knowing
11:01what a piano was, to the end of the year, working with them four times a week. They had better
11:07vocabularies, higher attention spans, and they were really engaged with the work that we were
11:12doing in the music class. And so I would want to share that for sure. And then also, I would
11:16want to share with them the hard facts. And one big statistic that I love to share is there's
11:21a 20% higher graduation rate when you have music at your school curriculum. And so that's
11:27really, that's a lot because, you know, graduation, graduating is so important. And that can set
11:34you up for a lot of success in life. And having music in your school to help boost the number
11:38of kids that graduate is really vital.
11:41So yeah, as you're traveling around the country, is there anything that you're looking forward
11:45to seeing?
11:47It just depends on where I am. I would love to go to Hawaii during my year. Our Miss Hawaii
11:52this year at Miss America was so sweet. She planted a tree for every girl from the 50 states
11:59and District of Columbia. And we all have a tree that we can go visit in Hawaii. And I
12:16would say there's a lot of different things. But I would say those are the two that I'm really looking
12:19forward to seeing.
12:20Excellent. And is there anything in your suitcase that you can't do without? What are you taking
12:26with you?
12:27I can't do without my Beats headphones, my wireless or Bluetooth that I need to hear
12:31my music. And I also can't go without like a pad to scribble down my song lyrics in and
12:37things throughout the year when songs come to me and different melodies come to me. And I think that's it.
12:42Are you planning on having some original songs to collaborate with the kids that you're meeting?
12:50Oh, that would be interesting. I've written songs for kids before, so I can definitely see that happening this year.
12:56Excellent. So I have a couple of quick questions before I let you go.
12:59Okay.
12:59This is first, best, last, worst. First career you wanted to have when you were a kid?
13:04I wanted to be a famous singer like Whitney Houston.
13:07You're still on that trajectory. Excellent.
13:11Best day as Miss New York?
13:15Oh gosh, it was such a fun day. I went to a home for people with disabilities and I was
13:22able to sing for them with an accompanist.
13:25And there was one woman who came up and started singing a song acapella all by herself and it was
13:29so sweet and so cute.
13:30And so that was a really touching moment for me as Miss New York.
13:35The last time you were inspired by a speech, concert, or movie?
13:40I really liked the movie, I watched it on the airplane a while ago, The Greatest Showman.
13:46It was really, it made me cry like three times. I'm not really sure why.
13:50I guess it was just so sweet seeing this man kind of follow his dreams and do work so hard
13:53for his family.
13:54So I'm a sucker for things like that. It was inspiring to watch someone work hard because I know what
13:58that feels like.
13:59Excellent. Yeah, and Hugh Jackman is an incredible showman in his own right.
14:04He's great.
14:05Worst mistake while performing?
14:08Not breathing. You have to breathe to sing.
14:13Excellent. And lastly, what are three goals for the next year for you?
14:20Number one is to stay true to myself throughout the year because there's so many people pulling you from so
14:26many different directions.
14:27But I have my head on straight and I know what I want to accomplish personally and professionally and for
14:32this organization.
14:33So just keeping, you know, true to myself.
14:36I want to make sure that we can increase our recruitment numbers and our volunteer numbers this year.
14:41And that's going to happen by just collaborating with the board and the people that are here to help me
14:47and really just being approachable and personable when I go and meet people.
14:52And lastly, I really want to organize a benefit concert and I'm hoping to have maybe some celebrities and things
14:59come sing on it.
15:00Not sure we're on a location yet, but I would love for the proceeds to go to the Children's Miracle
15:04Network Hospitals since that's our national partner and I'm the national ambassador for them.
15:08So I would really like to make that happen.
15:10Excellent. Well, we look forward to seeing what you do this year.
15:14Nia Franklin, Miss America, thank you very much for being here and enjoy your tour.
15:20Thank you so much. Thanks. Thanks for having me. Bye.
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