PureDWTS DWTS Juniors, Season 1 – THE FINALE: Week 9 Live(ish) Blog!!!
And just like that, the inaugural season of Juniors comes to a close tonight. Granted, tonight’s episode was already taped wayyyyy back on August 25, but I’ll be honest: I’m surprised that I’ve been able to avoid inadvertently spoiling the winner for over 3 months 😛 According to one outlet, I apparently “strongly insinuated that Kenzie won” (I did?) and someone else on Twitter was claiming that I told him Ariana won (again – I did?), but the only real spoiler I offered about the winner was their gender – you can find that spoiler at the bottom of the master spoiler thread I’ve been linking to all season. Who are your guesses for who wins? I will say this: after the taping of the week 8 show, source told me that they thought that “any of the four remaining couples could win it”. So the outcome of the show was truly surprise for the contestants as well, since they all saw it as anyone’s game. Except Gleb, apparently, but that’s a story for another time…
Songs & dances here. Bound to be a jam-packed show tonight – each couple is redoing their favorite dance with their pro included this time, and doing a Christmas freestyle. I am so ready to see Brandon doing “Rolex” with Ariana & Artyon 🙂
Say what you will about Alana – but she was always a showman, even if her technique wasn’t great. She delivered in that opener.
Artyon looks like a mini-Keo 😛
Kenzie/Sage/Gleb up first. Gleb thinks the dance is special “because I’m in it.” May seem innocuous on the surface, but given Gleb’s narcissistic tendencies, it just grates.
I’m thinking Kenzie picking this dance was probably a bit of a strategic career move (since it’s her song), but I don’t know that it’s a particularly memorable dance. The addition of Gleb just made it weirder.
Mandy loves that she got to see that dance a second time. Adam says she’s “a different girl” and “taking no prisoners”. Val thinks she “shined” and then seems to throw a slight dig in at Gleb saying that Kenzie “came in with potential” so she “did great things”. Scores are 9, 9, 10.
Brandon looks exhausted in the package. I can imagine chasing those two around all season was no easy task 😛
Some nice little flourishes added to the dance with Brandon joining them. Pretty cute.
Val says “Iconic.” Adam can’t wait to see what they do in the next round. Mandy is complimentary of all three team members and generally fulfills the supportive mom role she has all season.
Tens, tens, TENS ACROSS THE BOARD!
Miles/Rylee/Lindsay redoing the salsa, dalmatian outfits and all. And I gotta hand it to Lindsay – that felt like a cohesive routine, with some nice double-leading by Miles, rather than a retooling with Lindsay just shoehorned in.
Val is glad he redid this dance, since he was so hard on Miles the first time. Mandy gives Lindsay props for being a great coach. Adam thinks Miles has “grown so much”. 10, 9, 9 – ok, I thought that was better than Kenzie, but whatevs.
Sky warns Alan that he “better kill it” in this salsa they’re redoing 😛
Alan skateboards in with Sky and bungles it almost immediately, hehe. It’s cute overall, but feels a tad shoehorned. I thought Miles won the “favorite dance” round.
Mandy commends Alan for “diving into” the whole mentor role. Adam thinks Sky has grown the most of the finalists. Val says Sky “emobodies what this competition is about”.
Sky being Tony Robbins again 😛
10, 10, 10 – I thought Miles & Rylee were better, but again…whatevs.
Kenzie up first in the freestyle round. Sage says ten more words for a grand total of MAYBE 50 words spoken this season.
It’s pretty hard-hitting hip-hop with a little bit of stepping and Charleston thrown in. It’s good…maybe my favorite dance she’s done.
Mandy thought it was incredible, and hopes this show has brought back Kenzie’s “love of dance”. Adam just stands up and shrieks. Val thinks that is what a freestyle should look like.
Worth mentioning: Gleb did enlist the services of an outside choreographer for this freestyle…which I think shows.
10, 10, 10. I’m guessing freestyle round is probably gonna go the same way it does on the regular show – unless somebody really bungles stuff up, they’re all getting perfect scores.
Per Zoe (@ptxdwts) on Twitter: Ebonee Arielle choreographed Kenzie’s freestyle.
Ariana & Artyon up next, serving you Grinch & Cindy Lou Who realness 😛
It’s a very theatrical, Broadway-esque dance. Artyon did two pretty impressive lifts with Ariana.
Adam thinks they had “so much to be proud of”. Val says he thinks they’re going to be “big stars”. Mandy says Ariana is “a star”.
9, 10, 9 – soooo…what was the issue there, Val & Adam?
Miles & Rylee are next. Loving the snow white costumes 🙂
It’s mainly hip-hop, but I saw blurbs of their jive, Charleston, and even a bit of Carlton Banks 😛 I thought it was excellent. Anthony Anderson in the audience cheering for Miles.
Val thinks Miles has made it “cool” for boys to dance. Mandy says he’s been such a joy to watch this season. Miles tearing up a bit (awww). Adam says he’s “a superstar”.
Lindsay is full on weeping with pride. Goddamn, my house is dusty.
10, 10, 10 – I would have called foul on anything less.
Sky & JT last…and it looks like a surfer Christmas theme.
It’s a cute routine, and energetic – but it feel like there was a lot of posing and non-dancing moments. I think Miles’ freestyle had the best content.
All three judges generally commenting on Sky being an “inspiration”. Sorry guys – things are moving so fast and the judges are kinda being repetitive anyway.
Three 10’s – and I believe their score of a perfect 60 leaves them at the top of the leaderboard as the audience votes for the winner…
And the winner is…
…SKY & JT!!!
Alan is full-on bawling. Alexis who? This is what real emotion looks like from this man.
And that concludes my blogging for the first (and hopefully not last) season of Juniors…thanks for joining me! We’ll keep posting news in the off-season, and we may see you back in the spring (depending on whether we’re getting a spring season or not). HAVE A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY!!!
As long as Kenzie doesn’t win, I’m okay with any of the other three. I never saw the emotion from her that the other three showed (sheer joy for lack of a better term). I have to admit I’m secretly rooting for Sky; she reminds me of a young version of Bindi!
Kenzie – while her dancing was fine, I found her almost a bit sloppy
Ariana – didn’t love that. It seemed like a lot of stomping, and I found she got lost in the routine (all I could see was $$$ onesies)
Also, I just learned that Miles made it to the semifinals of America’s Got Talent when he was 5 as part of a hip hop dancing act. It might have been mentioned before, but I’d had no idea.
@Blah – It’s been mentioned. But it is worth checking out – the act he was in was called Future Funk, and he was a TINY, adorable little dumpling with an afro bigger than his head 😛
Just became pretty clear the agenda of the judges is to undermark the older ones so the younger ones will win, obviously they don’t want the backlash of a ringer winning the first season wish they would be more fair tho it’s a competition after all. It kinda feels like they put miles and kenzie on this season for guaranteed great dances and now they’ve found little dancers that are good they’re pushing for them to win.
@Courtney I’m curious, did Gleb actually choreograph that freestyle? or did he have a ghost choreographer? it was actually pretty good and not what i would have expected from Gleb
@DM – He had an outside choreographer – Ebonee Arielle
^^ Thanks! My page didn’t load before i submitted my comment or I would have seen your side note!
Poor Ariana (and Brandon), i think her freestyle would have been SO much better with a different song.
Don’t care for the Jr’s dwts
Fix.the original.bring back
Ballroom. Dancing with grown ups.
Liked most of Kenzie’s freestyle (not the last 1/3 or so. Though between the costumes and the lights, WAY too much red.
Ariana’s dance was just sloppy. But it did tell a story!
Miles’ dance was fantastic. Clearly not Rylee’s style, but Miles killed it! My only complaint about them is that all season Rylee’s poofy dresses have pulled focus.
Lynda, go away.
Based on the dancing tonight, Miles was definitely the best IMO, but Sky is too adorable for words, and she lucked out with JT as a partner. Alan has found his calling as a dance coach, I think.
I hope the show does come back next year. I enjoyed it a hell of a lot more than I thought I would.
You can definitely tell Gleb got outside help for that freestyle. Maybe he should try it on the regular DWTS.
I can’t begin to say how excited I am for the winners. Alan is like such a big kid and I love him. I honestly didn’t expect to like this show anywhere near as much as I did, but this helps make up for a lousy regular DWTS season. I know the odds of it being renewed are very, very slim but I hope somehow it makes it. I have particularly enjoyed how much the pros seemed invested in this, and how close they got to their kids.
If somehow Juniors does make it to season 2, I hope they keep everything the same except get rid of Adam.
Congratulations to Sky and JT. They were a wonderful partnership. Happy for Alan too.I enjoyed DWTS JUNIORS and looked forward to it each week. Looking forward to another season with cute, energetic and talented kids.
@Coutney The big question is, will you ever share the tea about how Gleb didn’t see the finale as anyone’s game?
@Brennan – Someday. Not today, though 😉
Honestly, I wouldn’t mind seeing any of the kids on a future season of regular DWTS…if the show makes it that long.
Personally I don’t have a issue with Kenzie having dance experience but that I mostly because juniors is a different game and I think the advantages look different than they do on the regular show. I think Kenzie has a bigger advantage due to her age and having a higher maturity level due to her age than she does with her dance experience. Older kids tend to have more of a polished/refined look to their dancing and are going to be able to reach a higher bar skill wise. I enjoyed her dances a lot although I agree Gleb didn’t really bring it choreo wise for the most part this year and I don’t really think much of sage either good or bad, he’s just there which would be a bigger issue on the regular show but juniors has more personalities working together so lack of personality isn’t as much of a issue.
For Ariana I’m pleasantly surprised by her and think she has done a great job. I also think Brandon really delivered choreo wise and helped her grow. I’m so happy they did that dance as their repeat! I loved the intricate choreo and though both kids sold it!!!!! I’m one of the only people on this blog that doesn’t really care for the pro kid. I think he is talented but I think someone mentioned he isn’t as versatile in other styles and I think that is part of what I didn’t like. I felt like while he was good he didn’t measure up talent wise of some of the other kid pros. I think this will be something that improves as he grows in the dance world.
I agree with you all, I adore miles and think he is great! I was predisposed to like him because I do watch blackish but even knowing that I was surprise how talented and likeable he is outside of the show. I also adore rylee and think she is incredible!!! plus i loved having the sister duo all season. I think Lindsay really upped her game knowing how special this was for both her and rylee and this season has proved why Lindsay is such a great pro. Plus loved their freestyle!!!!
Lastly I love Sky and JT!!!! Kind of have to admit when I saw who won I was so happy for everyone involved!!!! I think sky is the cutest thing ever and her work ethic and energy made her even more likebale!!! Plus I loved seeing her grow yet stay the same sky at the same time. I was kind of anti SYTYCD jr but all of that changed when I saw JT dance! He is so talented and I love watching he dance!!!! I think like many of the SYTYCD pros on the regular show (including him mentor) JT really understood how to present both himself and his partner. Also because of his experience on a dance competition show I think a lot of the pressures some of the other kids might not have been as use to were things JT already dealt with which I think really helped him connect with Sky. As happy as I am for the kids I am the happiest for Alan!! He had done such a great job on the show all of these years and I’m so happy for him he has won!!!! He’s so great with the kids and I think he did everything possible to deserve this prize!!!!
Like you all said this JR DWTS has been a pleasant surprise and I am very glad we had this as a mouthwash for the bad taste left by the regular season
I’m so freaking happy that Sky won! Finally some justice in the DWTS universe! Even SCD is a bit shoddy this year, and for those of you who think a judges pick who shouldn’t be eliminated format is better- this is a unique circumstance in its own, but Ashley Roberts of the Pussycat Dolls, an American with loads of dance experience. Has been saved for the last three weeks over people who have been more organic in their journey on Strictly Come Dancing. The dwtsjr. format is much more conducive and organic as their isn’t much room for manipulation.
I agree that Miles should’ve had higher scores. No hate to Sky, but I don’t think she deserved those perfect scores. (and I don’t want to seem like I’m reaching but the judges seemed like they had a favourite and they stuck to it). I can see why Ariana’s freestyle didn’t get perfect scores, but if Sky’s routine got perfect scores, I don’t see why Ariana couldn’t get a perfect score as well. If the judges told us what they were looking for and explained why they gave the 9,it would’ve been fine, but they didn’t. AGAIN. I’m glad Sky’s the winner though.
Alan is such a dad. I love it so much.
Sky winning was some nice redemption from Season 27 even though I don’t think it was enough, but that’s probably just me being a passionate stan for the show. Her humility was what grabbed me the most; she’s just grateful for the experience and the many friends she made during the season and that’s gonna get her very far in her career.
The regular DWTS production team really needs to take notes because whatever happened two weeks ago? Throw it in the trash where it belongs.
Really excited for Sky, JT, and Alan- they had a great run and I think what stuck out for them were how memorable their routines were which were due to Sky’s personality and Alan’s choreography. I think that Alan’s freestyle choreography was tremendous and really proves his worth as a choreographer because I know there’s been some debate recently about the male pros. I also think its pretty remarkable that this season seems to have meant so much more to the pros than the normal season considering how proud they were tonight 🙂
I really don’t like the style of eliminations where they go straight to who’s “in jeopardy” or who’s going home, and the winner announcement where they don’t mention the other couples’s finishing order. I hope they go back to the original format next year.
I expected Sky to win from the beginning bc she has the cuteness factor. Same reason why JT finished in 2nd on sytycd jr… They’re tiny, cute & smile a lot…
Do you know who finished in 2nd, 3rd and 4th places?
I thoroughly enjoyed DWTS Juniors. I think what’s helped this show versus SYTYCD: TNG was that the partnerships were junior/junior all the way through. The adult/junior partnership seemed a bit awkward in SYTYCD.
I’d love for it to come back another season. If you take a dive down the rabbit hole of YouTube and look at some of the kids that are in class videos from choreographers, some of these kids that are younger than 14/15 are absolutely amazing and most have some level of training in other styles.
#justin I completely agree!!! Some of the styles (especially ballroom) were especially awkward with a junior and a adult. Jr and jr allows more concepts to be explored without the awkwardness and having the pros involved as mentors/choreographers helped establish familiarity which I think is why SYTYCD had the adult partners in the first place. I also liked that dwts juniors was in addition to the regular show and not instead of like SYTYCD
Loved all of that. My favorite freestyle won 🙂
Yeah, really tired of the Pussycat Dolls being touted as “loads of dance experience”. Come on. Heather Morris is “loads of dance experience”.
The juniors format is less open to those claims because they’re CHILDREN and haven’t had time to join a group that does booty dances or whatever you want to call it. Well, Kenzie is the Heather Morris of Juniors. Almost forgot about her.
Jazzyjen, your logic doesn’t quite work, re: Kenzie. It’s absolutely her dance experience that gave her a theoretical edge, not her maturity. If that were the case, younger folks would never win the grown up version. And sorry, but having dance training doesn’t look any different on Kenzie than it did on Heather Morris. I think Kenzie’s issue was that she just didn’t connect with the audience or the judges.
I do agree about JT – having been in a very similar environment before probably relieved a lot of the pressure on him. He and Robert had a great relationship and worked really well. He’s always been my favorite.
It would have been nice to have a couple from the juniors go on tour for a few dates. I know it would be difficult because of school and other things, but would have been nice. Does anyone know you finished 2nd, 3rd, or 4th. Was a great show, and hope they bring it back.
@Maina – Sooooo…you want to see a bunch of kids kept on pins and needles waiting to hear their fate each week? Because that’s what I’m getting from your comment: you don’t like when they get straight down to business, you want them to drag things out. I guess I sort-of understand that logic with the adult version (though I don’t agree with it), but on the kids version? That’s just kind of cruel. As for not knowing the other placements – does it really matter all that much??? Miles, Kenzie, and Ariana are finalists, but they didn’t win…end of story. And I don’t think it would have made sense to announce the placements to the kids, either, because whoever ended up in 4th place would probably feel pretty rotten.
At the very end of the taping when Sky said, “ I love you so, so much”, it reminded me soooooo much of Shirley Temple. That girl has a bright future ahead of her. Good for her!
I can totally picture her as a spokesperson or model for the Justice store right now!