Miss New York crowned Miss America for the third year in a row

New Yorker Kira Kazantsev won the coveted 2015 Miss America Pageant crown on Sunday (Monday, Manila time) in Atlantic City, New Jersey, a "three-peat" for contenders from the Big Apple.

As part of the competition, Kazantsev, 23, sang Pharrell Williams' song "Happy," keeping time by tapping a red plastic cup. She said in a question-and-answer segment that sexual assault in the US military was a problem that needed to be addressed by US lawmakers.

Wearing a long-sleeved, backless white gown and clutching red roses, the newest Miss America walked the runway with a wide smile and waved to a cheering crowd in Atlantic City, where the 94-year-old beauty pageant returned last year after eight years in Las Vegas.

Kazantsev's win marked New York's third consecutive Miss America title. The crown was handed to Kazantsev by Nina Davuluri, a New Yorker and the first Indian-American winner. Davuluri was the successor to Mallory Hagan from New York.

The title comes with a $50,000 scholarship.

Earlier in the competition, Kazantsev told co-host Lara Spencer that she was honored to be part of such an impressive field of competitors, a sentiment that was echoed by the woman later named first runner-up, Courtney Paige Garrett, Miss Virginia.

"Any one of you would represent Miss America absolutely brilliantly and we know that one of you will," said Spencer. "Before we announce these names, any final thoughts that you'd like to share with America?

"I think we're all really just very humble to be here and any one of these 53 women could be Miss America," said Kazantsev.

"This is the most incredible group of women, and it's so humbling to be here in front of them right now," said Garrett.

Kira's platform is focused on protecting women from domestic violence, and the Miss America Organization said she regularly spoke at homeless and domestic violence shelters.

Pageant judges scored contestants from the 50 US states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands based on a talent competition, a personal interview, their answers to an on-stage question, and their appearance in gowns and swimsuits.

Atlantic City officials hope the pageant will help revive the city in the wake of recent financial turmoil. The pageant was held in a hall next to Trump Plaza, whose slated shutdown on Tuesday means the gambling mecca will have lost a third of its casinos since the start of the year. — Reuters