DWTS10 Week 10 Power Rankings – FINAL PREDICTIONS!
“Hmmm.”
That basically sums up my feelings about tonight. I was expecting to be really “wowed” at every dance – and I was indeed wowed at certain moments – but overall, I kinda just feel lukewarm about tonight’s performances. Disappointing :-( Hopefully tomorrow night will be much more rewarding! But alas, I still must rank – for the last time this season. So without further ado – the final predictions for season 10.
1.) Nicole & Derek – I am placing my faith in humanity on this one! Personally, I think Nicole’s performance throughout the season (and tonight especially) makes her the most deserving of the trophy (go ahead and disagree, cite “no growth” and “previous experience” as reasons you won’t vote for her – but she’s been the most entertaining this season for me, and the reason I’ve looked forward to each show!). That rumba – now THAT is a redemption dance. It’s nights like these when I truly loathe Carrie Ann and her ridiculous “lift policing”, because her harping really seemed to overshadow her praise of an otherwise perfect dance. A little confused with Len’s complaint of Nicole not looking confident – so, the rumba is all about vulnerability, but it has to be confident vulnerability? Seems like a bit of a contradiction. The line at the end was just gorgeous. I actually think I liked their rumba better than their freestyle…which was still great compared to the other two this evening. The energy and execution (aside from the botched lift at the end…there was a collective “oh no!” at my house when it happened) were unmatched, and while there wasn’t necessarily a “theme”, I think the costumes and choreo worked well with the song. After tonight’s show almost cast Evan in a bit of a bad light (and brought Erin up to tie with her), I’m beginning to think Nicole might really have a shot at this, despite Heidi & my skepticism…fingers crossed 
2.) Evan & Anna – Oy. These two were definitely off their game tonight. While the Viennese waltz was a definite improvement from the previous one, I almost feel like Evan was overcompensating for lack of chemistry by flailing around the floor dragging Anna along with him. It certainly didn’t help me much that they were dancing to “Piano Man”, quite possibly one of my least favorite songs ever written (sorry, music can ruin a whole performance for me 
), and one that doesn’t necessarily have a romantic undertone to it for Evan & Anna to play to. The freestyle…eh. It was high-energy, yes, and Evan looked like he was having a blast – going with a jive-like routine was probably a good idea – but I have to agree with the judges: they were out of sync and you could tell Anna was not happy with it. I didn’t think the lead-in package did them any favors either – after quite possibly being the most harmonious couple so far this season, I don’t think their breakdown could have come at a worse time – then again, maybe this will get Evan’s fans to rally. Overall, I’m left with a feeling of blah from these two tonight – kinda forgettable. Again, hopefully Evan can square off with Nicole in the final 2, because I do think he deserves to be there, but I’m starting to think that he may not be the voting juggernaut that we think he is…
3.) Erin & Maks – I’m left on the fence about these two in both dances – parts I loved, parts I hated. The samba was a definite improvement – this was the first time I’ve seen Erin truly “let loose” and have fun, even if she did still struggle with the runs a bit. Thought the bit at the end with the grinding on the judges and kissing Len was silly and a waste of time – but that seems to be Maks’ M.O. these days, throwing in fluff at the end to fill in the few remaining bars of music. But overall, a fun dance that showed growth. Ok, now as for the freestyle – I actually loved the idea of it. While I may hate “Piano Man”, the show redeemed itself when they used “Alone”, which is in my top 10 favorite songs of all time (god, I <3 Heart!), and I loved the idea of doing something slower & more artsy as a freestyle. However…I thought the overall execution of the idea just missed the mark completely. The choreography felt extremely frantic and messy to me – and I’m not sure who the blame for that lies with…could be Mandy, could be Erin, because Maks seems like he let those two take the reigns this time, out of lack of experience in the contemporary style. Thought the couch at the beginning was completely unnecessary, and they relied too heavily on the bed choreographically. I really had a hard time not comparing this to two different routines from season 4 of SYTYCD – Mandy’s lyrical to “Alone” for Will & Jessica, and Mia’s contemporary bed routine for Twitch & Kherington – because that’s really what this felt like to me…those two routines combined, but not as good as either one. I definitely give them props for taking the risk – this is routine I will definitely remember as a standout – but it just fell short, which is what I’m thinking will happen with Erin tomorrow night…she’ll just fall short of Evan in terms of votes, and will likely get third.
And with that, I lock in my predictions for season 10, and hang up my ranking hat until September :-) But the best part of the rankings is the feedback, so troops, SOUND OFF! How do you think things will play out tomorrow night?
P.S. I know I’ve been shamelessly plugging Purdue for the past 2 weeks in the college competition, but I’m gonna do it one more time: VOTE FOR ‘EM! Yes, they will likely get their butts handed to them by Utah Valley (seriously, they’re like robots…how are they that in sync???), but let’s at least make it close race, mmmkay?
i really appreciate it being in the UK
Despite the fact that I predicted EXACTLY what would happen, I’m still extraordinarily pissed by it. Erin was SO over scored in her first dance as to be ridiculous. And a 28 for that Rumba all because of Derek and Carrie Ann’s conflicting idea of the rules? Are you kidding me? The last couple moves were just amazing. But the judges are storyboarding once again, bringing Erin up with Nicole when she’s not even in the same league.
On the plus side, it was evident tonight that Derek still reigns as the king of choreography. The bobbled lift, if it had succeeded would have been one of the best in the history of the show. Even with that they far outpaced the other two. Sadly, Evan’s and Anna’s conflict on the Freestyle really showed.
The extremely cynical side of me says they underscored Evan’s first dance because he’s running away with the votes – but, that freestyle certainly did have issues. Erin and Maks – both dances had too much crap at the beginning and the ending. Like Maks ran out of ideas or something.
My team may not win, but they will go out as the best dancers of the season, with Derek as the best choreographer.
tonight sucked hard,
i only liked Evan v.waltz and Nicole Rumba, the rest was so meh.
noway Erin deserved a 29 for that samba and Nicole and Evan a 28.
freestyle all were bad, didn’t like any,
Erin i like the idea but it was so messy, that was the perfect freestyle for Evan and Anna,
Evan was like Mya last season, i already forgot
Nicole, the best of the night but still super dissapointed, i fell like i was watching Shawn/Kristi freestyle at one, even the costumes were similar,the colors, the lift was just bad, i think Derek let the pressuere got to him, Brooke’s freestyle was so much better.
at this point i don’t even care who wins, i just don’t want Erin to win.
i’m going to give props for Derek for doing everything on his own, even if i didn’t like the dance at all.
I almost cried with Anna, poor thing.
WHAT DEREK OWNS IS TALENT! GOD! I4VE NEVER SEEN A GUY LIKE DEREK! young and talented, he was the only one who did not need any help and still got a 28? what(s wrong with Carrie Ann? forget about that woman!
For me, Derek and Nicole are the ones who deserve it, and I agree with you Princess Heidi:
“My team may not win, but they will go out as the best dancers of the season, with Derek as the best choreographer”
We still can change that! Because even though they have been the best dancers of the season, watching them gettin the trophy will make it perfect, will compensate all the hard work they’ve put in their coreographies!
And also for making me enjoying this show more than anyone else!!! THE BEST COUPLE IN THE BEST SEASON SO FAR!!!!
I think, Jenniffer, that tonight suffered from raised expectations. We expected it to be so fantastic, then when it was just really, really good that we were disappointed. I went back and watched both of Nicole’s dances and I thought both were great. Of course, they benefited from two previous freestyles that were just not that good.
Oh, I forgot – I almost cried with Anna too – poor girl. And yeah, Julianne just tweeted that Derek was the only one who did his own Choreo and for that reason they should win (not because he’s her brother or anything.
).
Heidi, i agree , the expectations were really high and for me no one really live up to them.
i saw Julianne tweet, i love Julianne and she was right but i didn’t like her tweet, sound like she was attacking the others , she has the right to ask for votes because he is her bother;
I also don’t agree that Derek’s freestyle was anything like Shawn’s or Kristi’s – unlike Mark, Derek actually put in a lot of actual dance styles, in addition to the different lifts. Although I think other fan groups are happily trying to spread that bit of misinformation.
What Julianne did at first was to support her brother as she, understandably as a dancer,was a bit pissed off by seeing others getting help while her brother did it alone – then she rectified and said it was catty of her to say that but she was a little biase to some people, Especially on the creative choreography side!
I totally agree with her! It was an impulsive reaction but it was her feeling, and she is absolutely right!!!
I adored Evans freestyle…I hope he or Erin wins. Adored both Erins dances…esp. the freestyle. Contemp has never been used on this show! Genius!
To me tonight was a little bit of a let down
I think expectations were too high ………. I think that Erin’s samba was so overscored it was not better than evan’s V.waltz or Nicole’s Rumba( I think It deserved a 30) .Freestyles were disappointing , glad to see a Contemporary routine from erin and maks (love Mandy Moore) but it was messy .
I Personally thought that evan was underscored (although it was messy as well) . Nicole was going for the perfect score then……..that mistake happened, my heart sank because they deserved a 30.
Well It is up to the voters now hope either nicole or evan wins , I like Erin but I think Nicole and Evan deserve it more .
Also I Would like to thank Heidi, Courtney and John for their great posts all season long see you guys in September.
Maybe I’m strange but I really enjoyed Evan’s freestyle tonight. Yes, it had it’s problems, but it had so much energy and fun. I enjoyed Erin’s as well, but it definitely needed more practice time. I thought it was more sloppy than Evan’s. For instance, in one of the first lifts, she should have had her legs together and she didn’t quite get them together. Not even close.
I’ve been enjoying watching past freestyles, and noted that not all of Apollo Anton Ono’s and Julianne’s moves managed to be in synch either. It’s funny how I remember some routines as better than they were, and I remember some routines as not being as good as I think they are now. Maybe that just shows how subjective all of this is?
As for Julianne’s tweet, I definitely see her point. I was already wondering about that, particularly in the case of Maks and Erin. I know in the past that outside people have come in to help on the technical side of things (like Mark’s parents!). In the case of Anna and Evan’s routine, I got the impression that she did some of the choreography, and the outsider she brought in helped give it more of the pizazz Evan wanted. But simply having an outside choreographer come in and do the whole routine??? Isn’t that what the pros are supposed to do?
All right. This was a great night from Nicole and Derek. The final mess up on the Free is what we remember, but really, that dance was spot on, a great freestyle, and we got to see the Salsa!! The jive, Swing, it was all so so good.
That was the best Rumba I have seen in competition on this show. That girl has real core strength and it was just simply beautiful. And perfect rumba music.
I am really underwhelmed by the other two. I don’t think anyone should attempt contemporary if they don’t have contemporary training, and Evan and Anna sort of bored me tonight. I didn’t see the chemistry Len was wanting. What a waste of a DanceMaster session.
Thanks Ryan – but hey, we ain’t done yet!! I have a feeling the Cheesecake awards will be a thing of beauty.
Pam’s gonna be sexy, Kate is going to be flying – I’m sure there will be lots of hot mess in there tomorrow night. 
What wasn’t shown was that Anna also had Travis Wall in to help her – and she herself said she had been choreographing it for a while, so I”m thinking that’s what Travis was helping with last weekend.
It doesn’t bother me that they needed help – but I think Derek should get some recognition for doing his own, as seems to be the case.
Tonight show was a bit of a disappointment for me because my expectation was so high. It kind of irritates me that Erin and Maks were still messing around in the beginning of their Samba. Why? She can do full DANCING routine. Yeah, probably Maks ran out of ideas. Agree, Evan was kind of off tonight but I expect he’ll be on tomorrow (and the judges too, hopefully). Nicole’s slip at the end of freestyle was tonight’s “Oh no!” moment for me but I guess she has the best overall performance tonight compared to the other two. All I’m saying is that her rumba was so good, her bf was not too happy about it.
She was performing Lewis! Sheesh…
Everything I could say about the finale has already been said…
However…how about Brooke Burke’s hair? That was one serious bump-it. That ‘do should definitely make it to the Cheesecake Awards, haha.
Compltely agree about Brooke’s hair. I thought she looked almost looked like a Centauri from Babylon 5 with that giant crest.
For me:
Evan and Ana’s 1st dance was quite good, but not “amazing.” I really enjoyed the energy and sense of fun in the Freestyle too.
Erin and Maks: 1st dance was a step up from the prior samba, but I still felt she was overscored. The freestyle I didn’t like at all. The bed anchored them to 1 spot on the floor and as a result I didn’t feel like they danced, I felt like they simply rolled over and on the bed.
Derek and Nicole: I guess I don’t “get” the rumba. I thought that Nicole did well in her movement and such, but every rumba I’ve seen has been fairly boring to me, and this one was no exception. I loved their freestyle and feel like even with the missed lift at the end that they still could have been awarded 10′s.
FWIW, Derek and Nicole are my favorites and I’m hoping Nicole wins tomorrow night.
True, if Nicole and Derek hadn’t slipped, that would’ve been the freestyle of the series. Such a shame, but yeah, I’M VOTING FOR NICOLE! Compare all dances (All had mistakes), Nicole reigned supreme! She has to win! GO NICOLE & DEREK!!!!!
Evan is totally going to win this thing. It’s a little unfortunate since Nicole is the better dancer, but it’s not So You Think You Can Dance. It’s So You Think You’re More Popular.
I loved the contemporary touch and loved seeing Maks try to do contemporary as well.
The outfits on Derek and Nicole in their freestyle still kill me. How can you make such a pretty girl look so blah?
Oh yes, and thanks everyone for reading, participating and visiting the site. You’ll want to pass by during the summer too to participate in the rumors for the next season. I predict we hear a TON of names this summer.
I’m hoping and praying for HoughZinger! Please keep voting for them guys! I love that Derek didn’t go and get help from others pros, I think thats awesome, Nicole and Derek’s dances where the best by far! The couple with the best freestyle has never lost, we’ve got to bring them that trophy! VOTE!
ERIN’S 1st dance was IMO way over scored. Erin’s (Shannon Elizabeth) hips were much better in the rehearsal vid than in the actual performance. And WTF was with Len congratulating Maks for keeping his clothes on? Seriously–how many times did he unbutton the damn thing. I’d have given them no more than 24.
Freestyle was just bad. Wasn’t sexy & , wasn’t well performed. Way too many props and way too little actual dancing. If I decide I want to watch two people roll around on a bed I’ll rent porn. A 21 would have been generous for this mess. I’d vote for no more outside choreographers!
EVAN’s 1st dance wasn’t very good. He has such weird posture and movement on the dance floor at times. He glides–which Kristy didn’t do. I would have given it a 24.
I was a little shocked about Evan’s behavior and dismissal of Anna in the rehearsal vid. He should have listened to her. Again, don’t think that the choreographer they brought in added much to the freestyle. Evan danced like Urkle. What happened to the Evan of last week? 24 was a fair score.
NICOLE’S first dance was so personal and sexy it should have gotten a 30! Don’t know what Len was talking about and CA was wrong–the dance was over when she called the lift. They held that pose for a long time and when he picked her up there was only the fading hum from the music that still hung in the air.
The freestyle would have been a 30 w/o the problem in the lift. Since they actually completed the lift I think that docking them 3 points was too harsh.
I think that Nicole and Derek were the clear winners last night and I hope that the public comes through with the votes to give them the win tomorrow.
At the start of the season I predicted Evan’s Olympic win…but I’m hoping that his actions put off those that were only voting for him because he was a Gold Medal Winner.
With all the mud throwing and poor sportsmanship shown by BOTH Maks and Erin during this competion I’d hate to see them win. Especially since their dancing skills were so far below Evan and Nicole.
Couldn’t it be said that Nicole WAS Derek’s help for the freestyle choreography? I saw this comment made on Twitter and it’s a decent point. Nicole is a dancer… maybe not a professionally trained ballroom dancer, but I’m sure she had more than a little say in what they should do in the freestyle. I know Evan did as well (as we saw in the footage), but I think Nicole could be counted as “choreography help” since I believe even she’s mentioned this season that she’s a choreographer.
Also, did Brooke trying sneaking her kids in last night by hiding them under her hair? Holy moly.
Also, Julianne brought help in for Apolo’s freestyle and she helped Mark with Kristi’s freestyle. Not trying to point fingers but if the argument is that the pros shouldn’t need help with choreography, well, it’s not the first time it’s been done.
Oh, you were talking about her Freestyle outfit!! I thought you were talking about her Rumba outfit, John. I thought you were on crack.
Well, I still think you’re on crack, but hey. 
Eh, nice try ck410, but not only is Nicole no more a trained dancer than Erin or Evan but she’s never claimed to be a choreographer. Wishful thinking on your part. What she does seem to do is give ideas about flair – like the kiss thing. That’s flourish, not choreography. The argument wasn’t that the pros shouldn’t need help (not from me, anyway), but that Derek didn’t get help (from the looks of it) while the other two did. And I don’t think it did them any favors. And the Travis Wall thing is a mystery I’d like to get to the bottom of.
And I have to say – what WAS up with Evan last night?
I waaaaaaaaaaaaaaas so PROUD OF DEREK and Nicole last night, i think they did it all!! Derek definetly felt the pressure of bringing a great freestyle and he didn’t dispoint SO STIL THE BEST CHOREOGRAPHER OF DWTS (will ever have!!) Agreeeeeeeee with julianne THAT WAS UNFAIR leting the other pros get help from other craaaaaaap, the rule says the pro has to do it all!! WTF is wrong with the producers! and still Doing the choreography on his own he managed to get the highest score for freestyle of the niiiiiiiiight and blowing us away with amazing chorrographies through the entiiiiiiire season! SO DEREK is the KING of DWTS ( the other pros shame on u u can’t do a freestyle u don’t deserve to be there u have no excuse!!! the guy did it and brilliantly) just Amazing, i would definetly be in Teaaaaaaaaaars if Derek and Nicole don’t get the trophy coz last night they’ve proved that they’re the REAL ABSOLUTE WINNNERS! pliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiz guys voooooooooooooooooooote for D and Nic!!!!
I just have to say this site is wonderful and you guys do a great job.
I have to agree that Erin was so overscored on her samba. Nicole’s rumba was great. Not sure what the judges saw for score wise. With the freestyle. I felt so bad for Nicole and Derek on their last lift. It would have clearly been a perfect 30 otherwise. Evan’s routines left me disappointed.
At the beginning of this season, I assumed Evan was going to win, but clearly I think Nicole should win and hope in the end she does. She’s been the most memorable.
Nicole’s leg extensions in the rumba were breathtaking.
Erin and Maks were overscored for both dances. There was no hip action or rhythm in the samba and their freestyle consisted of just rolling around on a bed. Maks cannot do freestyle, even with choreo assistance.
Evan had a bad night. Looks like his true personality showed. If he had just listened to Ana he would have fared better. However, he’s still a better dancer than Erin so I hope he comes in second. I think he will win this thing, but it really should go to Nicole.
If last night was any indicator, enlisting the help of an outside choreographer does not guarantee freestyle success – in fact, it can almost hinder it. It seems like doing someone else’s choreography in a style you’re not used to just makes you look like you have no idea what you’re doing – I noticed it with both Evan & Anna and Erin & Maks. Both couples looked like they were out of their element and just struggling to keep up. After last night, I’m not so sure that outside help with choreography is an unfair advantage, hehe
And I agree that Erin was overscored in both dances – I thought Evan’s execution was much better in both of his dances, and Nicole had much better content and a higher degree of difficulty – but at this point, deliberate overscoring of one couple and underscoring of another is just par for the course on this show for me. Not a whole lot we can do about it, except vote for the other two couples to counteract the vote gap. Oh storyboarding…
Evan certainly didn’t do himself any favors during his package last night – like I said before, he picked the worst possible time to throw a tantrum and fight with his pro. Anyone that was voting for him based purely on his likeability may have stopped voting or thrown their votes to someone else. That tantrum could have very well leveled the playing field between him & Nicole in terms of votes.
And yes, I think we all were laughing at Brooke’s hair, haha. I’m not gonna say much more though…we still have the cheesecake awards to give this week
Derek and Nicole’s rumba was amazing and the Carrie Ann had to ruin it. I vote for new rules on lifts. I loved the free style, the lift didnt work but that stuff happens all the time. Also I want to give Maks props for going outside his comfort zone. Evan and Anna waltz was beautiful.
Thanks, Lisa!
I have to say, that I think Evan might have managed to give Nicole more of a chance to win. He may still take it, but I don’t think he’ll run away with it.
This is my 1st season watching DWTS, even though I’ve been dancing for my workouts for years. I stumbled across this site a few weeks ago and love it. Thank you for everything you do.
I don’t have much to add except that I agree Erin and Maks were overscored especially on the freestyle. I do think Evan and Anna were underscored on the freestyle–it was not perfect but I also think it deserved a higher score. As for Anna crying, I think that might actually drive Evan’s fans to vote more intensely–they have a very dedicated fan base of teens and 20 somethings, some of whom pulled all nighters to vote.
Do the site admins here tweet? If so, what are your twitter accounts?
Just remember everyone, they ALL have one more dance and then 3rd place will be announced, then the FINAL dance and then the winner is revealed. All 3 have a shot at redemption. It’s not over yet. GO NICOLE & DEREK!
I actually agree with Len about Nicole’s rumba… or I suppose you could say I interpret his comment as being about my pet peeve, and thus he agrees with me.
The peeve being: lack of hip action. Nicole’s hips moved during the 1 bar of Cuban Rocks, but otherwise she was ramrod straight through the whole thing. You can call that lack of confidence because taking the time to settle properly into the hip and dance into the floor requires confidence in what you’re doing.
For me, if it doesn’t have the hips, it’s not a rumba, it’s just some sort of slow lyrical dancing…
I really have nothing to add about the scoring that hasn’t been said – Erin and Maks were overscored blah blah. I just wanted to say that Evan and Anna were VERY upset about their package last night. They talked about how that “fight” was from when they had just started working on the freestyle and the package even combined moments from a different day to make it seem it happened at the same time. Anna was crying from exhaustion not because of Evan. And they were actually very excited about the freestyle they ended up with, and had a great time working with the choreographer on it. I guess now they know what the other couples feel like when one tiny negative moment is blown up into the story of the week.
So if the execution of their freestyle came off weird, it’s probably because they were shocked and angry at their package. They don’t see them until we do.
That’s just my little bit of insight (I know nothing about Erin or Nicole as I didn’t deal with them yesterday.) That being said, Nicole did the best on both dances last night and no way should she be tied with Erin. For the first season I can remember, I honestly don’t care who wins tonight as long as it’s not Erin – Nicole is better but I think either her or Evan would be very deserving.
“Well, I still think you’re on crack, but hey.”
It’s not crack. It’s called 3 children;-)