Miss America 2018 pageant judges announced

Gallery: Savvy Shields, Miss Arkansas, is crowned Miss America 2017

By Amy Kuperinsky akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com,

NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Updated on August 15, 2017 at 11:00 AM Posted on August 15, 2017 at 10:58 AM

The Atlantic City-based Miss America Organization has rolled out four of its celebrity judges ahead of the 2018 pageant on Sept. 10.

Coming to the stage at Boardwalk Hall will be the Grammy-nominated singer and "American Idol" winner Jordin Sparks, who spent part of her childhood in Bergen County and whose father, Phillippi Sparks, was a defensive back for the Giants; model and actress Molly Sims; Jess Cagle, editorial director of People magazine and Entertainment Weekly (this announcement was first published on People.com); and Thomas Rhett, a country music singer.

The rest of the celebrity judges' panel will be announced in the coming days.

Last year's winner, Miss America 2017, was Miss Arkansas, Savvy Shields. 

Hosts Chris Harrison ("The Bachelor") and ESPN's Sage Steele are returning as hosts.

The Atlantic City pageant is the beneficiary of $12.5 million in subsidies under a three-year deal brokered with the state Casino Reinvestment Development Authority in 2016. Miss America began in 1921 as a way for local businesses to extend the summer tourist season into September. The pageant left Atlantic City for Las Vegas in 2005, returning for the 2014 pageant in September 2013.

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2017/08/miss_america_2018_judges.html