Mario Cantone has some advice for Miss America

He's lined up to be one of the celebrity judges at Sunday's Miss America contest in Atlantic City.

But you can probably guess what comedian/singer Mario Cantone is lobbying to do when a winner is crowned (ABC will air it live, 9 p.m. ET).

"I've been begging them to sing the friggin' song!" he tells USA TODAY.

Yes, the wisecracking former Sex and the City star wants to sing the famous Bert Parks song, There she is, Miss America. It had been used to serenade the new pageant winner every year since 1955 until last year when deceased songwriter Bernie Wayne's wife, Phyllis, filed a lawsuit, accusing the organization of using it without proper licensing. In January, for the 2013 contest, instrumental music played instead.

Putting his own twist on it, Cantone, 53, bursts into song. "Here I am ...." He adds, "I've been rehearsing it in my bedroom!"

He explains that he even made his case to pageant organizers. "I said, 'Let me sing Miss America. It mentions all the girls from Atlantic City, their dreams come true. It's perfect. And they said, 'We don't sing that anymore.' Really? Is it poison?"

He figured his fellow celeb judges — former boy bander Lance Bass, NBA Rookie of the Year Amar'e Stoudemire of the Knicks, violinist Joshua Bell, Carla Hall from The Chew and Barbara Corcoran from Shark Tank — could all get into the act.

"At least get Lance Bass to do a boy band move. Let Joshua Bell play the violin. They won't even let the Knicks basketball player bounce the ball!"

The one thing Cantone will likely get to do is to ask a contestant one of those tricky current events questions. He's been thinking about it but isn't sure what he'll say. "Do I ask how they feel about gay marriage? That's already been done. ... Ask them about Syria?"

No matter what happens, he figures he's happy to be part of it. The event is "a classic."

With that in mind, we asked him for 5 Tips for Miss America Contestants. Here's what he came up with:

1. "Lay off the carbs the week before."

2. "Keep up on your cardio the month before."

3. "During the swimsuit competition, check for creases."

4. "White girls should not sing soulful songs."

5. "During the question part, if you don't know what the hell it means, just ramble on until somebody stops you."