What is even happening this week? There are two performance nights and no results? No elimination? And also I saw on Twitter today that Melissa's head fell off during rehearsal or something? What is happening? Let's watch and find out, shall we?
Tom explains everything for me: they have to split the performances into two nights because they only have an hour for the show tonight due to the Presidential debates. Okay, that makes sense, I guess. Kelly and Val are up first and Kelly looks a lot less dramatic than last week, thankfully. She was really freaking me out last week. In rehearsals, Val explains that they need to keep up their momentum, but Kelly's having trouble with the choreography because she's working long days on General Hospital and then has hours of rehearsals at night.
They have the samba this week, and her guilty pleasure is "I Want You Back," and I think I made my feelings about this song known when the artist was on to perform it. In short, I hate it. Their routine is very bouncy, which is appropriate for a samba, and I don't see any technical mistakes, but the choreography is just kind of boring. Maybe I'm letting my feelings for the song influence my judgment. I mean, it's fine, but there's not enough acting. I didn't get a sense of the dance telling any kind of story, and that's been one of Kelly's strengths.
Judges? Len didn't like all the faffing about at the beginning and some of it was too raunchy, but there were elements that he liked. Bruno liked Kelly's spins although he thought her samba bounce was a little forced at times. Carrie Ann thought Kelly's lower body looked great but her upper body was too tense, and it felt disconnected. No one mentions the terrible song. I guess that would be bad judging form. Scores: Carrie Ann 8, Len 8, and Bruno 8.5.
Gilles chose "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston because it came out when he was fifteen and it was the first time he had "great time with ladies." So he lost his virginity to it? Anyway, Gilles and Pete are doing the rumba, and Gilles thinks their dance will cause people at home to pause the TV and go make a baby. Good Lord, let's hope not. I've got enough on my hands with twins.
Here's the problem with dancing to such an iconic song by Whitney Houston: Whitney Houston isn't singing it. So the entire time, I'm distracted by the fact that, while the band's singer is serviceable, she's no Whitney. No one is. Anyway, they go full-on Bodyguard with Gilles wearing a gun holster and Peta wearing an evening gown, and it's a lot of "Come here, go away, no come back, I can't, I must" sort of thing. You know how it goes. It's good (although I think Gilles's hip action could be better) but the song ruined it for me. That's two in a row!
Judges? Bruno thought it was a master class, and was impressed that they maintained their rhythm and musicality with an a capella section. And then Carrie Ann gets all fired up, yells, "Let the baby making begin!" and totally falls off her chair! Gilles and Tom run over to help her up and Len is seriously dying laughing. But Carrie Ann fell flat on her back and Tom tells her that he didn't think, when she yelled about baby making, she was going to get into position. RACY! Len thought the dance should have been nominated for an Oscar, although he didn't like how much Peta lifted up her leg. Well. That was something. After the break, they show a replay of Carrie Ann falling and it was pretty hilarious. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 9.5, and Bruno 10. Man, I am not feeling the dancing tonight. I thought last week was amazing but this week has not blown me away so far.
Kirstie and Maks (who should absolutely go home this week, and I'm saying this without having seen their dance, but come on) are up . Maks tells Kirstie that with Bristol gone, everyone left in the competition is an amazing dancer. Brutal honesty, and he's right. Kirstie doesn't think that all of their remaining competitors are amazing entertainers, so she thinks there's some wiggle room for her. The problem is, Kirstie is having trouble picking up the routine, and Maks is getting frustrated. During camera blocking on Sunday, Kirstie screws up and starts crying, and tells the camera that she should be better and she wants to do better. Anyway, they have the quickstep to "Mrs. Robinson" and I don't know what is going on with Kirstie's mouth but I thought she was chewing gum for the first half of the dance. She also seems to be preoccupied with getting the steps right, and her personality (usually her strong point) doesn't come though. I mean, come on. A dance about her seducing Maks? That's her wheelhouse! But I didn't get that at all. And she screwed up at least once. Not good. I will say that Kirstie looks the prettiest she's looked all season, though.
Judges? Carrie Ann thought that was Kirstie's best dance by far. Really? Len agrees that it was her best dance. Bruno thought Kirstie delivered and there was a good variety of footwork, despite the slight mix-up. Is this like last week with Bristol where they just said nice things and hoped she'd get voted off? Scores: Carrie Ann 8.5, Len 8.5, and Bruno 8.5. Kirstie is thrilled; it's her highest scores so far. I didn't think they were better than Kelly and Val.
1 2 3 4
The final individual dance (and I could really get behind this one-hour show) is Emmitt and Cheryl. They are doing the samba to "Copacabana" and everyone makes a big deal about the fact that he chose that song. Ha ha, he's a football player and that's kind of a gay song! Shut up, people who think that's funny. Well, Emmitt is just having a ball with this one. That's the old Emmitt I remember. He's sparkly and has great hip action, and you can see the samba bounce. Great job.
Judges? Len is already yelling and you can't hear it because the crowd is yelling so loudly, but he liked it. Bruno thinks Emmitt makes the difficult samba look easy and he creates a party in the room. Carrie Ann thinks Emmitt has "the samba swagger" and no one does it better. Scores: Carrie Ann 9.5, Len 9.5, and Bruno 10. Brooke screws up and says twice that it's the highest score of the competition (it's not) because some producer screams in her ear that it's Emmitt's highest score of the competition, and she corrects herself.
You guys, this Brad Pitt Chanel commercial? I wish I could be privy to the phone call that George Clooney placed giving him shit for it. Because you know that happened, and you know it was brutal.
Time for the first team dance! In rehearsals, Melissa cracked her neck and got diagnosed with a herniated disc in her upper neck. But she's been cleared to dance! So don't worry! Anyway, they are dancing to "Call Me Maybe" in the group freestyle. For their theme, they are pretending to be cheerleaders and football players which lets them do a ton of lifts and tricks. Melissa's injury happened while they were doing camera blocking yesterday, so at least she had already learned the routine.
They start with the girls sitting at school desks, bobbing their heads, and they're out of sync, but that's really the only misstep in the whole routine. They quickly move into Sabrina doing a back walkover and Shawn doing a basket toss. Sabrina and Louis have the first solo and I think it's the best one. Great dancing and a cool walkover lift that fits the theme. Derek and Shawn come out and there's a great transition where they dance with Louis and Sabrina. I think Shawn is a great hip hop dancer but I was kind of expecting more lifts from them? Maybe they didn't want to outshine their teammates. Tony and Melissa also look great; Melissa's cheerleading experience must have been a big help with the choreography. And then Tony and Louis swing Melissa's body around while Apolo slides under her to begin his solo. It's funny; I think Karina looks the worst in this routine (of the women) because this just isn't her style of dancing. The other three women outshine her a bit. They end with a cheerleader formation and Karina and Apolo are in front with Karina doing a half-assed split. It's not a great cheerleading routine, but it was a great dance routine.
1 2 3 4
Judges? Len thought it was tight and the transitions between the solos were great and creative. Bruno loved the flow of the choreography and said he could barely distinguish the pros from the stars. Carrie Ann does a cheer and says it was amazing. Backstage, Brooke rushes through her regular questions and doesn't even listen to the answers. Scores: Carrie Ann 9.5, Len 10, and Bruno 10. So a 29.5 will be added to their individual scores tomorrow night.
See you all tomorrow night. No pressure "Gangnam Style" team. Your individual scores so far:
Gilles and Peta: 29.5
Emmitt and Cheryl: 29
Kirstie and Maks: 25.5
Kelly and Val: 24.5
1 2 3 4