DWTS9 Week 6 Power Rankings
Surprisingly enough, another week goes by where I only feel “meh” about most of the routines. Granted, I was a bit distracted (bf is in Orlando for NDC competition & he was texting me), but I did re-watch a few of the routines to see if I missed something – nope. It seemed like the couples that danced well had no chemistry; the couples that had great chemistry seemed to really struggle with the dancing portion. Definitely made it hard to rank this week…
…oh, and one more thing before I move on: the jitterbug bugs the crap outta me (no pun intended). Or rather, I hate the fact that it looks so similar to both the jive and the Charleston that I feel like I’m watching the same routines over and over. *sigh* I guess Len’s crankiness has worn off on me and now he’s all sunshine & rainbows…
1.) Joanna & Derek – I actually didn’t care much for their waltz – everything seemed like it was just a bit “off” and wasn’t as fluid as some of their other dances, and I feel like the float on Joanna’s sleeve was getting in the way of everything. But I will say this: even when they weren’t looking at each other, I still felt a connection between them, which is something that is so often lost in the smooth/standard dances when the couples are looking away from one another most of the time. And with chemistry playing such a crucial factor this season, I daresay it doesn’t hurt them to look lovey-dovey & be touchy-feely. Loved them in the mambo competition – Derek’s choreography was eye-catching & fun to watch, as always, and Joanna actually kept up with it well. Thanks to that great choreo & scores (and some heavy-duty Twitter bombing by Heidi to make sure Derek’s fans pulled him through his illness! 😉 ) these two seem to come up at the top of the heap this week, and I highly doubt they’re in any danger of going home.
2.) Donny & Kym – At the request of some of Donny’s fans after my hatchet job last week, I will try to critique him as fairly as I can. Truth be told, I wasn’t wowed by their jitterbug – Donny didn’t seem quite as crisp as he has been in previous weeks, and again I didn’t find their choreography to be as difficult as some of the other couples’. I know someone had mentioned Donny’s busy schedule in a previous post – I fear that it may have caught up with him this week as he seemed to almost run out of steam (again, no pun intended) by the end of it. But they did have the advantage of performing in the Money Spot (henceforth, I shall capitalize it…I would prolly slap a trademark symbol on it too, but I don’t know how to do that. LOL) and they placed 4th in the mambo competition. Wish I could say that I actually saw he & Kym dancing the mambo, but alas, I’m ADD and was having a hard time focusing (too many couples for my brain to comprehend! Aaaaaaggghhhh!) and all I saw was Donny doing some sort of shimmy over a supine Derek as he left the stage. *shrug* Again, Donny’s fans will carry him all the way to the finals…
3.) Mya & Dmitry – Not gonna lie – I feel a bit vindicated that the judges are also pointing out Mya & Dmitry’s lack of chemistry, as some were arguing last week that they had “great chemistry”. Don’t get me wrong – Mya is probably the best dancer on the show in terms of technique; but she’s just too cool for school! For anyone else who is a big fan of Top Gun, Mya is “Iceman” for me this season – makes no mistakes, but flies with no emotion. Aside from their chemistry problem, I also was kinda disappointed by their jitterbug this week – took too long to get going, and generally hate any routine involving a prop. They also pulled the short straw this week and had to perform in the Crap Spot (just pretend the trademark is there 😉 ). But luckily, they placed 2nd in the mambo competition, which will go a long way in boosting their score. And if Mya’s support on this blog is any indicator, her fans will keep her safe for many weeks to come…
4.) Mark & Lacey – Hallelujah! Mark is finally starting to come out of his shell and really wow me. The past 3 weeks he’s gotten stronger & stronger (after hitting rock bottom with that awful rumba) and tonight was really quite entertaining to watch – I didn’t know Mark could tumble, and he seemed quite a bit more enthusiastic and energetic this week as well. The cat theme was a cute, memorable touch as well – doubt anyone is going to really remember his flubs (cause there were much bigger ones happening tonight…), and I have to say his “horny” comment in the confessional from last week had me chuckling for awhile. Middle of the pack for the mambo competition, so not terribly memorable; but I think a lot more viewers are going to start picking up the phones for Mark if he continues to improve the way he has for the past few weeks…
5.) Kelly & Louis – I think these two could make it to the finals on chemistry alone. It’s adorable watching them interact – Kelly had me laughing so hard during the lead in when she started cussing at Louis. They remind me of an older brother and a younger sister – always picking with each other, but friends at the end of the day. Ok, now their jitterbug: it was cute, but not great. While I feel like Kelly has improved from last week’s ho-hum paso, I still feel like she’s dancing timidly and is continuing to run the risk of being boring. They came in 5th in the mambo competition, which is actually kind of admirable considering they were the only ones without a choreographed routine and were relying on lead & follow. Kelly is still America’s Sweetheart though, and she’s likely to still get some sympathy votes from her foot injury last week, so I’d be surprised if they were in danger…
6.) Michael & Anna – Strange as it may sound – I actually really liked his waltz tonight! Yes, it was ridiculously simple choreography, and it was mostly just Anna turning and dipping; but something about it was, as I think Len put it, “charming”. It seemed like he wasn’t trying to ham it up, for the first time in the competition. And again, I agree with Len – Michael did actually have some nice rise & fall. I may be a bit biased though – the song they danced to (“Wonder Why” by Curtis Stigers) has a bit of a special place in my heart (but that’s another story 🙂 ), and for once the band didn’t seem to butcher it. They were the first ones tapped out in the mambo competition (no real surprise there), but if the past few weeks have been any indicator, Michaels fans will pull him through yet again, and a few stragglers may contribute a few votes as well after this waltz…
7.) Louie & Chelsie – Anyone else sense a bit of trouble in paradise between these two during the lead-in? I’m beginning to think Louie might be a bit sexually frustrated, hehe. But anyway – this really had the potential to be a good jitterbug. Louie came out strong and had more energy this week than I’ve seen from him so far – and then he dropped Chelsie. TWICE. Ai ai ai. And it was all down hill from there! I almost feel like I jinxed him somehow by gushing about how he was “always there for Chelsie” during lifts & tricks week after week. But I give Louie points for still maintaining a little bit of chemistry with Chelsie, and there was a definite smooch-a-roo at the end (a bit desperate, but desperate times call for desperate measures!). Second ones tapped out during the mambo, so not great; but they’ve managed to avoid the danger zone the past few weeks…it’s a bit of a draw for me; they might be in danger, they might not. But I would be surprised if they went home.
8.) Aaron & Karina – Despite the “new Aaron Carter” being a bit more mild-mannered and tolerable than the emotional tantrum-throwing one of a few weeks ago, I’m afraid the damage has already been done…and even great dancing won’t be able to boost them up. Aaron’s waltz was alright – his arabesque turn was actually pretty good, but he still seems to do awkward things with his hands and tends to get a very intense “deer in the headlights” look when he’s not looking at Karina. Sorry buddy, I think this new, improved attitude may be too little too late…
9.) Melissa & Mark – I almost would rather talk about Shirley Ballas than Melissa’s waltz…so I apologize for the brief digression. I heart Shirley Ballas – the woman will kick your @$$, but she will make you the best dancer you can be. And she’s quite a spitfire, despite appearing to be a mild-mannered British woman…love her. Now onto Melissa’s waltz: it was stiff, awkward, error-ridden, and boring. And they were the 3rd couple eliminated in the mambo competition. Oh, and they were also in the bottom two last week. I don’t see them climbing out of it this week, and I don’t see them surviving a double elimination. And that’s all I have to say about them…pity that they’ve become so unmemorable…
Ok, official predictions for the double elimation: Aaron & Karina and Melissa & Mark, with Louie & Chelsie and Michael & Anna rounding out the bottom 4 (I honestly don’t know how the double elimation is going to work, so I’m assuming they’re just going to do 2 separate elims with 2 of the couples in the bottom 4). But the bottom 2 have been shuffling around quite a bit the past few weeks, so we may get a surprise tomorrow…what do you guys think? Let’s hear it!
I have a question… Since Tom Delay bowed out early, are they going to carry out these two double eliminations? I think that they will do one, but if they do both, won’t they throw off the show’s schedule one week? I have a feeling next week they will “surprise” us and only eliminate one couple… I may be wrong though, but that would mean shortening the show to nine weeks? Any ideas?
Overall, I actually really enjoyed the dancing this week… I do agree that the jitterbug is too much like the charleston and the jive… it is kinda annoying seeing what feels like the same dance over and over…
Gotta say though, Joanna and Derek killed that mambo tonight… But there goes Donny… he just couldn’t leave the floor without pulling some kind of stunt. I was very irritated. I did really enjoy seeing the couples dance side by side though, tonight… It was great! I really hope Aaron goes home tomorrow… And it is very sad that Melissa is not any better than she is…
They were going to do THREE double eliminations – since Tom bowed out, they are only doing the two. So, yeah, they will do two double eliminations and still end on time. Yikes.
Ohhh okay. Thanks for the clarification, Heidi. 🙂
Heh, I got totally distracted when Joanna’s face landed right where it shouldn’t (in relation to Derek’s body) on broadcast TV. 🙂 Other than that error, I thought the waltz was lovely. Probably would have scored higher if not for that and an initial awkward step. Sorry Mya fans, but Derek and Joanna totally deserved the win in the Mambo – if only for that hilarious bit where Derek won’t let Joanna up.
I have NO clue what Derek and Donny were doing and I have no idea how they got there – but in Donny’s defense (no, I have not been drinking) – I noticed that the couples couldn’t HEAR when they had been eliminated and waited for a producer to actually tap them. It seemed like Donny was so busy messing around with Derek that he missed the tap. Frankly – thanks Donny, because it’s entertaining shit like that and Joanna dealing with it so well and so determinedly that probably caused them to win!
We were both vindicated on Mya – I’ve been saying the same for weeks. Of course, she or Donny will win regardless, so it’s not like it matters. Unless Mark D really comes on strong – and I love him so that would be okay with me. I’m afraid Joanna doesn’t have enough name recognition in a season filled with name recognition to last as long as she should last. But I’ll keep voting!!
1st off… Mya and dmitry was robbed! 2 nd…. I heard the star with the lowest total will get the axes right off the bat. And the next 2 n line will have a dance off. With the judges deciding who will leave with the 1st couple.
Courtney, I agree with you this week. I wasn’t distracted while watching and none of the dances did much for me either. I agree with your rankings this week. Except for the top 3. I don’t even know who I would put first this week. No dances really wowed me. OK, I would put Donny first (because he is my favorite), but Joanna and Mya are tied for me.
I appreciate you taking note and critiquing Donny more respectfully. I’m sure there probably was a lot you could have said about him this week! So, I appreciate the great restraint on your part!!!
While I always enjoy watching Donny perform, I do think that he had a little trouble this week. I think his schedule and his age are catching up with him. Plus learning three dances didn’t help. I think that is why his Jitterbug was not as good as it could have been. I thought his scores were fair this week.
While Donny had the “Money Spot”, I think that hurt him in his Mambo. He had to dance the Jitterbug, run and change his costume and then go right into the Mambo. I do think he should have stayed longer than Aaron though.
I think Melissa, Michael and Aaron are in trouble this week. Maybe Louie. I’m picking Melissa & Aaron to be the ones going this week too.
to be honest like last week ,the only dance that i really liked was Mark and Lacey ,they were awesome, the rest was just whatever for me.
Well, Court, it’s not just us. I’ve read similar critique of Mya in a few places this morning, the LA times being the latest: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/showtracker/2009/10/dancing-with-the-stars-under-pressure.html
Here’s the relevant portion:
In second place were Mya and Dmitry Chaplin. And though there’s no denying that this singer is rhythmically and technically talented, anyone else a little bit bored by what she does? Maybe because she herself seems so blasé about it all. Or maybe that’s just mellow from all her massages. Their dance was the jitterbug, and what should have been a high-energy romp with polka dots and Swiffer dusters felt more swept under the rug. Mya said she wanted to “float like a jitterbug, sting like a bee,” but it was the judges’ comments that packed the most punch. Though Bruno said her “timing was impeccable,” Len lashed that “it’s not worth it to waste 20 bars polishing my desk,” and Carrie Ann admitted the routine ended up being “slightly under what I expected.” Mya and Dmitry received a middling 24 for their dance. Luckily, their second-place mambo finish (perhaps aided by Dmitry’s shiny pants and bared chest) helped boost their score to a healthy 33.
I was to busy flipping back and forth between this an d sytycd…dance overlaod for me. Anyway from what I did see was nice. I think Aarons waltz was decent the choreography on the other hand I didt like which wasnt his fault but they looked better in the mambo. I just like watching Donny. He makes me forget about the competion…lol. I like that he will be silly and Derek played into it. I love Kelly sometime you forget she Osbourne till she starts cursing…it is a big bro little sis thing with those two. It hard to tell who lack convincing chemistry Mya or Dmitry…oh well she is good with the technique. Mark and lacey are starting to shine. I have to admit I was hoping we would have seen her brother Benji in the footage.
I hate to say it but I think Melissa will be going home this week. I’m sad because I really like her attitude and Mark is definitely one of my favorites. It also makes me sad that Mya or Donny will probably win because of their fan base. I would like to see Mark D. or Kelly start improving and bust the competition open.
I disagree with the judges having the say in who goes and who stays. That is not why I have watched this show for the last 9 seasons. What I really liked about DWTS is the fact that the viewers decide, and the judges just judge and steer the pairs in the right direction of the dance. Having said all that, I don’t think there is any one couple who really stands out this year and if it weren’t for this dumb dance off we the viewers/fans could actually decide who would win this. I did not enjoy the group dance at the end of last nights show. It was quite obvious that the Judges had predetermined who and in what order they would eliminate the couples, also they only had aprox. 5 minutes of air time to do it in. I would have liked to have seen them elliminate the couples in the reverse order that they did it, then everyone would have been on a more level playing field with there scores going into tonights double elimination.
I am enjoying Louie, MIchael, kelly and Mellissa the most this season, they are in my opinion, what the show should be all about progress and ENTERTAINMENT! I’m just sayin.
Sue I totally agree with you about Kelly and Melissa…I’m not a huge fan of Michael (but that stems from NFL bias not dancing) but he has improved. The show should be about progress. But I have to say I enjoyed the mambo competition. It gave us a chance to see the couples side by side.
I’m the opposite, sue – I actually liked the way they did the dance off. The voting public still has most of the power – we’re the ones who put Melissa, Michael and Louis in the bottom three, after all (and frankly – good choices). This little element actually has the ability to make the show MORE about who the best dancer actually is, as opposed to who’s the “cutest” (Louie) or who’s most charming (Michael) – let’s face it, the voters don’t always get it right. Just imagine (this will be hard) that the two who had to dance off were Mya and Louie – obviously, and correctly, the judges will pick Mya. It is conceivable that Mya could find herself in this position even though she’s technically the best dancer, because I’ve seen lots of complaining here and elsewhere about how boring she is – Do you REALLY want to see Louie win over Mya? I don’t like Mya and I don’t want that! Especially not the way Louie was dancing last night – I could barely watch and I like the guy. I don’t find he’s made any progress, nor has Melissa. Michael, on the other hand – great job!! I was terrified that Anna would be right and they would boot him no matter what.
All that said, the judges have a say no matter what – those paddles count for 50% and they’ve been playing the scores for a few seasons now to keep their favorites safe.
I loved the Mambo marathon – one of the highlights of an otherwise dull season. And yes, I would say that if Derek and Joanna had taken 2nd or 3rd place like I expected them to – I really expected Mya and Donny to be numbers one and two. That said, I think that Aaron did a great job too, from what I could see of it. Why on earth would they “level the playing field” just for the sake of it? The show is about Dancing at the end of the day. If you want it to be “more fair” then you have to go all the way back to CASTING and bar the Donnys and Myas from competing – then it can be about who grows and improves.