If you followed the 2008 presidential elections, you might remember that Sarah Palin's got some old pageant gowns gathering dust in her closet. The former Miss Wasilla placed third in the Miss Alaska pageant in 1984, then went on to become Governor of Alaska (and VP nominee, don'tcha know)!

Broadcast journalist Diane Sawyer also has the distinction of being a teen pageant queen! The budding newswoman won the America's Junior Miss crown in 1962, and used the scholarship money to pay for her college education. (We're betting she aced the interview portion.)

Although you probably know her best from her Basic Instinct/ice pick-wielding days, Sharon Stone first emerged as a local beauty queen. The future sexpot was Spring Festival Queen of her hometown and 1976 Miss Crawford County. Oh, and did we mention her IQ's 154?

Before she was the most famous/powerful talk show host in the world (planet? universe??), Oprah Winfrey was queen of the pageant world! The soon-to-be superstar was Miss Fire Prevention in 1971 and Miss Black Tennessee in 1972. And that's no "secret".

Sure, she's a household name (and an Academy Award winner) now ... but back in the day, Halle Berry was all about the beauty pageants. This former Miss Ohio (and one-time Bond girl!) was first runner-up to Miss USA in 1986. You know what they say: from Cleveland with love!

+ We know, we know, we left off about a million names (like Vanessa Williams, Paula Zahn, and Michelle Pfeiffer)! So if we forgot your fave former beauty queens, add 'em in the comments!

Everyone likes a little friendly competition. But come Saturday, three high-school students will be putting on some serious game face in a fight to win the title of MADE: Hip Hop Dance Battle champ, as well as long-term bragging rights. Tune in tomorrow at noon and watch as these wannabe hip hoppers cap off a grueling month of training by going head-to-head in a full-on dance war. Oh, and did we mention they'll be performing to a packed auditorium and being judged by Sean Kingston and Fonzworth Bentley? Yep, no pressure there ...

+ Don't miss the premiere of MTV's MADE: Hip Hop Dance Battle on Saturday, June 27 at 12pm ET/PT.

For some kids, winning is everything. But for Amanda, it was never really about acing her dance tryout so much as gaining the confidence she needed to be herself. And in the span of just four weeks (and 60 minutes of condensed footage), girl went from introverted band geek to outgoing mover-and-shaker. Plus, instead of giving up, she's already talking 'bout coming back for tryouts next season!

So we say, forget making the school squad (for now) and give it up for the new and self-improved Miss Amanda! Keep up the good work, lady! And, in the immortal words of guru/bisexual disco queen Lady Gaga, just DANCE!

Watching Hannah learn the ABC's (Run DMC's??) of rap on MADE got us thinking about all the other ladies doing their thing. Think Missy Elliott spits the best rhymes? Or are you more of a Lauryn Hill kinda girl? Take our poll and let us know who's the baddest female MC to ever rock da mic!

You know that girl in your gym class who's so terrified of breaking a nail that she faked an ankle injury just to get out of the dodgeball unit? Well, Sabrina, Jenna and Erin make her look like an American Gladiator! At least, they did. Now, these blond-haired, blue-eyed babes claim they're ready to shed their girly girl reps -- and come out swinging!

Think BFFs Sabrina and Jenna can trade in their D&G sashes for black belts -- in karate? Or is that about as likely as hell freezing over (or Erin the Cheerleader becoming the next Mohammad Ali)?! Find out tomorrow, on a two-episode mini-MADE marathon!

Oh, and don't miss the first punch! -- Part 1 of the martial arts action kicks off at 2pm sharp.

To be fair, it wasn't completely our fault. With categories such as "Best (Almost) Nude Moments," it was hard for these two smart doc series to compete with the filthy (but equally fascinating) likes of A Shot At Love 2 and Real World: Hollywood. Still, we just couldn't let MADE or True Life go unnoticed -- and that's why we asked Christine Rochelle, MTV.com Production Assistant-slash-Remote Control Contributor-slash-uber obsessed fan to make a list of her personal fave moments from this year's episodes. Check it yo:

First up I have to pay homage to a MADE staple: fighting tooth and nail with your coach. Lucky enough for aspiring skateboarder, Alex, her mom did all the dirty work (even threatening to rip Coach Holly's head off)...

A typical MADE story is comprised of a shy brainiac who wants to break out of his/her shell. But every once in a while we stumble upon some characters with maybe a little too much confidence. BFFs Amanda and Natalie really overestimated their ability to become survivalists...

Temper tantrums and crying fits aside, there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned MADE story where someone's goals are reached and dreams are fulfilled. There was no other MADE subject this year like Brandon, who wanted to be a triathlete in order to overcome his diabetes. We were right beside him as he stepped on the scale week after week -- and we were there again when he refused to let a spandex uniform get the best of him. When Brandon crossed that finish line, there wasn't a dry eye around. Rock on, Brandon, rock on.

What I love most about True Life is that it teaches viewers to never take anything for granted. In True Life: I’m Deaf, Chris showed us what it was like for him to hear the sound of his name for the first time...

It’s easy to understand why anyone would want to make a change in their life, but I found it kinda bizarre that the wilderness teens in True Life: I'm Living Off The Grid would want to eat "deer head stew." I’m sure being in the woods 24/7 without modern technology builds character, but having your road kill entree stare right back at you seems a little much. Um, pass the salt?

Once a cheater, always a cheater. When you find out your significant other has been making moves on someone else, throwing them into a body of water is maybe one of the safer reactions you can have. I don't want to condone that sort of behavior, but I totally felt Julie's pain in True Life: I Don't Trust My Partner when she found out her BF Andrew had wandering eyes. Of course, once Andrew got over himself and dried off, he crawled back to Julie with a promise ring. Because we know how well he does at keeping promises...

That's where MTV's MADE and America's Best Dance Crew come into play. When these shows merge on Sunday, September 14, Marie will get tips from Fanny Pak and other Season 2 crews on how to add a little spring to her step. But can rhythm be learned? Watch the teaser below to see if you think Marie has a shot in hell at ever becoming a dancing queen.

Catch the first instructional installment (think: "Beatboxing for Dummies") below then check out the rest of the lesson and re-watch the Rabbi's MADE debut to see how your skills compare to Linnea.

Okay, so everybody knows that former MADE man Jesse Csincsak found love (and instant reality tv fame!) with The Bachelorette's DeAnna Pappas, but what, you ask, have all the other erstwhile coaches been up to lately? Well, lucky for you, we're kicking off a brand new feature called "Coaches Corner" to address that very question.

So, who's up first? That would be Rabbi Darkside, who you'll remember from the episode where weepy high-schooler Linnea (eventually) learned how to beatbox. Re-live the magic by re-watching the episode here then check back next week, when Darkside delivers the first-ever video installment of Coaches Corner: a lesson in Hip-Hop 101.

++ Meanwhile, check out what the beat-boxing Rabbi had to say for himself in this exclusive blog entry, after the jump. (Note: Apparently, "turntablism" is a word!)

Hip Hop inspires my desire to teach and motivates my self-expression. I never would’ve imagined I’d have the chance to take Hip Hop Re:Education to the masses via MTV in, of all places, Iowa! Working with Linnea on “MADE” was an amazing experience for me as both an educator and an artist. It made me realize that I basically do an episode of “MADE” every year in the classes I teach in NYC, be it songwriting, turntablism, poetry or beatboxing: young people pushing themselves outside of their comfort zone to achieve an artistic goal.

Linnea was an excellent student: she never gave up, built the courage to try anything, and allowed herself to undergo a complete transformation. She has an incredible work ethic. I gave Linnea a personalized 5 week beatbox curriculum to follow. Folks at home have no idea how much practice time she logged in her basement, or how between shooting segments, we were always beatboxing in the car. Or that she was able to successfully juggle all of her other extra-curriculars while filming a TV show and learning to beatbox! I actually use this episode of “MADE” as a tool in my classes now. Linnea is proof positive that anyone can accomplish anything if they set their mind to it, prepare to make sacrifices and believe in themselves.

My introduction to participating in the Hip Hop arts came in 1994, when
I was 15-16 years old. The first skill that I developed was freestyling: "off the top" improvised rapping. My friends and I didn't have turntables at the time, so it was practically impossible to access instrumentals of songs. Either we'd end up rhyming on top other MC's words on their albums, or we'd make our own music.

I started beatboxing around the same time, out of necessity. The beautiful thing about Hip Hop is that you can practice it anywhere with nothing but your body, mind and spirit. We would spark cyphers on the porch, in the park, walking around the block, and the soundtrack to these sessions was our beatbox.

In 1996 I took a trip to Europe, where by chance, The Roots, one of my favorite groups, were doing a show on a riverbank in Switzerland. It was here that I saw the astounding skills of Rahzel up close and personal for the first time. Needless to say, the rest of the trip was fueled by beatbox and freestyle.

Upon returning home to attend school and eventually move to Brooklyn, I was constantly driven to perform. I had always shied away from the stage and spotlight, but for some reason, Hip Hop gave me the confidence and urge to get in front of people and rock. This was a product of countless hours in the cypher, where I had to hone my craft until I felt that it was ready to display publicly.

Beatboxing is only one of the Hip Hop skills I constantly work to improve; MCing and DJing are the other two. The best part about being a Hip Hop artist is never running out of room to grow. MCs who DJ, producers who beatbox, breakers that write graffiti: being multi-elemental is what makes you Hip Hop, and it is through this renaissance of improvisation and cyphering that I have become the artist I am today. I am finally dropping my solo album, “Building the Better Bomb,” which is the ultimate representation of my life and my art!

I am grateful for the opportunity to spread Hip Hop love around the world, and confident that Linnea will continue to be a true Hip Hop ambassador wherever she goes. And now, you can begin your beatbox journey just like she did: be sure to check out my “Beatboxing 101 Video Lesson” to get yourself started on the road to being a human beat machine!

At rehearsals this morning, the final six crews were busy putting together a special dance number for next week's show open. They also got a special visitor at the studio: Marie K. from MTV's MADE, who dreams of becoming a hip-hop dancer.

Rhythm-impaired Marie, who's never danced a day in her life, got firsthand tips from the boys in Boogie Bots and Supreme Soul. Specifically, she learned how to 'house', as well as how to do MJ's iconic dance move -- the Moon Walk. In just a few weeks, Marie will bring her moves to the stage with her newly formed dance crew, Karma Krew. Could we see Marie next on Season 3 of ABDC? Uh, let's not put the cart before the horse.