After one year, two pageants, and countless hours of preparation, Neil McNeil has won the title of the second Mr. Emerson, winning not only the entire pageant, but also the crowd favorite. So, what changed over the past year?
As a TV Production Major is in his senior year, Neil McNeil attributes his success to finding comfort in being the center of attention. After years of “accidentally stumbl[ing] into the spotlight” and battling with “terrible stage fright,” McNeil decided that it was time to put his fears aside and “actively seek out the title.”
This year the timing was better, he says, “I feel like I have grown a lot in this past year and I want to showcase that; me just being me.” Nothing showed his personality more than his choice of talent.
The song he decided to rap, Nicki Minaj’s summer hit “Super Bass”, is not just a favorite song, but a sentimental song for McNeil. It was actually the song that was playing the first time he met his boyfriend; “It was magic! Nicki Minaj brought us together.” The song is so important that he decided to surprise his boyfriend by bringing him up on stage during the performance. In relationships, McNeil believes “everyday is an adventure” and you have to be able to “laugh at [your partner] and yourself every now and then.”
Apart from the sentimental aspect of his talent, the superhuman speed at which he rapped was an impressive feat. After months of listening to the song over the summer, the song has become ingrained in him and for a man that claims, “I don’t consider myself a talented person,” the rap he performed was remarkable.
It seemed like Neil was the only person still surprised when they called out his name as the winner. Even as former winner Jeff Rizzi was passing down the crown and they went in for a hug, Neil told him, “I can’t believe this is happening.”
That is not to say McNeil has not enjoyed his “princess moment.” He celebrated like a true pageant boy, turning heads on the T as he paraded around Boston after the show. He sported his formalwear and sash as he indulged in a platter of fried chicken at a local restaurant and continued to celebrate his winning title throughout the weekend. The event acted as a winning celebration and a birthday party in one. He even had the Mr. Emerson poster hanging in his living room!
Although McNeil has celebrated his win thoroughly, there are no hard feelings between him and the other Mr. Emerson contestants. Neil says, “it’s a brotherhood now,” one that could only be born from the bonding experiences that happen when preparing for an event like Mr. Emerson. Like the hour before the show when all the boys were held in a bathroom where “some of [them] were in speedos, some in wetsuits, we got very close and personal.”
Winning Mr. Emerson has finally brought Neil out from behind the camera and into the public eye. Don’t expect this to go to his head, though. He will still be the modest guy that unabashedly raps Nicki Minaj at supersonic speed in the elevators and remains behind the scenes as Director of Production of the Emerson Channel. And this is exactly why he deserves the title of Mr. Emerson.