Afterbuzz TV And Shirley Ballas Review The Dancing With The Stars Season 19 Quarterfinals
Kristen Burtt says Shirley Ballas is “on fire” and that she is as she helps to review the new dances on Dancing With The Stars with the Afterbuzz TV gang. Let us know what you think in comments.
My thoughts: Great show and I pretty much agreed with them on everything except for what Anna said on Derek & Bethany’s Trio dance. I loved what the panel as a whole said on Bethany & Derek and Sadie & Mark and their individual dances. Same with Alfonso & Witney and Tommy & Peta. I especially agreed with Shirley on Artem and Lea. She nailed it and then some for what I could never find the words for. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Shirley should be a Judge for this show!!
I love how unapologetic Shirley is.
She totally needs to be a judge on the show. Kick Carrie Ann off and put Shirley on.
I Personally wouldn’t like shirley as a judge she is really great but i don’t think she will be able to treat mark like any other dancer she kept going on about the scoring of mark paso and it was like two weeks ago
I didnt agree with their comment on janel i didnt think it was that great
Overal good show
I agree with both Mariam and Tony even though they have conflicting views. 🙂 I think that Shirley clearly was mad about Mark’s scores – but so were we all. At the same time, I think she went harder on Derek BECAUSE he is a second son to her and she holds him to a higher standard. I think Mark would have the same problem with her as well, eventually.
I also think that when you have the eyes of 12 million people on you – and half of them are saying you’re biased to Mark and/or Derek – you’re going to work harder to make sure they DON’T have reason to believe that is true. Then you get shit like over scoring Janel. Next, will it be underscoring Bethany?? Or is it okay to give Bethany a 10 as long as you also give Janel a 10 when she makes a big, obvious mistake??
This is what you start to wonder when family are judges on the show where their family is competing. At least in this case you wonder – if Maks were judging we would KNOW. And I don’t think that Bethany would see the same benefit that Janel might be seeing with Julianne judging. Maks wouldn’t care if he was being biased.
Heidi, I still remember Maks’s 9 paddle for Amber’s jazz…
I am so glad that Jake said Bethany is the one to watch for him. I remember he was the only one (not blinded by the Zendaya hype in season 16) who said Kellie would win.
I also think that Shirley would be a wonderful judge. but as Kristyn said, “this show is HIGHLY produced”, and I can’t imagine her “scoring to orders” like the other judges seem to do.
I thought it was a pretty good show. I don’t know why they always gloss over stuff re Val and Janel. The mistake made did not cost her but similar mistakes have cost other contestants. I was surprised at some of the things they said about Lea. It was as if she had made the choices. I agree with Jake that the switch up changed things for her for whatever reason. They were in their own lane and then they were trying to compete against Janel’s sexy stuff. I wonder if the producers just left them hanging with blah packages and uncomplimentary dance styles til they were voted off.
Just want to add to Shirley’s comment about how Len critiqued Sadie and Mark’s paso. About Bethany and Derek’s paso he said, “It had everything, Derek with no shirt, a cast of thousands …” What is he, a 3 year old? If he looked at that group and saw thousands then there is enough wrong with his vision that he shouldn’t be judging anymore. I’m tired of him being cranky; he’s a grown ass man and should be able to control himself. He sounds like a petulant little boy. It’s rude and uncalled for. You’d think being English he’d conduct himself with more decorum. Tired of his obnoxious rants.
I thought this episode was great until the end, when they were running out of time.
Wish we could have heard the others opinions on Bethany/Derek/Tony trio. Shirley spent so much time talking about lack of content that no one else got to speak. Of course she knows her stuff but I happen to disagree in this case. The song wasn’t going to lend itself to many ‘intimate’ moments like in a typical AT. Len is usually the stickler and he thought it had enough content for a 10, he even said as much in his remarks before the scores.
I think those comments annoyed me more because the others didn’t get to speak (I think Jake really liked the number, he hinted at it when they were talking about their VWaltz) and also because in the next breath they said there wasn’t much salsa in Janel/Val/Keo number but they didn’t care!!! They also glossed over the Quickstep mistake like the judges did. But at least Shirley said she wished they would judge all the couples the same across the board for that type of thing, noting that they do not and it is unfair.
Shirley is a gem! 🙂 They hit the nail on the head about Lea. And the fact that Anna mentioned that costuming is an important part made my day. Anyways, they were awesome this week. Can we keep this lineup permanently for afterbuzz? Please. 🙂
@PH: No, I don’t think Maks would care if he were being biased either. In the same respect, he would try hard for the cameras to appear that he wouldn’t come off biased. But deep down, he wouldn’t care.
Julianne, on the other hand, I think does care about coming off biased. And while she’s kind of had some of whatever crack Carrie Ann takes, she seems to be the most fair of the judges and I think she’s honestly been a great addition to the panel.
Love Shirley Ballas and her comments. She would be an excellent judge, hopefully speak her mind and watch out Mark and Derek!
6. #Judy – I don’t think they glossed over Janel & Val. Shirley praised Val twice for raising his game and foundd their dances “fantastic” and “great.” Felt he has progressed and challenged his pro and himself after more recently done amateur competition. Jake especially was “blown away” by the quickstep, noting Janel’s comfort level and presentation. Kristyn who was in the studio for the show said Janel did not miss a step after the trip.
While the panel seemed to agree that Janel and Val should not be downgraded in scoring for the slip because they did nothing wrong, Shirley added that such approach should be applied evenly and noted that wasn’t always the case. That’s when Kristyn said the show is “highly produced.” Makes me question TPTB so much more than any pro, celebrity or individual judge.
Shirley also pointed out that an assigned dance style needs to be there regardless (she used Derek’s AT trio as an example) and that a 7 or 8 for Sadie is a lot different than the same score for Tommy. That’s where the show loses me. So inconsistent! Juliann usually is a stickler and has constructive criticism, but this week she was a joke!
I have often wondered this season: 1) Is mandatory for the judges to be stoned before each show? or 2)Do they pipe in mind controlling substances into their dressing room and tell them to say stupid things while commenting?
Kristyn’s “highly produced” is clearly code for MANIPULATION, including the scoring. And the whole point of our discussion here was that Janel is NOT BETTER than Beth, Sadie or Alfonso – that if any of them had made the slip (and have made errors in previous weeks) they would have been marked down. Which is what Shirley was saying. So, it doesn’t MATTER if Janel “didn’t miss a step after” or if she was on point. She screwed up. If anyone else had done it, they would have been marked down, therefore SHE should have been marked down. If none of the others said this, they did indeed “gloss over” Janel. Why? Because they have a fanbase of their own that is made up of C-bros fans.
I think Shirley is overcompensating in the same way Julianne does when she comments on Derek’s AT – it’s a trio. In that case, most of her comments don’t make sense. Clearly, you can’t do everything you would like in a trio. You’ll note that Julianne has gone out of her way to compliment Mark and Val on their choreo but rarely says a word about Derek’s. There’s a whole lot of tiptoeing going on, which is why I thought that people saying Julianne would work in Derek’s favor were NUTS. I could see this coming a mile away. Same goes for Shirley.
Is Val stepping up his game? Sure – but he was already a good ways behind Mark and Derek, so he kinda has to. Whitney has progressed quicker than he has and didn’t need a showmance to get there.
And let’s not forget – Janel is the trained dancer of the remaining 5.
Loved Shirley Ballas this week. I found myself cracking up throughout the whole show about some comments that were made by her…especially when she was getting at Len and Carrie Ann. (I’m sorry I can’t stand Carrie Ann). Also after Kristyn’s comment about the show being “highly produced” makes me look at the show from a different perspective.
Janel and Val’s dance was ok. I liked it but I do think it was unfair for them to notice the step and not take points for that (regardless if it was Janel or Val that made the mistake). In my opinion if they are going to disregard that mistake then they should do the same for all the couples instead of the inconsistent scoring that we’ve been seeing. Take for example last week’s salsa done by Bethany and Derek. I thought they killed but Carrie Ann apparently noticed a slight mistake that no one else seemed to notice (I know I didn’t and I watched the dance like 4 times) and decided to not only point it out for the world to know that she made a mistake but then take a point off for the scoring. On the other Val all but almost tripped – and probably would have taken Janel down with him if he would have tripped – and yet they still praised them and gave them tens like it was the best dance of the night. Like I said I actually like the performance, but that is because I was sitting on my couch in my living not at the judge’s panel with a paddle getting ready to score them. I feel as though the judges – especially Carrie Ann – need to stop being biased and showing love to their obvious favorites. While I did like Janel and Val’s trio, it did remind of Derek and Shawn’s trio with Mark from season 15. Almost a replica except with a different dance style. Even the wardrobe looked similar.
PS. Carrie Ann is my least favorite judge. That is all.
I didn’t like how SB threw the ‘blond hair blue-eyed’ comment in when referring to Derek. How bout the Russian brown eyed Pros? Val has gotten FAR more preferrential treatment that I’ve EVER seen Derek get (but not according to the C-bro fans on Insta) Derek ALWAYS gets the ringers……Umm…”Janel danced on Broadway when she was 3 so that doesn’t count” is what I’ve been told by some…ya whatever..she still screws up badly.
Bethany danced PERFECTLY and still got low-balled!!!
Kelly, I did not like the “blond, blue eyed” comment either. That was basically saying Derek gets the scores he does because if his looks not his talent. I know Mark is her son but Derek considers her a second mom. I think she made a bad choice in her wording. I am not a dancer but I really loved the AT.
I didn’t take Shirley’s comment that way. I thought she was saying that someone who looks like Derek will always be thought of as someone who gets preferential treatment. If the judges aren’t consistent, when they “overlook” something in Derek’s favor it will be ascribed to their bias for him because of his looks. If the judges are consistent they wouldn’t be able to make that argument. Don’t know if that makes sense to anyone else.
I don’t know why anyone here or anywhere else has not mentioned how hard it is to do an Argentine Tango in a trio (in the previous week I did a research and it was very difficult to find any routine between two men and one woman (usually is between 2 women and a man). So, for me that Argentine tango was perfectly executed, and the score was unfair.
The thing is, Susan – they almost never overlook Derek’s mistakes. They often go in the opposite direction and pick on stupid shit, like a COW. But I get what you’re saying. People look at Derek and see the gorgeous blond hair and blue eyes and just expect everything to go his way and for him to get preferential treatment.
Slightly related – this is why you so rarely see the very handsome men win the big awards, like Oscar and Emmy. People think they are so gorgeous, so they have to work harder to actually be recognized as great actors (if they are great actors). Also why you see the less physically beautiful win shit tons of awards – if they’re not attractive they have to act “harder” right? Yeah. No.
I believe I did say that, Sara.
I don’t know why people give so much weight to what is said on Afterbuzz. If you loved the dance, you loved the dance. I don’t happen to think it was underscored. Or, I should say, it wouldn’t have been underscored if Janel had been scored appropriately. If Janel got 3 tens, then Beth should have had 4. But in a normal situation, I don’t think it was overscored.
As always, I enjoy the various opinions and Shirley obviously is the queen of ballroom, still, I know where her heart lays and she of course has biases (like everyone). I thought she threw a little shade on Alfonso (professional dancer who started good and stayed good and she used a visual that implied no improvement/growth) and on Derek (blond hair blue eye get away with something…)To me it seems like she thinks this could be Marks season and she’s worried about Witfonso and Beth/Derek but isn’t AT ALL worried about Val/Janel so was free to lavish praise on Val. What was it with them criticizing Derek for Val and Janel using chairs in the aisle for the first several bars, they acted like it was Derek for their VW. Just reinforces that only Derek gets called out for chairs EVEN when it’s another pro who actually used them.
Jess I couldn’t agree more. Bo love Shirley but her blond hair blue eye comment disturbed me. She really wants this to be Mark’s season
Shirley offers experience and knowledge coupled with constructive critique. The only problem I could see with her as a judge is she would would quickly decide the contenders (Sadie, Alfonso, etc…) from the entertainers (Tommy, Michael, etc…) and have high expectations for improvement week to week from one group while having a checklist of basic requirements for the other … but then again that could be a good thing rather then hearing what went wrong verbally.
I agree with heidi about val yes he did step it up but he took so long to do it and its not even that great
When you see someone like witney who grew so much and gave for me memorable performance i cant remember any of val routines
Of course shirley is biased and so was corky when he was on afterbuzz i remember he said that alfonso jive was similar to his jazz routine i watched them back to back and didnt find them similar at all
And i don’t blame them but dont say that you guys arent biased i think everyone is
Its normal
Plus im pretty sure sadie will win so they dont have to be that worried
Also i wanted to mention nobody on the show or on afterbuzz said something about derek choregraphy which i think is excellent but now everyone expect it so nobody say something a bout it and i don’t think it’s fair
Jess. # 21: I agree with you that Shirley’s mama heart is front and center this season. The comment for Derek was uncalled for and reminded me a bit of the golden boy comments for which Derek’s detractors are so famous. There was no constructive criticism needed for Mark as he was perfection in her opinion. Good point about Val. Perhaps she glossed over the errors and copycat routine because she doesn’t seen him as a contender at the finish line. I give her props for pointing out the inconsistencies in judging , but even she was a bit inconsistent in her critiques. I like her very much and enjoy her perspective, but that episode reinforced in my mind’s eye why relatives should not be judges. As for the others, all I can say is thank goodness for Jake.
Oh l LOVE Jake, such a sweetheart, and usually very intuitive. Missed him so much last season.
I know Corky and Shirley love Derek, but perhaps it does bug them a little that Derek has surpassed Mark in popularity and success.
Well, I think it’s definitely between Sadie and Alfonso, but if Sadie doesn’t get it it will be because of Mark’s little tantrum. While I *completely* understand why he had the tantrum – seriously, the judges have been totally ridiculous – he should know better than to act that way. It does count against you in some people’s eyes. He should learn from his brother on this score.
As for Shirley thinking it’s his season? Let’s face it – she knows both men VERY well, and I can’t blame her for not wanting Derek to take number 6 while her son (the one with only two MBTs) is going head to head with him with an actual contender. Just for the sanity of her family. 🙂 As for Derek getting away with stuff because of the gorg – maybe she’s speaking from experience. 🙂
As always – the bar is actually set HIGHER for Derek than it is for everyone else, even while they are claiming he gets preferential treatment (re: chairs). I can also see what that is. He’s won an Emmy, he’s been nominated multiple times, he colors outside the lines on a regular basis and it pays off, he’s got 5 MBT’s – even *I* set the bar higher for him. I expect SO MUCH more out of him than I do Mark or Val or any of the women. It’s a natural (albeit unfair) reaction.
@PHeidi
#27 ….You are spot on and I agree 100%
I know, that way Mark can be petulant is so unattractive. He’s got so much going for him and he’s done such a super job last season with what’s her name and especially this season with Sadie. He’s been around long enough, he should know how to avoid behaving in public to ruin his partner’s chances. Do NOT whine EVER. Let your fans do the outrage.
While I completely agree with many of you about Mark’s tantrum possibly hurting him and Sadie I do not blame him for it. If anything I applaud him for not speaking up during the live taping of the show (at least I don’t recall him doing so). Yes, his face showed his emotions but he could have easily started arguing with the judges like Maks always did. Remember the blowout between Maks and Len back in season 13 I think? He even got some heat for it even though he was defending himself and the cast. Mark was mad and maybe he could of acted a little more professional but sometimes when you work so hard on something and then get told it wasn’t good just because the judge doesn’t like the creativeness…all that professionalism stuff that you learn to apply goes out the window. Sorry for the rant…just thought I’d defend for Mark.
I do agree with many of you. I can’t remember Mark whining about scores or anything last season, because he knew what he deserved and as someone who’s been dancing for many years I think he knows what’s good and what’s not. I always read and hear that this is an extremely produced show and all of that. I just feel like nobody expected Sadie to be as good as she is, so they have been nitpicking her, and they have also been nitpicking Alfonso. Shirley also straight up said that sometimes there is professional Shirley and other times there is a straight up mommy Shirley so I didn’t found that to be a problem. And the comment about “blond hair and blue eyes” I didn’t necessarily mind that because of where it’s coming from, if somebody else had said it I would be mad. I think Shirley knows both Mark and Derek a lot better than we do. She wanted to get her point across, and she did.
AND, One of my favourite comments from Monday nights show was when CIA said “You know you are here because we love you, and we love your creativity etc ….” and Mark goes “Do you” with a very confused face, because she did give him a 7 for the creative paso doble.
Mama Bear Ballas showed her true colors and bias, which is why, although I think she is a phenomenal dancer and teacher, she should never be on the judging panel as long as Mark is on the show.