PureDWTS Season 25, Week 9 – Power Rankings
I’m already seeing this finale labeled the “feel-good finale”, or “season 17, the sequel” because of the generally amiable vibe among both the celebs and pros that are left, and the fact that this is the first Chmerkovskiy-free finale we’ve had in two years. Admittedly, I’m eager to see a finale that isn’t tainted by the need to promote a member of the Fam as the “star of the show”, and without a crystal-clear front-runner – I think any of three remaining contestants could walk off with the MBT, and about the only thing I feel 100% confident asserting is that Drew will NOT win the MBT. But man – I am HYPE for these freestyles, guys. With the choreographic prowess of the remaining pros, we’ve got the potential for some showstoppers.
Judges were back to being on their bullsh*t last night – particularly Carrie Ann, who had a wishy-washy, patronizing, nonsensical critique for just about everyone – the only one in whose favor it seemed to work was Victoria, who was headed home anyway. Len was similarly skewed, getting particularly cranky about “hip-hop” content and various other petty complaints. My guess is that they were told to create the impression that it was a horse race, and to nitpick everyone except Victoria. Thankfully, Bruno seemed to play good judge again, and usually threw in a conciliatory score that was a point higher than what Carrie Ann or Len gave.
So Victoria left us – and I felt bad, because she seemed like a genuinely nice girl, and I don’t think she saw this coming. Part of me thinks the judges being overly-kind to her over the course of the season may have actually convinced her that she had a legitimate shot at the MBT – hell, from the way they gushed (pretty predictably, if you ask me) over both of her just-okay routines last night, you would have thought she was the front-runner for the win. I’m guessing Val is probably also partially to blame for her inflated expectations, and in the same token, he was also beginning to get detrimental in terms of choreography – since when is it allowed to basically do a second trio as one of your individual dances??? And in that trio, have the other two people doing most of the dancing, while the celeb primarily stays stationary? Had Amy & Derek pulled the same stunt on their season, fans would have absolutely shat themselves in anger. And I’ve still gotta raise an eyebrow at the fact that they ended up doing contemporary, while the press release listed waltz as their dance. Say what you will about Victoria saying she had contemporary since last Monday – there’s been enough instances of Val’s partners conveniently getting their styles changed that it gives me pause, and it’s entirely possible that the song was originally intended for a waltz and someone just couldn’t make it work.
1.) Jordan & Lindsay – I think the tides just might have shifted in Jordan’s favor this week – with Lindsey & Mark having an off-week, Jordan continuing to slay, and Lindsay fighting through pain to perform and finish this journey with Jordan, I’m getting the impression that we might see a shift in preference from Lindsey to Jordan as the one to beat for the MBT. From what I’ve seen, Jordan mentioning that Lindsay “is the only pro left that’s never won” last week has been far more impactful than I thought – I’m seeing more and more fans gravitating towards these two now, and are rooting for Lindsay to win her first (and well-deserved, IMO) MBT. I’m totally fine with this 🙂 I’ll admit, it’s nice to see the female pros in general getting more love these days – and it’s particularly nice to see typically “underdog” female pros like Lindsay, Witney, and Emma getting love for the hard work they’ve been putting in for YEARS. And because I know how hard Lindsay works and how smart she is, I’m going to venture a guess that it was not her choice to do Argentine tango to that song last night – and I thought it was a pretty cheap shot by the judges for them to take Jordan & Lindsay to task for it, rather than critiquing the quality of the dance. For what its worth, I was actually kind of tickled that someone took the unexpected route of going with a more tender, heartfelt Argentine tango – the steps were still there, and they were executed well; literally the only things that changed were the music and the overall tone of the performance. I liked it – sue me 🙂 I think their remake of Paige’s jive was the dance of the night, though – not only did it blow the original out of the water, but I think it ranked up there with some showcase jives I’ve seen Riccardo & Yulia do. Jordan is just so damn good at the technique, the musicality, and the showmanship – he’s a triple threat, and it’s delivering some incredible dances. I think he’s surpassed Corbin in the running for “best male celeb on DWTS (with previous dance experience)”, and is inching towards Alfonso, little by little. Headed into the finale, I think he’s got the best momentum to win this thing – fingers crossed Lindsay’s got some tricks up her sleeve for their freestyle.
2.) Lindsey & Mark – I had a bit of a hard time with these two last night – for reasons I couldn’t quite put my finger on, Lindsey just didn’t seem as engaged in her two dances last night as she has been in previous weeks; and maybe I wasn’t as wowed by Mark’s choreography this week as I have in previous weeks. I actually found her contemporary to be disappointingly formulaic – it seemed like the type of garden-variety flailing we’ve come to expect from pros that aren’t cross-trained in it (read: the Chmerkovskiys), and not the more unique, envelope-pushing style we’re familiar with from Mark. Additionally, Lindsey didn’t seem 100% confident executing it – there were a few moments where she seemed to be a bit off-balance, and the look on her face seemed like she was really having to concentrate on doing the steps, rather than just living & breathing through them like she has with other dances. Just a very odd dance for me – not bad, but not really 100% satisfying, either. I had high hopes for Mark to really reinvent Meryl & Maks’ tango, too – but unfortunately, what we got didn’t seem a whole lot different than the original, and I almost feel like they were less than enthused to be performing it, too. Lindsey seemed a bit off again, as if she was having to force herself to remember the steps, and there were a few spots where her footwork and rhythm seemed a tad iffy – not at all what we’ve come to expect from her so far this season. And here’s what really struck me as odd: both Lindsey & Mark felt compelled to mention on separate occasions that Lindsey “had no formal dance training” prior to the show. I get that they were probably trying to shake off some of the ringer talk that followed after Val pointing the finger at Lindsey & Jordan a few weeks back, but it just struck me as uncharacteristically defensive – like Rumer “They’ve all had dance lessons and I haven’t!!!” Willis-level defensive. At this point, I don’t really see a point in vehemently defending one’s level of dance experience – ringers are not guaranteed anything, whether it’s an MBT or nothing. In that respect, I think Jordan & Lindsay have taken the high road – they just don’t even bother indulging the ringer talk, and just focus on delivering the best performances they can. I still think Lindsey & Jordan are going to be the last two standing, but I’m not so sure Lindsey’s going to walk away with the MBT anymore – will be interesting to see how things shake out next week.
3.) Frankie & Witney – As I think many of us have been saying for awhile now, if there’s anyone that might play spoiler to a Lindsey & Jordan final two, it’s this guy – and after last night, I think it’s a legitimate possibility, depending on how he fares in his redemption and freestyle dances. If Jordan’s main strength is his technique, and Lindsey’s main strength is having Mark’s choreography – then I think Frankie’s strength is being the most relatable and down-to-earth. He’s got definite underdog appeal – while Jordan & Lindsey may be struggling with ringer accusations, I don’t think Frankie has anything in his repertoire that even remotely resembles “previous dance experience” – and it’s adorable, because the fact that he’s become pretty damn good is just a testament to his hard work and enthusiasm this season. His salsa was actually my favorite dance of the “pro’s pick” round – I was tickled at how well he stayed in-step with the troupe guys (he could teach Drew a thing or two about swag), and I only saw one section where he went off-time. Thought he really sold the routine well, more than anything, and seemed to just be having the time of his life up there. The iconic paso maybe didn’t go quite as well, but I still have to give him major props for really trying – that was a tough dance to give them to recreate, and I think Frankie gave it an impressive amount of effort. Anyone with the cojones to attempt the knee walks gets kudos in my book 🙂 At the end of the day, I’m curious to see how he fares in the finale – at this point, I think he could possibly bump Lindsey to 3rd, but I’m also afraid that he himself could get bumped to 4th by Drew…aside from Jordan most likely being one of the final two, I’m not super sure about anything at this point.
4.) Drew & Emma – Looking at the judges comments and scores from last night, I daresay their mission seemed to be to ensure that Drew didn’t finish any better than 4th place – although with only two points separating him from Frankie, I’m a tad concerned that it’s a margin he can easily beat, given his fanbase. But for the sake of optimism, I’m going to guess (hope?) that he still only manages to eke out 4th place 🙂 I don’t have anything against Drew, really – I just think he’s not as good as the three other contestants that are left, and his main strengths this season have been personality and fanbase, as opposed to actual dance skill. I this became particularly evident during his kilted tango – most of the technique was fairly problematic, along with the tone of the song and the performance not really fitting with the aggressive tone of the tango; plus I just found the kilt itself rather distracting and out-of-place, and I thought the flashing move at the end was in rather poor taste. It all felt rather schtick-y, as if Drew & Emma realized they weren’t going to be able to compete based on skill, so they decided to go full-bore with the shenanigans to make up for it. It may have worked earlier in the season, when there was still low-hanging fruit that needed to go first…but I think the jig is up, now. As for their iconic dance – I actually think Drew did a pretty respectable job, and seemed to stay on-time and in-step with Emma & the troupe pretty nicely. I wasn’t particularly wild about the theme or the song of the original, and I wasn’t really all that wild about it this time, but it was still a pleasant performance, and I was entertained. Doubt it’s going to be anything that really stands out in viewers’ minds, though, so I don’t know that they’re going to get much of a boost in votes for being memorable.
So what are your thoughts headed into the finals? How do you predict the remaining couples will fare, and how do you think they will place?
This is probably the order it will shake out in next week. I think production would prefer Jordan winning over Lindsey since it benefits them more (new pro champ who is touring vs. three-time pro champ who isn’t). And they seem to be trying to ensure Frankie gets third and Drew leaves Monday.
I have to confess, I thought Crew’s tango was funny, even if it wasn’t a proper tango. I definitely like his personality.
I completely agree with you! Jordan & Lindsay’s jive was the wow dance and best of the night, only one better than the original dance (and I love the original) and the saving grace of semi-finals that was a bit of a let-down overall; thought last week was a better overall show.
I also love Lindsey & Mark but was underwhelmed by both dances. I love Alexander Jean music and think that song saved it from being completely generic. I do think Lindsey has lost some momentum since her injury flared up, which is so sad to see. The quality of movement and posture and a few other things just haven’t been as high as they were in the jive, vwaltz, foxtrot, argentine tango etc. I also think Mark’s choreo just wasn’t as standout this week. I hope they can really wow us next week!
I do think, even if the actual numbers were a bit off and we want to debate that, the rankings and point-spread between the couples are pretty on-point to the quality of the 4 couples’ dancing.
I really have no clue how this will shake out. So glad to have positive, uplifting pros and great partnerships in this finale. I hope they all wow us next week. I would prefer this order of finish: Jordan, Lindsey, Frankie, Drew but will still be happy to see either Jordan win (because he’s had the best body of work and Lindsay has more than earned her first), Lindsey win (such a lovely personality, great talent, and Mark has done great work too and its been so long since he’s won) or Frankie win (complete underdog who is loveable and defied all odds). Without sounding negative to Drew, because I do love him and Emma and Property Brothers, I think he should finish 4th, his body of work just doesn’t stack up to the other 3.
This could really end up being a season where who stands out most next Monday takes the mirrorball! Looking forward to the show!
Well, I didn’t watch live and only followed the blog and Court’s Twitter last night as I was sitting bedside with my dad in hospice. I’ve only watched a couple of dances on YouTube today when I had a break. I will say I’m so happy to have a Fam Free Finale (even though I may not be able to watch). I do think Court’s ranking is how TPTB want things to shake out, but it will be interesting to see if they get their way. But for the first time in years, I’d be happy with Lindsey, Jordan or Frankie winning it all. Even though I’m voting and rooting hard for Lindsey and Mark, I won’t have hard feelings over any of those three pulling it off.
After the first show, I predicted that the last 4 would be the ones that now are. Now I would actually like to see a huge shakeup and have Drew and Frankie in the final 2. As we all know that won’t happen, I would like Drew and Lindsey or Frankie and Lindsey. Nothing against Jordan and Lindsay, but I’ve always had a problem with a Disney kid on the show since they have a bunch of talent, and whether they say so or not, more than likely some dance experience. Plus, Jordan has danced on Broadway. He knows his stuff. Yes, I know ballroom is different, but he has some basics and he has some knowledge. Unlike Drew and Frankie who had absolutely no idea what they were doing.
Mark, Emma, Lindsay and Witney are the best choreographers on the show. Each week, they brought their best and each dance was enjoyable to watch, IMO.
It is such a joy to know that next week we don’t have to deal with Val. He’ll get his moments in the background and that’s it.
So, as I would love the shakeup, it’ll be the predictable 2 from the start of the season, Jordan and Lindsey. And I’m hoping Lindsey wins.
I have sent all my votes to Lindsey and Mark every week this year but….something has changed. I can’t put my finger on it. Her injury? The previous dance experience talk? Although haven’t they started their tour? Being away from LA and doing the tour has cut into their practice time? I don’t know what it is but I feel it for sure.
I’m slightly torn on how I feel about last nights show. I have to disagree with everyone, I actually loved Lindsey and Mark’s contemporary. I loved the song and I felt connected to Lindsey throughout the entire dance. For me she takes round 1 (pros song choice) by a mile. Jordan AT didn’t fit the song choice, Frankie salsa wasn’t anything special it was more hip hop (I actually enjoyed Sharna and Derek’s salsa better from week 1) Drew captured the Scottish theme but he just isn’t on the same level of the other 3 left.
The iconic dances are definitely a tough theme because they had to live up to Derek, Mark and Julianne’s incredible choreography and dances. They are the original 3 who imo set the bar high for young pros. Also Drew and Corbin are such different dancers that this was definitely a challenge for him. I think Lindsey and Mark did justice for Meryl & Maks’ tango, but nothing compares to the chemistry they had so that was hard to compete against. Kudos to Witney she took the biggest risk and kept the choreography the same as Julianne and Apolo. Although Frankie is no Apolo, he showed guts and their team showed they won’t give up without a fight they are putting it all out there. Jordan and Lindsay obviously win the second round of dances by a mile. That jive was amazing, and definitely was better than the original. I actually love how Lindsay used some of Paige and Mark’s routine in it and I also noticed she used a little bit of the beginning of Sharna and Val’s proud Mary jive from last winter tour. It goes to show that whatever she throws at Jordan he can deliver.
At this point I’m ok with Jordan, Lindsey or Frankie winning. Although all my votes are going to Lindsey and Mark, I feel this season we have contenders that all have great dance ability, great partnerships with their pro, and appreciate the journey they’ve been on. As of right now it looks as if Jordan will be the next mirror ball champ, but we still have next week and these freestyles are going to be something we may never forget with all these amazing pros in the finale. Whoever is the most creative next week with their dances may win it all.
@Courtney We have an all male celeb finale this year. When was the last time that happened, if at all?
Never mind..I forgot about Lindsey
I’m not as wowed by Frankie as most. I thought his Paso last night was one of the worst dances of the night, but it also wasn’t fair to ask them to recreate it in my opinion, even less so than the Maksyl tango. I did like the first dance, although it reminded me so much of the other dance he did to the Bruno Mars song. Witney took quite a bit from that dance, but I guess I can’t say I blame her since it was one of his most popular.
I agree with aa, I loved Lindsey’s contemporary. It was one of the few that I actually did really like last night. Would agree that the other dance wasn’t their cup of tea. There’s no way they were going to try to compete with Maksyl and actually I’m kind of glad they didn’t, but comparisons had to be made and they were night and day. I do think the rib injury has impacted her mobility a bit, but I also think the tour has added a lot of fatigue. Her concert performances are very dynamic and take a lot of energy so I’m amazed she has any left to give DWTS right now. I’m still scratching my head over CAI’s critique of this couple. She knew the script but seemed to have been trouble following it last night.f
Drew just seems to be taking it all in stride. Seems like we have a “Drew” every season, or almost every season. He and Emma are entertaining and I think she has been very smart about how she approached this season. I also think he’s a very smart man and knows how to play an audience.
Jordan and Lindsay were great and I’m glad he was rewarded. He is the best and I do think the trophy should land in his hands. In my ranking from top to bottom, Jordan, Lindsey, Drew and Frankie. In my heart, Lindsey’s the winner and the one I’ve thrown almost all my votes to this season.
What are the chances that weren’t not getting :redemption” dances next week? I’m so tired of redo’s, and forced themes. All 4 of the remaining pros had been doing such a good job at creating routines for this season’s celebs. They all handled the unique challenge of incorporating another contestant, some exquisitely. But I hated the “DWTS iconic” challenge. The instructions must have been as confusing to the teams as they were to me. Mark and Witney seemed to think they had to reuse the whole previous routine to costumes and choreo and they weren’t happy. Of course, since these dances were tailored for other contestants! Lindsay and Emma felt it should be a homage and were both more entertaining but I still would have preferred to see what they would have done on their own. And Val is the sh*t. I noticed he entirely ignored Derek. Didn’t even mention that he choreographed the original Charleston they were being challenged with. So again, what were the rules of this idiocy? CAI said Drew and I think Frankie, didn’t live up to the predecessors in her mind but Victoria made her forget Amber?!! Really Carrie Ann?
So please, no more reruns! And can they come up with something better than the fusion dances too please?
The egregious over-scoring of Victoria early in the night almost made me shut my TV off. So glad I didn’t because there were some great dances and a somewhat happy ending.
1.) Lindsey/Mark: When Mark said something about Lindsey never having real dance lessons before I was like “Please shut your mouth while you’re still ahead, sir!” It’s not that it’s not true but it’s just so C-bro to say it like that and it will blow up in their faces. Lindsey looked exhausted. Mark must be tired too – he wasn’t on his A game. His contemporary looked like something Val would’ve crafted for Laurie,
2.) Jordan/Lindsay: I wasn’t feeling the “Brother” dance or that song Lindsay selected. But I loved their “Proud Mary” jive and how it paid tribute to the version of that dance that we fans seem to remember as iconic (Nicole’s). Parts of it looked a little sloppy or hairy but I thought it fit the out-of-breath, Tina/Ike dynamics that dance requires,
3.) Frankie/Witney: That was my favorite of the Iconic redo dances because they saw some things that seemed impossible to do (Apollo’s kneeslides, Julianne’s sliding split) then they mastered it instead of avoiding or dancing around it,
4.) Drew/Emma: My parents called me again to see if “guy from Property Brothers is still on the show” and I told them they really should be voting for Drew vs just asking me about him. Then I got a lot of excuses about how The Voice is on so they record DWTS, but they’ll totally watch those recordings later (they won’t) and I wonder how many of Drew’s fans are actually watching or voting? Or are they all watching The Voice?
Because Emma’s dress was amazing and I want to wear it to every holiday party, ever. But Emma’s dress will not win this thing without my parents’ votes!
I think that a lot of the “iconic” dances were anything but; I also think that Maksyl’s tango was a missed opportunity for Mark, but I actually liked their contemporary. Maybe not amazing, but I liked it
Thoughts on DWTS Week 9:
I thought last night for the most part there weren’t really any amazing dances,they were good but nothing that was going to be iconic. I first thought the iconic dances were going to be interesting, but they ended up feeling a bit hollow to me. The reason those dances were iconic were because the pairing, celebrity, and how it suited them. It ended up feeling a bit like they were checking off a box on a list of recreating it, rather than their heart really being in it. I also think they were so focused on recreating the dance that they forgot their technique and other things that make performances great.
Thoughts on Victoria: I think most of us saw it coming, but she seemed surprised after the generous scores she was given. She had 2 decent dances but I just don’t think she was going to be able to keep up with Jordan, Lindsey, and Frankie and not keep up in votes with Drew. But I’m super excited for the finals, all the finalists bring something different to table and it will be interesting to see who will win. I can see Jordan, Lindsey, or Frankie winning but I think the freestyle will help determine the winner among those left. Lindsay, Witney, Mark, Emma have all been hard workers this season and in my opinion deserve to be there with their partners. They are all great choreographers and can’t wait to see what they bring to the table.
1) Jordan&Lindsay: I don’t really think that song suited the AT but it was still good. Not one my favorite AT’s of all time but he still did the steps well and all. I think they could’ve added more steps in I just think that song didn’t really give the AT feel to it. I think the scores were fair for it. I wish Lindsay could’ve created a totally new jive for Jordan, as I was really excited for him to jive but this was still good. I hope they will retire proud mary from the set list now. I think it was on par with Paige’s. I felt a little bad for Mark when Bruno said it was better. Paige and Jordan brought a different feel to it. Paige was more a powerhouse dancer and it didn’t seem as hectic but Jordan seemed lighted on his feet and quicker. I don’t really think one was better than the other, but I still think in the future I will think of Paige’s before Jordan’s.
2) Lindsey&Mark: Lindsey and Mark have a really tight schedule because I think her tour already started and Mark is on tour with her. She is really tight on time and I think she might be glad there is only one more week of a grueling schedule. She is working hard but it’s hard not to notice that she is tired. I actually thought her contemporary was quite good and I think should’ve been a perfect score. The Meryl&Maks tango was hard task, and I could also tell they weren’t thrilled in recreating it. Meryl and Lindsey and completely different dancers and this dance just didn’t really fit Lindsey that well. Similar to Jordan, I think I would’ve preferred Mark choreographing a tango that was catered more towards Lindsey. But it’s like having someone else trying to do Lindsey’s jive or argentine tango, it just wouldn’t feel the same.
3) Frankie&Witney: I thought the salsa music choice was odd, but maybe Witney was trying to go for something outside of Frankie’s comfort zone. Plus it had to be upbeat since it was a salsa, so she was limited on her choice. The salsa wasn’t perfect, but the performance value was there and should’ve been all 9’s. He kept up with the troupe guys and stayed on time for most of the dance. I commend Frankie and Witney trying to recreate this routine and it worked better for this iconic dance because this one wasn’t as stylistic as the other iconic dances. But I feel like they were so focused on mirroring the dance that they forgot about the technique.
4) Drew&Emma: I agree that the tango seemed a little early season for me. It wasn’t terrible just not on par with everyone else left. I don’t think the jazz was bad either, but I think no matter what they were going to say it didn’t compare to corbin. I think Emma did the right thing in not trying to mirror the routine. He stayed on time for the most part and there were a lot of tricks. Drew and Corbin are different dancers so it was perfectible that it wasn’t going to match up.
Agree Jordan Lindsey and Frankie final 3 with Jordan and Lindsey last 2 standing with Frankie 3rd We all know that the best dancer doesn’t always win Still hoping Lindsey wins I don’t think I can take another Mark robbery for 2nd place Especially since we all know this is probably his last chance I don’t foresee him coming back Hopefully Team Stark is killing in votes I am just getting flashbacks to S22 with Paige and Len robbing Mark 1pt in Semi finals 1 pt in finals #Result2ndPlace
I think the reason Mark lost with Paige might have been the fact that Nyle was simply unbeatable when it came to viewers
#Kathy – Mark has won twice with two ringers, so it’s difficult to think he was or is getting robbed.
I can understand where Kathy is scoming from, though, because there was a lot less BS when Mark last won.
Frankie is my favorite, but I like Lindsey and Jordan as well, so I wouldn’t mind if the MBT goes to one of these two. I also like Drew but as many have said it’s unlikely that he’s going to win.
have to say that I find the ‘xx hasn’t won yet’-card super annoying. the ‘pros should take turns in winning’-mentality just gets on my nerves.
really looking forward to the finale and excited to see the freestyles! I’m also happy that Julianne will be back next week and I’m crossing my fingers that she’ll dance as well!
All agree with Drew finishing 4th? Sorry I️ have to disagree. I️ think we may have a surprise on Monday. He’s not going to win but I️ can see him getting 3rd
@Rachel, #16
I agree that no matter what Paige did, Nyle was just hard to beat unless he completely screwed up in the finale.
It has been 8 years since Mark’s last win…that’s longer than any of the remaining pros have been pros…and the show was much different back then. Yet Mark has been so great evolving with the show and has had a number of near-misses for the MBT. So even if he may not have been “robbed,” to the Mark fans, it FEELS like he hasn’t won and we have been as hungry for Mark as the Lindsay fans are for Lindsay.
I will start with I feel bad for Victoria, you could see she really didn’t see it coming. I really expected her to leave and thought rightfully so, but hated seeing her cry. Val wasn’t the best pro for her to get, he can’t handle anyone but a ringer, even though I feel like he thought he could. I would go crazy on how this week became trio again with Jenna, but Victoria is gone so it doesn’t matter. The next and biggest issue I have is this-We all know Jordan is fantastic, but to say he is Derek and Mark is just beyond generous and a slap in the face to both. I doubt we will see Mark again, he has been hosed several times score wise, than we get to see Erin bug him about not contacting Maks about their dance. So then we are subjected to Maks coming out and taking Mark & Lindsey’s screen time with his big mouth. I don’t recall any other couple who had to share the stage with the “iconic” dancer other than Mark & Lindsey. We also get to hear Frankie say how hard it was to travel this week and he doesn’t know how Drew does it. No mention of Lindsey and Mark on tour and both performing nightly in different cities while still doing this. I really do like all the remaining couples, but I think Mark & Lindsey should win.
My Power Rankings are the same.
1) Jordan and Lindsay = Their Argentine Tango was not all that great. As much as Len gets on my nerves, he is right about the Argentine Tango needing to be hot and spicy. Lindsay’s tango was anything but. She is a very good choreographer, but I don’t think the Argentine Tango is her strong suite. The relationship between Jordan and Lindsey is a brother and sister vibe, so I don’t think being hot and spicy would work for them. Their jive was fantastic and I think the best jive in DWTS history. I could re-watch their jive over and over and never get bored by it.
2) Lindsey and Mark = Even though Mark is getting some grief on SM about using his wife’s song, I think this was their best dance. It is clear that Lindsey does not have the dance training that some hinted at (looking at you C-Bros), but she is a performer and a quick learner. I think she is doing quite well all season long and deserves to be in the finals. The Argentine Tango was good, but not great. I still think Maks/Meryl’s dance was better. But it is somewhat unfair to compare the two couples. Maks and Meryl’s relationship was largely based on showmance combined with good dancing. Mark and Lindsey’s relationship is based on mutual respect and friendship combined with good dancing. With that said, Lindsey and Mark’s contemporary hit it out of the park and their best dance.
3) Witney and Frankie = They can win the mirrorball if this season is about personality over technicality/musicality/great dancing. Frankie is too inconsistent and IMHO, I feel that luck was on their side when their dances were pretty decent, rather than any dance talent Frankie has, which I think is minimal. I feel both dances were rather ho-hum and nothing really stood out to me. The dances were not impressive and the only real thing that stands out for me is that Frankie finally bared his chest.
4) Drew and Emma = The best thing I can say about them is I am glad they are in the finals instead of Val/Victoria. Drew really hasn’t improved all that much, still stiff, has sync issues and at times really looks kind of clunky out on the floor. Still can’t believe Emma let Drew twirl her around like that. Pretty scary and Emma is one brave woman.
Looking forward to the C-Bro free finals. It is about time. I think it’s looking like this could be the season of Lindsay and that jive she did with Jordan could have cemented that win. But of course with DWTS, you never know. I am having a DWTS party at my house both days, so it should be pretty fun.
I like Lindsey, but my feelings about her are similar to what a lot of other people are saying about Jordan. She’s bubbly and fun and so sweet and genuine, but I personally haven’t felt connected with her recent dances. I feel like Jordan has better technique and Frankie has better acting and all three seem to be genuinely loving the experience and having so much fun. Lindsey’s injury has made her look a lot more tentative and a lot less carefree and happy to be there. I still love her and think she deserves 2nd, but Jordan is by far my favorite. I love his technicality and I super love his relationship with Lindsay. I don’t put stock in a pro needing to win for the first time just because it’s their first time. Lindsay deserves to win because she’s awesome and has worked her butt off for it. I like her choreography better than Mark’s (sorry, not a popular opinion, but honest) and Jordan pulls it off beautifully every time. And it’s not his fault the AT didn’t fit the mood- that song never should have been with that style, but he still did a great job and tried to make it work.
Forgot to add my snark to the Val/Jenna/Victoria contemporary dance. That was a trio dance first off. Plus why was the spotlight on Jenna when she was behind the door? The theme of this dance was Victoria and her parents. But the dance totally focused on Val and Jenna and it was like Victoria was an after thought. To me their iconic dance was a lot better. Victoria actually had more dancing in it, then the contemporary. It was the best dance of their season for me.
I have never seen a contestant cry so badly like Victoria did when she was eliminated. The only other celeb contestant that probably you can compare it to, is when 14 year old Willow was eliminated. I like Victoria and it is too bad she was so upset about the elimination. I think she thought she had it made in the shade to go to the finals, and Val let her think that. He never let her believe any differently. Oh well, Victoria will soon realize that coming in 5th and being eliminated is not the end of the world, and will go on with her life.
I expect the finals will bring four crowd pleasing freestyles. It could be a really good final. I’m still a little nervous about TPTB and just hoping they can go a whole season without stirring the pot. Four great pros, four really nice celebrities who have all worked so hard, most of what I’ve been seeing around the net are fans who are pretty happy with this final group.
As far as how they will place, I’ve got not clue. Three out of the four are capable of perfect scores. A couple of them at least have probably been very good vote getters.
One thing I did notice in terms of unhappy feelings have been Val/Victoria fans who feel she should have made the final ahead of Drew. Whether it’s accurate or not, most of us believe that fourth slot was being contested between Drew and Victoria, and Victoria’s fans seem to think the same. So I’m not sure Drew is going to get as much help from Val and Victoria’s recycled votes as the other three finalists.
Between that and the likelihood that he’ll be the low scorer on the leaderboard, I think he’ll be fourth.
Other than that, no clear sense of how things will go. Just really looking forward to those freestyles.
Not the biggest fan of the first half of the show. That trio with Val Victoria and Jenna made no sense. I think Val knew or felt he was leaving, so he threw his token contemporary dance last night in case they missed that opportunity. It came with the added bonus of Victoria’s “journey”. It was pretty much the freestyle you know Val would’ve prepared. To me, he clearly knew he wouldn’t get there this week, or next week where they would’ve ended in 4th place (freestyles are for the top 3 right? Sort of forgot about this….).
Sad to see her go. She’s a nice girl. I think her charleston was her best dance on the show.
The season ends next week and I have to keep waiting for that crazy insane Mark Ballas routine. We’ve gotten two already, but I thought we would get more. I was underwhelmed last night.
Sidenote: people of The Mick need to get Lindsey on that show. Or on Sunny. I can’t think of anything else. And Tina Fey doing the charleston was also fun to watch.
Jordan…my god. I think that Mark/Paige dance is one of my favorites ever if not my #1. It was fun and exciting to them pull it off and yes, maybe be better than Paige and Mark. Loved it to death. It was just as insane. And he did it with his legs straight!
Sidenote#2. Gossip time: at times I let comments get to me and I’ve always felt some sort of bad blood between Mark, Derek, Val and Maks, but last night Mark was loving Maks, shaking his head to Val at the final result. I don’t know. They felt a hell of a lot more friendly than I thought they were. I did chuckle when Val got a Derek dance though. I also think that if I were Mark, I would’ve run out to hug Jordan or something.
Drew should’ve gone home instead of Victoria. And Frankie was drinking the same overexcited juice Laurie was drinking last week.
None of the selected dances were truly iconic, plus I don’t think the issue with Mark and Lindsey was that they couldn’t live up to Maks/Meryl’s version of the dance. Really, so much of Maksyl was fake, fake, fake as those shippers well and truly found out once the season was over. Not to mention that Maks’ choreo never truly capitalized on Meryl’s skill. Too simple.
Nope, I think it was just an off night for Mark and Lindsey and I think in large part it has to do with the tone of both dances – it was diametrically opposed to who Lindsey is and who she has been all season long. And that’s a little sprite. Both dances seemed….dark. Neither were “bad”, but Mark set his own bar too high and they might have peaked early.
And yes, Lindsey is now on tour and Mark is traveling with her. I think that is showing a bit as well.
Part of the problem with Mark&Lindsey’s iconic dance is that it’s almost impossible to capture the unexpectedness and awe of that M&M dance. Up until that dance Maks was skating by (see what I did there) on Meryl’s talent and the “I’ve never won” hype.
Somehow a fire was lit under his ass and he produced the dynamic, exciting dance that Meryl’s talent deserved.
I do think the dance was too similar to the original. You have to recreate the dance, not give us a mirror image of it.
Lindsay and Jordan were bloody ON FIRE! She’s pushing him both creatively and physically and I get the feeling he would literally kill himself to give her what she’s asking for.
The obvious love and joy he feels for his younger siblings gave me such happy vibes. Then Lindsay had to say that she considers Jordan like an older brother and I was marooned on sentimental island.
They truly had an excellent week technically, emotionally and creatively.
I love Frankie and Witney. One of the all time best couples in the show’s history. Chemistry, respect, hard work, showmanship and sheer joy.
You know that they have each other’s backs. I really was impressed in the Paso by the way Frankie was pushing his hips forward while leaning his upper body away. There’s probably a technical term for it which I don’t know, but that impressed the hell out of me. In my ignorance I’ll call it The Matador Lean.
He’s so relatable and likable while also pushing himself to please Witney. As someone who has bouts of insecurity, I adore how he is able to overcome his own insecurities and come alive on the dance floor with such commitment and heart.
Good grief Emma is a daredevil badass. And bravo to Drew for attempting such a dangerous for your partner move.
I rewatched Lindsey/Mark’s dances and while they are opposite in tone to Lindsey’s usual sunny personality, I enjoyed watching her explore this side of herself. I thought their contemporary was powerful (the Alexander Jean song ended up being a great fit, so why should it matter that Mark and BC wrote it?) and Lindsey had some great shapes and lines. I loved the ending with the rollout to Lindsey’s final pose.
Mark’s choreography for the tango WAS different than Maks’ (more kicks, lunges, Lindsey’s turns while in frame, and they danced from the very first second to the last)…it was not a mirror image. I actually enjoyed the chemistry they had, which I thought had a little bit of heat of their own.
However, other than expressing his own musicality, I don’t actually think there was much room for Mark to be that creative since (a) it was a ballroom tango, so they were restricted by the stay-in-hold rule (which Mark already broke once this season and probably didn’t want to do it again) and (b) they are supposed to pay homage to the original “iconic” dance. Making changes beyond choreography and variations on costumes IMO would take away from the assignment. For me, Victoria/Val did not complete the assignment because their Charleston, while very nice, did not evoke Amber/Derek’s at all.
Well I guess it is beating a dead horse to talk about the Jive, but oh well.. I was so excited to see them dance full out like that, and Lindsay bless her heart she went for it with that wrapped leg. Jordan is just a wonderful dancer because he loves learning ballroom. We could have had a jazz contemporary dance fest like what happened last season with Normani, but no, Jordan is learning the prescribed dances and is just crushing it. I loved all the little nods to original without re-doing the choreo. Jordan is not Tina Turner but I did get a young James Brown vibe out there, especially when he put his own little flava when Lindsay did the chicken walks… but all the precision turns, the straight legged cartwheel, the double rope turn, on the spin to the barrel jump, the matching of the kicka flicks.. it was everything and a bag of chips. The AT was a bit of lunch bag letdown, but it seems to me the overall tone of the show this year is family friendly, no sex please we are on the Disney train this year. No one really did a sexy AT and I miss it. If they get a redemption I say do the AT with better music and no lyrical stuff. I think it could work a lot better with a bit of tweeking.
I thought Witney made a mistake by trying to stay so close to the original, not only did they not do the Apolo leap he was never an athletic dancer and it showed.
I also would have liked to have seen a bit more of a de-construction of the Meryl and Maks Tango… again doing it so close to the original demands comparisons.
I am sorry Drew just looks like Jonah Ryan out there.
I was sad for Victoria. She would have been better served with a different pro.
#Cali finally someone said the obvious. Val did not emulate the assignment given whatsoever. If anything he tried to use Nastia’s street care modern Charleston background. No where did he honor Amber and Derek’s. It sounds like the pros were told different things for their ‘iconic’ dance. At least the others tried to honor the ‘iconic’ dance they were given.
Loved Mark & Lindsey’s contemporary, I felt both of them were all in for that dance and did a great job. The Tango was good too just a bit less crisp than M&M’s, but I thought the intensity was there. Loved Jordan and Lindsay’s jive, just perfection. Their Tango was good too but I enjoyed the jive more. I’m not a Frankie fan so I honestly didn’t pay attention to their dances. I enjoyed Drew and Emma just because they bring such joy to the dance floor, and I would put him on par with Frankie as far as danceability. Either of them could win imop. I’ve been voting for Lindsey since day one and will continue to do so, just a fan of her story and talent.
As for the whole Val thing, I just think he knew that they were probably headed home and really wanted to squeeze this dance in. Always an angle with the c bros (and Jenna), selling them as a couple commodity and Jenna’s choro in one shot. Victoria’s part of standing and being carried was lovely, but it was Jenna & Val competing which I had never seen before on dwts.
Personally I disagree that because some steps were different in Mark&Lindsey’s Tango that it wasn’t a mirror image. In tone, execution, costuming, staging and pace it was very similar to the original M&M Tango.
Now I say this as a HUGE Mark fan. I mean their Tango wasn’t bad by any means. It was precise, cohesive and beautifully danced by Lindsey. For me it just didn’t present anything new or different than the original.
Part of that possibly might have been the song. It’s a good song for a Tango, but their isn’t much wiggle room for differing interpretations. It’s an intense song from start to finish.
If Val thought they were headed home, he should have thought about his PARTNER and warned her it was likely coming.
Im no huge Val fan but why would he tell her, gosh, we’re probably going home this week. The idea is to give her confidence that she can do it, not that its hopeless so why bother? I think the whole “he should have warned her” thing is ridiculous. She’s been at this, what, 7-8 weeks? She’s seen someone go home every week. She’s even been in jeopardy, I believe. Are you telling me she had no idea at all it might eventually be her? I know she was probably very disappointed but from what I saw I thought he was very kind to her when she heard the news.
I think part of it is that up to now TPTB consider Val their Golden Boy and have done everything they could to get him into the finals. They’ve fed his ego monster so much over the seasons that now he thinks he’s always going to be a lock for the finals.
Therefore he doesn’t prepare his partner for the possibility that they may be eliminated before tops three or four. With the end result that Victoria looked completely stunned and upset when their names were called as the couple leaving the competition.
No contestant wants to be unprepared and shocked on live TV when they’re eliminated. That’s on Val.
Looking forward to the finale and like the 4, although Drew being a question mark for me. He has had the lowest scores and his dancing is questionable at best. Semifinals and finals only getting 48 is not going to win him a MBT. He needs to step up his game but do believe he will be gone on Monday.
Like Frankie and he has improved but again for me to inconsistent. He is a distant 3rd behind Jordan and Lindsey.
Jordan and Lindsey should be the last 2 standing because they have been the best 2 dancers on the show and this is still a dance competion and this is the way it should be, but I know the best dancers, don’t always find themselves 1 and 2, but Frankie and Drew in my opinion are not even on the same playing field as Jordan and Lindsey. I’m picking Jordan because I feel he has been the best dancer throughout the show and the most consistent. Loved Lindsey but think tour may have interfered with her rehearsals and the traveling. She did look tired the other night.
No, it’s NOT ridiculous, Joy. Derek found a way to do it every season he was on the show and I’m pretty sure Mark did as well. You do that so your partner doesn’t break down and cry on national television or so she or he is prepared to be gracious, etc. I said in the live blog that I thought he handled her just right when she did hear the news, but if he knew BEFORE the show started (and he might not have, since he’s not that self aware), he should have warned her. I doubt there is a woman alive who wants to break down in tears on National TV.
Now lose the total bitch tone or I’ll just delete you next time.
I sort of agree about Val not giving her the heads up, it sounded like according to her interviews that they waited all season to do that Contemporary for her parents. So the anticipation of giving that gift to mom and dad must have felt so lonely for her to be eliminated, because she was blindsided. I don’t understand Val’s
reasoning for not preparing her, or for doing that piece now. To me he didn’t follow the chronology of her journey because her being bed ridden happened before she was using the wheelchair. It sucks because for me that contemporary was simple but it would have worked really well for the Memorable Year week, instead of the wheelchair dance that for me didn’t really achieve what dance studios can do with wheelchair choreography. So if it were me, I would have done the Memorable Year Contemporary, then take the time to really do the wheelchair dance justice later on with better choreography to get her into the finals and you do it week 8 in the quarter finales. That’s when you look at Victoria and say wow, she has been dancing for 7 weeks but it was less than a year ago she had to be in a wheelchair. And that’s when the impact to move forward could have surpassed Drew. At least that’s an opinion. I just think Val didn’t map it out very well. There were more changes for this team than I recall having happened in the past.
Being a member of PureDWTS is a privilege to me, and I’m grateful for John, PHeidi, Vogue & Lori who run it. The moderators protect us members from abusive remarks towards us and so I will say that to disrespect any one of them, is like going into someone’s house and throwing your weight around, which could have it’s short comings.
Victoria and Val were a measley 1 point ahead of Drew and Emma last week. Victoria herself should have realized that was too close, especially when we’d already seen Drew NOT ELIMINATED when he had even bigger deficits between himself and other couples. And EVERY pro with all of the seasons Val has had should know what that means too. TPTB even called Drew safe earlier so that Victoria and Val should have known for sure their time was up. Drew and Emma for sure looked surprised so they knew they were in danger. But Precious rarely sees anything beyond himself!
I really hope Mark decides to do dwts again in the future. He’s really hit his stride with choreography, and I’d love to see him be the second person to win 3 or more mirrorball trophies. I’m not so sure that is happening this season anymore. It seems like numerous times he’s been on recently, he and his partner have been unfortunate in something or other, whether it’s going up against somebody who is unbeatable in the fans eyes, or his partner getting injured.
@Susan2 #34
I agree that the tango song lends itself to be interpreted in a certain way. Also, as I mentioned previously, the required ballroom hold restricted what Mark could do differently.
However, something that was original for me in the tango routine was Lindsey and Mark’s portrayal of the relationship. To me, it seemed more romantic and tender in spots, as opposed to Meryl/Maks more passionate take.
I have to agree with Joy that the celebrities should already be prepared that they could leave any week. People with perfect or near-perfect scores have been eliminated before, why would Victora think she would stay for sure, especially when she was only 1 point from the bottom last week?
Having said that, one could be prepared and still have the response Victoria had. And I think that’s OK. It’s human to feel disappointed and it shows she cared and valued the experience.
I am really rooting for Jordan and Lindsay to win. I love Mark and Lindsey, but Jordan’s jive this week put him over the top for me. That dance was unbelievable! Plus I would love for Lindsay Arnold to win – she has been awesome the last few seasons and is one of my favorite pros.
My guess is that they’ll finish in this order: Jordan Lindsey Drew Frankie
I too think that the last three standing will be Jordan, Lindsey and Frankie. While I adore Drew, I agree that his time is probably up. I’ve loved watching him grow as a dancer, but I wouldn’t be sad with a 4th place finish. I think I’ll be happy with any one of the three winning, although my fave is still Lindsey and Mark. I hope their performances in the finals just blow everyone away. This is where I hope Mark comes back super strong.
As for Mark having won with two ringers, I’m still confused why anyone thinks that a figure skater or a gymnast is a ringer? For sure they are incredibly limber and have a strong work ethic when it comes to training, but all the athletes that have been on the show have that skill set. I get Meryl being considered a ringer since she is an ice dancer and is required to be familiar with styles and steps of ballroom, but Kristi was a figure skater. I have no doubt that both skaters and gymnasts take ballet for core strength, but I don’t see that as making them ringer material. The only thing close to dancing that a gymnast does is their floor exercise and a few shoulder and hip shakes hardly constitutes dancing. I think skaters and gymnasts should fall in the same category as the other athletes that have won. Anyhow that’s how I see it. I just think if we start calling everyone out who has ever danced at anything, the field of stars to participate on the show is going to dwindle down to a very small number. Again, just my opinion.
And before I forget, a special thanks to the poster last week who posted the link to Torvill & Dean’s Olympic performance. It was such a joy to go back and revisit that.
I think that perhaps knowing and understanding Lindsey’s story changes the impression of her contemporary dance. On this show we’ve seen her light and quirky side, but her truest nature is that of a fighter. This dance hit me hard, because more than any other, I could see her in it.
My favorite part of the night was Jordan’s jive, which was just off the charts. I also really liked seeing Maks and Mark interact after the tango recreation. I saw a lot of genuine good feeling and respect between the two of them.
CherylW – The majority of figure skaters and gymnasts generally have a great awareness of their bodies, are used to memorizing routines, often are flexible and can turn very well, often have good posture etc – all which is super helpful in dance and helps make their dancing more impressive even with no past ballroom or dance training. Skaters are also used to training choreography to music (much more extensively than gymnast floor routines) which would also be super helpful to DWTS.
But, a ringer is not labeled that just because they have these things, but also due to their pre-existing fanbase. Shawn had just come off of a great Olympics when she did DWTS and was super popular, a la Laurie Hernandez, who also won her DWTS season as we know. Kristi is also a popular Olympian, the main demo of DWTS watchers would remember her competition days, and she’s a great family woman and role model and just really fits in what the main demo generally likes.
The mods here have made multiple comments and posts about ‘what makes a ringer on DWTS’ before.
Heh. Seems I struck a nerve. 😀
Don’t let the bitches get you down, KKat – but thank you for the support. 🙂
True, Colleen – and when you consider that the judges have been kissing Victoria’s ass for the last couple weeks (as they have done with far worse celebs to get them to last another week or two), she probably was very blindsided. VAL should have known better – but then he’s had his ass kissed for several years now, for no good reason.
Most figure skaters have some level of dance, not to mention learning choreography. Same goes for gymnasts. But like EPmusic said – any dance is often outweighed by their massive fanbases.
I think that Drew will leave at the end of Monday night. Tuesday’s results, in my eyes, are up to interpretation, whether the fans want a more consistent and higher-scoring celeb to take home the trophy (Jordan or Lindsey) or a complete underdog who is extremely relatable to boot (Frankie).
Skaters do have dance ability and as athletes they are physically capable but to be honest the dance in skating is radically different.
Maybe DWTS should do a season just for athletes that would level the playing field a bit ????
Well, in general I believe this is not one of the best semi finals we have had. But still, we have great dancers going to the finals and great choreographers.
I agree with the Power Rankings completely. And I have to say, that “iconic” theme has to be re-thinked and rules need to be clarified. How did one couple copied a huge part of the original choreo and concept (what I thought was the challenge) and another got away with only using the music with almost NO resemblance to the original dance?
I do have to say, I believe Jordan was the most successful in re creating that dance. I agree with the judges that it was better than the original. Its also great to see Lindsay dancing full-out! She is an awesome dancer!
Drew IMO got hosed with the least “iconic” or “memorable” of those dances plus a weird music choice. With that in mind I think he did ok.
Victoria did ok what she was given. But unfortunately she was not given mush, and the judges comments made me think they were watching something different. And Val has choreographed a dance about Laurie, a dance with him and Jenna doing all the heavy dancing and a dance that completely ignored the challenge (did nor resemble the “iconic” dance at all). I felt sorry for her, specially when she was eliminated. She should be happy, getting to the first week was a miracle and she did a good job!
I liked Lindsey’s tango but it was not my favorite dance of hers. Mark looked as if he did not love the challenge. Still love her and exited for their freestyle!
Finally about Frankie. I do love him and his positive and humble attitude. I would not mind if he wins or bumps a couple of people to get to the final 2. I thought Whitney was the pro who better embraced the challenge, as her dance really resembled the “iconic” dance they were given. That being said: I love the original dance from season 4 and I personally believe Julianne is one of the best female dancers that have been a pro in DWTS. So, I believe Frankie did a good job, but I was distracted because I kept comparing Whitney to Julianne and IMO Whitney did not look as god doing that choreo (granted, is Jules choreo). But we are used to seeing pros dance great and perfect so, for me seeing Whitney not as perfect as the original distracted me. Clarification: not throwing shade at Whitney, that’s how I felt BUT I’ve been loving her work this season and partnership with Frankie.
I saw week 9 this week. I think the dancing was great and so were the routines. But, that was about it. It was the same as last season. The contest is still flawed. In a dance competition, the couples are supposed to be dancing the same dances. They still weren’t here. What if 1 couples dance is harder than the others? What if 1 couples chereography is harder than the others? This should be judged by the dances they do only. The Trio Dances and The Team Dances effect the whole thing. They do the dances with a 3rd person on The Trio Dances. They also give the same scores to the same people on The Team Dances. In a dance competition the couples are supposed to be scored separately. Also Val and Victoria were eliminated on account of these ridiculous set-ups. Anybody could see that the 2 of them should’ve been in The Finals. On past seasons they always had 4 couples in the Semi-Finals. On this one they had 5. On past seasons they always had 3 couples in The Finals. On this one they are going to have 4. This is different from the way they did things before. If people could see on Channel 13 a contest called America’s Ballroom Challenge, they could see a fairer way it should be done. I have given comments on Pure DWTS in the past. Some people might remember them and my name. This comment comes from Steven Lantz of Brooklyn, New York.
Tei – for what it’s worth, you are not alone in your thoughts about Whitney. Forget about Frankie not being Apolo (’cause he’s not, much as I’m truly enjoying his enthusiasm and love for the show), Whitney is no Julianne. And that’s what I ended up comparing to the original – how the pro did. (I had to go re-watch the original as soon as the show was over on Monday. Because – Apollianne!)
And I want to echo what KreativeKat said – so grateful for the Pure moderators for creating a toxic-free place to exchange thoughts and opinions on my favorite sparkly dance show. THANK YOU!!!
Back to lurking…
EPmusic, thank you for the post. I haven’t been on this board for very long, so it is possible I did not see the mods post about ringers. As I said it was just my take on it. I have no doubt that popularity has more to do with the winner than dancing ability, it has been that way since Season 1.
Going way back to season 4 to see Apolo’s Paso again was a treat because the re-do reminded me just how good they were as a team. The showmance thing was rampant, everybody talked Apolianne, but that’s not the only thing that made the team great. All the fundamentals of dance, especially technique were all there. Kym Johnson did a re-cap on facebook about the iconic dances on Monday and she said when Apolo and Julianne came out and did that in week 8 she new her and Joey Fatone were in trouble. Up until then Joey and Apolo and Layla Ali were all individually great at some point in the competition. But Apolo and Julianne took the momentum of that dance into week 9 and 10 and never looked back.
On DWTS Instagram some redemption dances have been revealed
Drew and Emma – Paso Doble- Bruno coach
Jordan and Lindsay – Charleston – Len coach
Thanks Casanova. Been looking everywhere for dance info and having no luck. Didn’t look there.
And Frankie with a Foxtrot and solo sounds interesting. I guess that would leave Julianne with Lindsey and Mark.
Why am I not surprised Victoria wasn’t the only Val’s partner who was blindsided? Remember Zendaya? Up to recently she still feel she was “robbed” from winning her season. This is coming from someone who is successful with the recent hit movie Spider-Man. Why does she think MBT is so important even up to now? The problem is Val. I think his big ego somehow rub on to his partners, even his fans. How long has he been on this show? Can he not say “hey partner, this is a tight season. Any of us can be eliminated, that’s including me and you.” I feel bad for Victoria and I understand her feeling but does she think if she make it to the finale she would beat Lindsey or Jordan?
64- I guess I am stirring up old controversy again, but I didn’t watch this site back then so I’ll offer my opinion on Zendaya. I really think the Kelli and Derek freestyle was so unique, beautifully choreographed to highlight her strengths, and danced with such emotional abandon that Zendaya and Val looked like amateurs in their simplistic freestyle. It is a small sample size I know, but a lot of regular viewers I know voted for Kelli based on that freestyle. It was the dance that pushed her into the winner’s column.
Interesting that she was so bitter about losing but I remember such smug cockiness from both of them that season. I also remember them as “sore losers” blasting the INternet with shade and excuses. Truly, I think Val went downhill in a hurry after that. At least, I didn’t detest him quite so much before that season.
OOps. My last response was in regard to 65 not 64.
I absolutely think a major problem is Val and his friggin ego. He enters EVERY season with the idea in his head that he can possibly win so if he doesn’t make the finals, it’s like a shock to his system I think LOL ???????? The producers don’t help the situation when they tend to give him the kind of partners they give him most seasons-even having a partner like Victoria, with the limitations she had, they still made it to the semi-finals but his ego, throughout the whole season, I bet led her to believe they’d go to the finals and possibly win. He’s a selfish partner, not a truly self-sacrificing one in my opinion.
At any rate, I’m soooo thrilled to have a Chmerkovskiy free finale!!! So psyched to see the freestyles the remaining pros will come up with and I kinda wouldn’t be surprised to see Frankie be the dark horse who, possibly, rises above the rest, particularly Jordan and Lindsey. ???? When it comes to the finale, a lot of times, it all comes down to those freestyles-Witney has won before-she can do it again. Frankie does have that likability factor, even though he’s not the best dancer so who knows? Hell I’d be happy if even Drew pulled out a win with Emma TBH with you LOL-I don’t think he will-I think he’ll come out 4th place out of the 3 but still-they all deserve to be there so kudos to them all!
I’m so happy with the final 4, I think the finale will be awesome!
My absolute favorite is Frankie, I’ve enjoyed sharing his journey this season, he puts everything he has into his performances and he has been a joy to watch -he gets all of my votes! I would be so happy to see him win the MBT, he deserves it!
I agree that Kelli is ONE instance where the freestyle may have tipped the balance, but I think she was doing very well all along. Zendaya has a massive fanbase and she encouraged them to vote thousands of times. But when you have a massive fanbase and don’t really understand online voting, you can crash the online voting – which is exactly what happened. It was so bad that all online votes were thrown out and only the phone votes counted. And when you’re only looking at phone votes – meaning that everyone has the same relative number of votes, you get a true picture of what the general audience wants. And it wasn’t Zendaya. It was Kellie. That’s why Zendaya probably believes she was robbed. Her fans couldn’t vote thousands of times each, she had to rely on a true popular vote. What Zendaya fails to understand that the way it worked out was FAR AND AWAY more fair to the audience.
You nailed it, PHeidi. And, Kellie had something Zendaya didn’t…”Derek” and he put so much content into her dances. I think Zendaya was capable of much more than what Val gave her, also. But, what else is knew?? Same old same old even now.
I thought Val gave Zendaya challenging dances with a lot of content. I was truly impressed with them that season. For me, it was S22 with Ginger that I noticed the change in Val’s choreography.
[…] own volition, I don’t care – it just came across as desperate & unnecessary…like it did the few times it got said last week. And the whole “Mark’s been on this show 19 seasons and only won twice!” read to […]