In week 2 of the competition only one thing is certain... somebody's got to go. Because season 8 of DWTS is in its early stages, there is still a lot of mediocrity (or worse). However, it's shaping up to be 4-way race for the championship between Shawn & Mark, Lil Kim & Derek, Melissa & Tony, and Gilles & Cheryl.Below is a summary of Monday night's performances. In parentheses following each pair of contestants is the dance they did this week. At the end of each pair's summary is their total score for the first two weeks.
Holly and Dmitry (quickstep)- They were competent, but nothing special. 36 out of 60
David & Kym (salsa)- I thought they did slightly better than the judges felt. 36 out of 60
Denise & Maks (quickstep)- Although they didn't match the uptempo beat of the song ("We Go Together") at times, their routine was an improvement over last week. 39 out of 60
Belinda & Jonathan (salsa)- The most memorble thing about Belinda's performance last week was when Bruno compared her to Julie Andrews (good) and Cloris Leachman (not so good). In the rehearsal footage, Jonathan mentioned that he was going to incorporate some of Belinda's "Go-Go" moves into their performance. Although those were disappointingly missing, Belinda did dust off the shimmy she did in the "Mad About You" video. 35 out of 60
Ty & Chelsie (quickstep)- The two messed up on the high-five at the beginning, but Ty's performance was a vast improvement over last week. He seemed to be having fun and was much more relaxed. 34 out of 60
Shawn & Mark (salsa)- The best dance of the night so far! I thought Shawn's years of training as a gymnast would keep her rigid. However, she proved that she can shake it when necessary. 47 out of 60
Steve & Karina (quickstep)- Even though Steve doesn't have a prayer of sticking around for long, he is having fun. I thought his taped up specs were a nice touch too and fitting (he and Karina danced to "Oh Boy" by Buddy Holly & the Crickets). Ooh, was that a Kathy Griffin sighting?! 30 out of 60
Chuck & Julianne (salsa)- Didn't seem very salsaesque to me. If "salsaesque" isn't a word, it is now! 40 out of 60
Lawrence & Edyta (quickstep)- I didn't think old boy had it in him. Lawrence isn't giving Warren Sapp anything to worry about yet, but his performance was much better than it was in the first week. 36 out of 60
Steve-O & Lacey (salsa) - A back injury a couple of hours before showtime prevented Steve-O from performing live. Cause of injury: he did a flip and landed on the microphone pack. As a result (in keeping with the rules), the judges based their votes on the dress rehearsal that Steve-O and Lacey did. It's unfair because they understandably weren't going "all out" for the dress rehearsal. Plus, Steve-O and Lacey didn't have the benefit of the rush that a live performance can provide. The good news is that Steve-O will be able to continue in the competition. 31 out of 60.
Lil Kim & Derek (quickstep)- Judge Len Goodman deservedly got booed when he critiqued the pair because Kim and Derek got down!. 44 out of 60
Melissa & Tony (salsa)- These two sizzled in the best salsa of the night. Even with some tricky moves that the two added in, they didn't miss a beat. Was that Leeza Gibbons (haven't seen her in awhile) and Kim "Woo woo woo" Coles in the audience? 49 out of 60.
Gilles & Cheryl (quickstep)- Before they started, I noticed that Gilles was looking Clark Kent-like with the glasses he was wearing. Once I heard what song they were dancing to ("Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down), it all made sense. This was the best dance tonight and it ended with a flourish (Gilles whipped off his glasses, slid on his knees and ripped open his shirt to reveal a purple top with the letter "G"). 51 out of 60, the top score out of all the contestants.
Because Belinda & Jonathan and Steve & Karina were the two pairs who received the least amount of votes combined (from the judges and viewers), they had to compete in the "dance-off" (the first in the history of DWTS). Both pairs did the same routines they performed last night. Although Steve is by far the worst celebrity dancer of this year's bunch, he is fun to watch and that's what saved him. Unfortunately, that means the answer to the question I posed in the title of this post is "yes". Oh well, at least Belinda still has her gig with NutriSystem.
The next episode airs Monday, 3/23 from 8-10 PM EST.
Below is rehearsal footage and last night's performance of the quickstep by Gilles and Cheryl:
3 comments:
Poor Belinda :( When I saw she was competing I had high hopes for her, but then again she never was a dancer even in her hey day
Gilles & Cheryl were by far the best of the night but the biggest shicker has to go to Ty & Chelsie. I was so surprised by Ty's amazing improvement. I hope this boosts his confidence so he'll be able to shake his bootie next time! I really liked Chelsie on So You Think You Can Dance and I'm so glad she's still on my TV (same with Dmitry and Lacey).
Mistress of the D: I was disappointed to see Belinda go. If she had survived, I think she would have loosened up and improved.
Kristi: Ty's progress shocked the hell out of me. You can tell that he is out of his element, but he's still giving max effort.
Lacey is my favorite pro dancer on the show for a few reasons. One reason is obvious. :-) I also like her because she adds her own special flavor to dance routines and she's not afraid to take risks.
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