DWTS 15, Week 10 – Finale Power Rankings
First off, a bit of an apology/explanation: some of you may have noticed me being a bit quiet and scarce both on Twitter and here at Pure the past few days – that was due to a rather intense bout of the stomach flu which had me sidelined for 5 days. I’m feeling much better, but still not 100%…and thus I’ve just been taking it easy, saving my energy for things like the cheese and power rankings. Thanks for hanging in there with me 🙂
Anywho…
…I find myself repeating a lot of the “guidelines” Heidi & I set forth about a year ago when we did our Top 10 Best & Worst freestyles in DWTS history, after watching the freestyles tonight. I feel like only one couple really knocked it out of the park, and the other two made some pretty amateurish mistakes…one in particular showed us just how green he is in the freestyle arena. And I’ve decided that I just HATE the “favorite dance” round, since it’s nothing really new, and I think it’s seldom a vast improvement on the original performance…and I think it can often turn out WORSE. Can’t we just go back to the redemption routine, where it was completely new choreography, new music, and a clean slate?
Gonna do things differently tonight, and start off with 3rd place and work my way up…
3rd place: Kelly & Val
I’m left with mixed feelings for both of their dances, overall. The paso doble started off very promising – lots of attack, and not a single falter UNTIL that rather noticeable slip of the hand and momentary loss of connection, which I have to assume was due to Kelly’s nerves. I seriously thought she might pass out, as anxious as she was looking beforehand. But she did manage to regain her footing, and I was actually impressed that she managed to do her whole turning sequence without getting dizzy or off-balance this time. But she just looked so SCARED, and while she corrected the problems from last time, she had problems with a different section this time. Was it an improvement? Sure. But I don’t think it was perfect, and I kinda wish Bruno had docked her half a point as well – if you’re going to point out an obvious error, I think you should adjust your score accordingly. Len may have given her a 10, but at least he did it WITHOUT also pointing out the mistake she made. Moving on to the freestyle…*sigh* This is the part where I chastise Val for making the rookie freestyle mistake of kinda copping out with a movie theme that is SO iconic that he & Kelly had no hope of ever living up to the original – and then even going as far as to copying some of that iconic choreography, so it makes the contrast to the original even more obvious and just makes the copier pale in comparison to the original. Historically, dance movie-themed freestyles on the show have not gone over well – examples that come to mind are Mya & Dmitry’s Hairspray freestyle, Gilles & Cheryl’s Flashdance freestyle, Evan & Anna’s Footloose freestyle, Stacy & Tony’s Saturday Night Fever freestyle, and Bristol & Mark’s Chicago freestyle. Why? They’re almost always cheap, generic knockoffs of the original, and we’re kinda just left feeling “meh” about the whole dance. I think this was the biggest flaw of Kelly & Val’s freestyle – the overall theme (and choreography) was a watered-down, lukewarm copy of the show-stopped Swayze & Grey number from the end of Dirty Dancing. Did it have relevance to Kelly & Val’s relationship? Ok, maybe – but I think they would have fared better had they stayed away from such a recognizable piece of music and the choreography associated with it, and done something more unique to them. As for the dancing itself – as with many of their dances, it felt like it took a long time for them to finally start dancing, and there seemed to be a few stutters and what I call “empty space”: gaps in the choreography where more dancing could be fit in, but instead we had…standing around. The lifts were decent, but I think they paled in comparison to both Melissa & Shawn’s; I thought the troupe rushing in like a disorganized herd of elephants was a BIG mistake, though. It was at that moment that I really lost sight of Kelly, who should have been the focus for the whole routine. The choir? Ok, cute touch, but I think it too distracted from Kelly. Overall, just wayyyy too many people onstage for her dance, and if they were going to copy anything, they should have copied the section of Tony & Cheryl’s DD routine where the group comes in, because it was far more organized and not nearly as distracting. Yes, Kelly & Val had great chemistry – but has that ever really been a problem? I guess I’m just glad they didn’t go the route of over-the-top mush, so I will give them props for that. Was it a good routine? Mehhh…they danced what they had well enough, but I just think the content (and theme) could have been much better thought out. In the end, I think Kelly will likely end up in 3rd – especially if things end up like I think they will after the instant dance. I’m guessing it’s going to be ranked, in which case I think the judges easily give her 3rd place; and “soap fanbase” or not, I think Shawn has always had her beat, and I think Melissa’s more buzzworthy at the moment.
: Shawn & Derek
I would LOVE to be wrong and for these two to win – I think they deserve it. But part of me just can’t shake the feeling that there are too many people riding on the “Melissa & Tony have never won before so they should win this time” train for Shawn & Derek to overcome – especially since they got reamed for their quickstep, which I’m feeling on-the-fence about. As I said earlier, I kinda hate the whole “repeat your favorite dance again!” concept, because I feel like the routines only have a small margin for improvement…and even if they don’t improve, the judges tend to cop out and give them inflated scores anyway. But that said – I really wish Derek would have given my nerves a rest and just tweaked the choreography a bit for a few more points. I think they still have the opportunity to slide into at least 2nd place – but I’m just not sure that the rule-breaking was worth the risk this time. The rule-breaking left the door WIDE open for those judges to storyboard the crap out of this week, for them to lowball Shawn, the early frontrunner, in order to give the impression of it being “anyone’s game”. The routine was spectacular once again – but I thought it was only maybe a tad better than the original, since there wasn’t really a lot of stuff to improve upon, other than the choreography itself. I would be resting a lot easier tonight if they had just picked their mambo and knocked it out of the park again – which makes me wonder, like Heidi, if these dances were chosen FOR them, as opposed to being chosen BY them. As for their freestyle – I may have a colorful and varied vocabulary, but I believe the best response to this once was “OMG.” STUNNING tricks, especially the counterbalance stretch at the beginning and that insane falling-face-first-towards-the-floor-from-my-partner’s-shoulders-but-gracefully-ducking-into-a-roll-at-the-last-possible-moment stunt that left me holding my breath. I officially crown that the most ambitious stunt ever attempted in DWTS history, because that was some seriously dangerous sh*t, kids. Loved the fact that Derek included bits & pieces of their mambo, bhangra, Argentine tango, and a few other dances in their freestyle – he knows Len just eats that stuff up. Also loved the Fab 5 backing Shawn up – so cute seeing them gyrating in their matching black costumes, and nailing the choreography as only a squad of Olympic gold medalists could 🙂 Overall, if it were up to me, these two would walk away with the MBT tomorrow night – because they have danced flawlessly, entertained me week after week, and have brought something new to the table each time they hit the floor. That, to me, is what the champion of the all-star season should be…I’m praying I’m wrong about the results tomorrow night!
The winner: Melissa & Tony
In the end, I won’t be upset if these two win – they’ve been working hard and giving us good, drama-free dance each week, and dammit, they’re likeable 🙂 I think both of them have stepped out of their comfort zone quite a bit this season and have really grown, and even though they may not have been the most technical or the most entertaining dancers each week, I still enjoyed watching them. But I do think they were a bit overscored tonight, and maybe lacked a little bit of the panache of both Shawn & Derek and Kelly & Val. Their samba – I actually think it was a little bit of a backslide from the original, because it didn’t feel as fluid to me this time. Rather than Melissa just moving through it effortlessly like she did last time, it felt a bit more…I don’t know, stop-and-go this time? As if Tony had maybe focused a bit too much on having her really accentuate each step, and the end result looked a bit too isolated. It defintely wasn’t bad, but I just preferred the original myself – seemed like she wasn’t under as much pressure and enjoyed the dance more. Then we have their freestyle – as a side note, I have to wonder if Tony was drawing inspiration from Eric Luna & Georgia Ambarian, an incredible theater arts champion couple, when he was choreographing this routine – because a lot of these lifts had a very Eric & Georgia feel to them, and even Melissa’s costume reminded me of one I’d seen on Georgia before. Anywho! I’m a little bit torn on this one – I normally complain about routines that are too lift-dependent, and I feel like this routine was almost entirely lifts. But I will say this: Tony is still the best lifter we’ve seen on the show, and I think Melissa may have given Julianne a run for her money as the best liftee tonight – because the lifts they did were just stunning. It was a beautiful routine – and I do feel like it was a good homage to Melissa’s routine on the show. But I think going with such a slow song was a bit of a gamble…the only precedent we have for a freestyle done to more of a ballad was Erin & Maks’ in season 10, and it only seem to read lukewarm with fans. I think Melissa’s was definitely better, but I wonder if she might have a more competitive edge against Shawn & Kelly with a more uptempo song. In the end, I won’t really mind too much if Melissa wins – she’s nice, she’s worked hard, and I think she & Tony have had the right attitude about this season. Guess we’ll have to see how things pan out after the instant dance…
So who do you guys think will be walking home with the MBT tomorrow night? And which returning stars are you looking forward to seeing? 🙂
The freestyles win finals and no question, Shawn and Derek had the best free style. Given the amaing contemporary routine performed on the last show by Derek and his 4 partners, it suffered greatly in comparison. Melissa’s freestyle was akward at times, slow and actually boring. I too felt it was overscored. Best free style wins and that was definitely Shawn and Derek. I wished they hadn’t picked the quick step but still the best dancers, most entertaining and most deserving of the win. Got to get back to voting!!!!!
Great job Court!!! Wow, what a night! I’m truly proud of them all. None of them disappointed. They are all winners! I loved each Freestyle for different reasons. Here is how I rank them;
1. Shawn and Derek
Repeat dance: Show stopping and unbelievable! I just loved watching this dance again. Such a joy to watch! Full of non-stop technique and so entertaining. 30+++ (if they should get docked for lifts and leaving hold, then 29.5)
Freestyle: Once again, just incredible. I loved the Italian, German, and Russian feel. So so creative! Brilliance at it’s finest in every way. 30!!
2. Melissa and Tony
Repeat dance: I loved how relaxed she was and just having fun and living the moment. I thought her legs, footing, and hips still needed a little more oopmh in places, but, this dance was still spot on fun and a joy to watch. 29
Freestyle: First, I loved how they challenged themselves, took a risk, and did something different by doing something contemporary. They were beautiful, elegant, passionate, full of grace and emotion. I loved her lines. Totally exquisite! 30!!
3. Kelly and Val
Repeat dance: Much better, but, she seemed a little nervous and I still think it needed a bit more power and force. There were a couple of mistakes, but, it was still fun to watch. She’s light as a feather. I loved her spins the most. Val also delivered it in every way. 28.5
Freestyle: I loved the intro. Kelly looked so graceful and pretty. She was more relaxed for this dance. Val playing the violin (OMG, I loved this!) made it that much more personal and passionate. I loved the retro feel. Just beautiful and perfect for their story too. 29.5
I think despite the scorings, Team Shawnough will take the MB tomorrow night with a chance of Melissa and Tony taking it. I think it’s going to be so close.
I thought for sure Shawn & Derek were going to use their Mambo or Paso/Tango fusion and was surprised when I saw they chose their Quickstep. THe Quickstep was amazing and one of my favorite dances ever, but I knew the judges (especially Len) would dock them for it. I find it interesting that all the dancers chose dances from Week 3, which makes me wonder, as you said, if everyone really “chose” their dances.
Glad you’re feeling better, Courtney!
I agree with every single one of your comments.
I really hope Shawn and Derek wins, they deserved. I still think they can win
Melissa is good but again, I don;t get why they have to overscore her pretty much every week, her samba was the only 30 for the first round and IMO the worst dance of the night, Her samba is season8 was so much better, I don’t see improvement in her.
Contemporary dance is more than just lifts, is more about the quality of movement, and that routine just like everytime that Tony is allowed to lift was all about the lifts.It was just Boring.
I just hope Melissa doesn’t get another samba tomorrow, but we all know no matter which dance she gets ,they will give her a 30.
Oh I was so mad with all the judges for low balling Shawn and Derek for their quickstep when Kelly and Val made a mistake in their Paso and got TWO tens?? What??? Then for him to copy Kenny Ortega’s choreography from Dirty Dancing? wow! love how Len called em out for it! I gotta wonder too if the Producers don’t pick the ‘favorite’ dances so as to give the “frontrunner’ a monkey wrench to give their favorites Melissa and Tony a better chance of winning! I HOPE that all the fans are as mad as I am and VOTE for Shawn and Derek!!
Shawn and Derek’s freesyle was WOW!! THE BEST of the night if not the best in all 15 Seasons of DWTS! LOVED their use of the Fierce 5! OMG! I thought my heart was gonna stop while watching that lift with her on top of his shoulders.
I honestly don’t think Melissa and Tony deserve the MBT because while they danced fairly clean all season, Melissa isn’t Shawn. Shawn is a FAR superior dancer than Melissa. But if Shawn doesn’t win, I’d prefer it to go to Melissa as opposed to Kelly.
Only watched a couple of shows this time around. Shawn and Derek blew me away with their freestyle.
I have the say, kudos to Julianne, girl is campaigning hard for Derek and Shawn on twitter.
I’ve been voting my fingers but popped in to say ITA and does anyone know how the judges scores are factored in to the voting done by fans? I’m wondering what kind of hurdle Shawnough have to oversome.
Melissa and Tony were boring in the freestyle and they were out of sync in the repeat-dance. As a viewer I wasn’t impressed. They over hype her and honestly it’s getting old. I also think people are noticing it.
Shawn and Derek were pushing it with picking the same repeat-dance that they scored low on but the viewers do love it. So they played their cards right. Their freestyle was predictable. I expect all the gymnastics. I enjoyed it doe it was good.
Kelly and Val I think did better this time with their repeat. I thought they deserved 30. Carrie Ann is just too hard on Kelly tbqh. I loved their freestyle of “Dirty Dancing”. Everyone loves a shoutout to a movie theme. So I’m sure the viewers were eating it up.
Overall it was a good night. I can’t wait for tomorrow.
CAI is defending herself on Twitter once again! I tweeted her asking how can a dance be scored 10 when there were OBVIOUS mistakes(a la Kelly’s Paso?)
This might be the first time in dwts history that i thought each couples redo dance was better than their freestyle. It really didnt love ANY of them.
I like to judge freestyles based on if i was just an average viewer tuning in, would i pick up the phone to vote for that person
kelly val – was this cute and danced well? yes. do i like dirty dancing as much as the next person? yes….but why val why?!! does he have selective memory loss? this routine has been performed on this show about 10 times! Im declaring at least a 5 year moratorium on dirty dancing tributes.
now would pick up the phone? if i was a showmance fanatic or a dirty dancing fanatic? sure. other than that, not really
melissa & tony- it was nicely danced and showcased her beautiful lines. but i think its a HORRiBLE idea to do slow contemporaries as a freestyle unless the story is so emotinally charged that you cant take your eyes away. This was not that. it was pretty but after it was over, i forgot about it. wait , i did remember how the singer butchered the song.
would i pick up the phone for this? not at all, this actually left less of an impression than kelly’s. At least they did such an iconic movie, that it will be easy to remember the routine
shawn & derek – they win the freestyle round just for having the fierce five there in all their fierceness and that supercrew-esque tower tumble they did at the end. other than that, it was a whole lot of meh to me. I get that it was an homage to their previous routines, but it felt like a hodge-podge of random moves that didnt quite fit the music. definately not dereks best work.
would i pick u the phone? sure for the fierce five alone
derek & shawn won by miles, they werent great but the competition was worse…im feel like going to rewatch donald’s & peta
She’s not only campaigning hard, she’s apparently calling all her friends and threatening them into tweeting/voting. 🙂 I’ve seen Adam Shankman, Ryan, Gavin Degraw, (yum) Josh Duhmael, Ashley Tisdale….there’s probably more. Not saying that will necessarily help, I just appreciate the loyalty she’s showing tonight.
Ooh and CAI tweeted me back asking who got a 10 with a mistake?
Okay, I have to say I REALLY enjoyed tonight despite the judges usual crop of bs. Awesome dances that I really enjoyed overall.
Kelly & Val: Sigh…while I give them credit for doing a great job in both dances and I did actually like both dances, they were the most overscored couple tonight for me. Kelly did have some improvement in her Paso, but she did seem to get a bit unsteady and anxious in spots, and it was especially apparent when she messed up and lost connection with Val. It does irritate me that Len & Bruno pretty much gave her a pass for it, especially when Bruno MENTIONED it. I did like their freestyle. It was well danced, was a good representation of Kelly & Val’s relationship, and was cute. However, like Len, I felt it lacked quite a bit of originality. A lot of that choreography was from Dirty Dancing to the T. Seriously dude, if Jennifer Grey didn’t copy Dirty Dancing, you surely don’t get the pass to do so. I also felt it got messy in points, namely when the Troupe came in. It became a bit hard to focus on Kelly. All in all, I did enjoy it, but it was most certainly not worth a 29.5 IMO.
Melissa & Tony- I really enjoyed these two tonight. Both lovely dances. I did feel like Melissa’s samba had a bit more “umph” with the hip action, however, like Courtney I did feel like she accented each step a bit too much. It was stop-and-go material. And I swear in a spot or two I saw her get a bit off balance. Anyways, I really liked it, but not a 30 IMO. Her freestyle was very pretty, but to be honest, I can’t say I’ll remember it at all. At first I would’ve given it a 29, but with how hyped up I was all night…well you can guess 😛 Looking at it again, it was pretty lift heavy and I was left a bit cold, as gorgeous as it was to look at. I can’t say it was a 30 either. But all in all, I do really like Melissa & Tony and will be happy for them if they win. I won’t pitch a fit.
Shawn & Derek- I’m REALLY hoping these two can pull out a win. In my opinion, they really deserve this. But I am a bit nervous for them. First of all the Quickstep- okay, I’m fine with them docking points for breaking rules. Yet they pretty much give Kelly a pass for an OBVIOUS mistake and overscore both she and Melissa. Yeah…double standard much?? I’d be just fine with 27 if the judges would have scored the other two appropriately, but what can you do? Vote. I LOVED their freestyle. I liked the other two, but Shawn’s was the only one to really blow me away. Fantastic. THAT was a risk: awesome tricks and lifts, awesome dancing, LOVED all the nods they gave to their other dances, and I loved seeing the Fierce Five 🙂 Glad this got what it deserved. I’m voting as much as I can for these two, and if they don’t win, I will be very disappointed. But at this point, I’m just ecstatic they made it this far and I give a huge congratulations and job well done to all the finalists for working so hard and giving us such lovely dances.
As for the instant dances tomorrow…I’m thinking Shawn can catch up a bit in points which will HOPEFULLY make a difference. I’m thinking Kelly will get 3rd. If Melissa dances it really well and actually does the best, I will say she’ll deserve the highest ranking or score. However, I have a feeling the judges will give her the highest score anyways. But nonetheless, vote hard for your favorites and I hope everyone enjoyed the season at least in some aspect LOL.
And a HUGE thank you to Courtney, Heidi, John, Vogue, and all of the other PureDWTS writers for working hard all season long! Thanks for such an awesome site 🙂
Melissa is good, but I don’t understand why she gets a perfect score every time.
But apparently the judges want her to win… it’s so obvious…
” especially the counterbalance stretch at the beginning and that insane falling-face-first-towards-the-floor-from-my-partner’s-shoulders-but-gracefully-ducking-into-a-roll-at-the-last-possible-moment stunt that left me holding my breath. I officially crown that the most ambitious stunt ever attempted in DWTS history, because that was some seriously dangerous sh*t, kids. “”
My heart stopped for a moment when they did that.
My gut feeling is tht shawn will win (my fave!!) bc they had the most entertaining freestyle, The F5-who already have ginormous fanbases of their own, and lots ppl (celebs) are campaigning 4 them *fingers crossed*
Kelly & Val – they make me kind of nauseous, didn’t see the Paso, but the freestyle was beautiful (loved the beginning)…even though I think it kind of fell flat. Using the iconic movie song was brave, but probably not a good idea. And CAI infuriated me when she commented on their showmance – tasteless.
Melissa & Tony – eh. The samba was like it was the first time – just cute. And it was interesting that she did contemporary, even though Kelly kind of did too…but Melissa performed beautifully.
Shawn & Derek – this really pissed me off. Derek gets his ass handed to him for taking risks, but everyone else gets lauded. Especially because it’s happened in the past that a rule breaking favorite dance doesn’t get docked the second time around. But that FREESTYLE!!! Loved it all. Music, costumes, choreo, the Fierce Five. I was completely stunned by the time it was over.
I’m hoping it goes to Shawn & Derek. They’ve shown us greatness and positivity every week regardless of what was going on with anything else – and they’ve earned this win.
@ #18 laila:
” especially the counterbalance stretch at the beginning and that insane falling-face-first-towards-the-floor-from-my-partner’s-shoulders-but-gracefully-ducking-into-a-roll-at-the-last-possible-moment stunt that left me holding my breath. I officially crown that the most ambitious stunt ever attempted in DWTS history, because that was some seriously dangerous sh*t, kids. “”
My heart stopped for a moment when they did that.
MINE TOO.
FREESTYLES:
Kelly and Val – I don’t know how to say it… But it didn’t flow. I didn’t think there was any fluidity in her movements. The only part that I really liked was Val’s violin playing at the start. Overall the chereograohy left me lukewarm as I didn’t feel like she was truly being challenged or stepping out of her comfort zone.
Tony and Melissa – whenever she/tony says “expect the unexpected”, it just means they are adding loads of lifts -.- tbh I didn’t like it. Her lines were nice, but her arm movements were awkward and I just couldn’t feel the emotion from her. Props to them for their over-the-head lifts, but while they are nice to look at, they don’t leave me going wow. Derek and Shawn did just a few tricks, but each time you could hear the crowd gasping
Derek and Shawn – I didn’t like it much at first. But the more I watch it, the more I fell in love with it. Their tricks weren’t excessively much, but each one left me in awe and wondering how they managed to do it. I actually felt like they danced the most out of the three couples tonight for their freestyle. Just amazing.
I have always felt like the general voters get it right each season. I have hope. My husband has voted for Melissa all season. He switched his votes to Shawn tonight because she is the “best dancer”. I could live with a Melissa win but it should be Shawn.
Also felt that scoring for Kelly was overscored on both routines and their freestyle was a fail. Truly thought Val was better than that (IMO)
Did anyone else hear the rumor that the producers made Derek and Shawn do their Quickstep instead of their Paso/Tango fusion which is what they originally wanted? Weird how all the couples “chose” their week 3 iconic dances to redo, no? Supposedly it was Henry from the troupe who spilled the beans…
I think Kelly is going to win. Her intro clip showing her chemistry with Val was very touching And then folloned by a very emotional dance And having the time of my life soundtrack plus the choir was a nice touch. Didn’t have the technical difficulty or originality that Shawn/ Melissa had but I felt it had a bigger emotional impact.
Who ever wins I will be happy with. Melissa has had some awesome dances and the lifts are so perfect and challenging she is really a pro. Same with Shawn. That freestyle was crazy good. Still think miss kelly Monaco will win. Great improvement for her from season one and that freestyle felt magical and uplifting.
So, I think Shawn and Derek took the night. Their freestyle was truly “super-sized”, and had not just great lifts and tricks, but had great dancing as well. It was really cool to see little bits and pieces from some of their routines throughout the season. I’m disappointed that they chose to dance their quickstep (and I realize that they may not have actually chosen it); partly because it gave the judges an opportunity to knock them down, and partly because I would have loved to have seen them do the paso/tango fusion. It’s the one dance that would have had something new, since last time Shawn danced it with Mark. But, if you want something to get the fans riled up at the judges and voting, then the quickstep was the way to go. Probably, if they had done any other dance (except the rumba or samba), they would have gotten a thirty. Since I tried both during the show and after the show to cast phone votes for Shawn, and was unable to get them all in (despite hitting redial every few seconds), I would say that Shawn had people voting for her.
Melissa and Tony were good – I thought her samba had more attack this time around (wasn’t as soft); not sure I thought it was 30 worthy, but that kept her ahead of Kelly and Val, so I’m okay with it. Their freestyle was lovely – but not a huge fan of slow and quiet songs for a freestyle. Given the different contemporary dances we’ve seen on DWTS (competing dances *only* – obviously not including Derek’s from last week or any other guest performance), Melissa’s was by *far* the best. And I think their lifts were cleaner than for their AT, so that was good. Overall, it’s Tony’s best freestyle, so yay them! I’m thinking it will bring Melissa into second place in front of Kelly and Val (still counting on Shawn to take the trophy, and doing my best to help her).
Kelly and Val…sigh… What were the judges thinking?!! They gave her a *10* for a routine with an obvious mistake. Grr… I appreciate that Carrie Ann at least docked them for that. I appreciate that Len commented on their lack of originality in the freestyle, and docked them there. Overall, I think both their performances were a little lackluster – and overscored. Didn’t feel much with the paso, and their freestyle was just flat. The best part was the beginning, when Val was playing the violin and she was doing the aerial work. It just went downhill from there. When the troupe came in, Kelly just got lost – kind of swallowed up by the troupe. Contrast that to Shawn’s freestyle; you could always pick her out, even when the Fierce Five were on the floor with her.
I find it funny that all three freestyles had some aerial work in them – Kelly, the background folks for Melissa, and the Fierce Five for Shawn.
I’m hoping Shawn and Derek win, but I would be okay with Melissa. Hoping to see Kelly a distant third.
I just want to stop here for a minute and say thank you to everyone who blogs here at puredwts! You all make watching the show so much more enjoyable! I look forward every week to your blogs:)
I think it will probably come down to Shawn and Melissa. I would be happy with either one but i am voting for Shawn. I’m just hoping she can get the votes to make up for her lower score but there is still tomorrow!
Liked Melissa+Tony’s contemporary if for no other reason than theirs was much better then Kelly/Val’s.
I’m OK with if she wins. I would be nice for Tony to finally get a mirror ball before he gets stuck with another string of lousy dancers. (please note: there is a difference between liking a first-time winner versus actually voting for them for that reason)
Technically, thought Shawn/Derek had the best repeat, but it may cost them point-wise. Risk/reward decision on Derek’s part, but throwing away points is less risky when there are more total points (like in week 3).
Regardless how that decision works out, thanks Derek for so many seasons of outstanding choreography. Way to go out on a high note.
Why thank you, Nat. That’s always nice to hear, since the site gives even the sweet Vogue a headache from time to time. 🙂
This whole evening made me mad. They want to talk about rules? Come on. They could’ve let Shawn and Derek get away with breaking a few rules in their quickstep. So, they lowballed them with the scores when they didn’t even do that when they first performed it. What?
Then, of course the overscoring of Melissa and Tony continues. Can’t wait to see them get that perfect 90 tomorrow. They have been propped for weeks. They really, really want them to win this for some reason.
Thanks all for the kind words 🙂
Just out of curiosity – did Melissa & Tony actually say they were going for a “contemporary” freestyle? Or are we just assuming that based on how it looked? The reason I ask is because I actually thought it looked like textbook theater arts/cabaret – a division of competitive ballroom dedicated to lifts & acrobatics. More balletic stuff. I actually think that may have been the direction Tony was going for, as opposed to contemporary. Search “theater arts” on YouTube.
I am pretty sure I heard Tony say they were going for Contemporary.
Thanks again PH, Courtney, Vogue and all the rest of the Pure DWTS team for the wonderful job again this season!
My pleasure 🙂
Yes Court, i remember them saying specifically it was contemporary.
I enjoyed watching tonight; everyone did so well! My general observations/opinions (for what they are worth):
1. I cringed when Derek and Shawn started talking about breaking the rules again for the quickstep. The dance is amazing and I adore it, but it would have been cool to change it and make it more within the rules just to see if it was just as amazing as it originally was(as an experiment if for nothing else!). I am left wondering if the producers had them do this dance exactly like they did before so that no one could say they handed them the trophy. You know, so that if they DID win, it wouldn’t be a given but a surprise. Then they could be like, ‘see, the fans did it’. As for the freestyle, that was phenomenal! I loved it! I saw some tango, some salsa/mambo, some bollywood/bhangra and even a quickstep move. Very entertaining! I bet the Fab 5 had a blast being included!
2. Melissa’s samba still was too carefully done to look truly samba-ish IMO. I didn’t feel it was any better than before. And her freestyle…i wish they had called it theatre arts (which is done at ballroom competitions) b/c theatre arts is alot of daring lifts and beautiful lines. Contemporary, from what I’ve seen on SYTYCD, is more about NOT doing beautiful lines. As a contemporary routine, it wasn’t that great. As a theatre arts routine, it was fantastic! I wished their music had been more bold/upbeat also. A slow song to me is never good as a freestyle.
3. Kelly’s paso was good. I enjoyed watching it; she’s definitely getting steadier. But I still would put her as a solid third. And her freestyle….that song has been done soooo many times. Makes me wonder if Val even saw the DWTS show where they did the Patrick Swayze tribute. Val also has been irritating me with his lack of clothing; my tv just reeks of desperation when he does that.
I love Shawn and Derek the best. But I would not mind if Melissa and Tony won…they have had great attitudes this whole season and I do like them.
Ha ha, Courtney you beat me to it about the theatre arts. I guess I took too long on my post. Lol! But totally agree with you.
I have mixed feelings about tonight as well. And I just have to say that I while I do like the Favorite Dance Round, I don’t think it should be danced on the first night. Save it for the Finale on Tuesday where it doesn’t really matter.
Kelly & Val
Paso Doble: I do think this was much better than the first time. This paso is easily her best dance of the season, I think. That slip I think really threw her off, but they did get back into it decently, but I do think if you’re going to point out the mistake, don’t give a 10 for it. Part of me thinks that Len gave them a 10 for funsies.
Freestyle: I like Dirty Dancing. I kind of like that song. But IT’S TOO DAMN CLICHÉ!! I mean, I guess I have to give Val a little bit of slack because this was his first Freestyle. But still, I think he’s seen enough of the freestyles on the show to know that you need to do something original. The dance, I think, was danced well, but the troupe got in the way big time. If you’re going to bring them in, don’t have them dance around in a circle. I want to say they’ll land in 3rd… but I have no idea.
Melissa & Tony
Samba: I definitely got this repeat did have it’s pros and cons. It was one of Melissa’s better routines, I think and she didn’t do it horribly. Some sections I thought were danced better the first time, but I do agree with Court: some of the dance just wasn’t as fluid as it was the first time. Her feet were awesome though. And while it wasn’t as fluid, I think Melissa did have a lot more fun this time than she did before.
Freestyle: The biggest thing I did notice was there wasn’t a lot of dancing. But the dancing that was done, I thought was done very well. But I think lifts are just as equally hard as learning choreography. Yes, we do want see some dancing, but I think the lifts added to the dance very well. I think Tony finally got something right with the Freestyle in that he played to Melissa’s strengths, which is what Court said would be her biggest weakness: she made this freestyle look PRETTY.
Shawn & Derek
Quickstep: It was a risky choice, but it’s still a stellar dance despite all the broken rules. I feel like Len and Carrie Ann could have been generous enough to give them 9.5s (especially Len after that 10 for Kelly’s Paso), but such is life. It was a fun routine, but I do wish they had picked a different dance. Their Bhangra is definitely my favorite, but due to the fact it was done the week before, I would pick their Mambo as an extremely close second. However, while Court thinks these dances were picked for them, Shawn did a good sales pitch on me that she and Derek did in fact want to dance this Quickstep as their favorite in the Skybox interview.
FREESTYLE: NOW THAT WAS A FREESTYLE!!!!! This dance definitely made up for the risky Quickstep choice. I don’t think there could be a more perfect representation of a freestyle than that. All of those lifts, all of those RISKY lifts were done with expert precision, I thought. 1,000 times better than the Freestyle she did with Mark. I thought this was a perfect way to end the night, because Shawn slew that freestyle. Now comes the big question: Do I think she’ll win? Honestly, I have no frickin’ clue.
So for the last couple of (few) seasons…judges have made finals scores RAZOR thin + high….and now suddenly an 8.5 and a 9, seriously?? Mistakes and wobbley gets 10’s. Something SMELLS. What’s UP ? Guess they don’t like great dancing from a couple ALL SEASON and their definition(+ the producers,too?)of All-Stars is a couple whose never won before. Maybe they should split it and give some to Sabrina, too!! After all it WAS shocking !! and did’nt they say she was the BEST dancer? We don’t play that HERE. Maybe it’s cause they’re from a different country(a language barrier thing?). But any All-Starcompetition I ever was in or ever watched were WINNERS that come together and battle it out to see who’s best of the best !!! GAWD ! Well, now I just gotta go vote MORE and hope it helps the team that did championship dances EVERY week this season.
Seems like Aly tweeted they are doing the encore of their Freestyle tomorrow.
Donald also got the encore of his freestyle last season and he ended out up winning.
The scoring for Melissa reminds me of how they scored Katherine last season. She ended out getting a perfect 90 and still got 2nd place. I feel like scoring her higher than Kelly is the only way Kelly will get 3rd and Melissa into the Top 2.
I still think Shawn will win. The last freestyle usually wins. I’d say about 90% of the time that’s the case. JR had the lowest score for the first round of the finals and a 30 on his freestyle and still won.
Between Shawn’s fans, Derek’s fans, The Fierce 5’s fans and the casual voters that may have loved their freestyle, I think they’ll win because only 3 points separate all of them and, in the end that’s really nothing.
#29 Courtney, Melissa said in the intro package that a contemporary freestyle had never been done on DWTS before. That surprised me since Tony helped Erin and Maks with theirs.
I think they did say contemporary, Court. I would have to watch it again, but I seem to recall the words being uttered.
Courtney-
Tony did say “they decided to do contemporary.” in the video package before the freestyle.
Scoring questionable as always but I don’t really mind the low-balling for Shawn & Derek. I mean, it isn’t fair to them, but I think the fans will vote even more because of it. I really doubt the margin will be too large for them to overcome after tomorrow night.
I really don’t like the repeat round either. If there wasn’t youtube, then maybe I would love to see some favorite dances again. But when you’ve watched your favorites several dozen times already throughout the season…..:)…..you just want more new! But, for the sake of our couples, it probably helps to not make them dance a new one again since they have a instant dance to deal with too.
I was disappointed with Kelly & Val. I did like the aerial stuff and the violin-playing, they were my favorite parts of it…which isn’t a good sign. It was just not original enough in the choreography and the troupe wasn’t used wisely.
Melissa & Tony were good. Finally, he doesn’t botch a freestyle! Not sure if doing a slow number will hurt or not though. But I do agree with Tony that lifts and slow, balletic movement highlight Melissa’s strengths. I just wish there had been a little more to it. But also glad Tony was wise and didn’t let the extra people did not detract from them.
Shawn & Derek were wonderful. Great dancing, amazing tricks that we haven’t seen before, and great use of extra people. Funny how the person most criticized for tricks actually did the most dancing in their routine:) while also doing the best tricks of course. I voted and I hope they win. But we will see how it all goes tomorrow!
Bruno “Our scores are bound by the rules” Since when? Aren’t you supposed to take off points for mistakes? Isn’t that in the rules? Hey CAI, lifts are supposed to be docked per YOUR ‘rules’ but you choose when to dock and when to not.
I love that nice boy Derek is kinda saying ‘screw you’ to TPTB. He’s seen all these other people getting away with it and decided just to have fun.
I get the GH support from ABC, but does Melissa have an ABC show coming up?
I’ll vote for S&D, and will be ‘Meh’ if Tony/Melissa win.
Maybe I have no faith, but I think Shawn and Derek would have been assed out with their quickstep no matter what. I remember with JR when they got docked for the “lift” in their jive (the one that didn’t exist?) and when they redid it in the finale, they removed the lift. And then CAI complained that she missed the lift the second time around.
It’s become more obvious than ever this season that the judges only critique what they want to.
I hope you are feeling better soon Courtney. Thank you for the excellent finale Power Rankings. I am very torn between Shawn or Melissa winning. Both worked very hard this season and both improved throughout the show. Too bad there can’t be two winners. I agree that the repeat dances should have been on tomorrow’s show. Maybe they should have had the instant dances tonight. I didn’t care for Kelly’s freestyle routine. Melissa’s was great and Shawn’s was WOW! Did the routines seem shorter than in past seasons? On the final show I am most looking forward to seeing Apolo and Karina. They were my favorites to win this season.
I’m feeling a bit anxious – I’m not sure that Shawn and Derek will win, even though I really hope they do. It was, however, really hard for me to get through when I called to vote for them, and I started calling early in the show. So maybe they got the votes they needed to win. The judges seem to want Melissa to win.
I also want to thank everyone at puredwts. I am addicted to your site and love reading everyone’s blogs. As far as the repeat dances, I could have done without them. I thought Kelly did hers better but had an obvious mistake that was not reflected in her scores (I still can’t believe they gave it perfect 10’s). Melissa’s looked exactly the same to me and I made sure to watch all of them again before the show. And although I loved Shawn & Derek’s, we had already seen it twice. I really wish they would have chosen another dance.
I actually enjoyed the freestyles and thought they were better than what I expected. Kelly did a good job but I did not like Val’s copy cat choreography and then it was overscored. However, when I looked at her season 1 freestyle, the improvement is amazing and I have to give her kudos for that! I also thought Melissa and Tony’s dance was beautiful. He was smart to play to her balletic strengths but as expected it was lift heavy and that really was not very good contemporary. I really don’t think anyone should attempt contemporary unless they are pros. I also want to make note that they really did not super size that freestyle. They had the dancers do something acrobatic above them but they were not really incorporated into the dance at all and I think that they should have been docked for that. The best dance of the night was Shawn and Derek’s freestyle. I think that is the best freestyle I have ever seen IMO. Derek amazes me how he can incorporate all those styles of dance and make it so fluid and blend so well. He is truly the best choreographer on this show and will be sorely missed.
I am hoping for Shawn & Derek to pull out the win. There are two things that I want to point out. During her first season, Shawn seemed to dance for the judges and the scores and not so much the fans and I think the one thing that she learned from Derek was to really let herself come out and dance for the fans and the audience. During her last freestyle she was afraid to do any gymnastics because she wanted to please the judges and this time she went all out just being herself – showing that she is not only a great gymnast but a great dancer and performer as well. I really enjoyed all of the dancers tonight – they were great!
I just had a terrifying feeling!!! Melissa third Shawn Second and Kelly first…. what if that happens, i love Kelly but i think it should either go to Shawn or Melissa
Okay, found the answer to my question from earlier (#22). Henry spilled the beans on the recent Afterbuzz show. He said Shawn and Derek wanted to do their fusion dance because Derek didn’t get the chance the first time but they were told no by the producers. Wow, how nice that the couples got to “choose” their favorite dances! Between this and the producers denying Apolo and Karina the opportunity to do their freestyle even though they wanted to & were already rehearsing it – ugh, just no words 🙁
I wasn’t planning to vote tonight but I think I’ll throw a few votes in Shawn’s way. I guess if that was what the show intended (to screw Shawn & Derek so that the viewers will get outraged & vote for them) then I guess it worked, ha.
I’m a faithful Mexican reader/follower of this website. By faaar the BEST of all the DWTS-oriented sites. Nonetheless, I never post because I love to read and read and read. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for an AMAZING season to you, guys. You make this whole DWTS experience waaay much better.
As for the dances, it’s quite obvious who were the BEST. Shawn and Derek have this passion for dancing and entertainment that makes you want to be on the dancefloor dancing along with them. I found in Derek a huge inspiration for me as a dancer (I dance hip hop but God, love me some Ballroom) and the love and effort he puts in every tiny move he does, makes me want to be more like him. I’ll be the happiest person if these two go home with the MBT.
I loove Tony and Melissa. But this “I haven’t won a MBT”-“I’ve waited for this for 14 seasons” made me want to vomit. It was as low, sad and poor as Val’s (not well filled) speedos. Hope they get the second place. Producers should give them like a silver/smaller MBT.
The other two. MEH. Fake, boring, spin-spin-spin-I lost my spot-spin-spin-spin-gee I can’t dance anymore cuz I’m so freaking dizzy-spin-spin-spin. That’s the explanation of every single dance Kelly and Val have done.
Well, again thank you very much for this amazing season that all the PureDWTS team has given us. Looking forward for all the material you will be posting in the off season. Love you all. Greetings from México!
Are you SERIOUS, Mari?? He really said that?
I’m thoroughly disgusted.
Just was re-watching both Shawn and Melissa’s freestyles on YouTube – Shawn’s is even better the second time around. I think I need to watch it again to pick up more nuances. It had a great circus feel to it and was just so much *FUN*.
Melissa’s was definitely beautiful, and I think that she did what the song talked about – people will remember she was there. And really impressive was their starting lift – how long did they have to hold that while their dance was being announced? And that was just their first lift! Tony has some *serious* upper body strength.
I would love for Tony to finally win, but think Shawn and Derek did the best job tonight. Personally, I always love the hip-hop, faster freestyles. Melissa and Tony did a beautiful job, but I am always more entertained by the adrenaline pumping routines. I enjoy that on DWTS and on SYTYCD, I always prefer the hip-hop routines.
And truly, no one can come close to Derek as far as choreography. He not only does amazing routines, but they truly reflect his partners. The show is really gonna lose some entertainment when he decides to leave. 🙁
I’m fangirling. Jen Morrison (Emma on Once Upon a Time) is telling people to vote for Shawn and Derek. That is seriously my favorite show on TV right now, it’s so amazing.
Glad you’re feeling better Court. Thanks for the great recap.
Derek & Shawn’s freestyle was definitely the best. I feel their decision to do the QS was their downfall – not that it wasn’t great and I get that they were doing it for the fans but should have guessed that the judges weren’t going to budge on their scores.
It is really to bad because I still believe that they had the best season and deserve the MBT. But we still have youtube to watch their dances.
Whoever wins and I’m guessing Melissa & Tony kudos to them as they also had a great season.
Now to the mods thanks and thanks for a great season and all your insightful comments.
The freestyles lacked something to me. Shawn and Derek’s was good and I liked the montage, but only once or twice did I think “wow”! As a former dancer who focused a lot on contemporary, Melissa’s was not contemporary. Maybe theatrical or even a slow jazz, but it was mainly just lifts. It would never be considered contemporary any where else. Something with her facial expressions were off to me as we’ll! Kelly’s was a cop out and had as much excitement as watching a turtle cross the road. The whole thing was just sloppy, and I expected it cleaner with the troupe participation. But, overall the whole show just lacked something to me. I have seen better last shows. Even my husband, who cares less about the show said it was disappointing.
On another note, this is my first time posting, but I live the site. My daughter is a competitive gymnast and the 15-20 hours I spend sitting in the gym each week is devoted mainly to reading the site. As a former dancer, you guys are wonderful with your technical knowledge and entertainment!
I hope the posts here are an indication of votes. Everyone seems to agree that Shawn and Derek had the best dance of the night.
How cute was Shawn holding back her tears while being interviewed by Brooke? And, her complete gratitude for Derek giving her the confidence she has been looking for. Great team, great dances.
And I have to echo the praise for this website and all the moderators. You guys have brought the fun back to this show. Thank you!
@Courtney @PH yes he did say contemporary
Shawns was a bit predictable…just like William’s latin freestyle last year, I had a feeling she’d just do a bunch of gymnastics.
Kelly was better than I thought…but I thought Melissa truly excelled tonight!
MELISSA FOR THE WIN!
Seriously, you thought that Shawn’s was just a bunch of gymnastics while Melissa’s was excellent?? Someone isn’t very discerning – Derek and Shawn had fewer tricks/lifts than Melissa did. Not just tonight, but all season long.
Typical. And people say I’m biased. At least I admit it.
“She’d just do a bunch of gymnastics.”
I’m sorry, but what exactly did Melissa do that was new? Melissa is a former cheerleader, meaning she has experience with lifts. She did a ton of lifts in her freestyle, a ton of lifts in the argentine tango, a lot of lifts in the hustle, and a ton of lifts in the lindy hop. Why? Because she’s GOOD at them. So what is wrong is Shawn doing gymnastics in her routine? It’s what she is GOOD at. (Also, it should be noted that, up until tonight’s freestyle, Shawn averaged three lifts/tricks per dance with lifts/tricks. Meaning Melissa has actually done MORE lifts/tricks than Shawn has. But of course, Melissa’s not an Olympic gymnast so it’s totally ok.)
As much as I like Melissa’s personality, the double standards are really starting to grate on me.
After working out the percentages from the scores, there’s only 1.7% between the ladies. That’s a pretty small margin that will shrink even more when 30 more potential points are handed out tomorrow.
Melissa/Tony 34.09%
Kelly/Val 33.52%
Shawn/Derek 32.39 %
Can’t wait to see the more in depth numbers post tomorrow.
PH – this is probably the most annoying type of comment from the all season, people are just stupid or they just can’t count. Melissa always get a free pass for doing little dance and 100 lifts, but Shawn dance her heart out and people call floor routine. From all the freestyles tonight, Shawn and Derek had by far the mos amount off actual dancing, not a opinion just a fact.
Oy. Sorry for basically repeating what Heidi said. Typed too slow.
Did anyone else have trouble voting over the phones? I know that right after Shawn and Derek’s freestyle I had to call 17 times from a single phone line in order to get all my votes through.
Patricia,
I had no problem getting through to vote for them which scared me. I only got a couple of busy signals despite using four phones to vote from.
Also Google call let me through three times in a row. Then it wouldn’t connect.
Glad you’re feeling better! 🙂
I just thought it odd that during their package, Derek decided to ” break the rules ” and risk losing points in their quickstep in order to give the fans what they want. ( not an exact quote) Was the dance really that much better because they broke hold, and are they saying that if they would have followed the rules their dance wouldn’t have been as pleasing to the fans? I am not trying to be snide or anything, I am just curious as to how they determined that the rule breaking was what the audience wanted. Seems to me that they could have done both, followed the rules and pleased the crowd. It’s a toss up for me between Melissa and Shawn. I am fine with either one winning.
Any intel on what was up with that photo Katherine Jenkins tweeted this weekend of her and Mark in the rehearsal studios?
Is she dancing?
Surprise All Stars comeback dance? For those that wouldn’t commit to a whole season?
I know dialidol doesn’t mean anything – but I still decided to check it. Shawn has a score of 70,7 there, Melissa 43,9 and Kelly 40,7
Katherine and Mark are dancing on Strictly Come Dancing in London in a few weeks, and are rehearsing for that.
I think the producers not allowing Shawn & Derek to do the dance they wanted is just them continuing their ‘script’ and it really pisses me off. It is beyond wrong. If you’re not truly allowing the couples to pick the dance they want, then acknowledge that on the show and let the public know. But then why would they give up another chance to rake Derek over the coals and blame him if Shawn loses. I mean Len’s already said that before. Total Bullshit.
I thought Larry Kings’s tweet was cute!
@kingsthings I love @derekhough’s suspenders. I love risk takers. I’m voting for Shawn & Derek. You should too!!
Oh my GAAAWWWWDD, Derek took a risk and broke the rules again!!!!! HOW DARE HE!!?!?!?!?!? 😉
The man knows how to play the game, IMO. And I was NOT at all offended or upset that The fierce 5 was in the freestyle. It is called a SUPER SIZED freestyle. Plus, the one thing Derek did better than the other pros was that the Fierce 5 came out for like 20 seconds if that and then they took the back seat and the focus was on who? SHAWN.
Honestly, Shawn’s was the best one but I actually enjoyed Kelly’s more. I actually think Kelly came out pretty darn strong tonight but my girl, Melissa, UGGGHHHHH! Gosh, you know how much I love her, while I LOVED her samba, I thought her freestyle was lifts and poses. That’s it. I was so let down by it. I still wouldn’t mind seeing her win, but to me, Tony and Melissa blew their chances.
I would love to see Kelly win, but I think Shawn will win and it will be EARNED and deserved. To be quite honest, I wouldn’t be upset with Kelly, Shawn or Melissa winning although if Melissa wins, it will be a little disappointing as I don’t feel IMO that she came out of the gates strong. But I still love her. *sigh*
Shawn and Derek’s freestyle was amazing! I love that the Fierce five were there just at the beginning and at the end, and that the rest of the dance was just showcasing Shawn’s dancing abilities, fantastic! Great choreography once again Derek! I was so happy to see their QS again, it was IMO even better than the first time around!
I liked Kelly’s freestyle more than Melissa’s tonight. I was a little bit bored by Melissa’s, even though it was well performed.
Melissa’s Samba… meh, it did nothing for me. I liked Kelly’s Paso, but that mistake should have be taken into account by all three judges.
I’m still voting for Shawn and Derek, but I honestly have no idea who the winner is going to be, all three could take it.
Just saw the OTRC interview with D&S. He hinted they might make up the points they lost today with the instant dance. (remember, after their tribal samba, he said he could “choreograph the [samba] dance that Len wants to see in 20 minutes”.) Again, I say – he’s a genius. Go for the votes on the voting days and scores on the non-voting days. Smartest way they could have done it.
Stayed up extra late to vote for Shawn and Derek. Didn’t go to bed until I got in 1000 votes for them.
I truly think Shawn deserves this. She works extra hard and is just incredible. Everybody critiques her for having too much gymnastics, but Melissa always has more lifts than her.
Crossing my fingers for her. I’m going to try to vote more from work today (pending servers). I’m slightly worried, but don’t worry, I’ll keep off the site with that!
Thanks PH, Courtney, and Vogue for all your hard work this season. I wouldn’t love the show nearly as much without this site! It’s been a hard season but we appreciate it!
Tony was just so over the moon happy that he is in the finale and they have done so well. It will be devastating to watch tonight if he doesn’t win. Only *Happy Tears* for Tony tonight.
While watching Derek and Shawn’s freestyle I thought of that 1930s movie, Holiday, with Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn. They do that standing on the shoulders move while in formal wear. You’re right, very danderous! Great payoff if you don’t face plant.
Yep, so true. lol
I guess it all comes down to wether or not you are voting for a dancer or a gymnast…my votes all season go to Melissa & Tony…they so deserve it with there consistency and quality of dance. Everybody is wanting to give Shawn kudos for pulling in the Fierce Five, I myself believe it was unfair….maybe Melissa should have brought in the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders to even the score!! GO TEAM MELISSA!!!
Mary Kay,
They were allowed to use extra people in their freestyle so how is it unfair. The producers also approved it. Melissa could’ve brought in the DCC if she wanted to. All I saw was a lot of lifts out of Melissa’s freestyles…far more than Shawn did all season. They did those lifts to hide the fact that Melissa isn’t as good of a dancer and kept playing up the ‘we haven’t won before’ angle.
GO TEAM SHAWN!!
LOL, @Mary Kay!
“Guess it all comes down to wether or not you are voting for a dancer or a gymnast”
Or a cheerleader who has done lifts for years! I fail to see the difference, except that Shawn actually danced a lot more and a lot better than the “lift queen”! JMO of course! 😉
@mary Kay nugent: they could bring in anyone they wanted. What’s so unfair about that -.- it’s not Shawn’s and Derek’s fault Melissa didn’t bring in the Dallas cowboy cheerleaders. And honestly using the cheerleaders in a contemporary piece is a bad idea. And let’s just look at Melissa’s AT vs Shawn’s AT: Melissa had 10 lifts, Shawn had 3 (I think). Who’s the “dancer” and who’s the “gymnast” now? Stop stereotyping Shawn as a gymnast. She is a good dancer too. And IMO her quality of dancing in the finale was better than Melissa’s (agree to disagree). Derek is just being smart for choreographing their dances to his partner’s strength.
I’m going to do this in the order they danced. Kelly and Val bored me. They wanted that perfect 30 so badly and when she had the misstep at the beginning of her dance, they knew they weren’t going to get it. Such an obvious mistake and they still get 2 10’s for it. I didn’t care for it the first time around and seeing it again did not change my opinion. Their freestyle was not what I would consider a freestyle at all. It didn’t excite me, it didn’t put a smile on my face. Too many lifts, not enough dancing, at least to me. The good thing is, we don’t have to see them gazing at each other anymore or see Val constantly kissing and petting Kelly. That’s something.
Melissa and Tony’s first dance was good. But I agree with Courtney. For the finals, have the couples do a redemption dance, one they’ve done, but have to change somehow to make it better. I enjoyed their freestyle, but it didn’t wow me. I have to admit, I expected more from them.
While I enjoyed Shawn and Derek’s quickstep the first time and again the second time, I still would have like to see something different. I am glad they stayed with the entertainment value rather than points knowing they were going to get slammed for it. They stayed true to themselves and the viewers. I really liked their freestyle. A lot of dancing, a lot of different moves.
With that, I’m hoping Shawn will win, but I would be just as happy if Melissa won. There is NO WAY Kelly should or deserves to win. That would be so wrong on so many different levels.
Thank you to everyone who puts their time in to making this site what it is! Your hard work is appreciated by many. Can’t wait for next season!
MAry Kay Nugent – So if you are voting for a dancer, you should vote for Shawn, that actually danced on her freestyle, unlike Melissa that only did lifts and poses.
The double stander is so ridiculous.
Funny how Melissa and Tony are the underdog – they get overscore by the judges, they got help from the producers, they are the only couple left that already dance together, and they get a free pass in a lot of things that other couples get smashed by. If this is being a underdog, I’m not sure what the word means anymore.
Looks like the producers are storyboarding again to create drama (and increase ratings) for tonight’s show. I do believe they forced Derek and Shawn to do the quickstep in order to give the judges a “valid” basis for docking points. If Derek and Shawn had done the dance that they had wanted to do, i.e.,the fusion dance, the judges would have had to give them a 30, barring any mistakes, since they scored the original dance a 30. Shawn would have ended the night with 60 points, having given the best freestyle performance of the show, and there would be little suspense going into tonight as to who the ultimate winner would be. I suspect the judges will make up the point difference somewhat in the insta dance round tonight. They did something similar in JR’s season, when he was the overwhelming favorite to win.
As for the freestyle dances last night, all I could think of when I was watching Kelly’s and Melissa’s dances was that they were ripping off Pink’s Glitter in the Air performance on the Grammy’s and her recent performance on the AMAs, and that Pink had done what they did much better. As for Shawn and Derek’s freestyle performance, that just gets better and better each time I watch it. My usual complaint with most freestyle dances is that they tend to get sloppy and frantic because of all the tricks that are thrown in. This had great “tricks,” but it was precise and clean. I was amazed at how much Derek’s and Shawn’s movements were in sync, especially on that great tumble. That was the best freestyle of all the seasons on DWTS.
And to the powers that be at PureDWTS.com, thank you for all your hard work this season.
As far as the lift issue, I think what some people may be referring to are more of the handstands, flips, those type of moves, as incredible as they may be, for some people they may cross over into gymnastics territory. 🙂
In her first season Shawn didn’t do hardly any handstands or flips. They have said ALL season that they’re dancing for the fans. Shawn IS a gymnast but she is ALSO a fabulous dancer. Melissa does wonderful lifts so they jam-packed her freestyle with those. It’s called using a person’s strengths. Which is exactly what Derek did ALL SEASON LONG! No one thinks Melissa did too many lifts…but I guess that’s ok because Melissa hasn’t won before.
Mmhm true. In that case, to all the Melissa fans: remember in week 4 during tony and her rehearsal footage, and Melissa kept on talking about how much she wanted to be like Shawn and do all Shawn’s tricks, doesn’t that mean the “dancer” want to be like the “gymnast”?
… and the aerial bit that Kelly did? Did that cross over too? 🙂
@Mary Kay Nugent-
Shawn had the most actual DANCING her her piece. She barely used the Fierce 5 (just in a piece in the beginning and in the very end). Other than the flips at the end, even they were dancing rather than doing gymnastics. The other flips they did are not gymnastics at all. They are lifts, which are actual pieces of dancing.
Play back all 3 freestyles. Kelly did a routine where they pretty much used other’s choreography. She also used the troupe more than Shawn did the F5, which actually distracted me from watching her. Melissa did more lift than Shawn and a bunch of poses. There was barely any dance quality in there. Shawn had actual dances. You could clearly see a large content of cha cha, mambo, bhangra, and A. Tango.
People seem to be confusing high quality lifts in dancing with gymnastics…
It was Melissa who said contemporary. I agree with Courtney that it was Theater arts. I have no doubt that Eric Luna & Georgia Ambarian were big influence knowing how close they are with Tony. They actually taught Tony what he knows.
And now the ABC servers have crashed so no one can vote! EEK!
I have said from week 1 it’ll be Shawn. As much as I want Melissa to win I just think Shawn has a lot of the teen votes.
I liked Melissa’s freestyle although im not a fan of contemporary. I liked Shawn’s but wasn’t “shocked”…. as soon as I saw the fierce 5. I was confused on Kelly’s – I think the troupe threw me off while watching.
I to was hoping that Shawn & Derek would change the choreography in their favorite dance but they still got a higher score from Len. And Carrie Ann and Bruno both mentioned it this time where as last time I thought they loved it. So that was confusing.
I think (and I HOPE im wrong) – Melissa 3rd, Kelly 2nd, Shawn 1st.
@KellyK(@RNCCRN9706)- Clear your cache and cookies and it should work! Did for me at least.
@KellyK I can’t vote with Opera, Mozilla and Internet Explorer but Google Chrome still works for me.
To all of you calling me out on dance content vs. gymnastics….who was the one the broke the rules?
They were docked points for having lifts (that’s not gymnastics) and for breaking hold (that’s not gymnastics either). I don’t see how gymnastics has anything to do with their breaking of the rules. And we still don’t know if they had chose the dance themselves.
Just wanted to thank you all for such a welcome website. Loved all the blogs and comments. Wish I would have found it sooner (I stumbled across it midway through the season) What a joy it has been.
Did my part voting like crazy for Shawn and Derek. I hope it was enough. They sure deserve it.
Mary Kay, just give it a rest. I’m hearing your repeat the same thing over and over again and none of it is particularly persuasive.
For whoever was try to cite Dial Idol earlier to prove that Shawn will win, let it be known that you are basing your conclusion on 114 from the state of Ohio only…because that’s the only state DI has any data for.
And as much as Tony may have said he was going for “contemporary”, if I were him I’d change my tune and claim I was going for theater arts – because that freestyle makes a better theater arts routine than it does a contemporary one. And he may have avoided the “that was a crappy contemporary routine” remarks if he hadn’t tried to claim it was contemporary.
And I STILL can’t get into ABC.com to vote. Grrr.
Nope, not playing games with you today, Mary Kay. You’re being obnoxious, rude, and I’m telling you right now to DROP IT or you won’t be posting here anymore.
I liked Melissa and Tony’s freestyle the best – the most unexpected, and really beautiful.
Derek and Shawn’s was great – and having the Fierce Five was also very good – as for “producers approve”, I am sure they were thinking about the ratings, and not what was fair or not.
I think Val did a decent job for his first freestyle, but I do believe choosing a scene from Dirty Dancing was wrong, nobody can ever come even close to the original.
Dancing requires Physical strength, agility, flexibility, coordination and balance as well. Can you deny that?
And while Melissa and tony did fulfil the requirements of a contemporary dance, they didn’t have the intense chemistry or the emotion to pull it off. I wasn’t drawn into it at all, and just watched the whole thing with a “meh” feeling
I don’t think the Melissa fans vs. Shawn fans will ever find a way to see eye to eye on dancing vs gymnastics issues or who is a better dancer. It is what it is. We all like what we like. Melissa and Shawn dance nothing alike so it is unlikely that their fans will value the same things the most.
This is not a standard ballroom competition. And the couples do want to showcase their stars in every way they can, which is the right way to go. Melissa should play up her graceful movement and lifts. Shawn should play up her athletic ability and ‘gymnast’ capabilities. All in the context of entertainment and dance.
Thank you SO much to all the moderators of this site. I love this site, I only found it about 4 seasons ago and wish I would have found it sooner! It adds so much to each dwts season.
I really enjoyed the finale. The repeat dances were all good, though of course, I’d seen them before. I was annoyed that Kelly messed up and still got tens. I think they were pity tens. I think Val might have thought that too, just judging by the look that crossed his face when he saw them. I thought Melissa danced well as always, though I thought she was being maybe a little too careful. I guess it was just me, because I’ve not seen anyone else mention it, but I thought Shawn lost time just the tiniest bit in her QS. I mean, like, half a second. It looked to me like she was hurrying to catch up in the middle.
I liked watching Kelly’s freestyle, because it was fun, but I do wish Val had been a little more creative. And I also thought Kelly got lost when the troupe and the choir came out.
I loved Melissa’s, I thought it was the perfect way for her journey to be shown, especially with the choice of song.
I wasn’t crazy about Shawn’s. It may have been the music that I didn’t like, or maybe I had just built their freestyle up so much in my head with how amazing it was going to be, that to have it be sort of understated (to me) was a disappointment. I liked the daring shoulder to roll thing she did and the Fierce Five are, of course, wonderful. That was a really smart move by Derek. But, Derek always makes smart moves.
I am hoping for Melissa to win. In my opinion, she is the best natural dancer. I think if you put Melissa on the floor without Tony, she could entertain by dancing. I’m not sure Shawn could do that without a partner. I think Shawn is good, but I think she is more of someone who learns the choreography and executes it near perfectly, but is not a natural dancer. I do think her routines are likely the most memorable of the season, but I think it’s more of a testament to Derek’s choreography than Shawn’s dancing. To me, if you switched Shawn and Melissa’s partners, then it would be Melissa’s dances that were the most memorable, because of the routine itself. They both execute brilliantly, so the routines are what I think seperates the two as far as being memorable.
I don’t think it’s wrong for Tony and Melissa to say they haven’t won before and would love to win. Of course they would. How is that different from Shawn saying “this is her Olympics”? (not a knock on Shawn, just a comparison). We’ve heard Shawn say that several times this season, so I don’t think Tony and Melissa are trying to play for sympathy any more than Shawn is. I don’t think any of them are. I think they are all genuine when they say things like that, they’ve put their hearts and souls into this, time away from their families and friends, OF COURSE they all want it and are bringing up why when they talk to the cameras. I think that is a pretty natural thing to do.
I would be thrilled if Melissa won, and I would be extremely excited and happy for Shawn if she won, too. I think they both deserve it, and I hope that whoever doesn’t win doesn’t beat themselves up too much (pros included).
I’m calling a cease fire on Melissa vs. Shawn debate, because it’s just getting silly.
And Mary Kay, I wasn’t even referring to you with the Dial Idol comment. Get over yourself.
With Apollo out, I have less interest in who wins this season, but I would be fine with either a Melissa or Shawn win. I think they both bring different things to the table, both good.
In terms of the quickstep, it’s one thing if Derek and Shawn decided to do it on their own, knowing they would probably get docked for it, then they own the risk and the results. It’s a whole other thing if the producers made them do it and they had no choice. Then that is just totally unfair.
I liked both of their freestyles, again for different reasons. I just hope Kelly comes third.
And thank you to all the mods here for everything you’ve done this season and every season. This site makes the season much more fun!
I’ve been having issues with Clearwire and ABC all night.
If the pap video on YouTube is any indication the Vally fans should be quiet now. Even hugs are scripted? Really?
About last night. I smell a rotten tuna. Something fishy is up with that.
And well, all I can say is, at least Val kept his pants on. 🙂
Yes, we can thank 8 lb, 10 oz Baby Jesus for that, Cher 😛
So, April’s comment (line 32) made me “ahhhaa” out loud! Excellent point she brings up, my take was that the judges gave us all incentive to vote Shawn & Derek, since we all would be worried about their point difference in the scoring but I like April’s angle, too! I was thinking I might give some votes to Melissa & Tony because Tony’s never won but after I saw their freestyle, all my votes went to Shawn! Contemporary doesn’t seem to sell on this show! And I, personally, definitely DON’T want to see it for a freestyle!!! So, I’m holding onto the fact that Shawn & Derek performed the most consistently entertaining and technically sound dances all season and they will be rewarded for it! And in the end, shouldn’t a past winner logically take the all star season, as opposed to someone who’s never won it? Just my opinion, of course!
Amen, Cher! I’ve seen way more of Val than I needed to see this season. 🙄
Voted last night but I can’t get through this morning. *sigh* Thought I’d get in a few more votes at work (slow morning) but neither IE nor Firefox can get me through the “server busy” message. Oh well, it’s not like the show had much credibility as a “competition” anyway. It is what it is.
Hope Shawn and Derek blow everyone’s socks off with their instant dance tonight!
Cidra – the same happened to me , this morning I could not get pass the “server busy” thing.
@Cidra personality wise and body wise.
@Court Maybe a sacrfical offering of the speedo will appease the DWTS Gods?
Still having trouble with ABC and it took me a whole hour to get one vote in on Facebook.
It is what it is. All I know is CHICKS RULE!!!
Funny, how some refuse to see all the actual DANCING that Derek puts into his and Shawn’s routines. Doesn’t really fit your narrative, does it.
I see the trolls woke up while I was driving to work. Courtney’s turn for fun, I guess. 🙂
Agreed Cher! CHICKS RULE!!! No chick has won DWTS since season 11 and Jennifer Grey!
It’s good to see Court back in full force, isn’t it? 🙂
Hehe…thanks Vogue 🙂 I’m feeling about 80% today. Just dealing with fatigue.
Sorry if I have missed this but has there been any discussion of who is getting which insta dance? Random, picked by the finalists or “producer random”. If there is any producer influence, I bet rhumba for the showmance, samba for S&D and cha cha for M&T
SueB, I think it’s Cha Cha, Jive and Samba and they’re supposedly picking them live on the air. Supposedly.
Thanks PH.
did anybody see Apolo last night in the audience? I thought for sure he’d be there to cheer Shawn on.
Although I liked all the freestyles, to varying degrees, none of them made me stand up and cheer. I think this was the first finale I remember that didn’t have a trainwreck, IMO. Comparing Shawn & Melissa is like comparing apples & oranges…their dancing styles are so different so either you like it or you don’t. I’m hoping for a Shawn win, if I can’t have an Apolo win, but I won’t throw anything at the tv if Melissa wins. If Kelly wins OTOH, Best Buy..here I come!
I think one couple clearly won the first round and another the freestyle.
Round One:
1)Melissa and Tony
2)Shawn and Derek
3)Kelly and Val
Freestyle Round:
1)Shawn and Derek: It was probably the best freestyle on the show ever.
2)Melissa and Tony: LOVED it. So perfect in my opinion. Way to go Tony!
3)Kelly and Val: It wasn’t bad but it wasn’t really notable either.
Saying that, this is how I think its going to end:
3)Kelly and Val: They had a good run.She more than redeemed herself and showed her critics that said she shouldn’t have won season one that they were wrong.
2)Shawn and Derek: Great Job all season and could win but I think Melissa has the momentum behind her right now. Plus, she reall has shown why she won her first season over Giles and the fact she got farther than him again must drive him nuts.
1)Melissa and Tony: Perfect score, great all season. She deserves it the most. Plus, Tony really stepped up his game.
Saying that, I honestly hope that Henry becomes a pro next season (I think Derek called this season his swan song so he is the perfect replacement). When the troupe was performing in Kelly’s freestyle, I was looking for him and Sharna……thats saying a lot.
Henry B is such a sweetheart! I’d love for him to replace Derek as a pro. I’ll be sad to see Derek leave but he’s better than DWTS.
Cher (#110) – I’m all for sacrificing the speedo. However, please tell me we don’t have to take it off Val while the cameras are rolling. All the socks would fall out which would be sooooo embarassing 😉 and then he’d be “nekkid” and that doesn’t bare (I mean “bear”) thinking about 😯
Well I voted my socks off today – most I have ever managed in a day, but ABC really didn’t make it easy! Think last night was a fair reflection of the series so far.
To me Kelly’s paso was good – I really enjoyed the routine last time too – but to give 10’s with such an obvious mistake makes me mad! Her freestyle was danced well and she sold it. I loved the air work at the beginning. But I thought Val let her down – it was too derivative and she got lost with the troupe.
Melissa’s samba was good. She can move – but it was a little trick heavy for me – I preferred her viennese waltz. Thought the freestyle was good, but not really my cup of tea – I really like the more up tempo numbers. Again thought it was too much lifting. She is an incredible dancer and thought there was too much posing in this – slightly disappointing to me, but can see that it was loved by others.
Shawn and Derek danced the quickstep well – but I was slightly disappointed by the choice. If it was imposed on them, they did a good job of selling it in interviews. I would really have loved to see the fusion with Derek. The freestyle was great. To me it was the most enjoyable of the night – thought the pose at the start and the shoulder lift into roll were outstanding, and that Derek utilised the fab 5 without letting them take over.
Think it should be between Melissa and Shawn for the title. Looking at the series, to me it is an obvious choice. I was a Derek fan before the season, but have become a Shawn fan throughout it. She has grown as a performer and a dancer from her season. However, I can see why people want Melissa to win – she is likeable and her recent dances have been fine. Last night I thought it was clear who was the better performer, but we will see what the public thought. Just hope the server issues didn’t stop people getting through.
So team GS and Team call me maybe are dancing again tonight. Shawn sure will be dancing a lot tonight since she also got the encore, but I not worried about her, stamina is her second name.
I know I’m being logical (which is the ultimate sin when talking about DWTS) but samba should have been eliminated as a possible style for the instant dance the minute Melissa and Tony chose samba as their favorite dance. They’ve been practicing those moves all week. If the “random” *cough* rigged *cough* draw tonight ends up with Melissa getting samba, the finale will have fall into utterly ridiculous territory (it’s already teetering on that cliff). Even so, I still believe Shawn and Derek will out instant-dance the other two.
Enjoyed all the comments. My question: is this final 3 better than what the final 3 have been in past seasons? Thanks.
Ah, last night…well, I did throw a pillow at the TV when Kelly got those 10’s even with a mistake. But then I thought maybe that meant S&D wouldn’t get slammed for “breaking the rules”. Then, when S&D did get slammed, my pillow was launched a second time across the room. Grr…I know, I shouldn’t expect the judges to be fair when they haven’t been fair all season but dang…
S&D: I teared up a little during their 2nd package when S thanked D for returning her confidence. The freestyle blew me away and I had to watch it at least 6 times in a row! I loved the costumes because it drew the eye away from the F5 and onto Shawn. Plus, this show is supposed to be about the celebrities, right? What better way to remind people than having 6 ft tall blocks spelling out S-H-A-W-N? great choreography that showcased Shawn’s strengths. I didn’t catch this the 1st time around but, around my 5th viewing when I was able to pick my jaw off the floor and wipe the drool from my mouth, having Shawn next to the F5 showed how S has really grown; more hip shaking, sexier poses, more fluid movements. And I seriously started to tear up when Shawn’s voice cracked in the post free-style interview. Derek looked a little teary too 🙂
M&T: Too many lifts only because they didn’t end in dance moves, only poses. Shawn uses gymnastics, yes, but it’s (usually) right on to a dance move. Melissa didn’t really integrate the poses with a dance move. Still, beautiful lines that I bet will make for some stunning still-screen shots. I wish I had her abs too CAI but, sadly, after two children that ship has sailed.
K&V: I get tired of the antics but I do like Kelly’s rough edges that show in confessionals and post-dance interviews. It’s a nice break from all the PC stuff we get from Melissa and Shawn. She’s the “bad” girl of the bunch and I like the quirks – probably in part why she was picked for Season 1 to begin with. The dances were good, not great, but miles above the Season 1 stuff. Still like the red parachute but not a fan of the 10’s (see aforementioned pillow fighting) and the Dirty Dancing remake. C’mon man, let’s get original. I wonder what Jennifer Grey thinks of that number…and CAI’s “Patrick’s smiling down on you” comment. I still remember how Jennifer broke down when rehearsing Week 1 with Derek (and how he almost did too) and I just get the feeling J-girl wouldn’t like that kind of comment from someone who never met/knew him.
Anywhoo, that’s my take. Of course I am an S&D fan and voted like crazy. I have alot of the same comments as the other S&D lovers but didn’t want to repeat too much. Thanks to the mods for keeping up a great site (and Heidi too for the derek-dedicated wonder that is purederekhough.com).
Cidra – I was thinking about that too, what a “coincidence” would be if She gets the samba.
I’m hoping for Kelly’s samba, I think she could be better than she did the first time, especially with a better song.
Shawn’s cha cha, she is great at cha cha, but unfortunately the solo thing overshadowed how great she actually did in that dance. And since in season 8 she finished the season with a cha cha, it would be nice to do that again this season (I have a feeling she will get jive)
And Melissa jive, to be honest, if there is three dances that Melissa needs to improve are this three, this is latin dance, not pretty ballet, you need to hit things, but like the samba from last night I don;t think she can pull off a proper latin dance without looking soft. But again no matter what she gets and how she dances, she will get a 30
I don’t know Albert, I’d have preferred a Shawn, Sabrina & Apolo final 3
@Cidra I said sacrifice the speedo to the DWTS Gods to appease them, not scar the female audience for the rest of their natural life. I don’t think those were socks. Child/youth socks, well sock as in one, maybe but not real people socks.
Plus, I don’t think they make a censor blurb small enough to cover him so he could be nekkid. Without you know, embarassing him and making him look like a Ken Doll.
I’m trying to stay out of the Melissa/Shawn gymnastics debate but Tony did the smartest thing playing on her cheerleading and ballet experience. Didn’t work out so great in my opinion but only my opinion. What was so wrong with Derek doing the same thing?
I saw some people have biases that they call Shawn do gymnastics and claim her can’t dancing just because she did some tricks and splits (I just think the flips can be considered a gymnastic-like moves). Even though Melissa did much more tricks and lifting than Shawn but they didn’t complain as she is not an Olympian.
I have come to realize over the seasons that Derek really can’t win with a lot of people. Cuz people are stupid. If he dumbs the choreo down to fit his celeb he gets called on it for not being up to his usual standard, or he repeated the moves too much (even though that’s what you do when your celeb only has 2 or 3 good moves). If he goes amazingly creative and within the stated rules of the dance (like the supersized freestyle or the Mambo), people complain because he actually thought of better stuff than their favorite (two amazing tricks and the Fierce Five) – they call it “cheating” or not fair. If he breaks the rules to get audience votes, people say he cheated or that it isn’t fair, or docking him five points isn’t enough even though others only get docked one or two. It’s pretty much a no-win situation.
It’s probably the most asinine thing I have ever seen. Frankly, I hope like hell this is his last season. It’ll be funny to see what happens to some people when he’s no longer there to create amazing dances AND act as the boogie man…the reason for Maks/Tony/Val/Louis never winning. Who ya gonna blame now, eh?? Perhaps it will be time to look in the mirror. Or perhaps one of them will actually win!! But, gee, a win just isn’t that sweet if you don’t have to go around the boogie man to get there. 😀
Courtney: I had the exact same feeling you did about Val and Kelly’s “Dirty Dancing” freestyle. You are taking a big chance when you copy an iconic dance like that ,even Jennifer Grey had enough sense to leave it alone, even though a lot of people were expecting her to recreate it with Derek. Shawn and Derek”s freesyle was awesome,and why wouldn’t they pull out all the stops and give the fans what they wanted?I think Shawn has given 110% all season. I also think Melissa and Tony have given it their all.
This is the finalists’ last competitive dance. So I say give them as much of a challenge as you can (although these dance styles aren’t much to work with).
Kelly: Jive. I don’t think this style suits her personality or dancing skill set. If she pulls it off, that would give some justification for her spot in the finals because for me she shouldn’t be there.
Melissa: Cha-Cha. We only saw a bit of cha-cha from her this season in her fusion. If she gets Jive, she’ll still dance it with soft legs, and the judges still won’t call her out for it. So there’s no point in that.
Shawn: Samba. I don’t think any of these 3 styles will present Shawn with much of a challenge. However, I’d like to see her do a “textbook” Samba to show Old Sour Face, and anyone else who needs convincing, that she can do it.
Amen, Heidi!! Derek has outgrown DWTS.
First thank you to everyone from Pure Dance who put in an incredible amount of work to make this a very enjoyable and totally informative season for me. Feel better Courtney.
IMO Shawn deserves the win and I am going by the whole season, not just last night’s performance. Personally I do not like the favorite dances and if it is true that this wasn’t necessarily their own picks that makes it even worse. Maybe because I am not that good at picking out the differences for me all the dances looked the same to me. Also, if Derek and Shawn had decided to go with not breaking the rules it may have looked different, but since they went for the fans it looked the same to me and I expected the judges to mark them down for it. It was just as good as the other times I have seen it. I thought their free style was fantastic. I really enjoyed it.
Melissa and Tony’s Samba again I could not tell the difference so I would have preferred something new. Sometimes when you watch a dance for the first time it has the element of surprise, but that is missing for me when I see it again. I thought their free style was really good and played to Melissa’s strengths. Just not as good as Shawn’s.
Kelly and Val’s Paso where she made a mistake and both CA and Bruno mentioned it, and although Len did not mention it the fact that he gave them a 10 just disgusted me. How do you get a perfect score when a mistake is made? Of course I saw that so much during the season where other slips or mistakes were not marked down. It just made me miss Apollo more as I still think he belonged there over this couple. JMO I would have loved to see Apollo and Karina with their free style. Val and Kelly’s free style was okay, but not overwhelming. I don’t know if it is the showmance that is turning me so off from her, but enough is enough. I think dancing wise she should finish third. Have nothing to add about the performance that has not already been mentioned.
My last comment has to do with the producers of the show because they are the ones who make the show to start with. I would have much preferred an All Star season to be just that. Nothing, but people who have won before. Maybe that wasn’t possible, but that is what an All Star season means to me. The best of the best. While I really like Melissa and Tony if they win that is saying they are better than past celebrities that have won in their own season. I think that Melissa has gotten better and she is a fantastic dancer, but I don’t think she is the best in this particular season. I know Tony is looking for his first mirror ball trophy win and wished it had already happened for him. I just don’t think that is the right reason to vote for them and again my opinion only. I personally think there were some weeks where Melissa was overscored and going back to Apollo weeks where he was clearly underscored.
My picks and based on dancing would be Shawn the winner, Melissa 2nd and Kelly 3rd.
Just want to say I will miss Derek and his brilliant choreography. I wish him nothing, but the best.
Amen PH.
Actually hoping we have a few new pros next season. I can’t imagine a season of the usual pros without Derek, hardly any of them have really grabbed my attention with choreography in awhile. Karina, Louis (when he has a good partner), Chelsie and Lacey are the only ones who come to mind who actually bring some different things to the table right now. Hoping Henry is called up because I really think he has potential to do some awesome things and I want to see him get the chance to show us. And hoping Tristan gets a more naturally talented partner so we can see him go about a season in a different way!
So Nicole V tweeted that a gymnast doing gymnastics in a routine was no biggie, an actress doing an ariel shots and being out of her element was more deserving. She forgot to mention an “actress” faking a showmance was no “biggie” either.
I like Derek I think he does amazing work. That being said I wish he would stay in the rules more because I know he can do an amazing crowd pleasing Quickstep without having to break the rules.
Sometimes he reminds of the kid in school who is so bored so they get antsy and start acting out. He needs more freedom then the show can give him in the routines.
I do wish he and Shawn had stuck to the rules more but I get why they didn’t.
Personally though I’m pulling for Melissa to win. I love her and Tony.
Lisa- I saw her tweet, this people have no class. This girl was probably the worst troupe member ever in the show, she could never keep up with the others, no surprise she got drooped after just one season.
Well said, PH! Derek can’t please some folks no matter what, and he’s smart enough to know it and mature enough not to let it bother him very much. On the other hand, he’s not going to let things go unanswered anymore. I’m loving his subtle “up yours” attitude toward The Stooges this season. He’s making his point, and The Stooges (especially CAI and Len) are feeling the sting. They know what he’s NOT saying is the truth; and when you’re ego is based on your own hand-crafted reality, the truth hurts! The only down side is if he’d played “teacher’s pet” with the judges this season, my guess is Shawn would be guaranteed her 2nd MBT.
Laila- i agree with you, she and Ted were the weakest dancers, although i can forgive Ted because he’s cute!. I don’t even know why i was surprised at her tweet given who she’s associated with. Also people should understand that being a gymnast where you are taught to be rigid and not show emotion, Shawn did amazingly well to show fluidity and grace in some of dances(rumba especially) it wasn’t like she was doing a tumbling routine in every dance.
It is no showmance whateva that means. Val is taking her home to meet his rents and fam and even said stayed tuned til tonite. You can’t fake true love.
I think we can all safely ignore the tweets from the likes of Nicole V. We won’t be missing anything. Girl knows what side her bread is buttered on, and she’s just making sure the butter stays side up. Of course the classy thing would be to say nothing, but class is a rare commodity in the entertainment industry.
Can anyone spell gullible?
You might wanna go check that bunny you have boiling on the stove, VallyGirl. I think it may be burning.
Did anybody else seen Shawn and Derek’s interview with Access Hollywood? They said that the ariel flip that they did right before they end pose wasn’t choreographed. In the middle of the dance they decided to do it. That is beyond incredible to be able to communicate that with your partner mid dance that you want to add another trick in, change the choreography and then do it flawlessly. Just amazing…
ughh….i hate to say it but i think Melissa and tony are going to win…i voted and i voted alot but everywhere i go it seems that they are going to be the ones victorious. Cheryl Burke has mentioned twice on twitter that after 14 seasons this is the end, etc…i wish Derek would say thank you DWTS but i am OUT…i have outgrown this show, the lack of creativity, and most of all the extremely jealous people who work for you. I am telling you- the C brother clique is the absolute worst…from Maks, to Val, Peta, Sharna, Nicole….hate them all.
Nicole V…Nicole V…ohhhh, is that the sourpuss who did one season with the troupe before getting axed? And now designs purses or something? Gosh, her input on the show means so much to me…*snicker*.
Y’know, if I were the troupe, I’d think twice before aligning myself with “the fam” – because the members of their entourage don’t seem to be experiencing great longevity with the troupe. So far, Nicole, Ted, and Kiki have all been cut (and Dasha left) – and it seems like they’re getting replaced with more and more former BTF cast members.
(#46) Now that I’ve heard Shawn & Derek were denied the Paso/Tango Fusion (which would have been amazing), I wonder if other couples were denied favorites. I thought Melissa & Tony would’ve picked their Viennese Waltz or Quickstep (they did the A-Tango just last week and I have a feeling Trio Dances would be a no). I thought Kelly & Val would’ve done their contemporary, but not too surprised they did their Paso again.
Yes, Cidra, it’s spelled v-a-l-l-y-g-a-l
Tat ok. Peeps b under estamatin the power of Vally. We all gonna laugh when she wins and they announce they b dating. Uall cee.
#152 ValleyGal…the only thing under “estamatin” is the power of education and spelling…get a clue!!!!
Oh wow, I can’t tell you how persuasive it is when those with no concept of grammar, spelling, and punctuation try to hang with the big dogs…
I am so sick of this Kelly and Val are they or aren’t they dating mystery. If they are then good for them. If they aren’t then they have a really good friendship. Either way, I honestly don’t think its anyone’s business besides them.
Aaaand now I’m enacting the “comments that cannot be understood run the risk of being deleted” clause.
You said it vin, to which I’ll add, “and frankly, my dears, I don’t give a damn.”
I saw both the View and GMA coverage today. Sherrie tried to say FaB 5 were heros and was unfair and all 3 others shut her down. Everyone had an opportunity to bring others, she has a personal connection so she was fine to do so was their gust. Most footage was of Shawn and Derek. On GMA Donald Driver said Shawn stole the show. She brought it and that is what wins and he thinks she will do to that and her fan base. He is personally rooting for Melissa as he has seen improvement but thinks Shawn won. Asked about Fab 5 and he thought it was brilliant and Ok , you need to bring it. Regarding breaking hold to please fans he thought that was right also as fans will decide the win. He closed with his prediction is Shawn for the win but his personal favorite is Melissa. I hope he is right. Every pro has always said the best free style wins. That got Dhawn the win before and lost it for Tony with Stacy. Shawn and Derek had the best free style. And I believe they will get a 30 for instant dance and bring home the win. Live Melissa’s personality, positive attitude, sportsmanship but straight up, Shawn out danced and out performed her this season and dude serves this win. I voted to help th achieve it he MBT but if the stars don’t align they will be classy in defeat. I know Melissa will be too but based on past history, Tony wont be. If it doesn’t go his way I hope he rises above his previous behavior when he doesn’t win . He did perform better than I’ve ever seen him, not inventive but solid. Even look st Call ME Maybe, cute but weakest solo of the 4. Looking forward to tonight.
I think after this season the “jump the shark” post John had should be re-run. I have a different opinion now. The obvious manipulation and flat out joke the judging has become is really sad. Before I started reading on the internet and found this site I really bought into the fair mindedness of the show. Now, for me anyway, you cant close the curtain after seeing the great OZ.
After Derek is gone I might pull back on watching the show and just read this site as I now love this site more than the show! You guys are great and do a fantastic job, even in the off season.
#146 Courtney- Seriously, no one makes statements the way you do! You gave me a major laugh for the day.
Interesting comments from Donald Driver. Seems like he really “gets” the show and how it works.
Thanks, Kelsie. 🙂
I think whoever wins this go around deserves to win because all three finalists have given their best the whole season. I also don’t understand all the fuss on Shawn/gymnastics, Melissa/dance training, Kelly overscored in the final. Shawn is a gymnist and is within her rights to use whatever weapons are in her arsenal to secure a win as long as she stays within the guidlines, the PTB am sure are aware of Melissa’s dance training background and didnt think it disqualified her from participating, and Kelly getting throw away 10s that at this point dont even matter is no big deal considering others were given 10s for breaking rules, barely doing assigned dances, slips that were pointed out but one judge was heard saying he doesnt care, and a perfect score for a roubtine where all a celeb did was march in place while the pro danced around them. All around, judging and scoring has been very inconsistent through out the season that its hard to pick out a couple who hasn’t suffered or beneffited from it at one point or another. Finally the DWTS is not really a purely dance show where the winner will always be the best dancer. The premise of the show is dancing but its a reality show whose goal is entertainment/ratings. some of the most technical celebs are not the most entertaining and the reverse is true. Thus the judges take on the dancing aspect and the fans score/vote on who they like the most, are entertained by the most, identify with the most. For me shawn has been the most entertaining , Kelly the one i probably identify with the most and well Melissa for all her technical goodness registers to me only when she is actually dancing, otherwise she is just forgetable. In the end whoever wins I guess IS the majority’s cup of tea and am cool with that.
I will not be surprised if Melissa gets the Samba 😉
I’m curious if she will do the same routine as her dance yesterday, that would be funny lol.
Samba, Cha Cha or Jive. I think Shawn can do all of them! Hopefully she get’s some good points 🙂
I’m sure Melissa will get a perfect 30 again…. so predictable 😉
@Cidra: Couldn’t say it better myself. I have a terrible feeling that even if they aren’t dating, the question will come up on GMA nonetheless tomorrow.
At this point, so long as it’s not Kelly, I don’t care if either Shawn or Melissa hoists that MBT tonight. It is what it is. I did my part by voting for whom I liked(Shawn and Derek).
Sheri Shepherd is pushing hard for Kelly and Val to win on Twitter. So it’s no wonder she thought Shawn’s use of the Fierce 5 was unfair.
Heads up, everyone – we’re turning on Comment Moderation when the show starts in the east in order to cut down on trolling. It will likely stay turned on for 12 to 24 hours. Regardless of who wins, the wackos will be out in force. 🙂 So, a little patience will be required when commenting. Depending on what time it is, it could take a bit of time for the comments to show up.
Hugh Hefner just tweeted a congratulations tweet to Kelly Monaco for coming in 2nd place. Does he know something we don’t?
If there is anything to this, it’s probably, Melissa, Kelly, Shawn, because I don’t think Shawn could be beat by both Kelly AND Melissa.
Maybe he meant coming in second on the leader board yesterday. Who knows,
I am curious how the server issue impacted votes. I know people who wanted to vote for Shawn during the show mentioned getting busy signals. I called at the start and was fine.
He spelled her name wrong and he also called it “the Celebrity version of Dancing with the Stars”. Ummm…you guys really give this guy any credence?? How and why would he know anything at all??
And here I thought we taught you guys better than that – believing anything a celeb tweets. Why the HELL would Hef, of all people, be any more in-the-know than anyone involved with the show???! This is even worse than when Seacrest (the guy across the hall that’s banging one of your coworkers) was claiming to know the winner of season 13 a full 12 hours in advance. His publicist probably told him it would look good if he tweeted Kelly (a former Playmate) good luck and mentioned her currently being in 2nd place, and the message got garbled.
I seriously wish there was some way to dose some of you with an anxiolytic via the interwebs, because all this hand-wringing is driving me nuts.
Word, Courtney.
I just saw a lot of post show interviews and all three couples appear pretty damn content with however it turns out. Everyone relax.
PH – I agree, I think all the girls, Derek and Val will be happy no matter what, but I don’t think Tony will be happy if he loses, he knows that this is his only chance to ever get the MBT, I think he was relax because he was on top and he kind knows that they have a lot of people behind them. I still remember his face in season 8 when they were called third, he was so unhappy (I don;t blame him, is only natural).
I think tony will deal if he doesn’t win (although I think he will) – he was bummed last time because he knew he flubbed the freestyle.
I hope Shawn and Derek will win, but I think it will be Melissa and Tony. They are my second favorites, so I’m ok with that 😉
And there’s nothing the couple can do anymore. They all danced good yesterday and now they just have to wait.
Samba again for Melissa, what a surprise 😉
She just can do the same routine again and get a perfect score…
Not fair to Shawn and Kelly IMO.