It's Country Night! Too bad they didn't cross-promote this with Nashville, or maybe they did. Are the County Music Awards this week? They are! What a shocker! Anyway, the show opens with the troupe dancing to a song about a pontoon boat. I wish I were kidding. That seems a little insensitive given Hurricane Sandy and all. I am kidding about that one. It's a dumb song, and the luster of the troupe is even lower now that the All-Stars can dance as well as, if not better than, the troupe. That was Little Big Town, in case you wanted to check out the song.
Gilles has the cha cha this week, as well as the group dance. Gilles gets in a little promotion for his ABC Family show as Peta visits him on the set so that they can continue working on his routine. His actual routine is... sort of off-putting to me. I can't tell if it's the V-neck shirt that goes down almost to his navel, or the shiny, shiny leather (vinyl?) pants that are slightly too high-waisted, but instead of sexy, I'm just getting a really feminine vibe from his dancing. I mean, he's got great moves and he really nails the routine, and maybe it was done on purpose since their song is "Man, I Feel Like a Woman," but it made me feel weird and confused.
Judges? Len loves that Gilles gives it a hundred percent, but it was under control with great attack. Bruno thinks Gilles sold the routine, which was both sexy and kinky. Carrie Ann makes a big joke about tying herself into her seat, and then says that it was creative and classy and sexy, but she wants Gilles to watch his hands. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9.5
Sabrina and Louis are on the top of the leaderboard based on last week's scores, and they have the rumba this week. Sabrina talks about how their song this week is personal for her, because she had a boyfriend who was addicted to drugs and she couldn't help him. Louis hopes to use that to inspire their routine. Yes, let's exploit your personal tragedies to get votes. Why not? Their routine is a fantastic rumba, but it's sort of Sabrina by the numbers. It's sad that the only thing that would make her interesting to me at this point would be if she totally screwed it up.
Judges? Bruno loved the shapes and figures that she made, and the emotion that she showed. Carrie Ann gives Sabrina a hug, and Len and Bruno hug one another in mock solidarity. Carrie Ann says that Sabrina showed vulnerability and it was breathtaking. Len thought her dancing had great balance and dynamics. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. That's their first perfect score, right? Don't we have many, many weeks left?
Val and Kelly have the tango this week, and their routine last week put them at the bottom of the leaderboard. Neither Kelly nor Val has ever made it this far in the competition; Kelly's season was only six weeks long. Kelly struggles to learn the tango, despite plenty of rehearsal time, just because it's so complex. Anyway, despite the complexity of the routine, Kelly does just fine with the footwork. Her upper body in the first half of the routine looks a little stiff; I get that they're doing the tango, which requires sharp movements and all, but she looks brittle instead of graceful. She relaxes as the routine goes on. Her solo at the beginning is not nearly as complex as the solos that the two competitors did, though. Overall, a good routine but not as good as Sabrina and Gilles. No surprise there.
Judges? Carrie Ann thinks this was a return to form for Kelly, in a good way. Len thought it was hectic, but they kept it under control. He also notes the problems with Kelly's neck. Bruno calls it an amazing comeback. Scores: Carrie Ann 9, Len 9, and Bruno 9. Those are their best solo scores in a while.
Melissa is still having neck issues after her injury last week, and Tony is a little frustrated because she can't move it. They do have the Viennese waltz, which is a godsend, since it's mostly in hold and she doesn't have the snap her neck around, and they are shooting for a 10. Melissa opens the dance with her solo, which is beautiful and graceful. Tony choreographs to Melissa's strengths: lots of leg lifts and turns. Her crop top is distracting though; I'm jealous of her abs, especially post-pregnancy, but it's a romantic song and routine, and I'm just looking at her stomach.
Judges? Len gives them a standing ovation. Bruno compares her to Syd Charisse, which is a huge compliment, although I don't know if Melissa knows that. Carrie Ann loved it, but she thinks that Melissa is still dancing a bit too inwardly. Len and Bruno couldn't disagree more. Scores: Carrie Ann 9.5, Len 10, and Bruno 10.
Derek and Shawn rehearse, and Shawn seems distracted and weird. Derek notes it, and Shawn admits that her knee, which she hurt while screwing around with Sabrina during rehearsals for the group dance, is acting up. Derek makes her go sit down and ice it. I just watched that whole thing and realized that I have no idea what their actual dance was. It's a great country routine, don't get me wrong, and Shawn doesn't miss a step, although she does hunch over a bit at times. But the difficulty from their routines isn't in evidence here, and I wonder if Derek had to tone it down a bit because of her knee injury. It's still great, though, and from anyone else, I wouldn't even notice that it was a tiny bit easier than usual.
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Judges? Bruno tells Sabrina that she's sexy, and they fused county and cha cha cha well. Ah, that's what they were doing! Way better fusion than Gilles and Peta. Carrie Ann agrees with Bruno, and she loves how Sabrina finishes every move, although her solo could have been better. Len thought the choreography was fantastic, but there were too many gimmicks and not enough dancing. The crowd boos. Derek guarantees Len some real dancing week. Scores: Carrie Ann 9.5, Len 8.5, and Bruno 10. Boy, Len wasn't kidding.
Totally forgot that Kirstie was still on this show. Anyway, Kirstie and her horsehair have the rumba this week, and she spends more of her time arguing with Maks about how she can't do it and she's too old, and he tries to push her, and she pushes back and it all makes me tired. Can we just agree, as a nation, that her time is up? I guess I have to watch her dance first. Okay, it's actually a decent rumba. Kirstie is always fairly graceful, and it's a slower dance, so she can actually execute the moves. I'm just tired of her schtick.
Judges? Carrie Ann thought Kirstie was the "queen of sexy" and she got lost in the dance. Len thought it was clean, clear, and classy, but he would have wanted more hip action. Carrie Ann disagrees and Kirstie demonstrates. So, Len demonstrates and Tom makes fun of him and Len goes grumpy Gus. Bruno thought that demonstrated a real woman's beauty, and it was classy and elegant. Scores: Carrie Ann 9.5, Len 8.5, and Bruno 9.5. It's super cute how all of the other couples are so excited for them, but I don't know if they deserved it.
Apolo admits that he and Karina had a fight before their dance last week, and it affected their dancing. This week, they are telling a story about a woman who's dying of cancer and only feels safe in her lover's arms. Well, that's uplifting. Anyway, Apolo worries about his ability to show his emotions during the dance. You know, I probably don't give Apolo enough credit for being a great dancer. He's really good and makes it look effortless, and this was a beautiful dance.
Judges? Len thought it was light and had great musicality, and he LOVED it. Bruno thought Apolo led Karina around the floor with ease, and his movements were excellent. Carrie Ann thought it was poetry in motion. Scores: Carrie Ann 10, Len 10, and Bruno 10. That's their first perfect score.
Emmitt and Cheryl are the last to perform before the group dance, and they have the foxtrot to "Islands in the Stream," one of my favorite songs. Emmitt is freaked out about having a solo, especially in a slow song, and especially to country. I can't believe no one's called Emmitt out on his pancake hands. He looks stiff for most of the routine, but his solo is great and the crowd goes wild.
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Judges? Bruno loves that Emmitt has fun with it and gets the crowd to join in, even if he lost time here and there. Carrie Ann thought they seemed a little out-of-sync at the beginning, but he redeemed himself with the solo. Len thought it lacked finesse but it was great entertainment. Scores: Carrie Ann 8.5, Len 8.5, and Bruno 9.5.
Time for the group dance, and one couple will earn two bonus points from the judges. Let's watch a roll-in package about the rehearsals. They brought in guest choreographers to teach them the routine, and Emmitt immediately starts having trouble. So does Kelly. And eventually, so does everyone. And with everyone dancing together, it gets a little chaotic. So let's see how this turns out.
The opening to the group routine has all of the women dancing together, and it really demonstrates how much slower Kirstie is than the others. Emmitt screws up early on and turns the wrong way, but gets back into it. When they go into the solo bits, the couples you would expect try high-flying tricks, and none of them actually pull them off except maybe Apolo and Karina. I actually liked Kirstie and Kelly's solos the best because they were simple, but they executed them really well. It all depends on whether the judges want to reward risk-taking or not.
Judges? Len thought it was really fun and fabulous, and he singles out Kirstie. Bruno thought it was "fully loaded" and he points out Apolo's lift and Melissa's lasso, but he pronounces it "lazzooed" and no one knows what he's talking about. Carrie Ann points out Sabrina, Gilles, and Kelly as having the best solos. So there's no consensus, but now the judges have to decide who gets the extra points. You can hear them arguing while Tom tries to throw to the recap.
And finally, Tom gets everyone to quiet down and awards the extra two points to Kirstie and Maks. Surprisingly, I agree. The extra two points don't really change the order; they just make it so Kirstie and Emmitt are tied instead of Kirstie getting in seventh place alone. Here's your leaderboard:
Sabrina and Louis: 29 + 29.5 + 30 = 88.5
Apolo and Karina: 27 + 29.5 + 30 = 86.5
Melissa and Tony: 27 + 29.5 + 29.5 = 86
Shawn and Derek: 27 + 29.5 + 28 = 84.5
Gilles and Peta: 29.5 + 27 + 27.5 = 84
Emmitt and Cheryl: 29 + 27 + 26.5 = 82.5
Kirstie and Maks: 25.5 + 27 + 27.5 + 2 = 82.5
Kelly and Val: 24.5 + 27 + 27 = 78.5
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