The judging panel for the 2010 MISS USA® Pageant included: Carmelo Anthony of the NBA's Denver Nuggets and a two-time Olympic medalist; Miss USA 2006, Tara Conner; best-selling author, chef and host of four shows on The Food Network, Paula Deen, star of NBC's hit comedy series, "The Office," Oscar Nunez; American businessman and real estate mogul, Phil Ruffin; Executive Fashion Editor at Large of Glamour magazine, Suze Yalof-Schwartz; model, Melania Trump, who has appeared on the covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Vanity Fair and three-time National Champion figure skater and Olympian, Johnny Weir.
Boys Like Girls (BLG) performed their new song, "Heart Heart Heartbreak" for the first time ever during the swimsuit competition and Grand Ole Opry member Trace Adkins who had 27 charted singles and 14 Top Ten hits, debuted his latest single, "This Ain't No Love Song," during the evening gown portion of the competition.
Throughout the two-hour event, the contestants competed in three categories: swimsuit, evening gown and interview. Kristen Dalton, MISS USA 2009, crowned her successor at the conclusion of the telecast, before an estimated worldwide viewing audience of more than 250 million.