PureDWTS Season 27 – Preliminary Thoughts & Predictions
I feel like all I do is apologize for the lack of timeliness in my posts these days 😛 Sorry guys – life got busy for me real fast this season. I thought about doing a preliminary power rankings, but I realized I haven’t been keeping up with enough media about the couples to really do that justice. So instead, welcome to my random and scattered thoughts about this season, in no particular order 🙂 I tried hit on some of the questions I was getting on Twitter, but if there’s anything else you want my thoughts on, go ahead and leave it in the comments and I’ll try to answer.
This is DeMarcus’ MBT to lose. Now before anyone assumes I mean “I think DeMarcus will win!”, pump your brakes – what I mean by this is that I feel like DeMarcus has the easiest path to the MBT, from the jump: he’s a former NFL player from possibly the most universally popular team (the Dallas Cowboys – often referred to as “America’s team”, part of the reason why Emmitt was so popular), he’s well-spoken and well-liked, he’s in great shape physically, he’s got one helluva work ethic, and he has a great rapport with his partner, who is also widely well-liked and well-respected. Basically, as long as he dances decently (not necessarily great – decent should do it) and puts on a good show and has a “journey”, I think the MBT is his – which means the other couples are going to have to work twice as hard to win, even though they might actually be better dancers. DeMarcus is easily the biggest fanbase ringer this season, from where I sit – and sometimes, that can help a decent dancer overtake a fantastic dancer for the MBT. Just ask Donny Osmond.
We could be dealing with season 24, redux. I can’t help but draw some comparisons between this season and season 24, when there was a preponderance of ringers (particularly female ones) and the last two standing were guys with no previous dance experience (one of which was an NFL player) that were just really likeable and had great chemistry with their partners. I think each season of DWTS can realistically handle 1-2 high-level ability ringers, tops – any more than that and you start to run into some unexpected results, as we saw in season 24 (you could also argue that too many fanbase ringers of the same type yield unexpected results – look at season 22, when all three NFL players got shut out of the finale). And here’s the kicker: you’ve gotta have a pro that actually knows how to choreograph to an ability ringer’s strengths. One way I think season 24 fell woefully short was handing the two biggest ringers (Normani & Heather) to two pros who couldn’t cut the mustard, choreographically-speaking. Maks’ choreo for Heather that season was absolutely pitiful, and while Val managed a few hits (the Mulan paso, the contemporary, maybe the Argentine tango), towards the end of the season, his choreo kinda petered out (the Viennese waltz and freestyle were both head-scratchers for me). Even Mark seemed to burn out towards the end of season 25 with Lindsey. I think a big key to the big ability ringers’ (Tinashe, Alexis, Juan Pablo, Mary Lou, and to a lesser degree, Evanna & Milo) longevity this season is how well their partners are able to choreograph to their strengths – and if they’re able to keep up the momentum, all season long.
If any of the pros are going to step up the choreo to become the “new Mark/Derek”, now would be the time to do it. We’re kind of in an odd transition period in the show: with the exception of Cheryl popping in for fall seasons, the OG pros are all gone; even some of the second generation pros (Peta, Val, Sharna, Emma, Sasha) are starting to pursue other opportunities outside of DWTS, and they may move on from the show before long. TPTB continue to try retooling the show to keep up with the times (All-Athletes, Juniors), and the pressure is generally on to keep this show “fresh”. While most of the female pros are actually stellar choreographers, the male pro lineup has been woefully void of great choreography; if one of them wanted to try cementing himself as the new choreographic genius of the male lineup, now would be the time to do it – and I think Brandon may be the ticket. I have heard tremendous praise for his skills as both a teacher and a choreographer on Juniors, and if you think about it, he’s the first male pro that has come from the same training background that gave us Lindsay, Witney, and Jenna. He’s impressively cross-trained (like the rest of the Utah Squad, and really, Ballas/Hough before them), and doesn’t seem to have any of the same “ballroom purity” hangups that we seem to see with Chmerkovskiy acolytes. I’m thinking Brandon could be the breakout star pro of this season, if he plays his cards right.
I am totally fine with newbs like Brandon & Alan getting ringers. Val’s already been granted his 2 MBT’s, and seems to be transitioning to more of a judging role; Gleb & Keo just can’t seem to get their choreo right; Artem & Sasha are for the most part “hit”, but still sometimes “miss”. Repeating it again for good measure: the male pro lineup needs a wake-up call. So if that means handing Brandon & Alan some pretty ringy ability ringers, I’m all for it – let’s see what they’re made of. I actually thought Alan did respectably well with Mirai, and the only issue there had more to do with Mirai’s loose lips and general lack of self-awareness. Seems like these pros really have to hit the ground running in their initial season, anymore, if they want to continue as pros – and that can be kinda hard to do, if they’re always handing the newbs dud partners. Cheryl, Mark, Julianne, and Lacey all got ringers in their first season on the show – and it seemed to keep them in play for awhile. I used to be of the “newbs shouldn’t get ringers” camp – but anymore, I just keep going “Show me something new and different!!!” and “Everyone ends up getting a dud at some point, and everyone ends up getting a ringer at some point. No point getting too hung up on a single season.”
I wouldn’t count on Mary Lou being an early out. I know some are hoping she’s gone by week 2 or 3, due to her comments about the Nassar case – I don’t blame you. However, a bit of a reminder about the demographics of this show: the largest chunk of viewers are middle-aged, female, and conservative, and likely have very fond memories of Mary Lou as the Olympic darling who brought home gold back in her youth. I would also venture a guess that many of them (like some of the conservatives currently trying to get a man of questionable morals elected to the Supreme Court) are “#MeToo skeptics” who are unfortunately more likely to give a pass to an Olympic darling defending her former trainer than to take the word of countless women who bravely came forward to speak about the trauma they endured at Nassar’s hand. It sucks, no doubt – but it’s an unfortunate pattern I’ve noticed, and it makes me think Mary Lou could last at least until the midpoint of the season – especially if she’s a decent dancer, which I think she will be. I don’t see her winning or making the finals, though…at least not right now.
I think Nikki & Alexis need to turn on the charm, though. Both come from professions that have yet to really do well on DWTS: comedians, models, and social media influencers. With the exception of conservative-leaning “country boy” comedian Bill Engvall, comedians generally haven’t done very well on this show – I think their biggest struggle is connecting with the audience, particularly if their brand of humor is a bit more high-brow or sarcastic. Or female 🙁 Conservative folk love the somewhat simple-minded humor of Jeff Foxworthy, Rodney Carrington, Larry the Cable Guy, and Bill Engvall – but they tend not to embrace the D.L. Hughley’s, Jeff Ross’, and Margaret Cho’s of the world quite so warmly. Unless Nikki ends up being an Alexis or Tinashe-level dancer (and I don’t think she will be), or ends up finding a way to endear herself to the audience…I see her as an early out. Alexis may be a very trained dancer, but she’s also a model (and they tend not to last long on this show) and a social media personality (the only precedent we have for that being Hayes Grier – who couldn’t manage to get his millions of followers to vote hard enough to get him past week 7). Additionally, Alexis seems more reserved on-camera – so I think she’s really going to have to come out of her shell to endear herself to the audience, if she wants to stick around.
Being an “inspiring backstory” ringer may not be as much of an advantage as it once was. Not counting Heather McCartney (who despite being an amputee, was also the much-maligned ex-wife of Paul McCartney), Amy was a novelty, since we hadn’t really had anyone disabled on the show in awhile, and Derek managed to mold her into a pretty respectable dancer. Noah had the fanbase boon of being a disabled vet; Nyle was both deaf AND a very likeable guy who could actually dance really well. I’m not sure anyone really considered Terra’s small stature as a disability, since she was actually a pretty good dancer; and things started to deteriorate once Bonner came along, as he actually was a creep, despite his “inspiring backstory”. Victoria gave it her best shot a year ago, but given that her disability wasn’t as visible as, say, Amy’s or Noah’s, I don’t know that it really carried her as far as it once might have (then again, Val also really phoned it in on the choreo towards the end, so that likely didn’t help either). I guess the point I’m trying to get at is this: the “inspiring backstory” is becoming less and less of a novelty on this show with each passing season, particularly with contestants whose disabilities aren’t outwardly visible, so Danelle might not get as much support as she would have on an earlier season. Times change – the audience changes. Things that were once new and novel become commonplace, and voting attitudes change. I don’t think Danelle will be first, second, third, or even 4th out, but I’ll be interested to see just how far her story takes her, particularly if she’s really struggling with the dancing.
Is Juan Pablo William Levy 2.0? Is Evanna going to be the next Katherine Jenkins? Those are the two former contestants that come to mind when I look at Juan Pablo & Evanna. On the plus side, I already find Juan Pablo quite a bit more likeable and relatable than William, who I always found to be a bit reserved and even borderline awkward in interviews; his dancing was decent, but not as fantastic as the judges would have had you think. Juan Pablo seems like he might have more polish and technique on his side. Evanna seems like she’s got roughly the same level of dance experience as Katherine – they’ve probably dabbled in it at some point, but are more well-known for other things. I think Evanna will be at least as good as Katherine, ability-wise – question is, will Keo be as good as Mark? I’m gonna go with a big fat “NO” on that one, unless Keo has had some sort of choreographic breakthrough over the summer. He seemed to hit a small groove with Jodie 2.5 years ago, but that season was a bloodbath and she probably could have gone further on a different, less competitive season. Will his choreo/teaching skills hold up this time? We’ll see.
Early prediction for the final 3: DeMarcus, Juan Pablo, & Tinashe. If they take 4 to the finale – Milo or Bobby join the other 3.
First out: My gut says Nikki. Outside chance of John. Whichever one doesn’t go in week 1, is probably toast during the double elim in week 2. Having Val will likely keep Nancy around for a bit longer than expected, but I would be surprised if she lasted past the midpoint of the season.
“Shocking” elim potential: Alexis screams “good dancer that will probably get eliminated because she can’t successfully crossover fanbases” to me. I don’t think her millions of IG followers will vote as hard as some think they will, and I don’t know that the general DWTS audience is going to embrace her strongly.
Dark horse: I feel like Bobby is going to surprise a lot of people. I’m hearing a lot of people say Joe, but Joe strikes me as kinda awkward…especially after I saw this. What has been seen cannot be unseen. 😛
So there we have it – my thoughts headed into Monday’s premiere. What do you guys think? Share in the comments, and if you don’t mind, please take 5 minutes to go watch my cousin’s son, Kingston, do his first LEGO unboxing video on YouTube and throw him a like or a comment. He’s been battling leukemia since March, and he’s officially CANCER FREE now and starting to feel like a regular kid again. Bonus: appearance by his equally adorable brother Lincoln, and they both have the most adorable Tennessee accents 😛
See you all Monday for the live blog!!! 🙂
I think demarcus ware with Lindsay is gonna win dwt s this season
tinashe is extremely talented and very underrated. she can sing, dance her ass off, write and produce. tinashe and brandon will definitely slay!!! if they really wanna win, they need to win over everyone and push boundaries. tinashe is a trained dancer and we all know for a fact that her dance experience will not sit well with lots of people. having dance experience in this show will sometimes help you or hurt you and i don’t want it to hurt her. i really hope they go far and win it!! as much as i want her to win, i’m so scared that they will do her just like they did mya, normani, zendaya, brandy, lil kim and i don’t want that for her. brandon said in an interview that he wants to make her look good and he wants to push boundaries. i really hope they go far!!
For some reason i feel like alexis can win over the audience …sure she’s a bit shy but i feel like her story could resonate with the audience a bit ..her moms death from breast cancer when she was a teen and her battles with anorexia..im not saying she’ll automatically win but i think she’ll stick around for a while ..also from what I’ve seen from her and alan on insta she seems to be coming out of her shell and she doesn’t have a annoying personality and she doesnt think to highly of herself who knows
I know everyone is kind of desperate for Brandon to “pop” (because the guy side of the pro line up desperately needs a injection of talent). But honestly I’m slightly worried. He seemed ridiculously “on” during the GMA reveal, and in the one BTS video that’s up he comes off as not confident but straight up cocky. “They’ve never seen a couple like us” cocky. Slow your role man, just a little. I’m also sad for Nikki Glaser, she’s one of my favorite comics working at the moment and yet…I just don’t see how see survives Week 2 (if she even survives Week 1). Everything I’ve seen from her is she’s taking this seriously and wants to do well and have a fun experience wildly out of her comfort zone, so for her to go out 1st would be a real downer. At the moment, I think my pick to win is DeMarcus and Lindsay, but it wouldn’t not shock me at all if Sharna and Bobby were the last one’s standing. I think Bobby’s legion of country music radio fans will vote and vote and as the season goes on I think the show will subtly or unsubtly start pushing the “Sharna is way overdue an MBT” narrative to try and push them over the top.
@Shawn – “Desperate for Brandon to ‘pop'”? I’d say I’m optimistic, but desperate is an exaggeration.
I don’t know if I’d call Brandon cocky or arrogant????-I’ll give him confident and it’s ok to be confident, especially as a first time pro; as opposed to Alan who, as much as I love, I think appears as if he lacks confidence at times….
Great points about DeMarcus, Juan Pablo, Danelle etc
Yeah I’m not feeling Joe as the greatest dancer LOL-part of me wonders how long he’ll last….
I think this first week is going to automatically tell us/show us a lot in terms of ‘ringers’ LOL Two days of dance in the first week is enough to already showcase who stands out and who struggles from the onset in my opinion.
I do think Brandon was coming on a little too strong in some of the video clips and interviews I’ve seen, and I worry that’ll be a turn off. I also am not sure he’s going to deliver something new that hasn’t been done before, so we’ll see. But TPTB can edit those clips however they want when the show starts airing, so even if Brandon is way OTT, it might not get shown. I will give him the benefit of the doubt-a new pro that’s gotten a huge ringer his first season, and I’d probably be going through the roof too. I don’t know why female ringers tend to get more backlash or seem to have a bigger uphill battle than their male counterparts, unless it’s more their partners fault.
I do think this season, or at least the first few weeks, are going to come down to attitude and chemistry than probably anything else at first. I say that because I think there’s a lot of big question marks with this cast and how well they’ll do, so people that come off well to the audience first, regardless of dancing, will likely do well for awhile. Personally I’d love to see Juan and Cheryl take it, but I’m at a loss right now who I think will. I do think one of the men will probably be hoisting the mirror ball at the end, just not sure who.
Alexis is either going to be a forgettable boot or end up being a surprise in the finals. In regards to Artem, has he ever had a good partner on this show besides Nancy? He had such a great track record on Strictly, so I’m disappointed he’s never been able to really showcase himself on here.
Really looking forward to the season! So many great competitors and I think the judges are going to be a bit pickier the first few weeks as we’ve seen in recent seasons! Any thoughts in general about Milo?
With two full nights of competition the first week out, I agree that the judges might be pickier with their comments/scores of the contestants. I’m excited too to start this new season! Especially after that short athlete one. Yay to a full season again!
I don’t think Brandon’s cocky at all, I think he is confident in himself as a choreographer and in Tinashe’s skills. We will expect A LOT from them so I think he’s right to show confidence. Maybe it’s like s25 when some people thought Jordan was arrogant when he was confident.
I’m gonna add that after Lindsay and Jordan’s journey last year and how they kept on delivering GREAT dances after great dances that were challenging, with excellent technique and showmanship, I am expecting at least this dance quality from any future ringers – that have good dance exp – on this show. They raised the bar.
First, thanks for the post @Courtney.
I agree with what you wrote for the most part. I think that Demarcus and Lindsay competitiveness will get them to the finale. When watching their soundbites Demarcus was pretty clear that he was here to have a good time and learn new things but he was really here to compete and personally, I LOVE THAT. We also all know Lindsay is a great choreographer and probably the best pro this season.
I’m so glad Brandon’s got Tinashe, because they seem like a great match personality wise and I’m really hopefull Brandon will be the wake up call the male pro needed. Gleb and Nikki have a good partnership, I was pleasantly surprised by Nikki she seems really fun but I don’t feel like Gleb will deliver on the choreo. Danelle could go far if she is a decent dancer but Artem doesn’t show lot of personality on TV so I’m not sure about them. Keo and Evanna are maybe the biggest question mark because based on her personality, fanbase and little stage work, she should go far but I’m not sure of Keo’s choreo, we’ll see. I feel like Alexis could be this season Heather Morris without the bad choreo. She should be a great dancer but personality wise I’m not sure.
Milo and Witney have such a great friendship and he can handle difficult lift – they did the Dirty Dancing lift on IG – plus he has some dance exp. And he seems really nice, fun and eager to learn. I would love to see them in the finale. Juan Pablo and Cheryl also have a great partnership already and he has a great fanbase so he could go far.
Bobby and Sharna seemed fun to me on the meet cast and soundbites but lately, the low self esteem and constant need of reassurance has been turning me off him. I feel like he is heavily gunning for the dark horse spot, like he wants to be this season Frankie and it’ annoying to me.
I really wish MLR would be the first one cut but it’s not happening. She should have some potential and if I’m not wrong, all Sasha’s partners have at least reached the team dances. And I don’t really have an opinion on John and I’m not really drawned to Nancy’s personality so I don’t know.
4 finalists (no order) : Tinashe, Demarcus, Juan and Milo
Firts one out : maybe John or Nikki (I hope not)
Dark horse : Evanna or Bobby
There is my really long post (Sorry)
Maybe my first one was wayyy too long because I can’t post it so I’m gonna make a shorter comment.
I think that Demarcus and Lindsay competitiveness will get them to the finale, I LOVE competitive people and we all know Lindsay is a great choreographer and probably the best pro this season. Brandon and Tinashe look like a great match and I have hope in his skills. Nikki may suffer Gleb’s like of creativity because she as a great personality. Artem’s personality is a tad “transparent” on TV so I’m not sure he can bring Danelle really far. Evanna’s journey can go far is Keo level up on the choreo and Alexis may be like Heather Morris : great dancer but a memorable personality.
Milo and Witney have such a great friendship and he can handle difficult lift – they did the Dirty Dancing lift on IG – plus he has some dance exp and the best attitude for this show. Juan Pablo and Cheryl also have a great partnership already and he has a great fanbase so he could go far. I liked Bobby at first but lately , the low self esteem and constant need of reassurance has been turning me off him. I feel like he is heavily gunning for the dark horse spot.
I really wish MLR would be the first one cut but it’s not happening. She should have some potential and if I’m not wrong, all Sasha’s partners have at least reached the team dances. I don’t really have an opinion on John and I’m not really drawned to Nancy’s personality so I don’t know.
4 finalists (no order) : Tinashe, Demarcus, Juan and Milo
Firts one out : maybe John or Nikki (I hope not)
Dark horse : Evanna or Bobby
(Sorry if it’s too long still).
I know nothing about Tinashe, but with her and Brandon I’m getting very very similar vibes to Mya & Dmitry from Season 9? Would I be correct in that do you think?
Also, I echo the sentiment that Nikki could be in trouble which is such a shame bc she’s one of my favorite celebrities going in!
ABC has done it finally, after watching him on American Idol, Miss American Pagent and now what I’ve seen on DWTS, I’m finally a Bobby Bones fan lol! Excited to see him!
Juan Pablo I think could be DeMarcus’s biggest competition! I’m not sure he’ll pull the same votes as Candace & Jodie but the Full House fans deff turn up in DWTS voting! That being said I think while Evanna might be a solid fanbase threat as well!
Going into the season I’m team, DeMarcus, Nikki, Joe, Juan Pablo & Evanna
Completely forgot about Joe !!!!
Based on his fanbase, he could last until week 7 or 8. However he seems much more shy and reserved than Nick Viall for exemple. It was endearing on the Bachelorette and BIP but I’m not sure it will work for him on DWTS. I also have my reserve on how Jenna will do with a celeb like him with no dance exp and quite shy. I wonder if she will tone it down a bit and not challenge him too much. With Jake T Austin, the problem wasn’t the choreo, she does great choreo, but the fact that he couldn’t keep up.
Monday will be very telling for for me.
I think Cheryl and Juan Pablo have a great chance of winning this season. Cheryl has brought previous partners right to the end. Rob Kardashian, Jack Osbourne , Giles ,Emmitt and many more. Cheryl has a knack to choreograph dances that bring out the strengths of her partners.
I had completely forgotten about William Levy. I immediately thought of Cheryl with Christian de la Fuente in the earlier seasons. Amazing! He danced so hard he hurt his arm!
I know John Schneider is older, not really done anything noteworthy since Smallville (loved him on that show), but I really hope Emma can do for him what she did with Bill Engval, he was so fun to watch! Hope he comes off well on camera and not a jerk or anything.
I think DeMarcus and Juan Pablo are my choices for now.
I do think the finals will consist of some mix of Juan, Bobby, Tinashe, Milo, and DeMarcus, without an outside chance of Alexis if she really impresses. Who will win I don’t know, but pre-show I’d say Juan and Tinashe have the best chance, and Bobby if his fan base is as big as everyone is saying (plus those in the ‘Sharna for the win’ camp).
I think the first to go will be Nikki and John. I’d say Nancy but I really don’t know if she’ll end up doing better than I’m envisioning, or if Val’s fan base will spare her. I do think Alexis could be an early out too if she doesn’t connect with the audience. She’s a big question mark for me, as I’ve said, because I see it going two ways for her. I also won’t be surprised if Mary Lou is an earlier than expected exit. But I don’t have much hope for Nikki and John, sadly. Danielle might go early if she’s not that great of a dancer, unless her inspirational story pushes her, but I don’t know if that’ll work this season.
Sorry for the double post, meant to say with an outside chance of Alexis making the finals. She has me intrigued.
Football players for the most part are pretty good. Demarcus looks like he can move, so that is good for Lindsay. Prediction that Sharna fans are gonna be really upset if Lindsay wins a 2nd MBT in a very short time, while their fav Sharna has won none and has been on longer. My final 3 is DeMarcus/Lindsay, Juan/Cheryl, Milo/Witney, and if it is finalists, I say it might be Bobby/Sharna. If this scenario plays out, all the pro dancers will be females in the finals. Don’t know if that has ever happened before. I see Val/Nancy sticking around past their prime. I think that bottom 3 will be Mary Lou/Sasha, John/Emma and Nikki/Gleb. I feel that Tinishe/Brandon could be a surprise elimination. Neither have huge fan bases. Anyway, can’t wait for Monday.
It’s always hard to judge who is going to be pretty good before week 1 unless they are clear cut ringers. So, this season it’s already certain that Tinashe, Juan and Evanna are going to be great right out the gate. The reason ringers usually find themselves as a shocking elimination is because there’s never really a journey with them, which the gp latches on too. When your that good from week 1 by the end of the season the dark horses start picking up more votes because they have more of a journey and get better each week.
Alexis intrigues me just like a few others have mentioned. With 10 years of ballet training I assume she’s going to be pretty good, but Alan is going to have to pull her personality out quickly, because she seems shy and might fade throughout the season.
Two couples I have enjoyed the most this pre season via social media have been witney/Milo and sharna/Bobby. Both seem to have a great friendship/chemistry already. I’ve found myself leaning toward these two as my faves. Milo is super young though so I hope he can break that Disney curse that sometimes happens when the audience doesn’t connect, but he seems so kind and sweet. Bobby has a massive fan base, plus sharna fanbase and fans that want her to win. He has an amazing story from his upbringing and career and I think he’s going to surprise people as well Court. He’s my dark horse. He’s super hard on himself though, and lacks confidence big time, but I feel like this show is going to help him big time with that. He also has jive week 1, which is super tough for a celeb coming in with no dance experience, so I feel like that knocked his confidence even lower, but each week I feel like he’s going to keep growing and getting better.
Demarcus and Lindsay are another that I assume will be decent and fun to watch. He’s charming, great shape and Linds is his partner so that’s always a win. He should make it to the end or close to it. The rest of the couples I see fading and finding themselves eliminated fairly early or half way through.
My finals predictions which will change 100 times this season lol: Tinashe, Evanna, Bobby and Juan. Demarcus can sneak in there as well and replace any of them.
Thanks for the thoughts Court! I always look forward to these types of posts where we get to see you guys’ thoughts and analyses on everything. 😀
I agree about Demarcus having a big fanbase, but I think I would be surprised if he won this season, there’s just too many other great pairings as well, and I really could see upsets happening throughout the season. I’m really so thrilled to see how everything unfolds this season! I think it’s been a while since we last had such a good cast (in terms of unpredictability and of just having so many pairs who could do really well and win it).
As for Sharna fans, i don’t think Bobby will be the one who will get her the mirrorball unfortunately, something about him kinda rubs me the wrong way, not sure what it is really. Hopefully it changes as we get to know him throughout the season, but really don’t think he’ll win.
Speaking about Sharna and her lack of mirrorball thus far, I feel like it’s pretty strange how last season, tptb could have handed Adam to Sharna, and basically guaranteed her the win, but didn’t. I honestly feel like anyone who got Adam last season would have won. Especially because it was a short season and we don’t really get to see growth and personality of some celebrities as much as we would see if they had more time like in a normal dwts season. So really, with Adam’s fanbase and likability, any pro would have won with him as long as they did decently, so Sharna could have had her mirrorball if they didn’t give Adam to Jenna. It’s my personal feeling, but i’ve felt like tptb just adores Jenna, and clearly have been pimping her a lot, so I guess its just unfortunate that Sharna wasn’t the favoured one last season. Sorry Sharna fans. I really wish Sharna won last season and not Jenna. Really realllyyyy not a Jenna fan.
@arethas
I think Adam got Jenna because requested either her, Lindsay or Witney in the media and they were a great match personality wise.
SN : some people needs to be reminded that unfortunately, not all the pros will win a mirrorball. No matter how long you’ve been on the show or how good you do with your partner, if you don’t have the votes you won’t win – plus TPTB manipulation sometimes.
I think you’re spot on with a lot of these hot takes!
Though question about DeMarcus-though I agree that *on paper* this is his MBT to lose, do you think there may be a couple of types of fatigue working against him at all? For example football players…Rashad’s win was relatively recent, Josh was runner-up last season, and I can just see the “ugh, another football player? so tired of them!” (though I know that Hines and Donald got their wins only 2 seasons apart…this didn’t seem to be as big a deal back then.) Plus Lindsay got her win last year, I forsee the cries of “let another pro win!” I’d love to be wrong here though, as I loved Lindsay’s partnership w/ Calvin and think this could be even better.
I agree with the projected finale-I know female celebs have gotten a tough shake these last few seasons and I think it’s only gonna help Tinashe that she’s with a fresh new pro with promising choreo.
As for Danelle-while I agree that the “inspiring contestant” novelty has worn off, I think part of it was on the pros that the later ones had…and Artem has seemed really inspired to work with her (probably a nice change of pace from Jamie last season, who couldn’t be bothered to put in the work.) Honestly, I don’t think they’ll make the finals but I just want them to have a nice, fulfilling journey on the show-wherever they wind up-that isn’t prematurely cut short by the producers because “Val and his partner need to stay another week or 2!” or whatever else.
@lmk_nyc: As for the potential for NFL ringer fatigue, I say this: having multiple NFL players winning or in the finals in the history of the show didn’t stop an NFL player from making the finals in season 24 or season 26 – why would it stop DeMarcus?
Hi y’all! Longtime lurker here…excited to start a new a season! I’m old enough to be nostalgic for Nancy McKeon and Mary Lou Retton but as a mom of a 4 and 6 year who has seen the Zombies movie more than I care to admit, I was beyond excited when they announced Milo and really think that he and Witney could take this. He totally stands out in the movie, he’s got tons of charisma. In any of the interviews, commercials, etc. on Disney he seems like a very nice kid. I think that was his first time acting so I know he’s starting from somewhat of a deficit compared to other Disney kids with a bigger following like Jordan Fischer. But, so far it seems like he and Witney have really connected and if she can pull something from the movie and give him a “moment” I think he and DeMarcus will be fighting for the trophy with Bobby.
I can’t remember the rule about posting links and don’t want to get in trouble but if you look up Zombies Bamm (the movie version, not the ‘official video’ which I just made the mistake of watching) – I’m a nerd and I’ve been forced to listen to that song on repeat for most of the summer but I do think it’s catchy as heck. If she’s enjoying herself and into the season, I could see Witney doing something really cool with it that may give Milo the breakout he’ll need to push him to the end.
At the start of a season I normally would not vote, throw my votes to Emma or Lindsay (if they are in danger), or vote nostalgic (Vanilla Ice, anyone?!) …. But I’ll be voting for Milo!
PS – When I told my 6 year old daughter he was going to be on she got very excited. When I showed her his official picture, she was confused at first because he wasn’t a zombie but then said he was “way cuter” as a normal boy. My heart died a little, LOL – but I’m letting her stay up with me to watch him.
My predictions for top 3:
1) Milo
2) DeMarcus
3) Bobby
I remember Brandon’s first appearance on DWTS (Season 5??) and I’m excited to see what he can do. I have no clue who his partner though and still can’t figure out what she does after googling.
If you’ve actually read all of this, thank you!
I’m really looking forward to tonight – it feels like eons that we’ve had a “proper” DWTS season. I’m really feeling Juan Pablo and Cheryl big time. I hope they go very far. I’d love to see CHeryl win another MBT. I’m also excited for Lindsay (she’s my fave) and DeMarcus. I hope these two gentlemen are in the finale. I don’t think Mary Lou will go very, very far but on the other hand, I don’t count her out either. I’m also curious to see how Brandon does and also Keo with Evanna.
So excited for tonight!!! Enjoy everyone and thanks Courtney for another well thought-out post…
@Courtney-good point. In those 2 instances you mentioned, I do think the pro partner played a part in it as well. Rashad was going to be a force to be reckoned with no matter what-but paired with Emma who had many seasons of “lesser” partners and finally had a chance to shine with a contender and they were a true power couple. Plus as you mentioned previously, in S24 people might have been getting behind one of the guys winning due to the over-saturation of female ringers…and Shad was far and away the best on the men’s side.
Josh making it to the finale last season did surprise me a bit. (Partially because I thought they were going to try like hell to get Mirai into the final…) My theory was that a big part of it was more people voting for Sharna and wanting to get her a win. TBH, I feel due to the truncated length of S26, the season and how some things played out was really an anomaly. Maybe had the season been a couple of weeks longer…it might have been Chris getting that 3rd spot in the finale instead (hell, he might have gotten there if they had let David’s original vote in the dance-off stand…that whole thing seemed a little sketchy.)
As for being paired with Lindsay? I don’t know which way the voters will go with her given she has a win…will it be “well she’s killing it, and if Val/Peta/etc. have 2 wins she deserves it too!” or “Lindsay already got her win with the biggest male ringer ever, it’s Sharna/Keo/whoever else’s turn to win!” Regardless, I just want to see good dancing from that couple, and the fact that DeMarcus sounds more like a Shad/Calvin type than a Keyshawn/AB type is all good in my book. 🙂
Awwwww..Courtney, I watched the video of your nephew Kingston. I smiled the whole way through it. He’s adorably cute and funny. Loved how he handled brother popping in and out of the picture. May he stay in remission and has a long and great life ahead of him.
As far as the cast, I only know a couple celebs, so comments will come as I get to know the celebs.
Thank you for holding down the fort, you doing great!
I don’t know much about Tinashe, except that 4 years ago Youtube heavily recommended her song to me every time I listened to Solange.
So I looked Tinashe up and I’m getting the idea that she is like Normani Kordei crossed with a Kardashian. Every blog or article about the gal seems to have “diva” in the headline. Please tell me I am terribly wrong about this LOL
Why is Mary Lou lumped in with the ability ringer, given her age, and not having much dance experience? I remember one of the mods being questionable about Alfonso season 19.
I’m not sure where the confusion lies, Rachel – Mary Lou was a gymnast, and she continues to coach gymnasts. All that knowledge doesn’t just fall out of your brain if you stop doing gymnastics yourself. It likely gave her a good athletic foundation, and a good understanding of technique. Is she as big an ability ringer as, say, Laurie Hernandez? No, due to her age – but it doesn’t exactly put her in the same class as Nancy, who has never really danced or done anything remotely close to dance before.
As for Alfonso, nobody ever said he wasn’t an ability ringer – but age does offer limitations.
[…] will likely continue to be statistically the safest couple for awhile. I mentioned it in my preliminary thoughts post, but here it is again: I don’t think DeMarcus has to be the best dancer to win this thing. I […]
[…] getting a ton of votes!” Was she, though? Again, bottom 5 last week, and then I go back to my inspirational story fatigue theory from the pre-season. Additionally, the one difference I noticed between Danelle’s journey on the show and other […]