Countdown to the final performance show of the season! Tomorrow night, either Donny, Kelly, or Mya will be crowned the champion of season nine, based on their performances tonight. And while it's live, Tom doesn't announce that it's LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!
After introducing the three finalist couples, Tom explains that they will be doing three brand new routines tonight. They'll first do a ballroom/Latin routine, and then something new called a megamix, where all three couples will dance at once (haven't they done that before but called it something else?) and finally, the dreaded freestyle, where things can go oh-so-right, or oh-so-wrong.
Kelly and Louis are up first. The clip packages at this point tend to be super sappy, with the stars reflecting on the whole season. Kelly remembers how awesome her first routine was, her Viennese waltz, and then how horrible her tango was the week. And then every week since then has been a step-by-step comeback, and Kelly never thought she would make it to the finals.
So the judges are visiting each couple this week, and Carrie Ann is the one to visit Kelly and Louis, who are working on the Argentine tango. Kelly is having trouble with the emotional intensity and physical closeness of the routine, so Carrie Ann demonstrates how you have to act like it's super sexy, and make the audience believe it too, and Kelly does seem to get it, at least in the parts that we see. Let's see if that translates onto the dance floor.
She starts out a little rocky with the footwork, and she seems to have confused "intimate" with "frowning" for a bit. I mean, Kelly does a good job of not breaking character but, and this has been a problem for her previously, she sometimes has two facial modes: beaming smile or lack of affect, and this dance has the latter. There are some tricky footwork bits in the middle that she totally nails, but she doesn't look entirely comfortable with the routine. I'm hoping this was her worst, and it comes first, and then she kicks ass on the freestyle. Oops, did I just give away who I'm rooting for? She's not the best technical dancer, and will never beat Mya on technique, so she really has to pull through on personality, and this dance just didn't do it for me.
Len points out that Kelly has no dance experience, and has earned her spot in the finals, which is what this competition is all about. Bruno calls Kelly a "revelation" and compliments her hard work and dedication, and while he can pick some nits, he thought it was very good. Carrie Ann saw improvement based one what they worked on in rehearsal, and she thought it was a sophisticated routine. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 8. Well, we all know that the judges give basically equal scores in the finals so that the audience vote determines the winner, so whatever.
Mya and Dmitry are up , and they now get to review their dances from the season. They both loved their first routine but Len exploded on them for deviating from the typical ballroom routine. And then they did their jitterbug, where they, as Len would say "faffed about" for way too long and Len hated that too. Their breakthrough was their '70s samba, and Mya even says that she was finally living in the moment. EXACTLY! That's why that routine was so great.
Of course, Len is the judge to visit them during rehearsal. They show him what they have for their paso doble and Len thinks it's too subdued and not big enough. He hops right into Dmitry's arms and shows Mya how to "bring the fight to the floor." Will she remember to follow his instructions?
They're dancing to "We Will Rock You" and Mya's outfit is very reminiscent of Mel B's outfit during her paso with Maks to "Free Your Mind." I guess if you're going to evoke a routine, that's not a bad one to evoke. Mya is nowhere near as fierce as Mel B. was though. I still have trouble pinpointing what leaves me cold about Mya's routines in this, the final week. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with her technique. I can't point to one mistake in the routine. I don't know if Dmitry's choreography just bores me; I can't think of a routine that he's done that I did like, although he hasn't been on this show long enough for me to really judge if it's him or Mya. Also, the tempo of the song is really fast and it just doesn't have the drama I've come to expect from the paso, although the studio audience loved it.
Bruno thought it was powerful, fearless, and flamboyant. Carrie Ann calls her "the queen of the paso doble." How dare you! Mel B. holds that title. Len admires Mya's performance under pressure, and says that Mel and Maks did his favorite paso ever and this was close. Because it was kind of the same? Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. Eh. I guess.
Tom reminds us that Donny was in the bottom last week and the viewers' votes saved him. Looking back at the season, Kym thinks Donny looked great in his foxtrot, but Donny points out how bad his posture was and the judges agreed. Donny realized that his performance gene wasn't going to carry him through the competition; that he'd have to actually do ballroom dancing. They continued to improve as weeks went on, and Donny even danced the quickstep with the flu. Donny tried to learn to balance performing with dancing.
So, of course their judge is Bruno, and he tries to get Donny to win the competition based on his awesome technique instead of his giant fanbase alone. Bruno shows Donny a few tips to help with his posture and extension, and you can quickly see a massive improvement. I do wonder why more dancers don't bring in someone of the partner's same sex to help out. It always seems to work wonders for the stars to hear tips from someone of the same sex, doesn't it?
Donny and Kym are dancing the cha cha cha to one of my favorite songs, "Dancing in September," albeit an incredibly slow version. Donny really gets into it, shaking his butt all over the place, but it bothers me sometimes how people confuse shaking your butt for hip action. He has plenty of the former and not enough of the latter for Latin. The slowness of the tempo is accentuated by the fact that Donny doesn't seem to be doing much of anything in the routine. He's really getting into it and clearly loves the song, but there isn't as much content in the routine as I would expect in the finals, or even as much as the other two had so far. It's fun to watch in the sense that it's fun to watch your uncle dance at your wedding, especially if your uncle is a decent dancer, but I don't know if it's enough to earn the scores the other couples got so far. We'll see.
Carrie Ann compliments his hip action, which again, I don't think shaking your butt is hip action, but I guess the judges would know better than me. Len thinks the cha cha cha is tough and Donny did well, even though there were a few tiny mistakes. Bruno tells Donny that he is a credit to his profession, worked hard in rehearsal, and had a great attitude despite Bruno yelling at him and making him repeat things over and over. Well, that's why he's an Osmond. He's used to drilling routines until they're second nature. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9. Backstage, Samantha reminds Donny of Marie's doll dance, and Donny promises that he won't do that. Thank God. I still have nightmares.
While the couples get ready for the megamix, we get to see a clip package of them rehearsing. They'll be doing three different dances, the Viennese waltz, the samba, and the jive, as choreographed by Nick Kosovich, a former pro dancer on the show who's Emmy-nominated. Kelly worries that she doesn't have the dance or performing background of her competitors, and it takes her longer to learn. She sits on the sidelines for a while, icing her food. She hasn't brought it up, but she's got a pretty bad foot injury from what I understand, which can't be helping matters. Mya worries that they have to do the Viennese waltz, which brought them their lowest scores of the season. Yeah, but that was due to choreography, and not execution. Donny is worried about being an old man expecting to keep up with the youngsters. So they all have obstacles to overcome. I think it would have been more sympathetic if they'd had Mya worry about connecting with the audience, since that is something the judges have talked to her about and something that Donny and Kelly have had no trouble with throughout the season.
MEGAMIX! They start out with the Viennese waltz and everyone seems to do really well. When they transition to the samba, Kelly's skirt doesn't come off cleanly and it kind of messes her up and she gets a little behind the others. In the final jive, Kelly and Louis seem a few beats behind most of the time. Okay, here's why this was a stupid idea. First of all, it's almost impossible to compare the two female stars with Donny when they're all dancing at the same time. You automatically compare Kelly and Mya with Kym instead. And then I tried to compare Donny to the two male pros, which isn't fair either. Second, when they get out of sync, it's nearly impossible to tell who's right and who's wrong, because it's not like two couples are together and one is off. It's usually all three of them kind of dancing to their own beat. And third, they do such a short portion of each dance that just when you are starting to figure out who's doing well, they switch it up. [I also didn't like how they were in a line the entire time, without ever scrambling the couples around, so that Mya was always in the direct line of vision of the judges. -- Angel] I liked how they did it in seasons much better, with all three couples doing a routine in sync and each couple getting a short solo. Anyway, I predict the rankings will go Mya, Donny, Kelly.
Len thought it would be easier to judge being able to compare all three couples side by side, but he found them so equally matched that it was difficult to judge. Bruno finds a way to compliment each of the couples, as does Carrie Ann. They both loved how Donny kept up, how Mya rocked her samba, and Kelly's grace in the waltz. After a bit of a lovefest backstage, the judges reveal their rankings. Third place goes to Kelly and Louis, and second place to Donny and Kym, with Mya and Dmitry getting first. Which is what I predicted, and probably what I would have predicted before they even hit the floor, as would anyone who has watched this show.
And it's time for freestyle! One thing I am loving about this week's show is that it's only ninety minutes instead of two hours, so there's hardly any filler at all. What's there is just to let the dancers get ready for their routines and change costumes, which I can handle. So the first couple to freestyle is Kelly and Louis. In the clip package, Louis tells Kelly that couples have won and lost this competition based on their freestyle. Kelly is psyched that they got their first song choice, "I Will Survive." Hmm. I really thought that "Single Ladies" was the new "I Will Survive." No? Although they already did a "Single Ladies" routine last season, so I guess that's out. It's also time for Kelly to talk about her foot injuries, which require frequent breaks for icing. Louis does a handstand and Kelly immediately says, "I'm not doing that. Why would I do that? I'll look like a beached whale." But eventually, she realizes she has to trust her partner and take some chances. And she concludes by saying that she doesn't want to just get by on her charm and smile; she wants to prove that she has good dancing ability also. Well, Kelly -- go for it. We're all waiting.
Oh. She's so adorable and starts out totally fierce, wearing a caped robe that she tears off to reveal a spangly dress. But she flubs a few moves early on, just forgetting what comes and getting behind the beat. And then when they go to do their tricks, she totally screws up and pretty much falls down. She laughs at herself and keeps going, though, and makes it through the whole dance, even though there are plenty more flubs and falls throughout. I wish she could do the routine one more time, just for herself, because I think it could have been a lot of fun if she hadn't gotten off track. But as it is, as much as I love Kelly, she blew it. But had a great attitude throughout.
Bruno tells her that she's never looked more beautiful, and sometimes during the disco era, people fell on the floor. Carrie Ann says that Kelly proved that she's a survivor, because she got back up when she fell and she laughed at herself when she forgot. Len says he thoroughly enjoyed watching her despite her flubs. Backstage, Kelly laughs that one of her lifts looked like Louis pooped her out instead of a lift. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, and Bruno 8. The audience boos, but come on. That was generous on their part.
Mya and Dmitry's clip package shows them discussing what to do. Dmitry wants to do something Broadway, something familiar, and something that will connect with audiences, which is a smart strategy. I was into Donny's first dance, even though I didn't think it was technically great or interesting, because I love the song. Mya wants to do something more Vegas (?) and make history (?) and an artistic statement (????). Does she realize she's on the most mainstream show in America? If she wants to make an artistic statement, she should go perform with Adam Lambert somewhere. We don't see the whole discussion, but apparently Dmitry wins out and they get to work. Mya was worried that their routine would be too safe, but once they get working on it, she realizes that it's not conservative at all.
So they dance to "Can't Stop the Beat" from Hairspray. It's certainly high energy, and I appreciate that they didn't go with the obvious hip hop routine. But I actually, weirdly, agree with Mya that it was too safe. Mya is a very talented dancer and this was a technically perfect routine, but not an exciting routine. The choreography could have come right from the stage show and/or movie and I wouldn't be surprised. And Mya doesn't seem to connect with the music the way that she did in her '70s samba. They should have picked a song that Mya loves and worked from there. Maybe some Motown or '70s soul? Anyway, there were no mistakes but I also won't remember it tomorrow.
Carrie Ann thought it was high energy and fun but not outstanding. Agreed. She points out that they're competing with the familiar choreography, and Mya wasn't showcased. YES. Len loves Mya's talent, but he thought the dance didn't build to anything. Bruno loved the vibrancy and the joy, and she never lost the beat, but he expected something more spectacular. She should get higher scores than Kelly, but not a perfect score. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9. Exactly. That's exactly right.
The final freestyle belongs to Donny and Kym. In their clip package, Donny admits that Marie distracted him last week. Kym has Marie and Jonathan come in and try to distract him while they rehearse. At one point, Marie yells, "Look at my face!" I'm trying not to because it doesn't move and she looks younger now than when she competed on the show. Kym explains that they're doing a Broadway routine to capitalize on Donny's charisma and showmanship. Donny says he'll do whatever Kym tells him to win. So let's see how that all works out for them.
They start out their routine at the top of the stairs and there's a little faffing about, but not too much, and maybe that won't bother Len when it's the freestyle. They come down the stairs and do a very Broadway routine with lots of jazz hands and kicks and whatnot. Perfect for who Donny is, and his strengths and weaknesses. His technique is not great -- his toes aren't pointed and he doesn't extend his arms fully, and his posture still isn't there. But he sells it, and that goes a long way, especially given how Kelly flubbed it and Mya was boring.
Len calls it "an absolute showstopper." Bruno stands up and yells that Bruno is "Mr. Show Business at his best." Carrie Ann says that she loved it and she wants to welcome Donny to the Freestyle Hall of Fame along with Drew and Cheryl and Mark and Shawn. I think they were just super relieved not to have three kind of lame freestyles after they hyped this round so much. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. It's Donny's first perfect score.
So now comes the voting, and then tomorrow night the couples do one more dance that is only scored by the judges, which is useless because the judges always give everyone the same scores so it doesn't really matter (although a reader pointed out to me last season that it does matter a little, because of how the scoring system works). Regardless, it doesn't seem to change the standings all that much, and I think Donny might have just sealed the deal with that last routine. We'll find out tomorrow! Here are the final scores: