DWTS Week 5: I'll Be There For You

Yet again I find myself posting a wee bit late, though this time I can actually say "wee bit late" rather than "oh, kind of, y'know, a week late or so...cough cough." The ballroom played host to only 8 couples this week (and now it's 7), so even though I also have the results show to address, I'll try to combine everything into one post this time around. And the couple that left us this week is...

• Florence & Corky. It's a bummer, because I really thought Florence was doing well and improving, and more importantly, she's dang fun and charming. Her tango on Monday wasn't too bad...the head-jerking was a bit awkward, and I tweeted that night that I felt it was a bit low on content, but it definitely wasn't elimination material. (In a departure from my usual attitude, I actually thought the "Brady Bunch" theme fit the tango well. At least it wasn't like some other musical choices Monday night...rantings to come.) There have been a few Internet rumblings that Florence was hurt by her innuendo-with-a-wink playfulness with Barry Williams, her former sitcom son and apparently my doppleganger (according to my family). Personally, I thought it was all in good fun (for the most part) myself. I've watched a few episodes of "The Brady Bunch" (Cindy staring at the camera...classic), and the show and its characters have a special place in my heart (except you, Fake Jan! OK, I have to admit I only learned about her evil ways from an excellent TV moments book I read... :) ), but I do have to admit I didn't grow up with the show, so I can't speak for all of you children of the 70s. Still, they're adults. She's 76 and he's 56. Give them a break. Anwyays, Florence, we'll miss you, and Corky...next partner you get (if you're lucky), actually give them some normal choreography!
• The rest of the results show: So far this season (and for most of last, if I remember right), DWTS has been pretty spot-on in picking their musical guests. Some of them have been "meh," but most of them have been fairly good/excellent. (Heck, even Daughtry & Santana surprised me with their live performance prowess.) Well, I might be in the minority here, but I think they have officially dropped the ball with Jason Derulo. His performances were...as I noted on Twitter rather bluntly..."pretty much a bunch of crap." He couldn't hack it on his live version of his own song ("In My Head"), sounding thin, out of breath, and even reverting to pre-recorded AutoTune for a little bit during the chorus. The dancing wasn't that great either. (Cliche coming in 3, 2, 1...Why is he popular? But really. Sad.) As for his cover of Ray Charles' classic "Georgia On My Mind"...no. Just no. Granted, although Ray recorded (without question) the definitive version, there have been many others that have done incredible justice to the song. But melisma-happy Mr. Derulo was not one of them. It made me die inside, pretty much. Thankfully, the other musical guest (who should have gotten two numbers instead...I bet she could have done better with "Georgia" than Jason did) was much, much, much better. Shakira was hot, spicy, and...I mean, she did a great job. Her live vocals were pretty impressive (after a little shakiness at the start).The dancing was...sexy amazing. Viva la Shakira!
• And because that bullet was getting too long...the fake commercials. Oh my. Loved the Bruno one (like I tweeted, Tiny Bruno would be immensely proud...do the naughty puma!), thought the "Easy Steps" one was 'meh' (though the Derek Hough being worth only $150 bit was priceless), and as for the David Hasselhoff "Hammer" one...no comment. :) And finally...the Mwano family...amazing. Their dance with the pros was terrific, and the whole story about how they bravely escaped the tragic hardships of the Congo, and how their mom didn't even know they were going to perform...wow. I definitely was very, very close to tears.

Now to the remaining couples...this is getting a bit long, ain't it? Oh well, we press on...

• Brandy & Maks (27/30, quickstep): Best dance of the night. Fast, fun, charming, great choreography, wonderfully executed. (And who knew the "Friends" theme song had more than one verse?!?) The judges made the right pick for their encore. As for the "Brandy/Maks hate each other" issue...I still honestly think they don't. Sure, they have tension in rehearsal, but pretty much every couple does. I think that one week where Brandy made the controversial "the solo was his idea!" comment, and they were fighting in rehearsal (coupled with the bottom-slapping from last week) spiraled into a "look, they're fighting! FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!" situation, where everyone (the media, the producers, fans of the show) jumped to brand them as bitter enemies. I think the sweet, charming, adorable relationship they showed in their quickstep on Monday was proof that that's not the case...and not just because Maks and Brandy are great at acting or something. They really are friends, and although they fight and argue (hello, it's Maks...since when has that ever not happened with him?), I believe things between them are ultimately all good.
• Kurt & Anna (24/30, quickstep): This week was the battle of "Bewitched" vs. Belka and Strelka...and "Bewitched" apparently won. (Though Belka and Strelka, as I learned from Wikipedia, were the first Earth-born dogs, or animals of any kind, to come back from a space mission alive. Yay!) The American-Russian culture clash between Kurt & Anna was fun, and Anna ended up actually having an impressive Samantha nose-wiggle. It was a delightful, energetic quickstep (I loved the 'magic' effects), and Kurt seemed pretty light on his feet and on top of things. His best dance so far? I would dare say yes.
• Audrina & Tony (23/30, rumba): What to do about Audrina? I'm definitely of the opinion that she's still a contender for the finals (her waltz & quickstep earlier in the season were excellent), but this week's rumba was a bit sleepy and continued to show weaknesses in her performance quality. Granted, they did have to do it to a not very rumba-friendly song (Natasha Bedingfield's lovely but ubiquitous hit "Unwritten"), and as we found out on Tuesday night, the band had a slip-up. But aside from that, it wasn't a very romantic/exciting rumba. Worrying signs that Audrina needs to step it up stylistically...but I maintain my position that I think she could take it all the way, if she brings her A-game in all aspects. (And stays away from eating any raw onions. :D)
• Kyle & Lacey (20/30, foxtrot): Well, the good news about Kyle this week is that we learned that if they're casting a "Charlie's Angels" reboot, they need look no further than Lacey, Kym, and Chelsie. (I would watch that show in a heartbeat. :) ) The bad news? Oh, a little something called the dance. The producers continued their streak of giving out simply crazy foxtrot songs (besides Jennifer & Derek below, Kurt & Anna have been the only couple this season to receive an actual foxtrot-friendly number...and it was "Bad Day," of all things...), and dealt Kyle & Lacey a doozy with the aforementioned "Angels" theme song. It kind of worked, but it was also kind of a complete mess. I'm kind of torn, though, on how to react to the judges...they definitely should have realized that it was a theme night, and that given the musical choice Lacey couldn't really choreograph much of a traditional foxtrot. However, they did bring up some fair points about Kyle's technique. And like Len, I wasn't really too much a fan of the dance. Although 20 was an incredibly low score, it didn't quite seem unfair to me...a sign that Kyle really needs to improve and polish his dancing.
• Rick & Cheryl (24/30, rumba): I sheepishly admit I didn't know which show this theme song came from until later ("Hill Street Blues"? OK...), but that aside, Rick did a very good job Monday night. His rumba was fairly romantic, smooth, and Cheryl did a great job of choreographing around the theme, but also keeping it firmly in the "rumba" category. It was well-danced, well-played, and I really liked it. Rick is back on track to go further in the competition, I think.
• Bristol & Mark (18/30, jive): Let's start this off with my Twitter thoughts after the dance, since I think they describe my feelings pretty concisely: "Fun start with the monkey suits for Bristol, it lost a bit of steam in the middle, but a terrific finish, I thought." The monkey-suit beginning kind of reminded me of the Jabbawockeez-inspired beginning of Shawn and Mark's terrific freestyle in season 8...in that they started off in fun costumes and had to hurriedly shed them a little bit into the dance. Sadly, on second watch, Bristol wasn't as nimble in her monkey suit as Shawn was in her costume...and the middle of the dance flatlined, and was kind of a mess. However, I thought she really pulled it together in the last third of the number, with a good amount of energy and movement (though I can see the viewpoint that the judges held, that she was a bit off the beat). That said...I like Bristol. I think she has great potential as a dancer. Still, her being announced as safe right off the bat last night was kind of a shocker (she had the lowest score of the night and isn't that beloved by what I've seen, after all), and I can't help feeling it should have been her going home. Hopefully she can rebound next week, but if not, next Tuesday night will probably be the date of her departure.
• Jennifer & Derek (25/30, foxtrot): Partly due to the fact that they actually got a proper foxtrot song (Frank Sinatra's jaunty "Love and Marriage"), unlike 90% of the couples this season (darn producers!), I really liked this performance. The 50s/TV theme was well-incorporated, and it was precise, fun, and charming. So where were the judges' tepid scores coming from? It was a fine dance, without any discernible shortcomings, and while a 10 might have been stretching it, it was definitely worthy of at least a 9. Jennifer and Derek's rehearsal blowout on the other hand? Ouch. That was not fun to watch. Let's hope that kind of fighting stays out of their future on-camera footage, or this couple could lose a great deal of viewer support.

So there you have it. Week 5 of "Dancing With The Stars" (spoken by the trusty "disembodied British voice," Alan Dedicoat :) )! I'll hopefully be back later this week with some best-dances-of-all-time posting (sadly, I no longer have the 30 dances the producers picked for reference, but I can get by otherwise), and, as I always mean to, some long-overdue "American Idol" Top 12 profile action. For now, enjoy your week, and viva la DWTS!

DWTS Week 4 (In A Nutshell): Somebody To Love

Hey, remember the good old days of this blog when I was at BYU, and I could barely catch DWTS live, much less find time to recap it? Well, this week wasn't like that. But somehow, last week's recaps (for both the results and the performance night) have ended up being jumbled into one lightning-quick post that I'm starting about 10 minutes before Week 5 performance night starts. (TV themes! Wonder how it will turn out...) Without any further ado, let's jump (quickly) in.

• The Situation & Karina are gone, thank heavens. His Argentine tango last week was ghastly, and the small round stage (which I liked, but agreed kind of threw the contestants for a loop for the most part, and not in a very good way) only highlighted his lack of dancing skills & technique. Painful to watch (my mom, who I accidentally over-referenced in my tweets from that night because she was watching DWTS with me for the first time in quite a while, inexplicably liked his futuristic Week 3 'foxtrot,' but agreed Week 4 for him was crap), painful to listen to The Situation talk about afterwards, and the opposite of painful to see an elimination result from. :)
• So what about everyone else? Jennifer & Derek really stood out last week. I really loved her routine, from the cool piano-plunking start (thought Len would call it "messing about," but thankfully he didn't), to the incredible footwork all throughout the dance. Her and Derek utilized the stage beautifully, and I have to admit even though I refrained from voting for Jennifer during Weeks 1-3, and I'm still firmly in the "don't crown her the winner yet, you fools!" camp, hers is the only routine I truly fell in love with, and can still remember, from last week. Y'alls better step up, other 8 people still in the competition...
• Quick, like a bunny...Kurt was underscored, I thought; Brandy was excellent but not quite captivating and her routine wasn't quite all there; Rick's height didn't work well for him and the small stage, it was a bit clunky; Kyle was, as I said on Twitter that night, "kind of hit and miss"; Florence and Corky's rehearsal was one of the funniest I've ever seen, but the dance was perplexing and wacky; Bristol needs to step it up or she's going home incredibly soon (though I think she slightly improved Week 4 over Week 3); and Audrina's Argentine tango wasn't as impressive as her waltz.
• Some results show comments (actually, just one): Florence + The Machine! Heck to the yes. :)

And that's a wrap! My recap for Week 5 to come tonight or tomorrow morning, I promise. For now...viva la DWTS!

DWTS Week 3 Results: Rainbow Disconnection

This week I'm back with a full results-show recap. I was able to watch the entire hour once again this week, and it was an interesting little creature. The highs, the lows...let's dive into them right now, starting with the hardest part...the elimination.

• The Elimination: I could rant on and on (well, maybe not that much, but pretty close) about Margaret Cho meeting an untimely end in the competition tonight. But I won't. Hopefully. What I will say: This is the first elimination of the season that hurt (David Hasselhoff was subpar and washed-up, Michael Bolton was likable but very bad at dancing, and ultimately couldn't take criticism). Margaret deserved better scores her last two dances. She shouldn't have gone home. And...biggest of all...why is The Situation still in the game?!?!? Yes, I know I said last night that his 'foxtrot' was his best dance of the competition. Yes, I know it got a 20. (Still don't think it deserved that, but oh well.) Yes, I know this is a televised competition involving 12 (well, now down to 9) people who make lots of money and are still probably very happy. So really...it's not that big of a deal that a reality star from Jersey who likes to act cocky and show his abs still gets to dance next week, even though he's nowhere near that good. But honestly, his dance from last night (which inexplicably got the encore) was even worse tonight. His on-screen persona is grating. His last two dances were fairly ghastly as well. For the love of Master P, America, send this clown home already!
• The Music: Well, perhaps I did end up ranting a bit. It happens sometimes. :) Anyways...the music was fairly good tonight. Ne-Yo's rap intro to his song was ponderous, but after that, things really kicked off. The most amazing thing I've ever seen/heard? Well, no. But good vocals, a fun story (he must have got the memo that it's Story Week!), and some classy dancing. (Dare I bring out the "he should be a contestant!" phrase? Eh, probably not. That would be nice, though.) And he even ended his performance by going down the path out of the studio! That was an unexpected twist. (Another unexpected...well, sort of...twist: Him lowering his mic to chase after his woman [AKA the indifferent dancer character], revealing that his singing may not have been entirely live. Oops!) As for Michael Bolton...I've never been a fan of his singing. I probably never will be a fan of his singing. And I have to admit the beginning of his rendition of "Hallelujah" (the Leonard Cohen chestnut that presumably Susan Boyle was indeed going to sing had she not bowed out, seeing as it's on her upcoming album, she does it with a children's choir, and I'm sure the dance had already been choreographed for it so Michael couldn't sing a song of his own instead) had me wishing he was doing his "worst jive in 11 seasons" instead. But he worked it out. It turned from overwrought to well-sung, from loud and shouty to pleasant and tender. And, of course, the fact that it was accompanied by a fog machine (always helpful to set the mood), the aforementioned children's choir (yay for young children with melodious harmonies!), and a simply gorgeous, tender routine by married couple Jonathan & Anna, didn't hurt. :)
• The Rest: Oh, Donny Osmond. First you appear in that ridiculous Mickey Mouse dancing commercial ("Mickey, you're making me look bad!" I don't think it's the mouse's fault, Donny...), then DWTS invites you back for a cheesy on-the-street segment. Well, it was fun. ("I wouldn't say no to Rick Fox..." by the woman who had just gotten married on Saturday was particularly chuckle-inducing.) That's all we can ask. And then there was the music/dance battle between Mark Ballas & Maks' incredibly similar-looking brother, Val Chmerkovskiy. (Dang it, I had to spell that last name again!) Val had his moment to shine on the violin, and then Mark stood out at the end with some fairly excellent electric guitar shredding. (I couldn't really hear his acoustic too much once the band came in, but it was great at the start.) And there was some excellent dancing, all of it to the one Britney Spears song I actually like (seriously, it's on my iPod), "Toxic." (I blame the strings.) Who won the battle? I was about to say Mark...but then he made some absolutely awkward faces during his electric guitar solo at the end. So maybe not him, in that case. :) At any rate, I was kind of distracted during this part, because it's been stormy all day, and the thunder/rain were going particularly crazy while Val and Mark battled it out.

So...there you have it. Week 3 of DWTS is officially over. Next week is a special Acoustic Week with an in-the-round setup (I can't wait to see how this plays out, it looks pretty dang cool), and according to a comment by Tom tonight, the following two weeks after that will also be newfangled theme weeks. So the next little while should be rather interesting. For now, I'll see you next week (or probably earlier, so I can do my promised Top 10 dances post and my long-delayed Idol finalists project). Viva la DWTS!

DWTS Week 3, Part 2: Put It In A Love Song

Random side note before I start Part 2 of this recap: This week I caught most of the opening-week dances of Series 8 of "Strictly Come Dancing" (as in the original UK version of "Dancing With The Stars") on YouTube (thank goodness, because BBC won't let me access any of its videos...it's like I don't live in Britain or something). It was rather interesting. I enjoyed it. The 4-person judging panel they have there actually works pretty well (Craig Revel Horwood's a complete and utter brat that I'm sure all the Brits love to hate, Len's the same tough yet softie-prone curmudgeon he is here, Alesha Dixon is the nice, sweet, young judge, and Bruno is...Bruno. :) ), Bruce Forsyth proves as quick-witted a host as Tom (and at the age of 82!!), Tess Daly is a much more lively backstage hostess than Brooke Burke (and Samantha Harris, while we're at it), and even though I was intimately familiar with maybe 1 or 2 of the competitors, it was fun to watch. Anyways, just wanted to bring that up. Hopefully I can keep up with it. Now, on to the show at hand...

• Bristol & Mark (19/30, foxtrot): After making excellent progress last week with a fine quickstep that scored a respectable 22 with the judges, Bristol seemed to kind of move backward this week. Part of the reason her foxtrot didn't go so well was purely the fact that she still needs to work on the stylistic/acting portion of effective dancing. Tonight, while she was nowhere near the robotic horror that was her appearance on "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" (sorry I keep referencing it, but it's actually relevant for once in this case), her expressions and storytelling skills fell a bit flat. But beyond that...I feel tonight the producers really let her and Mark down with their song choice. "Just The Way You Are" (the Bruno Mars one) is a pretty song (after a friend's coaxing and my own change of heart, I now have it on my iPod), but it simply did not lend itself well at all to the foxtrot. Mark clearly was desperate this week choreography-wise, and it showed...the dance felt plodding and overly simple. In past seasons, I've seen the havoc weird song choices can wreak on even the best of dancers, and I'm afraid that happened tonight. I fear Bristol may be in or near the Bottom 2 tomorrow night, not just because of a subpar dance, but also because the producers have put staying culturally relevant (in this case) over giving their celebrities and pros good material to work with.
• Brandy & Maks (24/30, samba): It's nice to see Brandy & Maks near the top (after last week's detour into "se-VEN!" land), and tonight's samba was pretty darn excellent. I really liked the 'bodyguard/singer' story they told (the way it came full-circle at the end with Maks looking about and Brandy coaxing him through dance into love was very nice), and the dancing was of a high caliber. The judges seemed to feel the same way...but Len's short rant on how he disapproves of Maks' tough teaching approach was a bit odd. First, I can't believe that it would have taken this long for Mr. Goodman to notice that Maks isn't the gentlest dance instructor in the world (I know the man judges two simultaneously airing dance competitions of the same format on two continents twice a year, but still...). Has he been paying attention to any of Maks' rehearsal footage since he first joined the show 9 seasons ago? :) On a more serious note, though, I don't think I've ever seen a judge call a pro out as much as Len did tonight, and I'm not sure I liked it. Sure, Maks slapping Brandy on the posterior was a bit awkward, but it's not something to go off about. Anyways, Brandy danced very well tonight, her and Maks seem to have a good partnership (yes, they argue, but they also play well off each other). So let's give Maks a break, and move on with the dancing.
• Kyle & Lacey (23/30, waltz): The rehearsal footage yielded some notable moments...I found it interesting how Kyle & Lacey got to change their song, first off. I didn't know that was allowed...I guess since they didn't get to pick the replacement, it's still kosher, but it still seemed odd. (And who the heck hasn't heard of the Eagles? I'm younger than both Kyle and Lacey, and I'm still fairly familiar with their work. Then again, I've heard "Desperado" constantly since childhood [though mostly through the Clint Black cover that plays on my local country radio station all the time], "Take It Easy" mentions a town in my state, and my Calculus teacher played "Take It To The Limit" during a "Limit Party" we had my senior year. :) ) Of course, the fact that it was Landon Pigg's simply lovely "Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop" helped put me at ease. Anyways, another notable moment was Kyle making out with himself awkwardly. (Had to mention that moment. :) ) As for the dancing...it was a charming waltz, and I thought Kyle did very well. (As for Lacey, as I noted in one of my tweets, she looked "like she's working at Hooters rather than a coffee shop"...didn't she used to, y'know, wear clothes??) Carrie Ann (I know I keep coming back to her, but I guess her comments were the most memorably concise or something) pointed out, correctly, that Kyle's footwork needs a bit of improvement. (OK, so did Len, but he was a bit too harsh in his assessment that it was "nonexistent.") Once Kyle gets that ironed out, he (still) has nowhere to go but up. And up from a 23 is a very good place to be in "DWTS" land.
• The Situation & Karina (20/30, foxtrot): The producers dealt another doozy of a number for a foxtrot here. "Boom Boom Pow"? Really with Seth & Amy?? Karina even noted this in rehearsal, in fact. Well, the dismal song choice notwithstanding (it really did force Karina to be a bit creative, and not necessarily in a good way, with her choreography), I think tonight's dance was The Situation's best of the competition so far. I could even spot portions of the dance that were actually foxtrot-esque. But...he's still not quite up to par, by any means. It felt way too generous of the judges to hand him a collective 20 (seeing him break into the 20s while Margaret lingers at 18 feels a bit dirty, in fact), and his personality still grates beyond belief. (Though his newfound commitment to rehearsal this week was very admirable. A lazy Master P-type character, he is not.) Sure, it might be pleasant in a way to give him another week or two to surprise us, but really, I think it's clear at this point that it's probably best to let The Situation go.
• Rick & Cheryl (24/30, samba): This samba was kind of hit-and-miss with me. I still like Rick...he's fun, his dancing is good, and he hasn't started to grate on me as a viewer yet. But I wasn't quite enamored with his dance tonight...maybe it was the open shirt (sorry, but as the president of the potentially imaginary Anti-Heartthrob League, as you know I cannot condone such nonsense), but it seemed not quite all there, a bit inconsistent. Cheryl dancing on the table was quite spicy (sorry, but it was :) ), and Rick got some really good hip action into the mix, but it needed a bit more polish and flow. Maybe it's just me...anyways, Rick did well tonight, and although it wasn't the best, he still continues to earn his keep in the competition.

And, to close, I'm going to organize my usual "let's divide up the dancers" thing a little differently this week. I'm going to base it on the dances, rather than the people...mostly. Let's see how this goes:

My Favorite Dances Tonight: Margaret's spunky samba, Audrina's incredibly impressive waltz, Florence's sweet waltz, Brandy's excellent samba, and Kurt's classy foxtrot.

Honorable Mentions: Rick's fairly good samba, Kyle's charming foxtrot, Jennifer's teacher-ific samba, and Bristol's OK foxtrot.

The Bottom Two Should Be: The Situation's subpar foxtrot, and since we do need another member...I hate to say it, but Bristol should probably round out the Bottom 2 (if they actually have one this week). The one that should go home, however, is definitely The Situation.

See you tomorrow for the results show! Interesting (and ironic) how Michael Bolton will be stepping in for Susan Boyle...will he sing an angry number to Bruno about how hurt he still is by his harsh comments? Hopefully not. But that would be kind of fun...in a bizarre way. :) Anyways, for now...viva la DWTS!

DWTS Week 3, Part 1: A Little Respect

Twas a fun episode of "Dancing With The Stars" tonight. It was Story Week, and thus every dance had to tell a tale. Some of them were more engaging than others, obviously...let's jump right in and talk about just how they all played out.

• Jennifer & Derek (24/30, samba): Jennifer just keeps continuing to impress. Well...mostly. I thought tonight's samba was loads of fun, and pretty well-danced, but was a bit of a step back from last week. Her Week 2 jive was fast, furious, and impeccable in the footwork department...whereas this week was the first two for the most part, but lacked a bit in its precision. Normally I wouldn't be quibbling about how clean the steps were (well, not as a condition of how much I liked the dance), but Jennifer has proven to be an excellent dancer so far. With this being her third consecutive score of 24 so far in the competition (though I agree with the booing audience last week that the judges lowballed her with three 8s for her jive then), she's got to show a bit more growth, or she may end up flatlining competitively. Still, she's kept her place as a main contender for the finals, and as we learned from her 'teacher look' tonight, she looks especially attractive in glasses. Also, she and Derek have proven to be masters at spicing up the portion of the show where the judges' critiques occur...after laying/sitting on the floor last week with Tom, and re-doing a portion of their samba this week, I'm excited to see what weird hijinks happen next. (But no fainting. :) )
• Florence & Corky (20/30, waltz): Tender moments alert! Florence talking about her late husband and how she was (sort of) dedicating this dance to him was incredibly sweet. (The fact that this happened with a beloved 76-year-old entertainer who I've never seen cry, as opposed to a 20-something starlet who weeps every five seconds probably helped...) Her waltz tonight was classy and nice (like "Edelweiss"...mostly just wanted to rhyme there, but I also do really love that song), but it felt a bit slow. Carrie Ann was very astute in pointing out that Florence needs to work a bit on keeping her motions and dancing smooth and flowing...it wasn't quite clunky, but it wasn't quite legato (if you'll forgive me inserting a musical term here :) ) either. Florence should be safe this week, but she'll need a good amount of voting power (I have a feeling she has a strong fanbase) to make sure she sails through. (A thing I noticed while looking at her 3 scores so far...each week's she improved by 1 point. Hopefully that momentum picks up a little bit, yes?)
• Kurt & Anna (23/30, foxtrot): After we saw what resembled a charming audition for "The Game Plan" (AKA the surreal image of a former NFL football player wearing a tiara and having a tea party with his daughters), Kurt danced a pretty nice foxtrot. It was a bit awkward at times (another astute moment from Carrie Ann...his arms were kind of all over the place), but it was fun (how the heck did they do the rain effect?? Could the audience see it, or was it just a TV thing? Am I a dork for not knowing this?), pleasant to watch, and even a bit retro (in a good way). (It also ended up being the last more traditional foxtrot of the night, as the producers dealt both Bristol and The Situation some decidedly un-foxtrot-y music that put their partners in a bind. More on that later...) Kurt doesn't quite scream to me "best dancer ever!" or anything yet, but I really like him, he's still incredibly charming, and he's making good progress. What more can you ask?
• Margaret & Louis (18/30, samba): And yet again Margaret can't get no respect (sorry for the bad grammar, I was trying to be a bit random there... :) ) from the judges. For the second week in a row, she gave a good show, but was slapped with straight 6s from the judges. I thought her samba was very good--it was flashy, it didn't play the humor angle up too much (as in it was fun, but it didn't veer into caricature), and Margaret certainly brought her dancing skills. (It did lose a bit of steam as the dance went on, though...the first half definitely packed more punch than the second half.) Although I agree with the judges that she lost a bit of control as the dance progressed, I would definitely given this a 7, at least...but perhaps because of the crazy costumes (a large headdress? Nice. The particular color scheme used? Hmmm...) or something, that was not the case tonight. I hope despite being the lowest scorer this week, Margaret gets a few more chances on the dance floor to iron out her technique and add some more finesse to her dancing, because tonight showed that she really does have true potential.
• Audrina & Tony (26/30, waltz): My, how Audrina has come a long way from evading the Unknown Girl curse in Week 1. She earned the first 9s of the season! (Anyone else sad that it took until Week 3 this year? I know having someone get them out of the gate, like a few in past seasons, is a bit of a downer because it means they're usually shoo-ins to win, but still, I like high scores, and it's been weird not seeing much of them until this point.) Her waltz with Tony was simply beautiful...a poignant story (someone dreaming of dancing with their off-to-war soldier/Marine again), and some absolutely gorgeous footwork and technique. Audrina's facial expressions were nicely understated as well, which really helped accentuate the power of the narrative. The best dance of the season? Score-wise, yes, and although waltzes tend to be less exciting than, say, jives or sambas, I would venture to say overall...yes. Audrina's really catapulted herself into a contender, and although she's one of the more low-key competitors (both personality-wise and fame-wise) this season, as long as she keeps dancing as well as this, she'll be gliding through all the way to the finals.

That's all for Part 1. (The other 5 dancers will follow in a post to come, well, posthaste. :) ) See you in a bit, and for now, viva la DWTS! :)

DWTS Week 2 Results: Out of the Doghouse

Well, this shall be short and sweet (well, maybe not that short and sweet, since, y'know, it's me writing...but relatively so)...and why, do you ask? Because I was attending my sister's choir concert last night, and thus only saw the last 10 minutes of the results show. I did catch up a bit online, thanks to YouTube, so I did watch a little bit more of it. But mostly, I'll be brief. Yes. I will. :)

• The Elimination: People may love you, but on DWTS, when you're six points behind the two couples tied for second-to-last place, you're kind of doomed unless a miracle occurs. (Sadly, 3 miracles occurred in Season 2 when Master P inexplicably made it to Week 4 and got the lowest score in DWTS history. And let's not even speak of the 4 miracles that happened last season when the mom who shall not be named was able to 'dance' for an excruciating 5 weeks. Sigh...) Unfortunately for Michael, no miracle was in store for him...he was swiftly dispatched for what Bruno (fairly accurately?) called "the worst jive in 11 seasons." (Like I pointed out in my last recap, Master P is the worst contestant DWTS has ever had. And the only notoriously bad one that got to do a jive. And he got two points more than Michael.) Michael still seemed a little hurt by Bruno's comments, and I see where he was coming from there, but still, Bruno's a judge. A crazy, flamboyant, exciting, maddening judge, sure, but a good one too. Did he need to go off on Michael's dismal 'jive'? Not really. But I didn't really see it as mean-spirited or cruel...just harsh, blunt, and to the point. Then again, I've had 10 seasons (missed Season 1, remember?) to get used to Bruno's antics, so maybe it's just me. Farewell, Mr. Bolton...and enjoy the rest of your tour.
• The Other Stuff (at least what I saw of it): Janelle Monae was impressive singing the heck out of "Tightrope" (I've refrained from downloading it, sadly, since Big Boi kind of messes the studio version up with his random rapping...but I have watched the video), and dancing deliciously (?!?!?) all over the place. And my first "they should be a contestant someday!" of the season is here. :) As for Seal, I haven't watched his performance yet. Hopefully it was good? Nor have I seen the Macy's Stars of Dance performance. Maybe I never will...(insert dramatic music here). I did see the pros talking about their weird rituals before performances (Derek refrigerating his socks? Corky smelling the floor? Louis eating a delicious piece of chocolate cake? Nice...), and Bruno totally not apologizing for his comments last night. Stick to your guns, Bruno! Stick to your guns. I'm hoping to find somewhere on the Internets a clip of the explanation of how the audience was actually booing at Jennifer and Derek's scores (and not Sarah Palin), though. Otherwise I'll have to search through the whole episode...and who does that? :)

So there you have it. Week 2 is finished. Whatever shall I do until next Monday? Well, a few things, actually. First, the DWTS-related task: the show's producers have selected 30 memorable dances for us to vote on. The 10 with the top votes (I think?) will be aired in a countdown special on October 25th. I'll be making a post posthaste (:D) with my choices for the top 10, some of the meh ones, some of the interesting choices, all that jazz. Second...as always, I'm going to make yet another promise to continue on my "American Idol" Top 12 project. Will it get done soon? Hopefully. It's been a while. Sorry I'm so lame in getting it finished. Anyways...see you soon with some of the aforementioned posts, and for now, viva la DWTS!

DWTS Week 2, Part 2: You Can't Hurry Love

No, you'll just have to wait. She said love don't come easy...but it's a game of give and...oh, hello. I'm supposed to be writing a "DWTS" recap, aren't I? Let's proceed with that, shall we?

• Margaret & Louis (18/30, jive): Margaret had the unfortunate luck of coming after the whirlwind of movement and precision that was Jennifer Grey's jive, which sort of highlighted some of the weaknesses in hers. Still...she can dance! After kinda sorta proving so last week with the first 15 seconds of her Viennese waltz, Margaret did so in full force with a pretty good jive. Technically, it needed some improvement. But it was energetic and a great performance. And it even had an 80s theme while being both of those things. :) I still worry a bit that Margaret may get lost in the shuffle with the scores the judges gave her (I would have said three 7s would have been more in order), and the fact that she seemed a bit off tonight personality-wise, but I think she'll be fine tomorrow night, and that she'll continue to improve and warm the hearts of the "DWTS" watching public.
• Kyle & Lacey (22/30, quickstep): Any of you out there (including myself) who thought that Lacey had gotten all of her crazy "let's shake things up and make this dance different!" tendencies out of her system during her season 7 run with Lance Bass (remember the random barefoot dancing?), well...we were proven wrong. Lacey's choreography for Kyle was kind of all over the place, and though Kyle once again did fairly well, it wasn't as put together as last week (though the judges perplexingly gave him only 1 point less). It wasn't quite a quickstep...and for some reason, randomly felt a little slow in the feet at some points. (As in it looked like Kyle wasn't stepping quick enough, or that Lacey hadn't choreographed his feet to do so well enough.) It was OK, but I wasn't quite sure what was going on half the dance. Surprisingly, though, Len liked it. (Even with the "young" and "hip" moves Lacey threw in? Wow, Mr. Goodman, you're growing up. :) )
• Kurt & Anna (21/30, jive): I thought Kurt's jive was pretty dang good tonight...charming, good footwork, and fun. What's not to like? Like I've reiterated with a few standouts tonight, though...not perfect. Still needs a bit of polish, definitely. But still. Good dancing. (And he had to deal with the painful song choice of "Danger Zone." Blegh. :) ) Strangely, my local ABC affiliate (which is going gaga over Kurt because hello, he played for our hometown Cardinals the past few seasons) was reporting at 10 on some controversy with Kurt's costume. I'm kind of wondering what that was about...at first, I was kind of wondering why it was so low-key (well, low-key and sparkly), but I didn't think it was that bad. Perhaps that will always be a mystery...I missed catching that report. :)
• "The Situation" & Karina (18/30, quickstep): Let's keep this short and sweet. The Situation still annoys me. His dancing tonight was better, but...it still wasn't great. I still didn't very much enjoy it. And he still didn't show his abs, miraculously. Hey, DWTS voters...let's make this the very first series (granted, the only other one he's been in is "Jersey Shore," but still...) in which The Situation's six-pack stays hidden. We can do this. It's the best for America. Let's get him out of here. Please?? (Hey, if it happened to the Hoff, it can happen to a guy from "Jersey Shore.")
• Bristol & Mark (22/30, quickstep): Good for Bristol! She improved on the potential she showed last week and danced a fine quickstep. My post-dance tweet noted that her dancing "needed a bit of work," which is true, but she was graceful and classy. The judges were correct, though, that she needs a bit more performance quality, more energy in her face. She doesn't look bored (in fact, she smiles quite a lot), but she does need to stylistically bring her dancing a little more edge. And as for her mother...sigh. I have a feeling the whole "how did you get her to do the (insert strange Palin-esque noise and shimmying movement)?" clip will be playing nonstop on the news outlets tomorrow. And that they'll also be discussing "did they boo at Sarah? Did they? DID THEY?" furiously (and obnoxiously). But that's the way the game goes. I will say it was kind of interesting seeing the woman who could have been VP just 2 years ago in a leather jacket on the sidelines of the dance floor on a nationally televised reality competition show. And beyond that...I shall be quiet. :)

So how did the competitors do in Week 2? I shall tell you, who I think goes with who... :(Channeling my inner Dr. Seuss there. :D):

The Good (That I Voted For): Florence, Brandy, Audrina, Kurt, Margaret, & Bristol

The Good (That May Win My Favor, And In Jennifer's Case, Were Terrific): Jennifer, Rick & Kyle

The Bad (To Home They Go?): The Situation & Michael (Mike & Michael? Perhaps that name is not a good one to have this season... :) )

See you tomorrow night post-results show. Viva la DWTS! :)

DWTS Week 2, Part 1: Suddenly I See

And so after a whirlwind week of premieres on TV (I watched like 2 or 3 new shows!), our good ol' friend "Dancing With The Stars" returns for yet another week of madness. Or something like that. I found this week's performance show a bit more entertaining than the premiere...and the dancing improved (mostly...cough cough Michael Bolton cough cough). I think this is the beginning of a beautiful relationship. But who knows? Next week could turn out to be ghastly. Like the unexpected appearance this week of...gasp, Sarah Palin! Anyways, let's jump right into how the dancing went down during Week 2.

• Rick & Cheryl (21/30, jive): Oh, so the song was called "Tush"! That explains the whole Cheryl's underwear-uncovering thing. Actually, not really. That was a bit unnecessary. But I guess it at least explains the word choice on the underwear...anyways, Rick did pretty well tonight. I'm not entirely sure it was an improvement, per se, on last week's fairly nice Viennese waltz, but I think it was still a step forward. Rick conquered his foot issues and his crazy height, and went out there and actually nailed quite a few of the steps. It wasn't the best dance of the night, but it worked. Normally he would have to worry that he wasn't incredibly memorable and went first, but it's Rick Fox. Ladies drool all over him. And he might have grabbed a sizable chunk of the male voting crowd with that Cheryl undies flash, too...sigh. :)
• Florence & Corky (19/30, quickstep): And Ms. Henderson brings it! After last week's rather interesting (but kind of head-scratching, in my opinion) semi-Cloris flashback cha cha cha, Florence actually pulled out some fairly serious dancing chops (see, I told you she'd probably be pretty good! Broadway doesn't lie...), and gave a quickstep that would make even a 30-year-old look impressive. Was the footwork perfect? No. But it was a dance with a good deal of content, a bit of fun, a lot of class, and a more-than-necessary amount of Corky Ballas mugging. (Did not particularly dig that drawn-out flourishing by him at the end. Just dance it straight, sir!) The producers even chose a KT Tunstall hit (viva la Tunstall!), of all things...the deliciously spunky "Suddenly I See." (A possible reference to Florence showing she's much more than a number...the number 76, her age? Perhaps...) I thought Florence really stepped up her game tonight, and with crazy rehearsal antics like her giving, ahem, the finger (sorry, I know it's bad but I did find it quite funny...) continuing to pop up, she's definitely still going strong in the charm department.
• Brandy & Maks (21/30, jive): A tweet of mine during the show: "Finally, someone gets Maks to go to therapy!" Honestly, though, it's about time. :) Moving on from that...I thought Brandy did well, but I do agree with the judges that her jive lacked a little something. There wasn't enough kick in the legs, it seemed, and the energy flagged a tiny bit. However, what the dance lacked in sharpness and technique, it made up for in style...the solo was impressive, and the general vibe was cool. I dug it. Her and Maks' interplay with the judges made for some interesting developments...Brandy's admonishment to Maks that he let her listen to the judges' constructive criticism was classy, but then she got a little shaky when she reacted a little too vocally to some of said criticism...and acted as if Maks' solo choreography was a bit shaky. Like other Internet posters have noted...watch yourself, Brandy. Trust your pro. It's Maks. He's cool. Random side note: I know I ranted about Tom (and Cat Deeley of SYTYCD, while we're at it) totally deserving an Emmy in my last recap...but I think someone else deserves one more. For your consideration, I would like to submit Bruno Tonioli's Gwen Stefani imitation from his critique of Brandy's jive. That is all. :)
• Michael & Chelsie (12/30 [yes, you read that right], jive): I'll probably end up writing a bunch about him, anyway, but here's a succinct start to this section about Michael's dance, straight from my live tweeting during the show: "Michael's jive was one part loosening up a bit, one part acting like a robot, and three parts Chelsie dragging him across the floor...sad." The effort was there...I think...but yes. It was bad. 12/30 bad? Well, that's arguable. But honestly, there were literally some points where Chelsie had to drag him. And where he looked clunky and robotic. And where the parts didn't quite fit together. I know it's hard seeing a beloved entertainer/singer of your youth getting trampled by 3 dancing show judges...but it's the hard truth, folks. (As for me, I am free from any love for any Bolton tunes, or for his hair, so sorry, I'm naturally going to be a bit less sympathetic.) It's going to take a lot of love for Michael to escape at least the Bottom Two (then again, Master P did for a whopping 4 weeks, without a particularly evident fan base, and even lower scores), and a likely elimination. Speaking of the P, once Bruno made his "the worst jive in 11 seasons" comment, me and my sister immediately pondered if Master P (AKA the worst contestant in DWTS history, and a constant reference point in the Randall home for celebrity dancing suckitude) had done a jive way back in Season 2. My sister doubted he made it that far, but a Wikipedia check just now reveals that he did, in fact, 'dance' a 'jive.' (You can bet the bank those single quotes are intentional. :) ) But he got a 14. So sorry, Michael. Methinks Bruno wasn't too far off. Good luck tomorrow night...thou shalt need it.
• Audrina & Tony (23/30, quickstep): Will this dance be remembered as an impressive breakthrough for Audrina, or the one that caused Tony to have to shave his legs? Only time will tell. (But probably the latter. Who remembers the dancing, anyway? :) ) Anyhow, Audrina did well last week, but this week, gave an even more terrific performance, with a quickstep that I would dare say was the best of the night. (Literally, it was, actually...it was the highest-scoring quickstep of Week 2.) The footwork was great, the choreography was classy, the content was there...it just all fit together. Not quite near perfection yet, but getting there. As an added bonus, during rehearsal, Audrina broke out the waterworks...but unless most celebrity crying meltdowns, this one was natural and mature...she wasn't mad at Tony, she didn't freak out, she just had a moment where the stress of DWTS got to her...and then she got over it. And life went on. Good for her. (Compared to the partner that Tony had last season, he must be dancing in joy at how classy Ms. Patridge is.) Audrina is really showing some sizable potential...hopefully the voters agree, yes? (And for the elephant in the room...BAHAHAHA that Tony has to wax his legs. Wow. Just wow. This should be interesting. Though as I noted on Twitter, the leg-waxing should be "much less painful than having (insert name of partner that I still refuse to type again here, look on Twitter if you really don't know who it was) as a partner last season." :) )
• Jennifer & Derek (24/30, jive): Full disclosure: Yet again, I did not use my fingers to dial (or click, via online voting) for Jennifer & Derek. I'm just not quite ready to vote for them yet for some reason. But still...this was one heck of a jive. Derek, despite becoming increasingly annoying to watch at times, is a killer choreographer, and his skill at creating routines really manifested itself tonight. It was fast! It was furious! It was fun to watch! What's more, Jennifer more than proved capable of handling the lightning-quick steps. I really loved it. (And no wonder she had to lay/sit down afterwards...ah, if only Marie Osmond had thought ahead and done the same after her infamous fainting-inducing samba back in Season 5.) Apparently the booing after the scores were given was for the low-balling 8s the judges doled out, and not for Sarah Palin's presence (more on that in Part II)...had I been paying attention (I somehow missed the scores and had to wait until the end to find them out), I probably would have joined those boos. A 24 for a fiery jive? Rude.

Part II coming right up! I'll hurry up so it doesn't get posted too late. For now, viva la DWTS!