“Clap along if you feel that happiness is the truth,” sang Kira Kazantsev, formerly known as “Miss New York” and now the 2014-2015 winner of the Miss America pageant. As the new Miss America gleefully sang Pharrell Williams’ “Happy,” she completed the performance by creating the musical beat with a red plastic cup. A red cup that had many viewers, including myself, presuming in our minds that Kazantsev could not possibly win the Miss America pageant, let alone continue to be taken seriously with this unoriginal talent — a talent I felt my 10-year-old cousin could master within minutes.

Let me clear something up first; I do not think Kazantsev is talentless or some ditzy New Yorker who happened to win, but there has to be some political reason why Miss New York won for the third time in a row. It just simply did not add up when the blonde cup beater won the Miss America title. She abused a red cup while singing “Happy” for Pete’s sake.

I would like to point out that, according to the Miss America Organization website, the talent portion of the Miss America pageant is worth 35 percent, the highest percentage out of the other four portions of preliminary scoring. This leads me to believe her happy cup-beat indeed took major part in swaying the judges in her favor. But maybe it was the private interview, which is worth 25 percent of the competition. 

Since the talent portion holds the most weight for judging, why then did Kazantsev win? Miss Mississippi, with her flawless singing performance, and even Miss Ohio with her very entertaining ventriloquist performance, set the bar high on competition night. Does New York hold some special advantage or secret favor with the judges? 

According to a “Huffington Post” article, Kazantsev’s platform involved raising awareness for domestic abuse, something she sadly has experienced first hand. Aside from her cup adventures on stage, I will admit it does take courage to tell the world something private and painful about yourself, let alone have the courage to stand up for those subject to abuse. As a speaker of English, Spanish and Russian, Kazantsev attended Hofstra University where she triple-majored in political science, global studies and geography. She has also been accepted into Fordham University Law School, where she received a $10,000 scholarship.Once again, what brains Kazantsev must have (and I’m convinced she does) to win a Miss America pageant.

It may seem as though I’m straddling the fence, like I can’t decide whether or not I like her. As stated earlier, I don’t dislike her; I just don’t understand how she won with her talent of banging a red cup, along with some singing. 

In a “News Day” article, Kazantsev spoke against the negative comments, such as I am making myself, stating there are “many more important issues in this world people should worry about.” The caring and sensitive portion of my being completely agrees with her and slightly feels bad about the hatred toward the singing and bashing of a red cup she exhibited on stage. However, my dislike of her performance is exactly what it is. I cannot look into her academic achievements and her amazing platform and decide her performance wasn’t so bad. The truth is, in comparison with other performances that night, Kazantsev’s performance could not have been what won her the Miss America crown. She has beauty, brains and an amazing voice. However, the performance that should have ensured her failure, seemed to have no effect on the judges’ decision. Miss New York’s third win in a row, this time, has to be more than a coincidence.