Pop singer Willa Ford and *NSYNC singer Chris Kirkpatrick will host Miss Teen USA 2002, which will be telecast live from South Padre Island, Texas at 9 p.m. ET on Wednesday (August 28) on the CBS Television Network.

At the conclusion of the two-hour telecast, Miss Teen USA 2001 Marissa Whitley will crown her successor. Contestants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia will be judged in three categories--swimsuit, evening gown, and interview. This year's competition will also feature live performances by platinum-selling teen rapper Bow Wow, and Columbia Records recording artists Play.

Ford was a judge at the Miss USA pageant in March, and she told LAUNCH that she was offered the co-hosting gig because the show's organizers were already familiar with her. "I judged Miss USA this last year and I worked with these people, and they enjoyed working with me, so they called back and said, 'Would Willa be willing to maybe host Miss Teen USA?' And we said, 'Sure, why not.' And then I wanted to see who my co-host was and they said well, 'If you'll do it, Chris will do it,' and I said, 'I'll do it' then."

Ford told LAUNCH that it also helped that she herself competed in the pageant at age 15. "They know that I'm really familiar with the pageant system because I did the pageant when I was 15, so knowing that I was familiar with it--they we're pretty comfortable with having me do it," she said.

Ford is currently working on the follow-up to her Lava/Atlantic album, Willa Was Here, which spawned the hit single "I Wanna Be Bad".






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