Last night at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee, country music fans and artists made a showing to support Kellie Pickler, her music, and her recent win with Derek Hough on Dancing With The Stars. Below is some coverage from WKRN News 2 in Nashville. To see and view lots more coverage, visit Pure Derek Hough. Miss Heidi delivers pictures and more.
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
Ok gang, now that the hype has had some time to die down…it’s time to vote for your favorites & least favorites in this season’s end-of-season awards 🙂 Pretty self-explanatory – just select what you think is the best option for each category and submit it. “But Courtney, you don’t have my favorite listed!!!” Yes, there is an option for write-ins…HOWEVER…
…after the absolute chaos that was the HUNDREDS of write-in votes last season, I’m going to really crack down on the write-in votes. If you absolutely MUST write-in a response other than the ones we have listed (and I took great pains to include the responses that I thought would be the most likely choices for each category), you MUST do so with a certain format in mind…for example, if you were trying to write in “Zendaya & Val’s Argentine tango” for the best dance, you MUST do it just like I typed it – captalize the first names of the celeb first, then the pro; throw an “&” in the middle, and then put the type of dance after that. Examples of what not to do: “zendaya val tango” or “Zendaya tango” or “any dance Zendaya did!!!!” Yeah, especially that last one – you get to choose ONE DANCE, not 13. Any responses that don’t fit the scheme I just laid out are getting thrown out – sorry guys, but I just don’t have the energy (or desire) to weed through 300+ nonsensical, misspelled, & obnoxious responses. Got it? Good. Now vote away 🙂 We’ll share the results in the coming weeks. Read more..
Ultrasound sales specialist by day, semi-knowledgeable DWTS fan by night...with a smattering of hair & makeup enthusiast, occasional model, baker, and crazy cat lady peppered in to make things REALLY interesting ;-) I might pee my pants in happiness if Donnie Wahlberg ever does DWTS - or if they ever use "Sunglasses at Night" as a paso doble.
It’s funny – when people were complaining loudly last season about not being able to vote on ABC.com, no one paid attention. Well, except for Shawn fans, that is. We were told we just had to deal, that Melissa won fair and square. Hmmm….maybe not so much.
Not so fun, is it, now that the shoe is on the other foot? I’m writing this post to explain to readers why this season was actually MORE fair, in terms of voting, than last season was – and why I think ABC realized they screwed up last season and weren’t going to let it happen again.
So, ask yourself this – as a long time, or even new, reader of PureDWTS, what happens when a whole bunch of people go to the website at the same time?? Why, it bogs down, it crashes and only certain lucky people manage to get through. Now, our server may not be the greatest, and you would think that ABC would have a much bigger one able to handle a lot more traffic…right? Of course – but DWTS is also watched by anywhere from 14 to 16 million people. When you have one contestant with 2.6 million twitter followers urging all her fans to create new email addresses in order to vote, in addition to all the regular users of ABC.com for voting, you suddenly have a situation where the website can’t handle the traffic and it just crashes. Read more..
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
DonaMadrina wrote to us and pointed out some interesting results on some polls taken before the Dancing With The Stars finale. With or without the ABC mishap in their voting system last Monday night, TV Guide’s polls tipped Kellie Pickler to take home the Mirror ball trophy at 59%, Zendaya received 27% pf the votes, while Aly Raisman earned 9% and Jacoby Jones 5%.
In a poll at Digital Spy, Kellie garnished 51.78% of the votes, Zendaya garnished 34.3%, Aly garnished 8.12%, and 5.8% of the votes went to Jacoby.
In our Poll at PureDWTS, Kellie topped the votes at 64%, Zendaya got 30% of the votes, and Aly and Jacoby both tied with 3% of the votes.
Lastly, and not that the Dial Idol polls are accurate always (as we’ve highly stressed in the past), but, they tipped Kellie to win as well. DonaMadrina has been watching this source closely and tells us she’s never seen such a “landslide in raw numbers for any season, but this season, there was.” Though another interesting thing to note is that alumni and Dancing With The Stars season 11 winner Jennifer Grey was a landslide winner in other polls at the time, but, not at Dial Idol.
It begs the question, but, with or without the voting mishap at ABC, Kellie was going to win and deservedly so in my opinion. What do you think and let’s see what Heidi thinks too? Thanks so much Dona!!!!
Heidi: Online polls are crap. Dial Idol is CRAP. I don’t feel that that can be stressed enough. However, when ALL the polls (or 95% of them) and Dial Idol together show a certain outcome it begins to have the air of legitimacy – or at least strong possibility. But still, going forward, don’t hang your hat on one poll or another, and certainly don’t cherry pick polls to make your case. Any poll or Dial Idol taken by itself is indicative of NOTHING, especially when that poll can be spammed. Word to the wise. 🙂
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
Below is After Buzz TV’s new podcast of the Dancing With The Stars Season 16 finale. This time dance pros Sharna Burgess and Lindsay join Kristyn Burtt and co-host Suri Serano. Enjoy!
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
This guy writes a great blog, chock full of information. I’ve put a few excerpts below, but you’ll have to go to TV Guide to read the whole thing.
Our freestyle never went that well in dress rehearsal and rehearsal. There was always a misstep. I was so happy and elated that it went as well as it did on the show. That was the first time I felt like it was just the two of us there. There were no nerves or inhibitions. It was one of those moments where when people ask you why you dance, you go, “That’s why.” It’s going to that place of no mind, where you’re not thinking, you’re just doing and you can feel the audience with you. You can sense the feeling in the room. When we finished, I looked over and I started crying. I tried not to, but I couldn’t! My mom was in the audience and I hadn’t seen her in a long time, so seeing her just brought me to tears.
—–
Honestly, I did feel at times that we should be doing something bigger. Since they’ve introduced the super-sized freestyle last season, I think it’s easy to forget that it’s just an option and it’s easy to feel obligated to do something huge and extravagant. After I told the producers who handle the set production my plan, they were like, “Are you sure you don’t want to add anything?” And I had a little bit of doubt. I do love big productions. I was thinking about the hammock thing and some other things, but I felt like I would be doing those things for the sake of doing them and not because they made sense. So I trusted my instinct. The super-sized element was going to be the emotion. There are performances where you’re giving out the energy and there are performances where you draw people in. I wanted to go for the latter. I knew that everybody else would be shooting the energy out.
——
My neck is good! But I was watching our freestyle and my feet was coming off the floor when Kellie was leaning forward with her feet around my neck, and that could’ve gone so wrong had my feet come completely off! But it’s fine. I took care of my body this season. I iced a lot. My doctor told me that if people iced more, they’d be out of business. But he said people don’t know the power of icing — something so simple — and it solves so many problems. Inflammation causes so many injuries. I also juiced a lot this season — kale, beet, celery, carrot and a bunch of green stuff. It really helped me stay strong and healthy and mentally clear. I will admit that I deviated from that last week. We were exhausted — we were doing 14-hour days every day last week. We would be there until midnight. I don’t drink caffeinated drinks and I was hitting the double juice! I had a lot of Red Bull. Maybe that’s why my neck wasn’t feeling so hot on Sunday!
—-
As for next season, I don’t know yet if I’m coming back. We’ll see. I don’t want to be the guy who says, “I’m not coming back” and then I come back — which is what happened this season! I already did it once, so I’m not going to do that again. I love the show and I always want to be part of it in some way. It’s a huge part of my life. It’s hard for me to say at this moment. There are so many other factors and the new season is a while away. I feel like right now, next season is possibly in the future for me. But this season just ended and I just want to enjoy this. This season has been very special for me. I’m so glad I did it and I’m even more grateful that I met Kellie and experienced this with her.
—-
What’s next for me is a new project I’m working on and I can’t tell you too much about yet. It lies at the core of all of what I do — dancing, performing, connecting with people. That’s all I can say now. I’ll be working with Meryl Davis and Charlie White this summer on their Olympic routine and I’m also doing something with the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra at the Disney Concert Hall. I’ve got some other stuff planned too. But I’ll be honest — I’m very excited about a beach and a margarita right now. I’m not sure when that will happen, but I’m excited for when that day comes!
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
Pro Cheryl Burke joined the GMA cast to discuss to Dancing With The Stars finale. First the hosts tell Cheryl she and D.L. Hughley should have received a “Spirit” Aawrd. She comments how she never thought they’d make it to week 5 and they were receiving a pity vote. Then they discuss how all the celebs were paired right with each pro (I agree! They were!). Then they discuss the Finals and how Derek Hough and Kellie Pickler won and how they deserved it. Cheryl loved Jacoby and Karina too and their fun and energy. Then Cheryl promotes her quest for women with bladder issues, Depends, and the “dress for success” Great American Try On Charity. They end the interview trying to convince Sam Champion to dance next season on Dancing With The Stars (I wish he would dance too! Do you?). Cheryl wants him for a partner. He changes the subject. lol You can watch this new interview at ABC HERE.
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
What a fun “Good Morning America” today. All through out the show, they partied with our four finalists from interviewing them and asking them trivia questions. Their family and friends also had guest spots congratulating them. Kellie’s husband gave her a cute little puppy. At the end, they wrapped up the show with the couples favorite dances. Tom Bergeron, Louis van Amstel, and Chelsie Hightower helped out with the party as well!! You can see some of GMA’s coverage at ABC. Below are some you tube videos of the coverage as well (thanks to @dwtsgossip for the heads up on these).
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
We have lots of fun post Dancing With The Stars Season 16 elimination interviews and media to share with you this morning, but, first we’d like to commend reader @DonaMadrina. She nailed it in her Numerology Report that she sent to us for the new Zodiac post this season. She made us a graph in gif form so we could take a look at this again….
Amazing, isn’t it? GOOD JOB DONA!!xxx
With that said, I’d just like to comment how much I loved last night’s finale. I think my only complaint of the whole night (like many others) was Zendaya’s flat shoes. 😯 Other than that, it was so cool seeing Sharna and Andy’s phenomenal Mad Hatter Lady Gaga Jazz number again. What’s more, they made it a huge dance production. And how about Dorothy Hamill and Kristi Yamaguchi’s dance with Henry and Sasha? What a “moment” that was. I also loved the performances by Wynonna (what a powerhouse), PSY (I’m so addicted to that crazy song and dance production now. lol), and Pitbull. A night to remember for sure!! More in Heidi’s Spoiler post and comments. You can also download all the music from the night in John’s new Music post here.
Ok, so let’s get right to some elimination interviews with Access Hollywood. Derek and Kellie, Aly and Mark, and Jacoby and Karina reflect on the season and how happy they are for this experience. Sorry, there isn’t anything posted for Val and Zendaya (yet anyway?)….
E News has a wrap up on the night and some interviews as well here.
And thanks to Kaitlyn showing us their location, below are the On The Red Carpet interviews…..
Let’s hope ET Online has some interviews posted shortly too.
Also, stay tuned to Pure Derek Hough as Miss Heidi will have a full mega wrap up there with Kellie and Derek including more articles and interviews for what you don’t see here.
Ok, more in a bit!!! 😉
ETA: Here is the cast out and about after the finale:
"Dance is the hidden language of the soul" ~ Martha Graham. That's what DWTS makes me think of every Monday night. To read more about me and my other interests, see Lisa Kay Photography. You can also follow me at Voguerista Twitter & Voguerista Soundcloud.
This was a pretty interesting show, actually. Hated the reused choreo from pro dances during the season, but I liked the little cameos in the dances like the one of Len with Lisa and Andy and the boys with PSY.
Shock of the night….Aly was in 4th place. A whole bunch of filler later and we find Jacoby got third place…and had the best goodbye package in the history of this show. 🙂
Then it came down to, as expected, Kellie and Zendaya….and the winner is: KELLIE AND DEREK!!
How did we do?
Heidi: I said Zendaya would win with Kellie in the #2 spot. My second choice was Zendaya winning with Aly in the #2 spot.
Courtney: Said Zendaya was going to win with Kellie in #2 spot.
Vogue: Put Kellie in the #1 spot with Zendaya in #2.
Winner (besides Kellie and Derek?): Vogue and Whoever said pimping doesn’t always win. Very happy to be WRONG.
I'm a nerd and proud of it. Two degrees in geology also means I love BEER. :-) I'm also a Derek lover - proud of that too. So don't scream at those of us on this site and call us a bunch of "biased Derek-lovers" - it's just ME. :-) It may sound like I hate DWTS at times, but really, I'm just a snarky nitpicker from way back. And I'm cynical and jaded too. But I do love DWTS. :-)
