Hi everyone. I hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving. I am just now getting back into town after a wonderful weekend with my family. Which means that I am just now watching Monday night’s finals for Dancing with the Stars. Keep in mind I am on the West Coast. Therefore, I am posting this a couple hours before I find out the results.
Tonight will consist of two rounds, one with the judges picking the dance the couples do and the other the no rules apply freestyle. And, yes, that means lifts are legal. But the judges’ round will be interesting since they picked a dance that could have been improved and the couples came up with a whole new dance.
So let’s get to it, shall we?
Mel B. & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Cha Cha – I must admit, I don’t remember their Cha Cha from the first week. By rereading my comments at the time, I see I wasn’t super impressed with it. Other then the showy, audience stuff at the beginning, this one was actually quite impressive. It would be nice to really watch the two side by side to see just how much she has improved. It did look like they were starting on the freestyle too early there at the end. The middle part was absolutely wonderful, but I agree with Len that it was a bit too different at times.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 10 Total – 28 Definitely a step down from last week, but I agree with the scores.
Marie Osmond & Jonathan Roberts – Samba – Okay, I normally don’t comment on the pre-dance stuff, but Marie’s made me laugh this week. Them spying on Helio and Julianne was staged and poorly acted but funny. And Marie’s attitude about doing the Samba again was great. I think all the couples are just having some fun tonight. While there was plenty of content, they had more playing around then normal, too. The judges basically agree with my thoughts, it wasn’t technically perfect, but it was very entertaining. But most importantly, she didn’t faint.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 8 Bruno – 8 Total – 24 I think that’s the lowest score I’ve ever seen in the finals. And I think Marie and Jonathan were upset by it.
Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough – Jive – I was disappointed with Helio’s original Jive, so I was hoping this would be better. It was. While they had some tricks, I think they had fewer then the other couples. Lots of energy and fun moves. I really liked it. And, while I have only done the Twist to that song, it was fun watching them dance to a song I have danced to before. Wow, the judges were really harsh on them, however. I guess I missed the technical stuff this time. This is going to be rough.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 8 Bruno – 9 Total – 25 The judges are certainly being harsh tonight. I thought Mel’s 28 would be low, but it is the high score of round one.
Mel B. & Maksim Chmerkovskiy – Freestyle – I’ll be perfectly honest, this is the one I’ve been dreading all season. I’m not generally a fan of the freestyle dances, and I figured that Mel’s would be very hip hop oriented judging from their previous weeks. I’d say it was my low expectations, but I really don’t think it was. That was a good dance. In fact, I think it was my favorite. And much, much better then I expected. I can understand the judges’ comments. It could have been a little better. But it was still great.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 9 Bruno – 9 Total – 27 Mel thought that it would be lower, but it was about what I expected the judges to give them.
Marie Osmond & Jonathan Roberts – Freestyle – I thought the doll thing was fun. At first. They should have lost it at some point and gotten down to dancing. Having said that, the lift where Marie’s feet swiveled and Jonathan stepped over them was amazing. I think the judges were as impressed as I was, which isn’t saying much.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 8 Len – 7 Bruno – 7 Total – 22 And the poor scores just keep on coming. Ouch! This has to be the lowest scoring finals ever.
Helio Castroneves & Julianne Hough – Freestyle – I loved their outfits. The race car driver thing morphing into the dance outfits was great. Again, the dance was fun, but it seemed to be lacking overall. It certainly didn’t lack in the lifts department. I think they had the most of any of the three couples. The judges liked this one best of the three freestyles. I can see that argument, but I think I’d still say Mel’s was my favorite.
Scores: Carrie Ann – 9 Len – 10 Bruno – 10 Total – 29 The highest scoring dance of a strange evening.
So, the standings look like this:
1. Mel B. – 55
2. Helio – 54
3. Marie – 46
Before tonight, I figured Marie had it in the bag. She obvious has a huge fan base. But that gap may be too much for her to overcome.
I’d say the competition is between Mel and Helio. I’d like to see a woman win, but I think Helio has a real shot. So I’m going to take the chicken’s way out and not pick a winner.
See you in a few hours with the results.