PureDWTS Season 29, Week 9 – Power Rankings
Soooo…I can’t be the only one who went “Whoomp…there it is!” when they heard about Gleb’s divorce over the weekend 😛 It would not shock me to see Chrishell & Gleb getting papped together at some point in the near future, and I’m wondering if that’s part of the reason the show kept them around so long this season – perhaps the fleeting hope that they might get the chance to go public with a showmance? Who knows. Gleb’s divorce clearly wasn’t the biggest news this weekend, but I got a chuckle nonetheless 😉
So the face-offs went about like they have every other season: each face-off seemed to have one couple that went for technique while the other went for performance. And like most other seasons, the judges seemed to reward their points to the couple that needed them more (with the exception of whichever couple they were trying to oust – in this case, Nelly & Daniella). Also found it interesting that they seemed to make the celeb’s face-off costumes to match their first dances – not sure if this was done as a cost-saving measure or a time-saving one (or both), but I don’t know that we’ve seen anything like that before. Just curious.
In a move I don’t think most of us saw coming quite this soon, we lost AJ and Cheryl – a couple that many of us had predicted would win this season in our preseason poll. I think they were unfortunately just a sacrificial lamb – Nelly seemed to be the intended target for elimination this week, but when it became clear that he wasn’t going anywhere (and dancers that belong in the finale were falling into the bottom 2), the judges had to pivot; AJ just happened to have a bad day at the office when his Viennese waltz went off the rails, so I think he was the only logical choice. I’ll admit that I found myself a skosh disappointed with AJ this season – maybe my expectations were too high, maybe he just didn’t get the right choreo, maybe he got screwed with song and dance assignments, who knows. But I guess I just thought he would be someone who easily bested Nick Carter’s often-erratic performances, and instead I think he ended up only slightly better than Nick when you netted out all of his dances.
1.) Nev & Jenna – Anyone else just find it kinda funny that this is the second season in a row where Jenna has had to do an Elton John-themed jive? Last year, it was Karamo’s to “I’m Still Standing”, which fell flat with the judges; this year’s went off quite a bit better, though I did find it curious that the judges did seem to nitpick it a bit. I don’t necessarily think it was unfounded nitpicking, though – on the whole, it felt a bit soft to me. Like some of his other dances, it felt like Nev was making things a bit too flowy, instead of punctuating firmly with pointed toes and more deliberate leg action. The retraction of the leg in jive should be like that weird hand gesture Trump used to make when he said “You’re fired!” on The Apprentice – a decisive forward and back motion, and the total opposite of what he’s doing in reaction to the election *eye roll*. And as usual, it just felt a bit empty – again, I go back to Nev dancing like he’s a paid professional, rather than someone learning and enjoying the experience (like Justina). At the end of the day, though, I’m beginning to think he’s going to win this season – a quick trip to Facebook seems to indicate that the Boomers just LOVE him, and he has yet to land in the bottom 2. It also feels like they may be inching towards a Nev & Kaitlyn final 2, with the narrative being “OMG 2 contestants that gave up on their dreams of being professional dancers are given a second chance!!!” which just feels dreadfully boring to me. It feels like we’re either going to end up with win #2 for Jenna (who I don’t hate, but I do get very annoyed with her husband – who will likely try to insert himself into the winning narrative) and a guy who has more or less tried to conceal the extent of his dance training, or a first win for Artem with a contestant that is basically just a repeat of last season’s winner (who I was never really jazzed about to begin with).
2.) Kaitlyn & Artem – It feels like Kaitlyn finally hit a stride after two weeks of decent-but-meh dances – this was actually a really nice Argentine tango, and she was making some gorgeous lines with her legs. It also felt like she was hitting her moves with more impact – I agreed with Derek there. Where we used to see more wishy-washy, blurred transitions between moves, we now see more confident, punctuated steps. The whole thing was very clean and lovely to watch, though I will say that Artem’s choreo felt a tad safe. Kaitlyn could have probably handled at least one dynamite lift and a few flairier moves, and I think if he wants a hope and a prayer of besting Jenna’s choreo for Nev in the finals, Artem’s gonna have to get out of his comfort zone a bit. What he choreographs is great, for basic choreo – but to really get to the next level, it’s going to take creativity. Only one other note: I AM SO SICK OF ‘TOXIC”. Can we please find something else from the oeuvre of Britney to use next time we want an edgy tango song? “H0ld it Against Me”? “Womanizer”? “Me Against the Music”? Anything…please.
3.) Justina & Sasha – So Sasha might have the same problem as Artem heading into the finale – this was unfortunately another Sasha snoozefest, choreography-wise. Sometimes, he choreographs such fun stuff – the samba last week, for example. And then other times, the stuff he comes up with just makes me go “That’s seriously the best you could do???” Justina’s 80s week jazz and this rumba fit under that latter category. I’m not sure if it’s because Sasha is a smaller guy (and his partners also tend to be small as a result), but every move just felt so TINY. Justina could have very well been doing perfect hip action, but it was also so minuscule that we could barely see anything. She also seemed to be clipping her arm and leg lines a bit, though I did notice a few fun flourishes in there to give it the Madonna feel. I think Justina was doing the best she could with what she had – she was still selling it; but Sasha just seemed to give her teeny-tiny choreo that just didn’t register on camera. Song was great, though – it’s what I would consider more of a deep cut in the Madonna catalog, but a hit nonetheless. Anyone remember the movie Vision Quest?
4.) Nelly & Daniella – Nelly still seems to be making strides to open up and embrace the experience of DWTS, so I have to give him credit for that – he seemed to be having fun with his jazz, and the fact that he rerecorded “California Love” to dance to seemed to indicate that he was passionate about his song choice, which I think helps. This dance seemed to be the most in his element, so he did seem more comfortable than he usually is. There were some missed steps, though, and after each one he seemed to retreat back into his shell a bit. Still a pretty fun performance, though, and I think the score was about right. At this point, I think everyone should start getting comfortable with the fact that Nelly is likely headed to the finale – and honestly, at this point, I think he deserves to be there. His journey has been one of the most interesting for me to watch. He’s not someone that ANY of us had pegged for the finale, and yet he has been growing and improving each week. He really has taken a similar path to Rob Kardashian in that respect – and like Rob on his season, Nelly is Mama Spence’s fave this season, and she faithfully votes for him each week. At this point, guys, I just want something different – and Nelly is that something different.
5.) Johnny & Britt – The thing I love most about these two also seems to be the thing that is likely hurting them in the votes department: the way they push boundaries. I thought the Amy Winehouse getup that Johnny donned was brilliant, as was the quickstep he did while wearing it – so much content, and he handled it so well. But in a moment of extremely poor judgement (and possibly boredom), I decided to log onto Facebook and see what people were saying about it – and all I can say is “oof.” As I’ve come to expect during the Trump administration, many people are letting their homophobe flag fly as far as Johnny is concerned, and those that aren’t seem to be clinging to whatever excuse they can for why Johnny deserves to go home: “He’s a professional dancer!” “He and Britt aren’t that good!” “He only went to the Olympics, he didn’t medal!” It’s exhausting (and not particularly insightful), and I guess I’m just hoping for the folks that are actually voting for him to panic vote next week – I think he deserves to be in the finale, and hopefully the judges do too and don’t pull any funny business like they did with the face-off points this week. Johnny fans, I guess my only advice is this: you’re probably going to have to start placing all your eggs in one basket where he’s concerned if you truly want him in the finale. Yeah, I know you like multiple couples, but if you’re casting 10 votes for 3-4 different couples next week, it diminishes the power of each vote (since everything is based on percentages) and also doesn’t really give Johnny much of a leg up on anyone else, which is what he needs in order to not be in the bottom 2. This is the one thing I kind of hate about the new voting format – it allows too much blanket voting, which just serves to diminish the power of each vote and result in votes kind of canceling each other out. Will he end up in the bottom 2 again? Who knows. He got a perfect score this week and still ended up there, so I think it’s possible; the question is, who are they willing to eliminate in order to keep Johnny? They saved Ally three damn times last season (the last time, sacrificing the most consistent and skilled dancer of the season in order to keep her), so I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that they save Johnny once more. I think the only contestant that they might save over Johnny is Nev, but I think he’s getting the votes. Kaitlyn maybe. Nelly? Hell no, but again – I think he’s getting the votes. Justina or Skai? I think they’d chuck either one to keep Johnny around. Christ, I feel like Chuck Todd and his electoral college map – just trying to make sense of unknowns in a time with nothing but unknowns.
6.) Skai & Alan – I was seriously impressed with how closely hair, wardrobe, and makeup managed to get Skai to looking like an “If”-era Janet. The 90s neutral makeup, the auburn curly wig, the tribal-ish jewelry – it all took me back. Still can’t do that crazy shuffling move with the arms Janet does in the “If” video, despite spending hours at the sorority house trying to learn it 😉 I think Skai made a valiant effort with her paso doble – she was doing the steps, and she was on time; it just all felt a bit hollow, and I saw the “deer in the headlights” look again. I think this was a dance that she really had to focus hard to pull off, and we lost a bit of the showmanship as a result. Here’s the unfortunate part, though: she and Johnny are the only two left who have been in the bottom 2, and the pattern seems to be that a couple that survives their appearance in the bottom 2 seems to get a surge in votes the following week; I’m staking my money on it that the judges (and viewers) do whatever they can to ensure Johnny doesn’t end up there next week. Someone’s gotta be in the bottom 2, and my guess is that Skai ends up there again. If they don’t manage to keep Johnny out of the bottom 2, I still think Johnny gets saved over her and Skai gets sent packing. I think the only person that would get eliminated if they ended up in the bottom 2 with Skai is Nelly – and my gut tells me he likely won’t end up there without some serious low-balling from the judges. If next week is Skai’s last week in the competition, though, I’m glad she used her platform for good and mentioned BLM this week.
Thoughts on the face-offs:
Justina vs. Kaitlyn – cha-cha: Justina went for performance, while Kaitlyn went for technique. Kaitlyn’s was cleaner, and Artem seemed to stick pretty strongly to syllabus steps; Justina was more fun to watch, though, and I think Sasha threw in a bit more “flare” and filler, if you will. Kaitlyn, though creating some lovely lines, was a bit boring to watch. It reminded me of watching Hannah in her initial cha-cha last season: nothing really technically wrong, but pretty bland, performance-wise. Probably the least exciting of the face-offs for me. I think the judges made the right call.
Nelly vs. Skai – salsa: Kind of obvious how this one went – Skai & Alan pulled out all the stops with choreo, giving us a salsa tour de force not entirely unlike the one Hannah & Alan gave us for their face-off against Lauren & Gleb last season; Nelly & Daniella went more for simple steps delivered with a ton of showmanship. And I think this may have been the most carefree and fun I’ve ever seen Nelly out on the floor – it’s as if he shed the last of his inhibitions along with that vest 😛 I couldn’t take my eyes off he and Daniella, as they seemed to be having the time of their lives. I found Skai & Alan, while impressive, to be a bit chaotic at times – like they were doing too much, and lost a bit of showmanship as a result. I would have given the points to Nelly for performance-quality, but I understand why they went to Skai – I’m guessing she may be in danger, while Nelly has proven he’s got the votes.
AJ vs. Johnny – jive: I think Johnny won this one, hands down – he was the only one in the face-offs that I felt gave both technique and showmanship. His feet definitely improved from his first jive (which was still great), and the whole thing just felt effortless and fun. AJ seemed to take longer to get going – he really seemed to be laboring at the beginning, it wasn’t until about halfway through the face-off that he seemed to activate and started picking his feet up a bit more. I think they gave AJ the points because they thought he was in danger, but in doing so they really didn’t help much as he was still in the bottom 2; if they had given the points to Johnny, I can’t guarantee it would have kept him out of the bottom two, but if it had – I think Skai could have plummeted into the bottom again. This just seemed like a no-win situation, regardless of who got the points.
Thoughts headed into the semi-finals? Who makes it to the finale? Who falls short? And what funny business might we see?
Tyra mentioned a double elimination for next week. I’m thinking Skai and possibly Nelly or Justina may be going home. However, I don’t think Johnny is getting the votes. I don’t think it’s fair that he’s been in the bottom 2 twice and gets to stay. There needs to be a rule change that if you are in the bottom 2 more than once, you have to go home. They clearly don’t take the audience votes seriously. Good power rankings! I always enjoy reading them.
Apparently Artem had choreographed another lift but Kaitlyn’s ribs were so bruised and in pain they decided not to do it.I feel like we are missing so much with these dances due to camera angles.We missed a lot during Kaitlyn’s dance specifically due to the cameraman.It was either too zoomed out or their legs were cut off at some points.I hope the camera crew figure this out before the season ends because I would like to have a good view of the freestyles.I loved Johnny’s jive and if there is a double elimination next week I think Skai and Nelly should go.
I feel like just because you in bottom 2 multiple times doesn’t mean you deserve to get eliminated thats not how this show works. The judges just can’t base their decisions on whose been in bottom 2 a lot they have to base their decisions on the dancing. Because why would they keep AJ who’s getting 8’s on week 9 than someone like Johnny who got a perfect score? That wouldn’t be right or fair.
I came here to also say Artem had put a complicated lift that it looks like Kaitlyn wasn’t gonna be able to pull off maybe because of her ribs. They have a redemption Paso and a Contemporary this week. I feel good about her Contemporary and maybe she can do a good Paso since they have a good song this time.
I think one factor that hurt AJ (and all of the couples) is the lack of rehearsal time that they have due to COVID restrictions. No one really looks much different from week 1. The only one I would say has shown any kind of improvement, oddly, is Nelly. He’s still the worst left, but I notice some weeks his feet don’t look terrible.
It sucks there is a double elimination next week. I’m honestly up in the air as to who will go, but I think it could be one of Justina, Nelly, Skai, or Johnny. If Nelly is in the bottom he’s gone, so I guess it will depend how well the rest of them do. The fact that Justina is the only other one besides Nelly not to get a 10 this season (so far) may hurt her chances of sticking around.
I agree with you on Johnny-I think being gay is enough to hurt him in the demo that watches this show, but the fact that he’s a little more out there probably isn’t helping. I absolutely loved his quickstep and Amy Winehouse outfit. If the judges save Johnny a third time next week, I can at least live with that more than I could with Ally. He’s a better dancer, and whines way less. I think he’s very deserving to be in the finals. Unfortunately, I’m thinking his odds of winning aren’t great. Johnny and Nelly were my two favorite dances this week. I’d be fine if Nelly made the finals, although I wish we could just have a 6 person finale. I like all the couples left.
Did Tyra come right out and say it, Harley and Kara? Because the press release doesn’t mention it at all. I’m having a hard time imagining what all the filler will be if there are only three couples and a two hour show AND all the covid restrictions.
Nevermind…the top of the press release says a double elimination while the voting part makes it sound like only one person is going. Bad editing strikes again.
Yeah, I don’t remember it being said on the show, so I was surprised that it was mentioned on the press release. Dare I say I will be a tad suspicious if Nelly goes that this might have been a last minute decision (maybe he’s really on the cusp of being in the bottom 2).
And clearly I can’t do math very well, because I didn’t realize that would only leave us with 3 couples. Considering the COVID restrictions, I don’t know what kind of filler they will have. I assume everyone will have two dances, and maybe all the couples will come back (meaning the celebs, too)? With the show over I’m sure they won’t care as much about keeping people apart. Maybe Tyra will finally get to throw in those changes she talked about before the start of the season (and seemingly dumped) to see how it goes over with viewers. That is a lot of time to fill. I hope they don’t make the remaining couples overdo it with dances. Any chance ABC might say to heck with it and have a shorter finale? I doubt it, but that would make sense.
I know I said this before, I am not a Johnny fan, if Johnny is in the bottom 2 I hope he goes home. I know if it was between him & Justina, I sure hope they would save Justina. I enjoy watching her dance
I had Vision Quest on Beta! It was filmed in Spokane, so there was a lot of pride in my home state of Washington in the mid 80’s for that otherwise forgettable movie. I always hear that song in my mind with the Beta cassette’s audio stretched out in parts.
Justina’s outfits & her position on stage in the dance-off gave me subtle vibes of: TPTB are totally tossing her under the bus. Black on black costuming, against mostly dark or black backgrounds or stairs, shot from a distance like she’s a tiny tiger in a safari. Then Kaitlyn had that silver costume and diamond hairpiece in the dance off which drew eyes to her, was in more closeup shots, in front & center of stage. If Johnny gets cut next week (I’ve been giving all my votes to him) I will gladly throw my support behind Justina. If Justina gets cut with him, I’m not sure if I’ll keep watching or not. Will they still let me text in votes for Anne? j/k not really
I think I said in an old Power Ranking or live thread here that Chrishell “can go Gleb herself!” Maybe she did?!?! I feel horrible for Gleb’s family, but not really for Gleb.
Derek’s “Let’s Dance” era Bowie costume was pretty amazing. Bruno’s George Michael costume was great but I think a lot of people on Twitter who are too young to know George Michael thought that Bruno was just dressing like himself. CAI looked great too in that “ICON” hairclip but I think she was the one dressed like herself?
Thoughts on the Host/Executive Producer’s J-Lo themed costume: Trey Parker wore it better when he was on acid at the 2000 Oscars. I dug the Nikki Minaj costume tho, it was very Soroyama! I guess she walks out to “Gasolina” next week which will give me so many Zumba feels LOL
One more thought – if Kaitlyn is really a fan of Britney’s, then why did she get DWTS to pay to use one of her songs? Because every time a Britney song plays, her dad gets a new lawyer to keep her in her conservatorship with.
Kara and Heidi unless I’m missing something there are 6 couples left so a double elimination leaves us with 4. Next week is the semi final so that would mean the following is the final which would have 4? So just confused by where the 3 left climber came from. Also not saying your wrong just curious if I missed something.
Great power rankings court. I have to say everyone’s pretty much underwhelmed me this season. I’m just underwhelmed overall. Maybe it’s Covid restrictions, Tyra or the contestants idk. I think between Nev and Kaitlyn I’d prefer to see Kaitlyn win as Artem is long overdue. However the only person I think I’d actually like to win is Johnny. He’s been the least underwhelming and I think Britt proved she can be a great pro. I know it’s unlike now but I’m still routing for him for sure. I think when it’s all said and done this season will be fairly forgettable.
Elena is well better off without Gleb if you ask me. It’s their kids I feel sorry for, they’ll be the ones that suffer.
I’ll bring up two points from your rankings Court, one I agree with and one I disagree with. The one I agree with is Justina. As someone that enjoys watching her, it really frustrates me seeing her dance at times. She’s obviously a fantastic actor and really performs the dance to perfection everytime. However, I too don’t think her pro is doing her justice with the choreography. I just imagine how incredible she’d be with someone creative like Derek as a pro. I think she’d probably have the competition all but won by now if she was. If she doesn’t win, I hate to say it but I do think Sasha has to shoulder the majority of blame. Because that girl can clearly do it all and has the complete support of the fans, but ultimately she can only do the best of what she gets given by the pro. Having said all that, I’m sure she has lots of fan support (the votes on Monday proved that) and I think she’s finals bound.
The point I disagree with is Nelly. Now I’ve been a fan of his journey on show. He’s improved from when he started, worked hard, wants to be there and I’ve enjoyed watching him. However, we’ve now reached the stage where he is clearly the weakest dancer left and to me it isn’t even close. I too think he is creaming in the votes to the point where not only do I expect him to make the final, but I honestly think he might win and for me that just would just be a complete joke. As fans of the show, I feel like it’s totally hypocritical of us to throw a tantrum when Bobby Bones wins it all, then turn around and say it’s all good when Nelly wins it all. It just makes the whole competition a complete farce to me. He’s had a great run, but for the sake of the competition and integrity of the show he needs to go in this double elimination. I don’t think he will though.
In terms of the double elimination, it will likely depend on the scores they get as well as how they dance on the night. Because as AJ proved on Monday, if you have one bad dance on the night at this stage of the competition, you’re done. If you pushed me to make a prediction now, I’d say Nev, Justina and Nelly go through automatically, then Johnny gets saved again by the judges.
Nukegrrrl, I agree with you about being over it if both Justina and Johnny were to go next week. During the finale in that case I guess I’d vote for…Skai?
Many people online think Chrishell and Glen will put themselves as a couple and claim they got together after his break up-and share some story about how she was there for him during this hard time, because she knew what it was like to have a public break up, and that they fell in love as a result. I doubt anyone will buy it, and Chrishell’s comments she made on Kaitlyns podcast about it being a deal breaker for her if she found out the guy she was interested had someone else is probably going to come back to bite her.
Unpopular opinion: Justina is by far my favorite followed by Johnny. Justina is just so expressive when she dances. Last week’s dance wasn’t great but before that she always improved and she always gives it her all. I think the judges aren’t giving her good enough scores. I just love to watch her dance so much and I really think she deserves to win. I like Johnny because his dances are outside the box and he combines nearly perfect technique with great performance. He improves every week and I also love Brit. My least favorite is definitely Kaitlyn. She just feels like a more annoying Hannah. Her technique is good but she’s so awkward when she dances and she is not improving. Her technique is the exact same as the first episode and she is just so boring to watch. Is it just me or do the judges favor Nev? His dances are all fine and are nothing special but he somehow manages to be at the top of the liter board almost every week. I hope Nelly and Kaitlyn goes home. I like Nellys personality and he seems to be improving but his skill level is much below everyone else in the competition. My ranking would be 1st Justina, 2nd Johnny, 3rd Skai, 4th Nev, 5th Kaitlyn, 6th Nelly
Thx for the voting suggestion, @Julia. I do love me some Alan, and Skai seems worth voting for if my faves get cut. Have fun watching tomorrow!
Yeah, Taryn, I was getting confused with what week we are in versus double or single elimination.
Nukegrrrl, you’re assuming that Kaitlyn actually requested Brittany. I have my doubts on how much say they actually have on he music.
You’re making the assumption, M8, that Nelly is as bad as Bobby Bones is and I don’t think that’s the case at all. Therefore, no hypocrisy here at all.
Ah, Kara, there are so many freakin’ shippers online that of course they think that Gleb and Chrishell are sleeping with each other. It wouldn’t surprise me, but I also don’t automatically assume that two people who look good dancing together and have chemistry are together. People said that Derek and Bindi were dating, fer god’s sake, even though her boyfriend was in the audience every week. Of course, Gleb being a serial cheater and general POS makes it much easier to believe. But man, don’t be blaming the woman, is all I ask.