There's no denying that a lot of people love Donny and Marie Osmond. Back in the 1970s, Donny, Marie, and the Osmand clan were as big as Britney, Christina, Beyonce or any of today's top contemporary popsters. At middle age, Donny and Marie are still as popular as ever (judging by their numerous sold out reunion concerts) and now have an even bigger fan base that includes grandparents, parents, and their kids. Not to mention, Marie put on her dancing shoes to participate in one of the most popular shows on the air as she placed third in last season's Dancing with the Stars.

On April 11, Donny and Marie will be hosting the 2008 Miss USA pageant on NBC and The Deadbolt was more than happy to sit in on a conference call with several journalists to listen to Donny and Marie chat about what they're looking forward to the most about this year's Miss USA competition, whether they have any early favorites, whether they've met "The Donald", and, after all of these years, whether they've finally resolved the issue of who's a better dancer.

Donny, how has it been over the last year watching everything that’s been going on with Marie?

DONNY OSMOND: I guess you’re referring to Dancing With the Stars. I thought she did a fantastic job and I think she could’ve won. But I think it’s a fantastic resurgence of her career.

How does hosting Miss USA fit into what projects you both having coming?

DONNY: We have done pageants in the past. As a matter of fact, I did Miss USA Pageant back in the '80s. But this is a precursor as to what we’re going to be doing a lot more of. We decided to go back into Las Vegas - first time in like 30 years or so that we’ve done a long stint in Vegas. So this begins the process.

What are the qualities that are most important to you for a Miss USA contestant that would make for the most well-rounded, qualified winner?

MARIE OSMOND: Well, I think it’s more than a beauty contest because they go on to the Miss USA Pageant and I think they’re kind of an ambassador for this country. So, to me, they do a lot of things. I think they have to realize too that their awareness, their platform is Breast and Ovarian Cancer Awareness and Education for Women - and I think that it’s women helping women. So hopefully they realize that and are articulate. I have a big platform -- probably because I don’t have a sister. I think anything that promotes awareness of those types and to be an ambassador of our country right now, I think is very important.

Donny, what about you? What’s the most important quality in your mind for Miss USA?

DONNY: Don’t take it too seriously. Have a good time. Just enjoy it, enjoy the process, enjoy the 15 minutes of fame. And I just think sometimes people get wrapped up too seriously in certain things that even in any aspect of show business - enjoy it. Just enjoy the process because it is 15 minutes of fame, so enjoy every minute of those 15 minutes.

MARIE: You know what I think? Rachel Smith, didn’t she fall down last year during the Pageant, the Miss Universe Pageant? Maybe that’s why they had me host this year because it’s something in common.

Donny, what are the show differences from having done it in 1999 and 2000?

DONNY: What are we going to do different than 1999 and 2000? First of all, it’s a completely different pageant. But I think that Marie and I are going to bring to the pageant is a little fun, a little enjoyment. Because that’s what it’s all about. Right, Phil? You know, just to have a really good time and make it entertaining. You know, like I was saying - the banter back and forth with Marie and myself is going to be an interesting and important part of it, just to lighten it up a little bit. So it’s entertaining and that’s what Marie and I are out to do, is to make it a very entertaining show.

Marie, can you talk about your different experiences of being a contestant on a reality show? Does that give you a different kind of empathy or feeling for what these contestants on Miss USA are feeling like?

MARIE: Well, I don’t know if they’re going to buy stock in Ibuprofen like I did. But I think that’s the charm of the reality kind of feeling - which a pageant does the same thing. It’s live. It’s right then. It’s right there. It’s happening. And I think there’s something exciting about that because you never know what can happen. It really is one of those things where you’re at home watching. You feel a part of it. It’s a very exciting thing. So on the empathy side, I’m sure they’re all going to be nervous and everything else. A friend of mine said he’d like to see the pageant start at 3am in the morning. Everybody out of bed, [the] pageant starts now. And he says then we’d find out who Miss Congeniality really is. But I think that these girls have worked very hard to get to this place and from what I understand so far they’re very excited about it. I think we’ve been around a long time. It’s not about us. It’s about them and I think that’s what the show is going to be. It’s going to be very exciting.

DONNY: Well, see, that’s why I love these kinds of shows, is because it’s live, anything can happen. I remember an incident when we were doing another pageant show. Marie, thank you very much, sister, for not telling me about what I’m about to tell everybody. I think you know exactly the story.

MARIE: I can’t remember. I hit my head so hard.

DONNY: Okay, whatever. We made a costume change during the commercial break and you had two minutes to get everything changed, so we were in a rush. Well, I forgot to zip up my fly. Marie knew everything about it. She saw it, the whole bit, but she didn’t tell me during the commercial break. We went three, two, one and we start. And Marie just tells, "Oh, by the way, Donny, your fly is down.

Marie, are you still dancing or still working out?

MARIE: Well, of course I’m working out. I feel good. You just kind of get to that place where you’re taking care of your parents and your kids. And I figured I’d put on about five pounds every year for over eight years. To have that 40 plus pounds off now, I mean, I feel fantastic. I feel younger than ever. But yeah, I did it because I did something with the American Heart Association - my mom died of heart disease. My grandmother died of it. And when you have those kinds of statistics - and my dad suffered from it, too, It runs in the family. My son said,"Mom, I need you to lose some weight because we want you to be around. It was a great excuse to do it. It gave a lot of women, I think, courage to do it and I’ve gotten some fantastic - I mean, thousands and thousands of emails from women saying they’re taking up dancing. And it’s great to know that life isn’t over in your 40s. It’s just beginning and so I think a lot of women tune into that show just to find that kind of hope. I know that a lot of the ladies are saying the same things now, like Priscilla [Presley] and people like that. So yeah, it was a fun thing.

DONNY: The problem is those thousands and thousands of women sending in the emails, they’re also fainting.

Donny and Marie Together Again for Miss USA Page 2