Miss Alabama salutes her home state before Miss America finals: ‘Roll Tide!’ (2024)

Miss Alabama 2023, Brianna Burrell, is gorgeous in green. Need proof? No problem.

Just look at Burrell modeling her Miss America wardrobe in the photo gallery at the top of this post, and you’ll see that she’s a vision in a flowing emerald green gown. The showstopping dress — chosen by Miss Alabama for the national pageant — is made of pleated silk chiffon, with a swath of Swarovski crystals glittering at the top of its single-shoulder train.

Burrell wears it well, no matter if she’s twirling on a Birmingham rooftop or posing in front of a dinosaur exhibit at the McWane Science Center. Burrell, 26, cheerfully admits to being a science nerd, and her community service work for Miss Alabama relates to STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) and boosting those topics in schools.

This made the McWane Center a perfect choice for her recent photo shoot with AL.com, and Burrell said she had a blast chatting with young visitors on scene.

“That was a once-in-a lifetime experience,” Burrell said. “I saw both of my worlds colliding. I saw my passion for education, specifically within the STEM field, meet my love of fashion and expression with my wardrobe. ... It was great to interact with the kids and talk to them about my journey as Miss Alabama, but also talk about the experience they were going to have that day at the McWane Center, and what they love about science and technology.”

Beauty and smarts go hand-in-hand for Burrell, and these qualities already are getting her noticed at Miss America events in Orlando, Florida. Resplendent in green, she became one of three winners this week at Miss America’s evening gown preliminary competition, earning a $3,000 scholarship.

Events linked to the national pageant started on Jan. 6, and include receptions, rehearsals, a breakfast, a talent showcase, a fashion show and more. Preliminary competitions for Miss America focus on evening wear, talent and fitness, and private interviews are scheduled with the pageant’s judges.

“I want to be seen green,” Burrell said on Thursday via Instagram, celebrating her win in the evening gown preliminary. “I wore the dress of my dreams on the Miss America stage! Dressing to express who I am was my focus, but my favorite part of this outfit was my smile. That was 30 seconds of pure joy radiating through me.”

Burrell will have another opportunity to wear the green stunner on Sunday, when the Miss America finals take place at the Walt Disney Theater in Orlando. The Mobile native is one of 51 women competing for the title of Miss America 2024, and Burrell said she’s in it to win it.

“My motto is go big or go home, and the only way I’m going home is hopefully with a crown,” Burrell said during a phone interview with AL.com. “I’m grateful to have this opportunity to compete for the title of Miss America 2024, and as Miss Alabama, I feel prepared and ready to step into that role.”

READ: Miss America 2024: Meet 51 women competing for the crown, including Alabama’s Briana Burrell

To prepare for the Miss America competition, Burrell has been polishing her interview skills, working with fitness instructors, rehearsing with a vocal coach and adjusting her stage wardrobe. The outfits she’s chosen lean to clean lines and bold hues, such as hot pink, bright blue, sunshine yellow and deep violet.

“I wanted to bring a lot of color to the Miss America experience,” Burrell said. “I’m saying ‘I am here’ (with the wardrobe), you know. I’m loving it, and I feel it truly embraces who I am as a person, but also with that touch of professionalism that people expect from Miss America.”

For her win as Miss Alabama in July 2023, Burrell sang “Alabaster Box,” a gospel song recorded by CeCe Winans. She’s chosen a different song to showcase at Miss America, but declines to name it in advance of the finals.

“I want it to be a big surprise,” Burrell said. “But I will tell you that it’s not ‘Alabaster Box.’ For everyone that was expecting it, I’m sorry, but I decided to go a different route. But this song still has that message of hope, of faith and of love to inspire people who listen to it. It’s an old-school song that I’m very grateful to bring to the stage.”

A cheering section from Alabama, composed mainly of family and friends, has already assembled in Orlando, and Burrell said she’s grateful to have Team Bri on hand. Feeling the love helps her to stay serene, Burrell said, as excitement rises among the contestants.

“This experience has taught me that a lot of emotions can exist all at one time,” Burrell said. “So it’s a lot of hope and expectancy, mixed with excitement, mixed with a surreal feeling and trying to be calm and peaceful. It’s all of these things, all at once. Trying to balance it all is a mental skill that I’m grateful to have developed over these past six months as Miss Alabama. OK, I’m here, all of these things are happening, all the good feelings are here.”

Ask Burrell what she’d like to say to the folks back home who’ll be rooting for her in the finals, and she lets out an exuberant “Roll Tide!” (Burrell plans to pursue a master’s degree at the University of Alabama, studying educational administration.)

She also issues a heartfelt shout-out to the state of Alabama as a whole.

“I just want to thank everyone so much for their support throughout this journey,” Burrell said. “I’m grateful to represent the state, all people, all communities in the state of Alabama, the people who taught me what love, grace and development is. Keep watching on Sunday; I hope to make you proud.”

How to watch: The Miss America competition will not be broadcast on television this year. However, the finals event will stream online, and you can see it for free at the Watch Miss America website.