PureDWTS Season 25 – Preliminary Power Rankings
So I haven’t done one of these in quite a few seasons, and some of you asked if I was ever gonna bring it back. Well the mood struck me, so here it is – but I’ve switched up the format a bit. This season is a bit unique, as I don’t see anyone that appears to be an automatic early out; last season, most of us called Chris Kattan as the first out before we ever even saw him dance. This time around, things are a lot less finite – I’m not as resolute in who I think will do poorly vs. who I think will do well, and I think a lot is going to depend on who can and cannot endear themselves to the audience. So instead of ranking the couples 1-13 in a finite order of elimination (where some of the smart asses that lurk and troll here are bound to comment “lolololol ur rankings were sooooooo wrong LMAO *crying laughing face*” when they don’t match up perfectly with the elims), I’ve broken them up into four tiers based on how well I think they’ll do. Keep in mind that they are in no particular order WITHIN each tier – just because I have Nikki listed before Victoria & Drew does not mean I necessarily think she’ll do better than them, etc. Likewise, Barbara & Keo being lower than Sasha & Gleb doesn’t mean I think she’ll do worse than them. The only things that matter in these rankings are the tiers 🙂
1st Tier (couples I think stand a good chance of winning this season):
Jordan & Lindsay: I think, barring some HUGE upset, we will see these two as part of the last two standing – I just think between Jordan’s background and recent success, and Lindsay’s momentum from the past 4 seasons, the stars are aligning right for these two to go far. I’ve seen a lot of comparisons (usually unfavorable) to Roshon & Chelsie’s partnership in season 14 – but one area in which I think Lindsay really excels (and that Chelsie didn’t) was not only harnessing her partner’s strengths, but also making them likeable and relatable…and I have no reason to believe she won’t do the same with Jordan.
Lindsey & Mark: Like Jordan & Lindsay, I feel like this is another couple that just has the right momentum heading into this season – Mark’s riding high on the buzz about his return to the show, he seems excited to have Lindsey, and she seems pumped about doing the show. The fact that she’s musical also doesn’t hurt – not sure if ballroom will come naturally to her or not, but the fact that she plays an instrument usually points to a good sense of musicality. That, coupled with Mark’s choreography, is likely to take them far.
2nd Tier (couples I think stand a decent chance of making it to the finale, but not necessarily winning):
Nikki & Artem:
Well I’m already happy with this couple and ready to see what they can do – mainly because this is the first younger, more athletic partner that Artem has gotten. I think Nikki’s got the work ethic to carry her far, along with some natural rhythm – and Artem seems excited, so that’s a plus…especially since he had some good choreographic momentum going last season with Nancy. And WWE is still really popular, and the Bella Twins are probably the most popular of the Divas at this point – I think she’s actually going to have a decent fanbase coming in, and depending on how she plays her hand, she could gain some voters as well.
Victoria & Val: I’m still curious to see just how the audience reacts to Victoria – I maintain my opinion that she may not get as much outward sympathy as someone like Amy or Noah, simply because her disability isn’t readily visible like theirs. But I do think she’ll be at least halfway decent, and that, coupled with Val’s fanbase, is probably going to keep her in the competition for awhile. But with so many big personalities this season (and some of them with some existing dance chops), I’m not sure her winning is going to be feasible.
Drew & Emma:
Given that they were the first couple announced, and voting rules have basically been changed to allow Canadians to vote for Drew, I think this is probably one of the more buzzworthy couples this season – plus, Property Brothers seems to have quite a following, and with their book coming out and Drew’s upcoming wedding, there’s a lot of cross-promotion happening with these two. Also doesn’t hurt that Emma’s still riding the high from her win with Rashad last season – I could see these two actually gelling well together and sticking around for awhile.
Nick & Peta: I keep going back and forth over whether or not I think Nick is actually going to be a good dancer, but at the end of it, I could see TPTB trying to ensure that at least one member of the Fam actually makes it to the finals – and depending on how mobile Victoria is, I think they may fall back on Nick & Peta to fulfill the Chmerkovskiy quota in the later weeks of the competition. On top of that, I could almost guarantee they’ve got Drew Lachey waiting in the wings for trio week, since they’re apparently bringing back former celeb contestants to join the couples for trios.
3rd Tier (couples that I think will probably make it to the back half of the season, but maybe not the finals):
Debbie & Alan: Debbie seems to be this season’s nostalgic favorite – the one the bulk of the main viewing demographic is likely to remember fondly, and possibly be motivated to vote for. On the flip side, she has a new pro with a yet-to-be-tested fanbase – when you’re a rookie pro up against more established pros, you’re probably at a bit of a disadvantage. I think Debbie will definitely have some natural talent – the question is, can Alan harness it?
T.O. & Cheryl:
These two have the opposite problem as Debbie & Alan: here, the pro is very established and has a formidable fanbase, while the celeb has been out of the public eye for a bit and may struggle with votes as a result. Additionally, T.O. was also a bit polarizing even when he was at the height of his fame, so who knows what his fanbase is like. On the plus side, T.O. has wanted to do the show for awhile, and given his financial issues in recent years, I daresay he needs this money – so I get the impression he is going to be on his best behavior, listening to whatever Cheryl says and working as hard as he can to stick around.
Derek & Sharna: So we don’t exactly have a great precedent for basketball players on this show (of the other three we’ve had, two have been out within the first 1-3 weeks, and the other made it to 6th place), but Sharna’s a good choreographer, and Derek does seem like he’s ready to work hard. Will Lakers fans support him? Who knows.
4th Tier (couples that I think will be out within the first half of the season):
Frankie & Witney: For the second season in a row, they’ve handed Witney someone that was pretty well-known at one point, but has since fallen out of the public eye for a decent number of years. Granted, Frankie is much younger and more able-bodied than Chris Kattan, but I’m still wondering what niche of the voting audience he’s going to appeal to for votes – I feel like he might be sharing a bit of the same voting base as Nick, whose band was at the height of their fame around the same time Malcolm in the Middle was popular. I’m also not 100% sure he’s going to be a natural dancer – the vibe I got from him at the cast announcement is that he may be a bit of an awkward mover.
Vanessa & Maks: I mentioned this in the comments of my “What’s Getting Court’s Goat?” post the other day, but in the midst of this whole “married couple vs. married couple” storyline, I feel like Vanessa is being reduced to just being “Nick Lachey’s wife” and not a model, beauty queen, actress, and TV host in her own right. I’m also getting some serious lackadaisical vibes from Maks, whose body language in this interview screams to me “Who cares???” as his partner is talking. They’re unfortunately becoming a bit of a non-event for me, and I have to wonder if others feel the same way. In the same token, though, I could see TPTB wanting to milk this married couple schtick for all it’s worth, so who knows – maybe Vanessa & Maks get thrown a bone every now and then to keep them around.
Sasha & Gleb: I know this is bound to upset the PLL fans, but here’s my concern: Sasha is so laid back, down-to-earth and easygoing that I worry that she’s going to fade into the woodwork up against some of the more outgoing personalities this season. I’m also slightly dubious about Gleb’s choreography, given that he was pretty one-note with Erika last season and never managed to break out of the “sexy” mold.
Barbara & Keo: Although I’ve heard that these two are an absolute hoot to watch and I don’t necessarily see them being the first out, I do wonder just how much Barbara is going to struggle, given that she’s dyslexic and has admitted she’s not good at remembering choreography. I think they’ve got at least a couple weeks in them, but by the time weeks 3 and 4 roll around and the judges start to get serious, I could see the schtick wearing thin and these two getting low-balled on scores and subsequently eliminated. But I think they’re going to be fun to watch in the meantime 😉
So those are my thoughts headed into Monday night’s premiere – I will probably end up crumpling them up and starting all over once we’ve seen everyone dance, but it is what it is 🙂 What are your predictions for this season?
Well done, Court. I’m with you all the way on the first two!!! I’d love it if either of them won. I keep wondering on Nick & Peta too and if they will be a top force. How I’d love it if Gleb and Sasha were a surprise top five too (as you all know how much I love him). Whatever the case, I can’t wait to see. Not long to go now.
I love your power rankings!! Yeah for Sasha it could go either way, her fans do seem committed to anything she does but I don’t know if that’s enough to keep her in, I’m interested to know if you think all the votes really count? Like say if two people had around the same amount do they just pick or does the one with more move forward? Hope that makes sense and sorry if you already talked about that.
I agree with a lot of what you’ve said here Courtney. I definitely think it will come down to Lindsey and Jordan as the final 2 and I would take either winning. I don’t think Jordan will fall to the Disney curse like Disney people of the past since he has Lindsay and as you said she can play to her partners strengths and make they incredibly likeable as well as relatable pair that with the upward trend Lindsay has had the last few season it seems like its a matter of time before she gets her first MBT. I think with Lindsey she’ll have momentum from Mark being back and where she has a very bubbly personality that the demo will like I think she’ll definitely be right there with Jordan.
I agree in regards to Nick possibly being the one that they push through in terms of the marriage scenario to get him dancing the trio with his brother. Which will be frustrating especially if it means him pushing out someone else who is more deserving. Unless they decide to do the trios earlier I looked back and it seems like the week before semi finals or semi finals is when it’s typically been done since they started it. I think out of the fam him or Victoria would be the ones to make it the furthest but I don’t think either will make the finals I think they’ll fall just short. As I’ve said before with Victoria and like you pointed out having an invisible disease doesn’t lead to a lot of empathy from people, if you can’t see it then you think it’s not a big deal which is awful but having a mother with an autoimmune disease I see it happen all the time.
I feel like in terms of Sasha she’ll allow Gleb to break out of the mold he’s gotten himself into. Yeah Sasha’s 21 but I feel like she’ll be a Sadie type of partner for Gleb allowing him to try other methods to get things across like Mark had to do with Sadie. He’s capable of not resorting to sexy but I think he’s felt like he had to because of the last two partners he’s had, the dance that stands out to me as non sexy was his dance during the Las Vegas shows week with Jana. I think with Sasha if PLL fans vote she’ll make it pretty far because the fandom is large but its filled with a lot of youngins like other fandoms we’ve had in the past. I’m hoping they don’t get complacent because I think Sasha is going to be really fun to watch and I’ve been a fan of her for years. I feel like I did my peace by putting out a PSA to the twitter part of the PLL fandom telling them to vote every week no matter what and that tweet spread quite a bit across the fandom so hopefully it works and people listen. I guess we’ll find out soon enough.
I guess this is where I’m a basketball fan but I don’t feel like pro basketball fans are as loyal as football fans. Even though Derek played for the Lakers he doesn’t have a great rep so even if he’s hard working I don’t know if they will save him. Sharna is a great choreographer but I won’t be surprised if they are the first ones off. With TO I feel like things could go one of two ways for him he’s still got loyal football fans that vote plus the momentum of Cheryl being back carrying him for awhile as well as some decent dancing, or fans aren’t going to be loyal and vote and he falls into the background with Cheryl’s being back only carrying them a week or two. I feel like out of everyone they are the two most likely first outs. Especially when you have personalities like Barbara, and having the nostalgia factor with Debbie, Nick, and Frankie.
I’m very excited to see where we go this season to me this cast is the start to what could potentially be one of the best seasons we’ve had in awhile. Can it just be Monday already?
Agree 110%, you nailed this one Courtney!!! No disputing your very valid points, thanks for such a great post.
Great post Court, always fun to make predictions then laugh at how wrong we are down the line, that’s the beauty of following a show like this! If I was ranking them like that then mine would be very similar with a few changes. I’d bump Sasha all the way from four to two. Simply because I think she’ll be a very good dancer. Not to mention if TPTB still consider her ABC family then she’ll be pimped and don’t underestimate how far that can take a contestant. In her place I’d bump Derek down to four. Granted I’ve not seen him dance and I’m purely going off what I saw on GMA which was a little awkwardness and you have to stand out early on in a stacked season. In his place I’d probably bump Nikki to three. Simply because while she has the Bella Army, she’ll have to work hard to win votes from regular DWTS viewers who won’t know who she is compared to other contestants. Plus I’m not fully convinced she’ll be a good dancer yet like I am with Sasha, again just a hunch as she doesn’t have dance or sports cheerleading experience like Stacy Kiebler did with the Baltimore Ravens. Frankie could go further than we think as well, from the interviews I’ve seen of him so far he comes across very likeable, someone you can root for. Jonathan Bennett made it to week 6 and I see Frankie as a similar contestant.
Love these power rankings and for the most part I agree with most, especially the top 2, but I honestly have to disagree with some people’s comments on here. I understand the talent this season is going to be better than last, which is hard for anyone to see who is going home first like we could predict last season. I’ve seen a lot of people doubting TO & Derek, and saying one of the two may go home first. I personally think one of those 2 will end up being way better than most assume. Don’t go by their age, because both are still in tip top shape. Also fan base is a big plus when coming into the competition, but we’ve seen Sharna take Celebs with very little fan base very far in the competition. Both TO and Derek have two awesome pros who in my opinion are two of the best choreographers, and who also have their own fan base and will be voting. I agree with Courtney on her power rankings I just feel one of these two athletes are going to come out stronger than we all think. I personally love having one random celeb who know one expects to be that good shine week 1. Never doubt the athletes lol.. aka (hinch, David Ross, Calvin). Thanks for the power rankings, can’t wait to see Monday night if they are somewhat accurate 🙂
I’ll say I’m personally not basing my opinions of TO or Derek based on their age. I’m basing it on the fact that yes both were very “popular” (sometimes for the wrong reasons) pro sports players but both have been retired for a bit, had a somewhat bad boyish rep, and Derek just had a rocky summer with a DUI. I think those things could lead to them being early outs. Especially when you have a season like this with a lot of likeable celebs that are more likely to connect to the main demo older women.
I will admit Sharna and Cheryl both have taken partners further than one would expect but it’s been in seasons that weren’t nearly as stacked evenly as this one. Like last season Sharna getting Bonner as far as she did it was because he was good looking and the demo liked that, he also had a “good” backstory. Hinch was popular because he was likeable and was a natural dancer, also you gotta remember the fanbase he had behind him. I don’t personally watch much when it comes to racing but I know how huge of a franchise it is. David had just retired, was coming off of a huge win for the Cubs, was likeable, had the MLB behind him, and he had Lindsay. With Calvin he was just plain likeable and Lindsay was able to turn him into a great dancer but in all instances they were seasons where the competition wasn’t as stacked David being the exclusion but as I said he had the MLB behind him. Ryan became super likeable because of Cheryl and yet again there was other low hanging fruit Maureen, Babyface, etc to go first. I just can’t see Derek outlasting Barbara who is someone that the main demo will be familiar with (since the demos for Shark Tank and DWTS align pretty well)or with a nostalgia favorite like Debbie. Someone has to be first to go and this season I think it will probably be Derek. If this was another season where there was low hanging fruit like in seasons past I would say he could easily make it at least until week 4 but since there isn’t *shrugs*. I may be proven wrong we’ll have to see I guess but I just want it made clear as to why I think the way I do.
This is why I don’t like preliminary ranks because people like Sasha will get put at the bottom all because they don’t know her and she seems laid back this is what i will say about Sasha. Dont rule her out just yet i think she will surprise a lot of people, she has a big fanbase and could be a dark horse. However i wish she had been partnered with Mark .
“Bella army”?? Um, LOL.
I only know who Nikki is because I’ve had occasion to watch E! I certainly think that, once again, the size of a celebs fan base is being over estimated when it comes to Nikki. She’s going to have to dance very well AND be surrounded by a good number of people who can’t dance – she is NOT one of the most famous people on the cast this season. Not in my opinion.
YOU remember, Ali, that people are just guessing and many could be very wrong. Also don’t forget that people with a relatively small apparent fanbase doing in (Bindi, Rashad, Brooke…many others) often end up beating those with a seemingly huge fanbase. It happens ALL THE TIME. Just like the best dancers don’t always win. You just don’t know until the season is actually going down how it’s going to play out.
I’m also going to add that nearly every season people comment on all the great talent on that season before seeing any dancing – and at least half the time, that is an incorrect assessment.
It’s cool you don’t have to explain yourself on your opinion, that’s the beauty and fun in taking guesses before the season starts 🙂 We’re all going to have our own opinion, and right now all the front runners are entertainers, so I feel at least one of the athletes are going to surprise us more than we think. I’m leaning more toward Derek because I believe in Sharna, her choreography, and her personality bringing out the best in Derek. After having a stressful season with Bonner, she looks so happy and excited to work with Derek, even saying they have similar chemistry to her and hinch. As for TO, I’m an football fan so Im very familiar with him and his athleticism, that’s why I am a little more confident in him as well. I believe in them both a little more than being eliminated week 1, but I can be completely wrong.. we’ll find out soon!
I don’t know how well all these people will dance come M night, there are obvious ones I see doing great, but some that should be good, could also let their nerves get to them and have a misstep. And with as staked as this cast is where I don’t think anyone will just be flat awful, they are all going to have to come out week 1 with their A game.
As far as Fisher, in his 18 yr NBA career he was not known for being a bad boy (he also just retired in 2014). This is the same guy Kobe called his fave teammate, that Phil Jackson called the spokesman for the team as far as leadership role, he also kept the peace between Kobe and Shaq as well during their 3 Championship runs (2 more rings after Shaq was no longer there). He was also president of the NBA Players Association. Yes, he got a DUI, which is a mistake that he doesn’t get a pass for, but also that doesn’t mean people won’t vote for him if they connect with him and like his dancing. As far as him not having a story, he has a daughter that beat cancer when she was 11 months old.
Yep, I know they call their fans that because I casually follow WWE. Them and the PLL army are quite similar for me. Lots of talk and “likes” online (think I’ve already seen them arguing with each other LOL) but will they actually back their stars with votes? Personally I’d rather have an older fanbase to rely on like Drew has. Unlike PLL or WWE his show aligns right with the regular DWTS audience, as does Shark Tank.
@Danice J – I just have one question for you: why do you care so much about what I think of Sasha?
What I’m saying is that there are certain kinds of celebs that come on the show right after something bad happens, Lochte being a good example and sometimes first impressions based on things like what he did can be bad. Ryan was lucky being in a season where he wasn’t a half bad dancer and had a lot of other dancers around him that weren’t as good and Cheryl was able to bring out a good side of him. Derek doesn’t have that luxury. Neither does TO. And I have never kept up a lot with the Lakers but I’ve personally never heard a lot of good things about Derek. Same thing with TO. And even if he’s just been retired for 3 yrs that is still a decent amount of time to be out of the spotlight other than what happened this summer. Most other pro sports guys that have been on the show were current players, or just recently retired. Doug Flutie is one of the few that I can recall that had been out of the sport for awhile in terms of retirement. And he was just shy of the halfway point if I remember right. But yet again a season with not a lot of originally predicted pre season talent and it was a season with 3 football players as contestants. This season is evenly stacked to me in terms of everyone has a little something in their favor whether its their pro (which TO and Derek have in their favor), having a fanbase, having some dance ability, or being likeable and we’ve not had that in a really long time. Most seasons it’s pretty skewed towards a few select people. Like I’ve said above I may be totally off base, I might even be surprised. I don’t know if Derek will be around long enough to tell the story of his daughter to connect to the audience. *shrugs*
Seems like every season week 1 at least one or two celebs come out and shock, I see those people being Barbara and Frankie personally but I guess we’ll find out Monday.
Like I said before, this is the fun of making guesses before the season because we have yet to see anyone dance. I’m a little confused on where you heard all these negative things about Derek? Just seems like your not a fan of his. As for his dui, I’m not convinced that’s the only reason why they asked him on the show, like they did Ryan lochte. I think if your looking for an nba player, Derek fisher is an awesome add to the season, and only way to get an nba player is a retired one since basketball season matches dwts season. He’s One of the most respected teammate by many basketball players. It’s hard to say people are “likeable” and that gives them an advantage already, when we haven’t even gotten a chance to see if he’s “likeable.” I think many people who aren’t basketball fans don’t know much about him yet, so they are waiting to see how he dances and his partnership with Sharna. Seems the media has fallen in love with Victoria’s story, drew is getting a lot of publicity for the show, as well as the Lacey’s, so I haven’t seen any interviews with Derek and Sharna for us to even see what they are working on, besides sharnas ig stories. What I’m trying to say is we should be excited for the athletes in the competition too, i think they aren’t front runners and may just shock us. As for Frankie and Barbara, well they are definitely not in my top list of surprisingly good dancers, but I could be wrong. Come Tuesday all our opinions are most likely going to change, after we see how they dance. Courtney’s rankings are spot on in my opinion but I think one or 2 people may surprise us along the way (im courts biggest fan, i love her opinions lol) Until then I’m extremely happy with this seasons cast and I’m looking forward to every single contestant, for once not one of them annoys me, I can see myself giving a vote to every contestant. Should be a fun season stacked with talent and surprises 🙂
Thanks Courtney for your FUN rankings. I love reading your thoughts!
I agree it’s a tough call this season and I agree with your top tier however will Jordan break the curse of young men not getting votes They have been eliminated earlier than they should in the past although he does have Lindsay As for the other Lindsay she is a natural talent and has Mark She should make the finals if not win With her I worry about people thinking she is an experienced dancer BC she danced with Derek and has an advantage Look what happened with Heather and Normani As of now I think Drew is being pimped A lot of media attention and Canadians can vote now hmmmm Why now? I don’t like married couples on the show we saw it with Carlos and Alexa Votes get split which doesn’t do any good and Look for a lot of drama too. Rooting for Mark and Lindsay
Er, Derek Fisher wasn’t even the original cast member. Pretty sure he took over for someone who bailed at the last minute (Bobby Brown).
And Ali, people are allowed to have different opinions than yours without you making assumptions about them, so watch yourself.
If people equate Lindsay with Heather and Normani, they are morons. And hopefully, morons don’t make up the entire audience.
As for Drew, ask yourself WHY they would pimp him? Is there a reason? Because if there’s not one, then it’s likely they’re not actually pimping him. Is he a member of the ABC family? Not that I’m aware of. Is he a huge, famous get? Only sort of – he certainly has fans that are in the DWTS demo. He and his brother are pretty popular, so it’s more likely that what you’re calling “pimping” is actually the media that he and his brother would be getting anyway thanks to their book tour. If it’s not DWTS doing the promo, it ain’t “pimping”.
Speaking of vote splitting – I’m curious as to everyone’s thoughts. Obviously, we have the married contestants, the Lachey’s. But it’s not the possibility of vote splitting between them that I’m thinking about. (I believe Nick Lachey is more known, especially to the DWTS demo so barring Vanessa being a fantastic dancer, I believe he’ll outlast her easily.)
What I’m curious about is fans of the pros because I do see how in some cases, they are bigger draws to the DWTS audience and they themselves have voting fans. But how much overlap is there? For instance, do fans of the C-bros split their votes or are the majority fans of one or the other? And how does Maks’ marriage with Peta effect fans voting? I also know that Sharna has a group of fanatical peeps online but do they split their votes? And if so, who else do they “love?”
I saw lots of posts online about the desire to see Alan “promoted.” But will those peeps now vote for him or is he their 2nd, 3rd, 4th fave? And I know that old school pros Cheryl, Mark and even Maks were fan favorites years ago. But are they still drawing a lot of votes or have their fans moved on either from the show or to other pros like Lindsay, Emma or Sharna?
Pretty sure TO was the replacement for bobby brown, right Court?
Heidi, I most definitely understand people do not have to agree with me, i don’t think I ever said they do? I think it’s so fun that we all have different opinions and theories as to why fans will vote for certain celebs instead of others. All guesses and all opinions so not sure why I was told to watch myself 🙁
Wasn’t it TO that stepped in after Bobby Brown backed out. I remember Courtney mentioning how they found Cheryl a partner and this was after the others had already been leaked.
My last comment wasn’t responding to you Ali it was in response to Lawson. I forgot to add in who it was in response to my bad.
I don’t watch a lot of pro basketball, mostly college (university of Kentucky alumni) so I only pay attention to the teams that former UK players are on. I just have seen things over the yrs from others who pay attention to the Lakers. And I knew about the DUI because of seeing it on TMZ over the summer. I just could see the main demo knowing about that and it turning them off especially now knowing there are going to be two eliminations week 2.
Outstanding job, Courtney! Well-thought-out and spot on! And you express yourself so beautifully!
So many I like this season
But I’d definitely love to see a season where the C bros and Peta get sent home early
#21- Thank you for bringing up these topics. I know that many of my friends, as well as myself, vote based on PRO rather than celeb. For example, I never vote for a FAM member no matter who they are partnering. I just don’t want to assist a C Bros or Peta in any way. I am sick of seeing them and agree with #26, Christina. I admit to feeling bad for their celebs sometimes, because I don’t even watch them dance…just vote against their Pros.
It was a disadvantage for Derek Hough’s partners the last few years, too, because I think many voted against them because they felt Derek had won too many times. TPTB certainly helped that situation along by finding a way to discredit Nastia, and preventing Marilu and Derek from getting much press time or even decent songs to dance to.
My biggest concern this season is that the Pros I enjoy watching- Mark, Emma, Lindsay, and Artem may split some votes and allow someone undeserving into the finals.
Yeah, I’m clearly not paying attention to either man. Bad sign for both of them, I think.
I think TO has the edge simply because he has Cheryl as a partner. Sharna is good…but I don’t think many women can touch Cheryl when she’s on fire.
Great rankings, Courtney. Than you for taking time to do them.
I agree with them, and here is some mine….
Jordan & Lindsay:
I agree that these two will go far to even final two or three.
Lindsey & Mark:
I agree also with you that Lindsey seems pumped and as a musician, could have good musicality. Mark’s return has been emphasized and he has been missed, especially his choreo, and this could take them very far.
Nikki & Artem:
Yes, Artem has a younger more athletic partner this season who is a hard worker and she has good rhythm. And, Artem does seem very excited & happy. Nikki shows trust in him (ex: him swinging her around holding one arm and foot.
Victoria & Val:
I also feel she may not come across as disable visibly like Amy & Noel. I feel that Derek & Sharna would really challenged with these two more than what Val might be, as far as disability. If anything, this journey might be the best thing to help her gain back even more strength.
Drew & Emma:
I also think all the publicity and having the “Property Brothers” viewers and now Canadian voters could keep Drew in the game for a long time.
Nick & Peta:
I don’t know what to think about this couple, yet. But, I wouldn’t be surprised either if TPTB throw a little candy out for them because “We have to keep these two couples competing.” ideal. Also, his brothers fame could bring those fans to vote for him now.
Debbie & Alan:
I always loved Debbie’s songs/singing. She & Alan are enjoying their partnership, even though she’s twice as old they are enjoyable to watch. Alan being 1st time Pro will have to give viewers a reason to vote for them. He already has a great personality and is a great dancer going for him. How creative, we shall soon see.
T.O. & Cheryl:
I agree that T.O. has been out of the public eye and has a polarizing past. If he listens to Cheryl and has a good attitude, it will help him. Cheryl is a good choreographer/teacher and will give it her best.
Derek & Sharna:
Hard to tell about Derek’s fanbase. He does seem like he is ready for hard some serious work. Basketball players are good (light) on their feet, so that a plus for him. Sharna is good with choreography so we could be surprised.
Frankie & Witney:
I agree, Frankie didn’t impress me a lot in the cast announcement. So, I’m not sure at this point if he has any dancing ability.
Venessa & Maks:
I agree, not as much of a build-up for Vanessa as hubby is getting; but TPTB will also throw this couple some candy their way to keep them competing with each other.
Sasha & Gleb:
I thought she showed some spunk on the Q & A video, but I really don’t know her that well. I don’t watch PLL. She and Gleb seem to be having a good partnership, though. Who knows, this couple could surprise us, also. I also would like to see less “sexy” intertwined and more creative, cute choreography.
Barbara & Keo:
I agree, these two are hilarious and so much fun to watch, and they may stay awhile. However, I also worry about Barbara’s strength, as she has had 6 wks. to practice their first dance, but after Premier–only one week from then on.
Like Courtney…I could have a whole list of different opinions after watching each couple perform. Let the fun begin!
[…] Vogue: Wow! They seriously aren’t giving Jordan Fisher any thought at winning like they should be. In my opinion, I do think Nick Lachey will be a force this season, but, I still think Lindsey and Jordan are the top two contenders. I’m also shocked they would put Sasha, Debbie, and Frankie so high. Did they even studied up on this season’s celebrities before predicting? Whatever the case, I do think they have Barbara in the right position. I also think Frankie might be one of the first to go. One more thing: I trust Courtney’s Power Rankings way more. […]
Nikki isn’t mainstream famous but the “Bella Army” is strong. She has the second largest social media following of the competitors. That being said her fan base is more international because the WWE is more oooular globally than in the US these days. She benefits from the strong crossover between Total Divas fans and DWTS. Nikki is the #1 woman in WWE. She has her own Barbie doll. Little girls will beg their mother to vote for her. It’s a dedicated fan base when you’re willing to spend money on them. It’s not a stretch thinking they would garner her votes as well. It’s not like the regular DWTS was a huge fan of Rashad either. I think people will like her. I just hope you and other people can stay open minded and not write her off
So… It’s silly but kind of fun and entertaining but….. has Jimmy Kimmel made his prediction? He claims to be ‘mostly’right but he did quite a number wrong and curious to know his prediction for this season.
Fiction, you know i was just thinking the exact same thing. I actually like knowing what his predictions are. I think he’s been quite good at guessing!
Social media means NOTHING when it comes to winning or losing on DWTS.
And Rashad is counter to your argument – he WON. He won despite not being that well known, or having a massive social media following – things you’re pointing at for Nikki that will give her a leg up. He won because the general audience LOVED him and therefore voted for him. He beat the likes of someone from Glee, someone from 5th Harmony, an Olympic gymnast, the list goes on. All people who have the same “strengths” as Nikki. The point is that you can’t claim some massive following and point at that as a reason to claim someone could get to the end and/or win. You just don’t know until they start dancing. Who else had a massive online following? Bethany Mota – and she had the most popular pro in the history of the show and only got 4th place.
The number of times we’ve heard the lines about the “strong” following and the “huge on social media” is massive – and they’re almost always meaningless. If the general, 60 year old DWTS fan doesn’t love you, you ain’t gonna win.
I bet he picks Nick Lachey – he seems to usually go for the “obvious” although often wrong answer.
Social media following (in terms of number of followers) doesn’t mean a whole lot when it comes to DWTS. It can be helpful but doesn’t mean you are the one to beat or the one to win. If you take a look back at the past several winners or even several of the finalists of the last several seasons there are usually several that don’t have a large social media following. As has been mentioned Bethany Mota had a LARGE social media presence plus she had Derek and she only came in 4th. The reason being a lot of people that have social media followings their fans are on the younger side and can be very complacent when it comes to voting. Same thing happened with Normani. I’m afraid the same thing will happen with Sasha, but since there is a section of the PLL fandom that is in their early 20’s like myself I’m hoping she doesn’t fall victim to the typical formula.
The thing that wins you the show is connecting to the GP/Main Demo. If you don’t do that then you can’t win period. That’s how Calvin and David were both able to be in the finals. They weren’t technically the best dancers but they both put forth effort and connected with the GP and they liked seeing the effort hence they voted. And Calvin definitely had a lot less of a following, David did have the MLB on his side which probably mixed some with the GP (or at least with the GP’s husbands).That’s how Bindi won her season the GP loved her, she was some what known before the show because of her dad but people fell in love with her optimistic personality. So while coming in with a fanbase or some dance background may be beneficial it doesn’t necessarily translate come finals time.
I know myself personally that the last several seasons my favorites became my favorites because of what I said above and I didn’t know who most of them were pre the show.
I’m honestly surprised Jimmy hasn’t done his guess yet he usually does it a bit before the premiere before anyone dances and we are only 3 days away at this point. He does tend to go for the obvious, I remember him choosing Nick s21, Antonio s22, can’t remember what he did for s23/24. I won’t be shocked if he says Nick, but maybe he’ll go for someone less “obvious” this time around.
Thanks for this post. I enjoyed reading comments too. I don’t know much about many of the celebs this season. Feeling Debbie and Alan especially after learning she has Lyme disease. I’d still like to see Sharma win but not likely. I do think Vanessa could breakout as she seems fun and has some dance cred. Looking forward to the trios.
This is a weird season, in the sense that you can’t really spot a logical, locked, first one out celebrity. Whenever you think of a name there’s a reason for them not to be eliminated first. I suppose Barbara, T.O and Debbie are on the bottom of this group (for reasons already mentioned on the post), but you can make easy cases for each of them to stay another week. Last year Chris Kattan was an easy choice for me and I asume for many others. This year, I can’t spot that person until they dance, and maybe not even then.
I note the countdown photos dwts are posting has drew and Emma showing two days to go. I wonder who will be one day to go. Little thing I know and not important in the grand scheme of things but they couldn’t even bring themselves to put the reigning champ position one
I will be shocked if they don’t give Nick the #1 balloon spot. They’ve been pimping both married couples like crazy already. He seems subdued compared to his wife though.
My hunch is Frankie for the 1st elimination.
Then possibly Barbara?
Sasha’s parents were ballroom pro’s, so she may have an advantage.
Not feeling the Lacheys, but Debbie has some moves!
I checked today & all quiet on the Kimmel feed. Maybe he gave up?
Funnily enough, Jimmy Kimmel actually predicted Rashad to be the winner last season, but he doesn’t really have a better chance of predicting the winner than anyone else, does he? Do people at ABC tell him who to guess? Will TPTB even take note of his prediction?
On another note, I agree with your rankings, though I might put Sasha in the 3rd tier. I can see her making it at least half way through the competition, especially since her parents are dancers. It looks like she and Gleb get along well, and they seem to be practicing a lot. Also, I don’t even watch PLL, and I find myself liking her personality a lot.
In addition, I just want to say that I really like Victoria. She seems very young, outgoing, and positive. I truly hope she enjoys her journey and doesn’t get caught up in all those Fam machinations. I’m hoping her dances represent her strength but also the fun she is having and her joy for life, rather than being angsty and deep like the ones Val and Normani did last year. I’m worried that we won’t get to see as much of Victoria’s personality if too much focus is directed towards her disability.
Victoria an Val shoe in for the final. It’s really good to see they are giving Val a chance top get to the final. TPTB must be scared sH*tless that he is going to leave. Why not give Keo a chance to get into the second half of the show? If Val is really that good why don’t they give him Keo’s partner instead of yet another bye direct into the final. I love the show but I’m so board with how they treat the pro seeding.
Predictions for the season 26 finale? – Val and two other pros, snore fest!! give Keo, Alan and Artem a chance with finale ringers.
I thought Kimmel did his guess on the night of the Season Premiere?
@steph, I agree, gotta love how they’re making it look like they gave Val a long shot this season. We’ll see how they play it once things get going.
It’s so unfair that Val gets the biggest ringer yet again- they’re so biased towards him and his banal, hackneyed choreography, it’s sickening. How does anyone stand a chance of beating Victoria? It’s disappointing that Val always gets the best and the rest have to suffer, it’s ridiculous.
The season hasn’t started yet, Sophie. I don’t think Victoria is the “biggest ringer” although they have, once again, given Val and undoubtable advantage. They can’t seem to manage to give him someone with no advantages – probably because he can’t handle it. But at the end of the day, people with stories like Victoria’s have only won twice – and Victoria isn’t JR or Nyle…and Val isn’t Karina or Peta. We’ll have to wait and see on this one. I’m hoping that Val at least gets some emotional growth out of the experience.
May not be Frankie for the 1st elim.
Seems he was a drummer for a while. He may have skills.
Could only find very small amounts of rehearsal video. (darn)
Only 11 more hours….
I’ve seen a lot of people acting as if Victoria is a lock for the finals and I disagree. I’m not convinced she’s going to be that good. She’s a very awkward mover, for obvious reasons, and Val is going to have to be clever with the choreography to work around that. Yes, her story is amazing and will garner votes but I think people see disability combined with Val’s fanbase and some are just assuming she will win. I would honestly be shocked if she won.
@ray
I haven’t seen many who feel Victoria and Val are a lock for the trophy, just for the finals. And we have to face it, if TPTB WANT Val to make the finals, he will. We’ve seen them manipulate to a disgusting degree to get him into the finals with Ginger Z and again last season with Normani, whom it seems wasn’t getting the votes despite dancing very well.
Ray we’ll see who’s right. Sick of seeing Val in the final. It’s boring and unfair to the other male pros
The Val and Victoria Access Hollywood interview at Planet Hollywood on GMA partner reveal day makes me think they don’t stand a snowball’s chance in heck.
Val looked pretty subdued. He was saying all the right things to the interviewer but not really looking at them or Victoria. You could tell he was distracted by shiny things in the distance. Too bad Victoria won’t be going that distance with him.
[…] fairly confident in saying is that Lindsey & Jordan will likely be the last two standing, as I’ve already expressed. But the rest of them? None of them suck terribly, per se, but not many of them really sparkle, […]