Surprisingly enough, another week goes by where I only feel “meh” about most of the routines. Granted, I was a bit distracted (bf is in Orlando for NDC competition & he was texting me), but I did re-watch a few of the routines to see if I missed something – nope. It seemed like the couples that danced well had no chemistry; the couples that had great chemistry seemed to really struggle with the dancing portion. Definitely made it hard to rank this week…
…oh, and one more thing before I move on: the jitterbug bugs the crap outta me (no pun intended). Or rather, I hate the fact that it looks so similar to both the jive and the Charleston that I feel like I’m watching the same routines over and over. *sigh* I guess Len’s crankiness has worn off on me and now he’s all sunshine & rainbows…
1.) Joanna & Derek – I actually didn’t care much for their waltz – everything seemed like it was just a bit “off” and wasn’t as fluid as some of their other dances, and I feel like the float on Joanna’s sleeve was getting in the way of everything. But I will say this: even when they weren’t looking at each other, I still felt a connection between them, which is something that is so often lost in the smooth/standard dances when the couples are looking away from one another most of the time. And with chemistry playing such a crucial factor this season, I daresay it doesn’t hurt them to look lovey-dovey & be touchy-feely. Loved them in the mambo competition – Derek’s choreography was eye-catching & fun to watch, as always, and Joanna actually kept up with it well. Thanks to that great choreo & scores (and some heavy-duty Twitter bombing by Heidi to make sure Derek’s fans pulled him through his illness! 😉 ) these two seem to come up at the top of the heap this week, and I highly doubt they’re in any danger of going home.
2.) Donny & Kym – At the request of some of Donny’s fans after my hatchet job last week, I will try to critique him as fairly as I can. Truth be told, I wasn’t wowed by their jitterbug – Donny didn’t seem quite as crisp as he has been in previous weeks, and again I didn’t find their choreography to be as difficult as some of the other couples’. I know someone had mentioned Donny’s busy schedule in a previous post – I fear that it may have caught up with him this week as he seemed to almost run out of steam (again, no pun intended) by the end of it. But they did have the advantage of performing in the Money Spot (henceforth, I shall capitalize it…I would prolly slap a trademark symbol on it too, but I don’t know how to do that. LOL) and they placed 4th in the mambo competition. Wish I could say that I actually saw he & Kym dancing the mambo, but alas, I’m ADD and was having a hard time focusing (too many couples for my brain to comprehend! Aaaaaaggghhhh!) and all I saw was Donny doing some sort of shimmy over a supine Derek as he left the stage. *shrug* Again, Donny’s fans will carry him all the way to the finals…
3.) Mya & Dmitry – Not gonna lie – I feel a bit vindicated that the judges are also pointing out Mya & Dmitry’s lack of chemistry, as some were arguing last week that they had “great chemistry”. Don’t get me wrong – Mya is probably the best dancer on the show in terms of technique; but she’s just too cool for school! For anyone else who is a big fan of Top Gun, Mya is “Iceman” for me this season – makes no mistakes, but flies with no emotion. Aside from their chemistry problem, I also was kinda disappointed by their jitterbug this week – took too long to get going, and generally hate any routine involving a prop. They also pulled the short straw this week and had to perform in the Crap Spot (just pretend the trademark is there 😉 ). But luckily, they placed 2nd in the mambo competition, which will go a long way in boosting their score. And if Mya’s support on this blog is any indicator, her fans will keep her safe for many weeks to come…
4.) Mark & Lacey – Hallelujah! Mark is finally starting to come out of his shell and really wow me. The past 3 weeks he’s gotten stronger & stronger (after hitting rock bottom with that awful rumba) and tonight was really quite entertaining to watch – I didn’t know Mark could tumble, and he seemed quite a bit more enthusiastic and energetic this week as well. The cat theme was a cute, memorable touch as well – doubt anyone is going to really remember his flubs (cause there were much bigger ones happening tonight…), and I have to say his “horny” comment in the confessional from last week had me chuckling for awhile. Middle of the pack for the mambo competition, so not terribly memorable; but I think a lot more viewers are going to start picking up the phones for Mark if he continues to improve the way he has for the past few weeks…
5.) Kelly & Louis – I think these two could make it to the finals on chemistry alone. It’s adorable watching them interact – Kelly had me laughing so hard during the lead in when she started cussing at Louis. They remind me of an older brother and a younger sister – always picking with each other, but friends at the end of the day. Ok, now their jitterbug: it was cute, but not great. While I feel like Kelly has improved from last week’s ho-hum paso, I still feel like she’s dancing timidly and is continuing to run the risk of being boring. They came in 5th in the mambo competition, which is actually kind of admirable considering they were the only ones without a choreographed routine and were relying on lead & follow. Kelly is still America’s Sweetheart though, and she’s likely to still get some sympathy votes from her foot injury last week, so I’d be surprised if they were in danger…
6.) Michael & Anna – Strange as it may sound – I actually really liked his waltz tonight! Yes, it was ridiculously simple choreography, and it was mostly just Anna turning and dipping; but something about it was, as I think Len put it, “charming”. It seemed like he wasn’t trying to ham it up, for the first time in the competition. And again, I agree with Len – Michael did actually have some nice rise & fall. I may be a bit biased though – the song they danced to (“Wonder Why” by Curtis Stigers) has a bit of a special place in my heart (but that’s another story 🙂 ), and for once the band didn’t seem to butcher it. They were the first ones tapped out in the mambo competition (no real surprise there), but if the past few weeks have been any indicator, Michaels fans will pull him through yet again, and a few stragglers may contribute a few votes as well after this waltz…
7.) Louie & Chelsie – Anyone else sense a bit of trouble in paradise between these two during the lead-in? I’m beginning to think Louie might be a bit sexually frustrated, hehe. But anyway – this really had the potential to be a good jitterbug. Louie came out strong and had more energy this week than I’ve seen from him so far – and then he dropped Chelsie. TWICE. Ai ai ai. And it was all down hill from there! I almost feel like I jinxed him somehow by gushing about how he was “always there for Chelsie” during lifts & tricks week after week.  But I give Louie points for still maintaining a little bit of chemistry with Chelsie, and there was a definite smooch-a-roo at the end (a bit desperate, but desperate times call for desperate measures!). Second ones tapped out during the mambo, so not great; but they’ve managed to avoid the danger zone the past few weeks…it’s a bit of a draw for me; they might be in danger, they might not. But I would be surprised if they went home.
8.) Aaron & Karina – Despite the “new Aaron Carter” being a bit more mild-mannered and tolerable than the emotional tantrum-throwing one of a few weeks ago, I’m afraid the damage has already been done…and even great dancing won’t be able to boost them up. Aaron’s waltz was alright – his arabesque turn was actually pretty good, but he still seems to do awkward things with his hands and tends to get a very intense “deer in the headlights” look when he’s not looking at Karina. Sorry buddy, I think this new, improved attitude may be too little too late…
9.) Melissa & Mark – I almost would rather talk about Shirley Ballas than Melissa’s waltz…so I apologize for the brief digression. I heart Shirley Ballas – the woman will kick your @$$, but she will make you the best dancer you can be. And she’s quite a spitfire, despite appearing to be a mild-mannered British woman…love her. Now onto Melissa’s waltz: it was stiff, awkward, error-ridden, and boring. And they were the 3rd couple eliminated in the mambo competition. Oh, and they were also in the bottom two last week. I don’t see them climbing out of it this week, and I don’t see them surviving a double elimination. And that’s all I have to say about them…pity that they’ve become so unmemorable…
Ok, official predictions for the double elimation: Aaron & Karina and Melissa & Mark, with Louie & Chelsie and Michael & Anna rounding out the bottom 4 (I honestly don’t know how the double elimation is going to work, so I’m assuming they’re just going to do 2 separate elims with 2 of the couples in the bottom 4). But the bottom 2 have been shuffling around quite a bit the past few weeks, so we may get a surprise tomorrow…what do you guys think? Let’s hear it!
