"I love knowing [the Q&A portion] is coming up," Bush told reporters this week. "In a moment of 30 seconds on live TV, anything can go wrong, and it usually does. 

"I'll never forget when [Prejean] answered that question. You could hear the gasps in the audience ... and all of the sudden, you felt like something happened," he said. "I hope people remember the last Miss USA and tune into Miss Universe to see what might happen." 

The 2009 Miss Universe Pageant, produced by Donald Trump, will air live from the Atlantis resort on Paradise Island in the Bahamas Sunday at 9 on NBC. 

Bush will host with Claudia Jordan, a former pageant queen who's gone on to be a model on "Deal or No Deal" and a contestant on Trump's "The Celebrity Apprentice." 

The judges will be Dean Cain, Colin Cowie, Gerry Deveaux, Farouk, Heather Kerzner, Richard Lefrak, George Maloof Jr., Valeria Mazza, Matthew Rolston, Andre Leon Talley, Tamara Tunie and Keisha Whitaker. 

And Flo Rida, Heidi Montag, David Guetta and Kelly Rowland will perform. 

Venezuelan native Dayana Mendoza, Miss Universe 2008, will be there to hand off her crown to her successor. 

Jordan said she's been prepping for her hosting duties much the way she used to prep when she was a competitor: "I started working out two months ago!" 

But she said she's glad to be on the other side of the microphone these days, and is looking forward to the evening-gown portion of the event. 

"I'm torn between swimsuit and evening gown, actually," she said. "I appreciate the girls that work out and get in great shape, but I guess I've got to give the edge to evening gown because the gowns are really unique and beautiful. It's interesting to see what all the girls come up with." 

Though critics continue to question pageants like Miss Universe, Jordan said that they provide a rare platform for young women to speak out on issues that are important to them. 

"A lot of woman who do pageants are not from Los Angeles or New York. They're from place where the entertainment business is just a dream," Jordan said. 

"Pageants aren't a direct link to the business, but they're a step in the right direction, and in the past few years, especially since Donald Trump has taken over, you see more and more of these women in the news. You know who they are. And if they have something to say, that they're passionate about, they can use it to their advantage."

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