DWTS Season 21 Finals – Who’s Dancing What…and When?
So what do the couples have for dances for the finals on Dancing With The Stars next week? They have a Freestyle, an Individual dance, a Judges Redo dance, and possibly another dance (not sure what?). Stay tuned for updates by Charlie’s Angels!!
ETA: Updated from the GMA Live Stream. Not sure about Bindi or Carlos – a good assumption are the dances below, but they don’t come right out and say it. ~Heidi
ETA2: First off, an apology – I’ve been battling bronchitis this week, and have been AWOL on Twitter as a result. But thank you to everyone that inquired about my welfare 😀 But I have updates a-go-go! Apparently Nick has kinda gone the expected route with another Backstreet Boys song, and source says it’s “a bit repetitive” of previous routines – more crotch-grabbing, MJ-inspired moves. But at least it’s better than Carlos’ routine, which is just kind of a garden-variety hip-hop – and at the risk of creating a bad pun from the lyrics to his freestyle, “the dance that you’re doing is dumb”, dude. Source also confirmed the rest of the redo dances, and some of the songs. -Court-
Individual Dances:
Carlos and Witney – Dancing 1st
Judges Redo – Foxtrot (Song: “The Hills” by The Weeknd)
Freestyle – Song: “WTF (Where They From)” by Missy Elliott feat. Pharrell Williams
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Alek and Lindsay – Dancing 2nd
Judges Redo – Rumba
Freestyle – Song: “Marchin On” by OneRepublic
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Nick and Sharna – Dancing 3rd
Judges Redo – Jive (Song: “Runaway Baby” by Bruno Mars)
Freestyle – Song: “Larger than Life” by The Backstreet Boys
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Bindi and Derek – Dancing 4th
Judges Redo – Quickstep
Freestyle – See PureDerekHough
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If Lindsay and Alek are doing a rumba – is that their judges redo dance? Coz that was his switch up dance so hopefully everyone is re-doing their switch up dance for judges pick!
I am hoping Bindi has a Paso.
Four individual dances? are they trying to kill them?
So judges redo dance (I wonder if it’ll be the same music/choreo or a completely new routine like they did in season 16)
And obviously the freestyle
Is there even time for a third individual dance? Last season there were only 3 couples in the finale and they only did 3 dances in two nights. I recall them having a dance-off/relay dance in the past so I think that’s more likely than a new individual dance.
I’m sad that we most likely won’t see Bindi and Derek do a paso though – it’s the only dance they haven’t done and it’s one of Derek’s favourites. (mine too)
For the second night I’m guessing they will do the 24 hour fusion challenge like they’ve had to for the last couple of seasons.
Why Gitte? We are going to see paso cause one unlearned dance is one of the dances they do.
Oh, I soooo hope for the Paso too for Derek and Bindi!!! *crosses fingers*
I hope Bindi & Derek get a Paso, freestyle & re-do their QS! Go Team Crikey!!
LOL Vogue Charlie’s Angels – so fitting!
I hope the finalists will get to reprise their iconic dances BUT danced truthfully to that style. No more Disco Samba, Stripper Rumba or Dirty Dancing mess. Very unlikely, but still.
I don’t understand how Bindi can be in jeopardy!!!!! They are tied for first place!!!
LOL Daniel. Glad you liked that.lol
Bindi probably isn’t in jeopardy. Tom said one of the two couples was in the bottom. It is probably Nick as he has not been getting good scores the last week or so and his dancing has been erratic and not at all consistent. Bindi is doing really well and I am sure is getting the votes, or they would not have gone through the previous week of criticizing her foxtrot and nitpicking her in the dance-off and making sure Nick got immunity. If Nick was doing well, he wouldn’t have needed the immunity. If anyone goes, I want it to be Carlos. He is like a slimey politician! And, if I can add my voice to others, stop it already with Tamar. Let’s move on.
I agree with Karina, but that just means vote harder for them.
I am praying that Bindi and Derek have a paso. That would be the icing on the cake. Also, for their redance, is it a dance the judges think they needed improvement on, or one they liked so much that they’d like to see again? I’d LOVE to see their Argentine Tango again, or their contemporary…or their Dirty Dancing routine. Gah, so hard to pick! All of their dances have been fantastic.
So the unlearned dance for everyone is the freestyle. So, as Sara said (#1), wouldn’t that mean that Alek’s rumba would have to be the re-do dance? I’m confused… Don’t get me wrong, I’m still on board the Emma and Alek ship, but has anyone ever done a re-do dance with their switch up partner? OR would he just re-do that dance with Lindsay?
I’d like to see Bindi and Derek do a Paso as well, but is there a third dance (second unlearned)? I’m so lost.
Whitney, in Season 18 I remember that at least Meryl re-did her AT dance with Val from Switch up week at the finale w/ Maks.
Whitney 12-
We probably should wait for an official press release or Derek’s blog or intel from the inside to confirm the dances/themes. Every pro said something a bit different in the after show interviews, so I don’t think they knew anything for sure until this morning.
My guess is- Monday there will be a judges choice dance, one new/unlearned dance, and freestyle. Tuesday will be one final dance for the final 3, an instant dance or a fusion dance, that is what they have been doing lately.
Alek has rumba (ie Lindsay), that could be his new dance (If this is the case, ‘never had been done with their original partner before’ is counting as an ‘new/unlearned dance’). Or rumba could also just be their judges choice dance. Lindsay didn’t say.
Bindi will probably get the paso for the new/unlearned dance. I hope anyway!
Have they ever done a new dance style in the finale (other than those fusion dances)? I only recall them doing either a judges pick or one the couples picked themselves (favourite dances).
I just don’t think they’ll have four individual dances – there’s no time for it. That’s why I guessed a redo dance, the freestyle and some sort of relay/dance-off dance on Monday and the 24 hour fusion dance on Tuesday. (so three individual dances and a relay/dance-off)
I just watched the post all access show and Mark and BC mentioned that they “might” be performing their song on the main show next week – so could Bindi and Derek be redoing their Viennese Waltz? I was personally hoping for a jive. 🙂
Side note- Does anyone know the name of the song in the Derek/Bindi/Mark trio? I’ve been looking everywhere and can’t find it. It was beautiful!
So is each couple having three dances on Monday? That would make it twelve altogether which doesn’t leave a lot of time for the other crap TPTB like to pull, especially in the finale. If the redo dances are all short ones from the first few weeks then I could see it, but otherwise I think they might do one of the three dances on Tuesday.
The re-do has been with the original partner in the past, if a switchup dance was chosen.
Pretty sure they’re going to count Alek’s rumba as a judges choice. Unlearned means UNLEARNED – they did learn the style from their switchup partner after all.
Night one of the finale has been pretty “crap free” in the past. It’s night two that is crap filled. 🙂
# dancingfeet91 bindi/derek/mark trio song is “Resolve”—Nathan Lanier
@Gitte – Season 13. I remember both Ricki and JR having to do ChaCha’s (which they hadn’t done as individual dances) and Rob did a Waltz.
I’m really hoping for a new dances ( Please a Charleston for nick and a paso for bindi ) + a redo dance .
I ‘m always excited for the freestyles even though the whole season was kind of a freestyles.
happy and curious for Lindsey’s freestyle , also I’m anticipating witeney’s , I believe she ditched the ghost choreographer , so it’s gonna be interesting.
sharna’s freestyle last season was her first and my fav out of the three , so hopefully she will put something great for nick , and I hope he will rise to the challenge.
not much to be said about Derek except that it’s his 10th freestyle.
I’m excited for Lindseys freestyle. She has impressed me so much this season with her choreo. I’m hoping she doesn’t put in a gazillion lifts though, one or two good lifts and lots of actual dancing will be just fine. I know it’s been said before, but the troupe has done WONDERS for her! No pro should make it on this show without going in the troupe first unless they’ve done SCD or another DWTS version.
Sharna will knock it out the park, as will Derek. They both know how to choreograph to their partners strengths and are not scared to take the backseat and just let their partners shine (unlike Witney who has a tendency to dance around her partners). I’m sure Nicks freestyle will be very hip-hoppy and fresh and Bindi’s I think Derek hinted at them going the anti-over produced route. If he can do something like their contemporary again then that would be fantastic.
Agree with everyones sentiments on Witney’s choreo -l have never seen a boring AT until that one with Carlos. I would love to see them redo the quickstep with new choreo from Witney to see the difference because it’s sad my favourite dance of Carlos’ is not one he did with his partner. I think they should go for a fun-styled performance for the freestyle because Carlos does the best in that by far. His attempt at being passionate/emotional doesn’t interest me.
So Lindsay just confirmed on the GMA 40 for 40 live stream that the couples will do two dances on Monday night (Judges Pick and Freestyle). Then the 24 hour challenge if they make it on Tuesday night. Lindsay also confirmed that they’re judges pick is the Rumba Alek did with Emma on switch up week, and that they are the only couple that are redoing a dance from switch up week.
I must say I feel that’s a disadvantage to them, but hopefully Lindsay will focus on the technical aspects of the dance. I do fear that there will be a lot of comparisons to Alek’s performance since it won’t be “with Emma” but I do hope he can bring out more performance and maybe it’ll look more comfortable this time around. I’m a bit upset though, I wish they got to do something like they’re foxtrot or a dance they did together in the past. Oh well!
And Lindsay also mentioned their freestyle will focus on Alek’s strengths and talk about the obstacles he faced throughout his journey. It will be a mix of Contemporary and Jazz, so i’m thinking something soft but intense?
If anyone is interested in finding out what Carlos, Bindi, and Nick will be doing GMA is interviewing all of them on their live stream so there will be more mentions soon!
Thanks so much Mina! Beautiful music. Loved it.
I heard Bindi is re-doing her Quickstep and Carlos his Foxtrot. Don’t think Nick’s has been announced yet but I still feel like it’ll be the jive.
Announced?? It wasn’t announced, but a lot of people are *assuming* they are doing the quickstep from the GMA Live Stream. It’s probably a pretty good assumption, but it does drive me nuts when certain twitter accounts start proclaiming things as fact based on 3 seconds of video.
Bella, did they come right out and say that about their rumba? I ask because I saw people “confirming” quickstep for Derek and Bindi based on what might have been joking around in the background.
@PH I can’t speak much about the other three couples, but Melissa asked if they could perform a sneak peek for Finale night and Lindsay replied saying they didn’t have anything but offered to do their Waltz from last night. Peta then questioned her about doing their judges pick and she said she couldn’t do that either because the judges picked Alek’s switch up dance.
Here is a link: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x3eaje4_peta-and-melissa-interview-alek-and-lindsay_tv
Lindsay mentions it right at the end. Also, volume is low so make sure to turn up sound.
Okay cool, thanks Bella – just checking because I was seeing some assumptions for other couples.
No worries, PH! Yes, I saw some assumptions on other couples but wasn’t sure since they weren’t as candid about it as Lindsay was. We’ll probably find out sooner or later! Fingers crossed
Woah, how exciting to see all the dance info. already… thanks!
If Derek and Bindi really are doing a quickstep, then I HOPE its the originial Jetsons quickstep they were supposed to do.
I mean they did get the song cleared after all… fingers crossed.
@ilovepure the Jetsons dance was going to be a foxtrot so I don’t think that will be it. I do worry they’ll get slammed if the keep the out-of-hold stuff from their Jeffersons one though.
I hope if they have to redo dances they are to different music with different choreography.
I don’t see them giving Alek the same song and expectig the same choreography since it was Emma he did it with, not Lindsay. Then again TPTB loves to screw with people so I wouldn’t put it past them.
If Bindi is indeed redoing her Quickstep, then I am very excited. That wasn’t her best dance but it was still so much fun and with her newfound elegance and the great technique she has developed, she could knock it out of the park.
I’m confused now, does this mean they’re doing only two dances on Monday? I though they’re doing a new unlearned style as well.
# dancingfeet91 You’re welcome! Indeed, great music.
CC NY, I agree with you about having them do the re-do dance over to a different song with different choreo. Usually the the dances they pick to to do-over aren’t my favorites of each contestant, so why would I want to see it again? I know it’s so the judges can say “That was so much better!!”, yada, yada, yada, but for me it’s a snooze.
@CC, I agree. And at the time of the QS Bindi’s foot was injured too. So now redoing that will probably get her a 30. Normally I hate quicksteps, but it’s high energy and fits her so well. But then again, she can dance anything so there’s that. LOL
So Carlos and Whitney got Bruno or did I hear wrong?
I hope Bindi has a perfect two nights, but I’m still worried they’ll redo the Quickstep with all the original choreography intact and the judges will cut points from that. It happened when Shawn and Derek did their famous/infamous Quickstep in the All Stars finale and could be a reason why they didn’t end up winning that season.
@ Julia…#42
Tony and Melissa were going to win the MBT in the All Star Season 15, no matter what Shawn & Derek did, so I expect no more or no less this season. By now, Derek usually has a clue who the producers are behind for the win, and if they have to do the dance where the supposed lift happened when Derek whirled Bindi around and Bindi isn’t who they are behind, Derek may not worry about a lift.
I really hope they have Nick redo his waltz from Monday night … knowing him, I think he’ll nail it and it’ll give him the push he needs to finish strong. I dont have a lot of confidence he’ll win but I would be great to have it be close.
I believe we are about 90% sure that Shawn and Derek were told they had to redo the quickstep…and I think at that point Derek knew the writing was on the wall. But I don’t know that this will be the same. In Shawn’s quickstep, Derek clearly broke the rules. In Bindi’s, they were told that the rules were relaxed to accommodate the theme, so breaking hold wasn’t penalized. So, that begs the question – did they re-select it keeping the rules in place when the dance was originally done, or are they expecting them to get docked if they don’t change the choreo.
I’m concerned they’ll tell them to do the same dance (with the same choreo) and then dock them for it during the live show. I would hate for them to be forced into that trap after everything that’s gone down this season, especially after last week made it clear to me that in my eyes no one else left deserves that trophy except Bindi and there is very little that could change my mind about that.
I thought they were going to do a totally new/different quickstep, not that they had to reprise their Jeffersons routine.
I don’t think we know either way, Suzy.
Julia, I’ve yet to see the judges or the producers try to take away a MBT from a contestant who is just killing it in votes. There is no real benefit to doing that. Now, if it’s close, they might hamstring her a bit like they did Shawn in Season 15. But part of Shawn’s loss was the constant repetition by Tony that he had never won before, and neither had Melissa. I think she was getting the votes, but it was close.
I’m almost certain that the first dances are a recreate dances , and not redos , the fact that Alek have a rumba which was with emma and not Lindsey proves it IMO , and they did that in season 16 where Kellie recreated her quick step and the same with zendaya (samba) and the rest.
actually , I think the finale is going to be similar to season 16 , with the judges choice (recreated dances) followed by a relay followed by the freestyles round .
and the second night they will do a fusion (probably) or an instant dance (sharna said in her blog that they have 4 dances to prepare).
of course that’s just my theory and not a sure thing.
#Stargazer Nick didn’t do a waltz. He did a tango. Alek did a waltz.
Well, the quickstep would be the crappiest dance to have to dance again. That was the clusterf@$% week. That’s the one where they wait, in hold, for the music to begin. Not a speck of lighting, or anything. My interpretation of all that was Derek saying, “You want a quickstep? Fine. Here’s your quickstep.” I don’t want them to have to “go back there” and I sure don’t either.
Lol Suzy, I agree with you! Makes me peeved they chose that dance for her. Is nicks waltz the downton abbey one? My favorite dance of his! Still don’t expect him to out dance bindi though. I feel that each season the true best dancer is a mix between raw natural ability and hard work. Even Alfonso in an interview said he would practice multiple hours at home every day his choreography by himself once he and witney finished. Sometimes the natural talent appears random, such as with bindi, but the hard work is deff there as seen with her feet lol.
So Derek has done a bunch of very successful quicksteps – Amy, Kellie and the quickstep samba with Amber – all pretty late in the season including the finales. So if anyone knows how to bring an A class quickstep to the finale he does and I am hoping that they go with PH’s logic on not docking the one getting the votes – so hopefully it won’t be a repeat of the Jeffersons. I am kinda excited to see this 🙂
Quick note first – Bindi and Derek definitely have a quickstep this week coz they are practicing it on DWTS snapchat. And Nick and Sharna’s redo dance can’t be a waltz or rumba coz they haven’t done either one of those yet. I think Sharna said in their interview that they will have to do one of their remaining dances but maybe that has changed.
I’m pretty the redo dances are the same choreo because Lindsay in the GMA interview thing said to Peta that they were the only team to get the switch up dance so she doesn’t even know the choreography. I have no idea why they would have chosen that one for Alek though – he needs to redo one of the latin dances i.e. paso/jive or the salsa that he was bad at and also to work on his performance value when not in hold.
I’m glad Bindi has the quickstep. That wasn’t danced well from her -too stiff in upper body – and I think she has improved a lot since then so it’s good for her to redo it and show that improvement.
I went back to watch Carlos’ foxtrot now coz I couldn’t remember it at all. He needs to work on his lines from the last time.
Don’t forget also that the judges are working with the couples as well too. Carlos said he has Bruno but one judge will have 2 couples.
I just watched Kellie Picker & Derek doing their 1st quickstep. They had to redo it, and Len was the judge that showed them about their “nobly-bits” and that they had to keep close when in hold. Derek choreographed a completely different quickstep in the re-do dance, and Kellie wore a different costume also. I’m thinking that beside the very tiny hard to see lift at the end of Bindi and Derek’s quickstep and the very slight separation between them will be the main things that the judge assigned to them will be pointing to; but if Derek changes some of the choreo (like with he & Kellie’s re-do) the lift part will be out because he may do something different with the end of this re-do quickstep.
All I know is, Derek’s quicksteps are always amazing and packed full of moves. Even the one he choreographed for Nastia & Sasha last season was awesome!
I’ll be very happy to see a quickstep, as long as it shares no more than the name of the dance style with The Jeffersons routine. Especially considering how much more skilled Bindi is now I think it could be absolute dynamite!
So on snapchat Wit and Carlos are practicing their freestyle – its hip hop style.
Oh gosh. Another hip hop. *rolls eyes* her choreography has def been lacking this season.
Wow…another hip hop. How unpredictable and new and exciting. Not. I will say the same about a stripped down contemporary. I think at this point Derek is the only one who can say “contemporary” and get me excited.
I actually love QS. When they’re done right, they’re exciting as hell.
Whatever direction Derek does with Bindi’s FS, it’ll be the essence of who Bindi is and how he feels about her. I’m crying just thinking about it. They’re just one of those rare, magical partnerships that manage to transcend this somewhat silly show and turn into something profound.
So far it’s Carlos and Bruno, Alek and CarrieAnn. I’m gonna take a wild guess and say Nick got Julianne and Bind either got Bruno or CarrieAnne.
Sharna said the waltz and rumba are the only two dances they haven’t danced yet and one would be their individual dance?
I don’t know, Ashley. Based on what Lindsay said in the GMA live stream they only have 2 dances on Monday which is the judges’ redo and the FS, and then the 24 hour challenge on Tuesday.. so I’m not sure if Sharna was misinformed or if Lindsay was.
I’ve been thinking alot out the freestyles & I don’t want to make assumptions but I think Bindi & Derek are definitely going to have an edge not only because Bindi’s the only girl celebrity left. I’ve heard that Carlos is doing hip hop in his freestyle so I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if Nick & Carlos really use alot of their strengths from their boyband training and play on that, so I’m expecting the routines to be different but in a simpler style than Lindsey is going to have to play to Alek’s strengths which to me is lifts & being in hold so I’m expecting alot of that unless Lindsey does something surprising, tbh I’m still not sure how I feel about Alek’s perfect score for his Waltz but that’s another discussion. I’m expecting to see a mix of Contemporary & modern jazz from Derek’s choreography. I was very intriged when Derek said that this dance will be about wrapping up Bindi’s journey. I actually would love to see little inserts of their pprevious dances in corporated with a huge amount of that contemporary/modern jazz mix & something to do with light. I love that concept for Bindi but alas we will have to leave it up to Derek, I believe he is creating a masterpiece.
Derek always has great freestyles but I’m hoping he blows off the barn doors for this one. Unlikely he’s going to get his hands on anyone like Bindi again so I hope he goes for broke. I actually don’t want to see bits of their dances in the freestyle. I would like something totally new and mindblowing. A tall order for how much time they have. I’m hoping Derek can grab this moment and show the artistry, light and emotion that has been the calling card of this couple.
I am so excited! With the level and standard of choreography that D has been choreographing this season, I think we are in for something amazing. SMR, like you said, I feel like the other 3 will be doing boring things, hip hop is always a boring FS which looks like Carlos is doing, Nick will prob do something with a huge production that will overshadow him, and Alek will be doing lots of lifts. From the way Derek talked about their FS, he mentioned that the song he heard struck a chord in them both, but also about how this is going to be the dance that wraps up her journey. I think some amazing things are going to happen.
I’m actually really looking forward to seeing what Lindsay does with Alek’s FS. He is really good with lifts, so why not take advantage of that?
My hope is that with all the horrible things that have happened recently to Alek, that Lindsay gives him a FS that is optimistic and triumphant. A celebration of the human spirit.
I hope she’s doing okay with nerves. If I was a first time pro in the finals, especially after waiting so long to be a pro again, I’d be a nervous wreck.
I don’t understand. Alek is doing his rumba routine with Lindsay even though he performed it with Emma? Or is Emma performing so Lindsay doesn’t have to learn the routine?
Either way, that seems so unfair to Alek. They are really making it difficult for him. He must be getting a lot of votes.
He is doing his rumba with Lindsay, Heart, but he did it originally with Emma during switch up week. Lindsay mentioned she didn’t know the choreo so she had to learn it too.
So they’re doing the same choreo for their redo dance? I don’t like that idea.
Ananda — I don’t think so, at least for Bindi. It would just be too weird for them to be dancing to the theme of The Jeffersons during the finals. At least that’s what I’m going to believe until told differently.
Oh my god! This is too much excitement to handle and way too many possibilities to consider! What a crazy finale this is gonna be – I mean the feels are all there. I can’t wait for Derek’s blog. It comes any time between 10.30am to 6pm – but mostly in the afternoons so I have been checking every 30 mins. I am so excited to hear from him about this week, their jazz trio, the samba and if he is willing to share a little about the freestyle then that’s the icing on this cake! Also, I just wanna know what’s the deal with their quickstep – are they doing the same choreo or not – wishing profusely that its the same dance style but a different dance 🙂 Excited is the key word!
Okay Derek’s blog is out and oh my goodness gracious me – he is in it for her and only her. There is this amazing earnestness in the way he is written about last week and next week and the way he feels about Bindi and how she has inspited him – its a treat to read 🙂 He also makes some great points about freestyles on the show and gives a sense on what to expect. And there is no mention of Jeffersons – so j think it’s safe to assume that while its a the quickstep its not the old one. He also spoke of auidences getting complacent when things reach this stage and he has seen that happen in the past. And urges people to vote for their favorite right till the end. This has clearly been a special season for him 🙂
Team Crikey, FTW!
Per Derek’s blog, I think they’re doing new choreography. He clearly says that breaking hold is against the rules and that they’re dancing for a minute 50 seconds.
After reading his blog, all I can really say is how much I love this man.
Comparing Bindi’s poor beat up feet to The Walking Dead was funny!
Interesting that he’s saying the same thing we’ve been saying on here about how the “supersize” freestyles really mean nothing anymore because of the show’s tendency to have over the top production and extra dancers in the regular season dances. As well as the inclusion of less rule bound dances like jazz and contemporary in the mix.
It’s kinda like Derek was in my head when discussing freestyles. I said much the same thing a few weeks ago.
Did Nick and Sharna do a Charleston? I dont remember that? I really dont want to see a Rumba or anything else about Nick’s wife. This is his journey not hers. I wish they would let Nick redo the Jive. It could have been a cute and cool dance if he didn’t fall. As for the freestyle.. I hope it is upbeat and crazy and not another emo night for him. His salsa was amazeballs!
@NMF Sadly, they didn’t do a Charleston, which is a shame, I wish they had done it at some point!
I’m glad Derek talked about the problems with super-sized freestyles in his blog. Just because you can go all out (with troupe, production, costumes, crazy lifts, etc.) doesn’t mean you have to. At the end of the day, the freestyle is supposed to reflect the celeb and his/her journey. Which is what (IMO) Derek has been able to do with his freestyles in the past. Can’t wait to see what he is going to come up with for Bindi!
And I hope for their 24-hr fusion dance, they’ll get a Paso/(something) – just because I love Derek’s Pasos and am bummed that they didn’t get that dance earlier in the season.
Idk if this was mentioned before but I saw an IG video of Witney working on their FS with another dancer.
The only two freestyles that relatively excite me are Bindi and Nicks. Witney’s outside choreographed hip hop sound like a snoozefest and I’m willing to bet Lindsay doesn’t have Alek do any dancing and just throws lift after lift after lift at him like some of his other routines in the past. It’s a freestyle I just wish each couple would show something different. This is why it’s a shame Alexa and Mark aren’t in the final.
I’m actually curious as to what Nick’s freestyle will be like. The Everybody jazz routine for week 4 was what a lot of people expected his freestyle to look like, so I think he and Sharna will be going for something a little different for their actual freestyle.
On Snapchat there was a picture of Nick practicing his freestyle (I would assume) and it was just him and a bunch of girls in a formation with him in front i.e. Jenna Britt Sharna and some other blonde girl I didn’t recognise – there could also have been more people, the pic was sort of cut off.
I would think Nicks freestyle would be like the rap part of their Salsa trio. He was great in that.
So according to the DWTS instagram and CAI’s instagram:
Bruno is working with Carlos/Witney for Judges Choice
Julianne is working with Nick/Sharna for Judges Choice
and Carrie Ann is working with both Alek/Lindsay and Bindi/Derek
I’m kinda wondering how CAI is going to “help” Bindi and Derek with their Quickstep technique…
Nick and Sharna’s judges choice dance is the jive and they’ll be doing it to “runaway baby” by Bruno Mars
@Haley Wait, so it’s a new Jive? Not a redo of their Bugle Boy Jive?
Wouldn’t this be like the 4th Jive to “Runaway Baby”?! Ugh.
On another note, Bindi and Derek were rehearsing their Freestyle on the DWTS Snapchat and my God they look absolutely gorgeous. Going the Contemporary route and it’s looking fantastic. I can hardly wait! Eeeek!
Ok, I’m not the biggest fan of Nick but “Larger Than Life” is my favorite BSB song so now I’m really looking forward to his Freestyle – though I can already see the repeat of their “Backstreet’s Back” Jazz so I’m not sure how special this is gonna end up being.
Also, 10 bucks says the rest of the BSB make a “guest appearance”….
Ah I knew from week 1 that Nick’s freestyle would incorporate the backstreet boys as a “guest appearance.” My inner teenage girl is still going to freak out though.
@CC, I completely agree. Only Derek can do contemporary for Freestyle and make it something meaningful and not just “contemporary.” Can’t wait to see the full dance. Just watching it on Snapchat gives me the chills already. Hopefully Court will find out their songs soon.
@Tina – Keep an eye out at PDH 😉
This is probably going to get me spanked by Nick fans, but I actually think most of the songs from Millenium, including “I Want it That Way” and “Larger Than Life” are some of the worst Backstreet songs ever written – lyrics are so simplistic and awkward that I just cringe to think of them…it was as if they were like “Hmmm, what rhymes with ‘fire’? Ooh, DESIRE!” Just really kindergarten-y, simple rhyming – or no rhyming at all. Which is even more awkward – just go listen to “Show Me the Meaning of Being Lonely”. Only song I liked off that album was “Back to Your Heart”. I much prefer the stuff on their first album – just fun, fluffy party music. Or their third album – more mature, acoustic stuff.
I just listened to the song for Carlos and Witney’saying freestyle. I like the song but it just seems like a badream choice. I would not be a bit surprised if the BSB show up in a Nick’s freestyle, I hope it’s cool but I could do without the crotch grabbing.
I saw Bindi and Derek on snapchat too…it looks great! I’m hoping for an awesome song too. Derek always introduces me to new stuff I love.
I meant to add that I’m glad you’re on the mend, Courtney. 🙂
Am I the only one hoping Nick’s Larger Than Life freestyle has the same crazy sci-fi aesthetic as the music video? It would be epic.
@Mandi – The Missy song (and the music video that goes with it) is f*cking rad. But unfortunately, Carlos is not – so I’m hoping he doesn’t make me hate the song. But source says it’s just a very basic, hip-hop freestyle – nothing really special.
@Mandi – Also, thanks 🙂 Today has been the first day this week that I haven’t felt dog tired. Hope I’m back at 100% by Thanksgiving – I gotta cook!
@Bia – I actually think that would be a really smart route for Nick to go with the freestyle – but from what my source said, it seems like the freestyle is just kind of a lot of recycled moves from their routines this season. I’m a tad disappointed that they didn’t do something a bit more “out there” – they kinda just went for what people were expecting.
So excited for Bindi’s freestyle Derek is the only I would be okay with doing a contemporary routine for freestyle because like some of you said it will actually have meaning to it and show Bindi’s journey. I want Bindi to win so badly. Carlos’s routine should be good considering Witney’s not choreographing lol but still gunning for him to get 4th place. I’m also so bummed about Nick taking the typical route and doing BSB. It’s smart but the freestyle should be about the journey you have had on the show not who you were previously same with Carlos. Don’t know what to expect with Alek but I am pretty sure it will be underscored.
Okay now I’m feeling kind of meh about Monday night. Carlos and Nick’s freestyles sound boring and I would have rather seen Bindi and Derek take a different approach than contemporary. Intrigued by what Alek might have though because it’s still a mystery lol.
@ Mandi I am not a big fan of crotch grabbing either. It will be interesting to see how the judges score the freestyles. If they get picky or if they just give everyone approx the same score.
Julia, listen to Bindi’s song and you’ll see why they chose contemporary. It’s going to probably be as or more emotional than Kellie’s.
I guess every one has gone with the predictable path , so it’s going to come down to the power of the choreography and the level of the execution, I’m just hoping that the finale will be great, because honestly I was very disappointed with the semi finales , save some routines ( jazz and Charleston ), and last season finale was A HUGE let down .
looking back at the beginning of the season , I think the only one who lived up to his full potential is Bind , the rest were either disappointing (Nick and Carlos) or improved but not good enough (Alek), anyways that’s just my opinion.
Also a Big thank you for the spoilers , I really appreciate your work and sending “get well soon” wishes to Courtney .
judging the song selections ,they seem really fitting , so that’s a plus ,save the hills maybe ,fingers crossed for a great finale and hopefully an appropriate ending for a season that would have been awesome if it wasn’t for the too much drama ,the strings behind the curtains ,the crazy themes and the messy scoring/judging.
I checked out the songs and I’m excited for Bindi’s Quickstep but honestly I’m not thrilled about the choices they made for the freestyle. I didn’t like the song they used for the MMY one and I wish they’d used the one they’re dancing to this week for that and gone the “flashy” route for Monday. They’ve managed to resist the glitz and big productions for the most part this season (Bindi and Derek, not EVERY couple) so I was really looking forward to see them finally go all out with it because I feel like they actually “earned” the right to in a way. I’m sure what they do will be good and I’ll still vote for them to win but seeing as every other week this season has felt like MMY I’m just kinda over it at this point. Same goes for what I’ve been hearing about Alek’s freestyle.
Out of the remaining 4, I feel Nick is the one that played the safe card the most throughout the season and his freestyle continues that way with a choice that was expected. I think the rest took some risks to their dances some weeks. Especially these last weeks leading up to the finals. At this point with so much inconsistency & not really memorable dances except a few, I feel he’s not deserving of anything higher than 4th place… I saw he just announced a tour of his own around the time DWTS tour ends so with that & his wife being pregnant and all I dont think its likely he would do DWTS tour?
@Kirami I agree, Bindi to me is the one who fully lived up to the potential (possibly came out of left field for some but completely fell in love with her as the weeks passed by). Although Carlos I think has had his improvements, his Charleston last week was by far my favorite from him, still a little bit wish Alexa was in the finals!
@Julia, I don’t know if you have read Derek’s blog or not but he explains why he went that route with the Freestyle. Bindi is raw and authentic and the song embodies love. And he mentions about supersized freestyles and not doing them because you can, but doing what suits your partner. In this case, raw and authentic suits Bindi so therefore he went this route, because it’s all about showcasing her and her journey.
I did read Derek’s blog and I get not doing things because you can but it this case with everyone else going the predictable route I think it would have been fun to see. I was really hoping for a super-fun and joyful number to represent Bindi’s spirit but it is what it is.
Their other dance will be a super fun and joyful number which I think will represent Bindi’s spirit quite well. Especially considering their other dance is a quickstep, I think it makes most sense to have a freestyle with a different vibe.
Thanks Courtney for always getting us the scoop!! I hope you’re feeling better as well!
I must say I’m very excited to see Bindi’s quickstep now after hearing the song, and man that freestyle is going to be so heartwarming. Cannot wait to see what Derek has in store for us. Kellie’s freestyle was incredible and I can see Bindi’s being just a great or even better.
Wow, i don’t know what to say about Nick’s freestyle choice… I recall Sharna talking about how she couldn’t get her music cleared for her original idea but going back to this is kind of disappointing. Larger than Life is also such an anti-climatic song in my opinion. Oh well. I guess we’ll see what they have in store for us.
Alek’s song is very fitting, judging my the dwts snapchat story. Lindsay’s incorporating his strengths with ballroom and guarantee she’s putting some lifts in there. Excited to see what she has made up as well. Also, I’m in so much relief that they aren’t going to be redoing the actual rumba dance *phew*
As for Carlos, don’t necessarily care for the song. And honestly, I keep thinking about James Freestyle and how hyped that was! Carlos is known to have more energy but I don’t know if this song choice is suiting for a high energy hip hop. *shrug*
Since I really don’t like contemporaries, I guess I will just have faith in Derek’s judgement and abilities. Hopefully their freestyle won’t be just a tear jerker, but then again if Derek is doing what suits Bindi, it will be light and joyful somehow.
I think D is going to have to do a super-size contemporary so to speak since he and Bindi have already performed a very good contemporary routine. I can see why he might not want to go with a bust-a-move routine though given Nick will doing the expected BSB moves and Carlos will also play to his strengths. Bindi is not a trained performer as they are, so I totally get the natural, raw approach and I have no doubt he has given it his all. I love Leona Lewis. Do they use original soundtrack for the freestyles?
Julia, give it a rest. You’re on the verge of concern-trolling. You haven’t seen the dance! You have no idea what they’re going to do.
Why you worry about Nick NOW, when he’s not been stellar all season is beyond me. Maybe he’ll kill it, maybe he won’t. So what? It will have to be mind blowing to change people’s minds. If he ends up winning it’s because he was going to win all along.
@Rose1 – It depends on what level of clearance they get for a song – for whatever reason, it’s actually HARDER to get a song cleared for the band to play than it is to get a song cleared to just play the original track.
Thanks for the updates Courtney! Glad to hear you are feeling better!
I’m pretty disappointed to hear about Nick’s and Carlos’s freestyles. They both just sound like a big ole dose of Ambien. It’s the same stuff we’ve seen from them all season.
Nick has worked that boy band/hip-hop dance style in to so many dances already, including his quickstep. Same with Carlos. I understand that the pros probably want to keep them in their wheel house, but this is just really predictable. And to a BSB song, really Sharna?? It feels a bit defeatist, like they’re really grasping at straws.
And Carlos doing a hip-hop freestyle ::yawn::
As for Derek and Binid, what can’t that man create?! Let’s be honest, his freestyle is going to be incredible. When isn’t it??? Bindi has risen to the occasion with all of his choreography and I don’t see this being any different.
I’m looking forward to seeing what Lindsay comes up with. She has relied a lot on lifts this season, but I thought the trio AT was a great balance of lifts and dancing. If she can continue down that path, I think they’ll have something pretty great.
I may have already said this (can’t remember as my computer has frozen during several posting attempts) but I just want to commend Lindsay on her artistic choices this season. Everything from the music, to choreography, and costumes have been so perfect. She has really done everything to showcase Alek in the best possible way and has done an incredible job.
@Courtney I would have thought it’d be the other way around! This makes me wonder why they even bother with the band. Is it so they can change the pace of certain songs or make shortened versions of them sound more natural? This is something that’s confused me for awhile.
Thanks for all the intel Court!! Sorry you’ve been sick but glad to hear you’re feeling better!
I can’t wait to see Bindi’s freestyle. I know whatever Derek has come up with will be great and perfect for her.
I’m not super excited about any of the other freestyles, but I hope to be pleasantly surprised by them.
Now I’m really interested in knowing what Sharna’s original song choice and concept was. If they couldn’t clear it, then it probably wasn’t a BSB song. Shame. I hate it when situations like this force the pros to cut their creative flow and rush to find a new one. Still wish we could have seen the Jetsons foxtrot.
Nick/Sharna’s FS sounds incredibly unoriginal and boring.
I’m sure the judges will eat it up because nostalgia, but it’s been done already and feels too safe.
At least Bindi’s night will seem more rounded. Quickstep for speed and fun, and the Contemporary styled freestyle for emotion and maturity.
Court, I am so sorry you haven’t been feeling up to snuff. I hope you are fully recovered before Thanksgiving. You and Derek, both sick right now. I appreciate everything you do and all the mods, putting in so much time and effort no matter the circumstances or the time of year.
For some reason “Footprints in the sand” made me think of the ocean/beach theme of Chelsea and Mark’s Waltz. I’m really curious what Derek will make of it stylistically.
I also think that the light, fun and fast Quickstep and mature and serious Freestyle are a great way to showcase the many sides of Bindi.
I’m looking forward to seeing Bindi and Alek. I love both of the songs and I really like Lindsay’s choreography. And I don’t even have to mention Derek, because he is obviously a genius. And about Carlos and Nick? I guess we’re just gonna see another hip hop from Carlos and yet ANOTHER BSB’s song and I’m just not interested.
omggg Larger Than Life!!! I love that song! I got goosebumps when I read that they were actually doing their Freestyle to that song. That takes me back to my childhood. Can’t wait to see that dance!
Thanks for the recent intel. I hope you’re feeling better Court, if I still lived in IN I would invite myself to your house for Thanksgiving as I’ve seen the photos of some of your cooking and I want!
Take care Vogue.
Sorry, take care Court.
@Eric Good to know I’m not the only one excited for Nick’s freestyle! From what the source said about recycling moves, I think it’ll be kind of a recap of his journey on the show, and some of the lyrics become pretty heartwarming in relation to his partnership with Sharna (“everytime [I’m] down, you can make it right”). Just like his jazz was a love letter to BSB, his freestyle will (probably) be a love letter to Sharna thanking her for being such an amazing teacher and partner.
I agree with all the above posts, since Bindi has done so many upbeat routines, and her first dance is going to be upbeat also along with all the other freestyles she’s going up against, it was a smart idea to bring out the emotional, serious dance for her. I’m so excited for it, I can’t wait.
((((Courtney)))) Get well soon!!!!! xxx
One more day and counting. I can’t wait!!!
Not gonna lie I’m slightly stoked that Nick’s using my favourite backstreet boys song for his freestyle. Early brownie points from me to him.
PDS, not approving your post. Take your hatefulness somewhere else.
I get this feeling that Nick will use the rest of the Back Street Boys to perform with him for the Freestyle. And I’m more than sure that this whole freestyle idea was Nick’s and not Sharna. There no way Sharna would’ve gone this route. Also, I like hip hop. If you have the right song and right choreo., it can be AMAZING. But I have yet to like any Hip Hop that has been done DWTS. So in Carlos case for me so far the song sucks, but let see.
At the end of the day it’s Nick’s journey. If he wants to use his own ideas for his freestyle then fair play to him. Alfonso did exactly the same thing.
Is The Grove in close proximity to the DWTS ballroom? Coz how are the dancers going to get back and forth in time
Yeah, I have to agree with M8 – it is Nick’s season too, so if he has something in particular he wants to do, the go for it. And actually, I wonder if we will see any BSB’s – if the album coming out is HIS, not BSB, and he’s going on a solo tour (I don’t know, I’m actually asking), then he may want to make that clear by going solo in his freestyle. Let’s face it, at this point, all of the finalists have already won, especially if looking to promote something like an album. He went the distance, people are aware of HIM separate from BSB. Mission accomplished.
It’s a very short walk, Sara. They’re literally next door to each other and there’s a gate in the CBS Studios fence that lets them right into the Grove.
That said…I was of the impression that the whole show would be from the Grove…
Oh ok thanks PH. How would they do the whole show from there though – I saw the stage set up on snapchat and IG and it looks very similar to that circular stage they had outside at the end of S20 so I think it may actually be a similar set up where they would be switching between the two stages.
I can’t wait to see what Derek has put together for Bindi. I am sure it will be awesome. She is just so good that I am sure it will compliment her in just a lovely way.
The freestyles are my most favorite part of the show. I am excited to see what each of them do and how it came together.
I don’t know much about Carlos’ background in dancing, but I think hip-hop might be good on him. Is Witney good at hip hop?
I think Lindsay will definitely play to Alek’s strengths. What a surprise he has been this season.
I am glad that Nick and Sharna are doing something that will play to his strengths as well. I just read an article she did and she stated they were doing something creative with the song and the freestyle will be very different than anything that has never been on the show. So I’m not sure what that is about.
I really can’t wait to see Mark and Alexa together again. This season has gone so quickly.
Someone should tweet JC from after buzz about Nick and Sharna’s original freestyle song (I don’t have a public twitter account) but he normally asks the questions he gets sent.
If the stuff at the Grove is just dance performances and intros, it could also be pre-taped.
What do you mean, Buttercup?? Like the bumpers??
I don’t think it’s pre taped since they’re asking for an audience.. but the main show stuff can’t be there because its outside and they need production for the casts redo dances/fusion dances and packages
With the usual very high scoring for the final dances fan base voting will determine the winner. I doubt we will see an 8. No matter how great the freestyle can be it is a 30. There usually are multiple 30s. The one advantage Nick may have by doing a BSB dance is to wake up his fans to vote. With the fusion dance coming on Tuesday, I feel confident Derek will close any gap he might have. In the fusion they will need to ballroom or Latin dances not hip hop.
Courtney, I hope you’re feeling better. I too have been fighting bronchitis and a sinus infection all week and it’s kicked my ass big time. Cough syrup with codiene helps though! ?
I’m preparing myself to be bored during Carlos and Witney’s FS.
Yeah, I meant bumpers or production numbers. Definitely not any of the actual finale contestant stuff. Maybe we’ll be able to tell from the way it happens live. 🙂
Sara, they’re only at the Grove on night 2.
Geez, the myths are flying fast and thick tonight.
Noah was 12 points off of perfect during the finale last season.
Night one of season 19, only ONE of four couples had a perfect score.
Night one of season 18, only TWO of four couples had a perfect score, and on night 2, one couple had a 37.
Night one of season 17, FOUR of EIGHT dances had a perfect score.
Night one of season 16, 5 of 8 dances had a perfect score.
Night one of season 15, 4 or 9 dances had a perfect score.
Need I go on to further show the high scoring finale is false?? It’s only about half right – and there have been 8s in the past. Since it is false, it is ALSO false that the winner is determined by “fan base voting”. The winner is ONLY determined by fanbase voting if there is a three way tie in scores. And that is NOT typical. The winner is determined by 50-50 voting and scoring. And the voting isn’t “fan base voting” except in part. The general audience isn’t a “fanbase”.
I like the ideas of alek and nick in regards to greas rule but I am kinda hating the song Carlos chose. It’s one of those songs that makes me want to hit skip on pandora lol.
Ok autocorrect hates me i meant freestyle not grease rules lol.
I usually try and stay out of these things but as the finale and crowning is happening in just over 48 hours….
My first 2 cents and this is not in any form of hate or rudeness, but Bindi has been the least to get the criticism that she deserves. A great example would be week 8 during Icon week. Granted she didn’t get a perfect score because Julianne and CAI commented about her shoulders being raised, yet NONE of them criticized neither Bindi nor Derek for the floor work that was completely out of unison. People say how Nick is using his BSB, Carlos using his Big Time Rush and even Alek using his military, yet no one criticizes Bindi with practically using her dad’s tragic death as a base for most of her dances and her dedication; as though none of the other celebs push through their aches and pains. I bet Alexa had just as many bruises and blisters. Another criticism I don’t understand that is being used is how Nick is using his BSB for the freestyle and him having all these yrs of dance experience as a dancer. As someone who danced for 14 years mainly as a ballet dancer I can say that him with his dance experience as a BSB is a whole different ballgame as to ballroom. Ballroom has form and technique that takes yrs to master not just weeks; as well as rules such as not breaking frame and holding your posture which is painful if it’s not something you use on a daily basis. Also age plays a factor… Bindi is basically half the age of Nick and can pick up the steps easier. However there have been plenty of dances throughout this season that Nick did deserve to get high scores on because they were from a technical standpoint– in my opinion– just as good if not better then some of the other contestants. I personally think that Alek should never have gotten a perfect score and Carlos even has deserved higher scores then what he’s gotten on some dances. Though for his Salsa he completely flubbed a lift but no judge called it out. As Bruno said during Iconic Dances night, Sharna was really the ONLY one who followed what was expected: to be able to fuse the style of dance they were given– Samba– and mix it with the dance– Sat. Night Fever. Derek is going to use the emotional, overcoming losing a parent, package material POV for judges points, Sharna is going to play to Nick’s strength to a degree with it being more non ballroom and more street/hip hop/jazz style and it shouldn’t matter what song is chosen b/c it’s the freestyle. Lindsey is going to use the whole All American Hero/just your avg Joe to get judges points. I don’t know much about Carlos so I can’t comment on what Wit will come up with but it’s definitely going to be more Latin like probably b/c that style has been his strongest of all the styles he’s done. Lastly, yes I’m mostly a #TeamSharNick fan but that doesn’t mean I don’t see each contestant’s dances from a more technical viewpoint and have high standards. Is Bindi a good dancer? Yes. But unlike the other 3 we’ve not seen real “improvement” b/c they aren’t given the real criticism for improvement. Out of the 4 finalists Nick is really the one who has shown the most improvement and growth because of how hard the judges have been on him compared to the other 3, and his judges’ scores are a testament. Consistency isn’t improvement nor does it really show being a true dancer. Dancers in general aren’t perfect whether being the celeb or the pro. And never seeing/getting criticism doesn’t showcase you as an honest dancer.
:::rolls eyes::: Blah, blah, blah. You’re a Nick fan? What a shock. I never would have guessed.
Here’s a hint, try some white space and some brevity. I only made it through two sentences before my eyes fell out of my head.
Thanks for the updates Court!
The freestyles this season do not sound interesting tbh. I am so over contemporary freestyles and ugh with Nick and his crotch grabbing. Not excited to see a hip hop freestyle either so I guess I’m just hoping I like at least one freestyle despite the odds to vote for someone.
If Nick was going to do another BSB song, I just KNEW it would be ‘Larger Than Life’. It’s not my favorite by any means, but I’m still excited to see what choreography Sharna comes up with.
Nick will continue to get all my votes in the finale, but I’m fully expecting Bindi to win. It would be completely deserved, since she’s been the best and most consistent dancer IMO. And anyway, Derek happens to be my favorite pro on the show, so I wouldn’t be unhappy with this outcome at all 🙂
It’s interesting how we all see things so differently. When I look at Bindi, I don’t see a fatherless child looking for the sympathy vote. I see a celebration of life when I watch her and I don’t mean what a plucky little soldier she is to carry on. The kid radiates happiness. When she talks about her father it is with admiration, affection and awe. His death was a defining moment in her young life yet she didn’t become a morose teen, she is vibrant and positive in all that she does. Nothing about Bindi screams pity me. If she wins it will be because she’s a great dancer with an even greater attitude.
LOL!!! Bindi in my opinion doesn’t need to rely on her crisis in her young life to make her dances spectacular and neither does Derek. In fact I think if anything Derek has showed us how Bindi took her crisis by picking up the work and continuing in her father’s footsteps.
She is without a doubt a great role model for other young women. Just seeing how she has come into this show and grasp it with all her heart and soul and has worked hard to perform likes she does. Bindi has raw talent and that’s something that some people have to spent years in dancing classes and acting to obtain. The judges see it, Derek sees it (since he works with her) other pros see, (especially Val, as he worked with her they performed a great dance) and also Mark with her Trio, now.
If Mark or Val would have been Bindi’s Pro teacher, I would have still loved her and enjoyed her; because she doesn’t change with circumstances. Instead, she jumps in with both feet and takes it on without any hesitation.
I can’t wait to see what Bindi and Derek have come up with for Monday/Tuesday. I wish her the best outcome to win, even though she has already won more than ever expected. She has touched the hearts of many with her graceful light. Go! TeamCrikey
@Sadie Hopefully it’ll live up to the song’s title and be, well, larger than life. And judging by what Sharna said about it, it probably will!
@Sadie. I completely agree. I’m still team sharnick but that’s because I want to see him dance more on Tuesday 🙂 I’m okay with him not winning though… bindi is awesome and derek has been my favourite pro since I was 12 years old 🙂 <3
@Bia The song is about the fans right? I wonder if maybe that will have something to do with the song choice- I can see him bringing it up in the package. That's all a guess though. I'm excited and also hopes it lives up to the title 🙂
@Princess Heidi. I saw a question above that I know the answer to – I don’t think it was answered yet (I checked and if I missed it sorry to answer it again)
The album coming out on Wednesday is his solo album and he’s doing a solo tour in February/March.
I can’t believe that people really think that Bindi or Derek are using her dad dying to get votes, especially after last season when the show made it all about Demi and Bruce instead of it being about Rumer.
I agree with the posts above that her dad’s death was a defining moment in her young life, so naturally that’s what she talks about when the theme is “personal stories”, she’s never mentioned it outside of that. Nick chose his pregnant wife as his Icon and Andy dedicated Icon week to his late mother while Bindi chose Grace Kelly. In fact Andy has talked just as much if not more about his late mother, because she was the reason he decided to do the show.
And Nick talking about his dysfunctional family, his wife’s pregnancy and taking care of a sick Tamar (who shouldn’t have danced in the first place) were milked by the show for entertainment purposes. So if anything, it’s the show that uses these personal traumas to get viewers.
For the people involved they are just the things that make them who they are. The freestyle should represent the celebrity.
While I agree that it’s Nick’s freestyle and he can do as he pleases – I can’t help but think that this isn’t 100% what he and Sharna wanted, given that the song they had planned on using didn’t get cleared. With that in mind, I’m probably going to view their freestyle as less impressive than it could be (regardless of how well they dance it), knowing that it wasn’t their first choice.
Plus I think “Larger Than Life” is one of the most lyrically uninspired songs ever written.
As far as Nick goes….he had a pretty blatant mess-up in his tango last week and didn’t recover until the dance was about finished. To me, once your in week 10, those kinds of mistakes should’ve been worked out already…it’s obvious Sharna didn’t do a good job in getting Nick to get out of his head. That makes me question her abilities as a teacher.
Unlike Nick and Carlos, BIndi didn’t come into this competition with a built-in fanbase of her own. Sure, she’s with Derek but I’m not referring to that. I read people online saying they had no idea who Bindi was. Now,people are saying how much they love Bindi because of her infectious personality. I will do my best tonight to get people to vote for Team Crikey because to me….she is what this journey is about! Derek has said if we’d have seen her on day 1 of rehearsals we wouldn’t believe that it was the same Bindi we’re seeing 10 weeks later! I WISH they’d show that! I was worried when I saw her Whip-Nae-nae video…girl had NO rhythm whatsoever. Now look at her! She’s AMAZING!!
I agree with Court regarding the lyrics to “Larger Than Life” but it’s not like a lot of other BSB songs had much better ones. 😛
It’s kind of interesting and cool to me when people who don’t already have pre-established fanbases manage to get to the finals. Examples I can think of are JR, Katherine, Noah, Rumer, and now Bindi and Alek! It’s fun to see them win the audience over through the course of the season.
Also I have definitely noticed and appreciated Bindi and Derek’s lack of playing the pity card to get votes, especially in a season where several people have used those kind of tactics and half the themes were just begging for it.
I think we should start talking about the order of the dances… I noticed a weird pattern regarding the most recent fall seasons’ finals performances. Performing first was the person going home that night (Bill Engvall and Bethany), then the first runner-up (Corbin and Sadie), then the second runner-up (Jack and Janel) and finally the winner (Amber and Alfonso).
If this carries on to tonight’s show as well, going by what you guys are speculating, Carlos should be the first to perform, followed by Nick (or Alek), Alek (or Nick), and finally Bindi.
Thanks, Magenta. I was wondering. It kinda makes me think he won’t rely on the BSB. I could be wrong though – if he’s really desperate to win, he might do what it takes. I think that’s been part of his problem this season – he wants it too bad, whereas I don’t think it’s even been on Bindi’s radar.
Yeah, in a season where we’ve had a freakin’ baby shower complete with a gender reveal, a dysfunctional family, and a sick Tamar it’s hilarious that anyone would claim that either Derek or Bindi would use her father. Hilarious in that totally stupid way. 🙂
This is one of those times that I wonder about the producers. How long ago did they pick the song?? The producers need to get their shit together and get songs cleared at the beginning of the season. That way, even if a couple is eliminated, someone could use the songs as a backup.
Maybe, Bia, but when it’s discussed here it often changes, since the producers are on record for reading this site. So, I would count on nothing.
I’m not a big fan of BSB, but I do appreciate catchy music – and “Larger Than Life” would qualify as that. When it’s those kind of tunes, lyrics aren’t really what I’m looking for – I’ll look to Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen for that. 🙂
It’s also one of the few videos I remember from them, so I do wish they’d done the space-y/futuristic theme but it sounds like they didn’t. Dang. Oh well, I am hoping my now lowered-expectations helps me enjoy their freestyle more tonight.
Yeah, it’ll be interesting to see if dance order correlates to how the couples finish tonight and if there is a pattern like in previous seasons. I think they’re probably going to mix it up to mess with everyone, but we will see, I guess. But seeing how Bindi’s Freestyle is the emotional one, they’ll probably save that one for last.
Thanks for taking the words directly out of my mouth in that first paragraph Fig 😀
Okay, I got a good laugh at the Nick has shown the most improvement line. His first dance was actually his best IMO. Actually any dance with BSB moves are his best. The rest? Um, no. I’m going to get an even better laugh (and no doubt plenty of happy tears) once she holds that MBT.
I just want to say that I am *thrilled* that Alek & Lindsay are using “Marchin’ On” for their freestyle.
If you’ve never heard it, it’s an awesome song with a strong beat. They just better have Ryan Tedder sing it and not the folks on stage.
Really excited for the finale tonight and the freestyles. I have got to say that this season was exciting for me because of Bindi and some older pros that came back.
I still can’t believe they didn’t have Latin night (maybe none of the finalists can do Latin properly TBH… Bindi can, but its too clean).
I just want to see a hardcore LATIN number (aka awesome salsa, samba, or paso) before the end of the season…but I doubt it.
Just read the song bindi And Derek have for freestyle. I’m torn. It’s a cute song but it doesn’t really scream wow to me. But this is Derek so he can pull anything off.
Wow, Bia, you hit the nail on the head with dance order. It’s Carlos, Alek, Nick and then Bindi.
@Vin, Derek wants to showcase Bindi’s raw and authentic side and he wanted to pretty much make the FS about her journey. It’ll probably be really emotional and heartwrenching.
Yup. Carlos and Witney going first. Buh-bye, Team Brown Sugar!
https://twitter.com/TeamSharnick/status/668874942176366593
Whohooo bye Carlos!! I hope he comes down from the clouds after this. Its funny that the freestyle order is also the order of how the placing is most likely to go from 4th to 1st.
I wouldn’t count Carlos as toast just because he is going first. Maybe TPTB know that people think him going first means he’ll go home first and are throwing us a curve ball.
Am I giving them too much credit? Haha
I will say though that Carlos is the most probable to go home tonight but there’s something in me that keeps saying “Nick might go home…”.
3 hours to go! Happy Finale day everyone! 🙂
I’ve watched the show for many years and I’ve never known that (about going 1st) until I saw an IG from Derek during season 19. Still, I’m glad Bindi is going last and Carlos is first 🙂
@Mandi, care to share the IG you’re talking about? I’m curious.
Nick and Sharna have a salsa/tango fusion as per pap video.
Salsa/Tango is an interesting one. I once did a Salsa/Paso fusion which I was proud of, but Tango’s a tough one to fuse with Salsa