I watched the Monday night dancing portion of Dancing With The Stars yesterday morning. I got myself a cup of coffee, switched on my DVR and pulled it up so I could sit back and enjoy it again. I love seeing the dances, the costumes, the music... without thinking too hard about who I want to vote for.
As far as costumes go, there was a lot of fun stuff, a few stinkers, and some really sexy bits...
I loved Cheryl's pink "Tush" panties! It's a shame we only got to see them once!
Karina looked elegant & sophisticated in her old fashioned dress and while The Situation has probably never worn clothes so tight in all his life, the uniform looked great on him!
Speaking of military uniforms, I loved Anna's old-school military uniform hot-pants and I thought the finger curls were adorable! I wasn't a big fan of the strange sequin-outlined breast pockets she gave Kurt...
...but Kurt's pockets were certainly not as odd as the electrical tape wrapped thighs of Tony! What is that about? And what's going on with Audrina's fishnet chest? I'm glad she didn't get tangled up in her own shirt!
Corky did a far better job with his suit and Florence pulls off the wet look quite well with her plethora of sequins.
Maks didn't quite wear a suit, but even in a bowtie, you can't deny he's just sexy. And who doesn't like a cutie in pigtails & plaid?!
Jennifer's gold flapper dress with the side cut-outs looked pretty hot. And like I said, the ringlet extensions worked very well with the whole thing. I love both of their faces in this picture! They're so into the performance - it's great.
Lacey in her feather duster dress, mentioned below, was different but I thought it fit their dance and wasn't ugly. And Chelsie's midriff exposing outfits can't go wrong!
I wasn't especially impressed with Bristol's layers of lavender,
and the zebra/hot-pink combo on Margaret didn't do it for me either. but I won't hold it against them since it's not "Fashion-Shows With The Stars".
Here are this weeks standings:
Jennifer Grey - 24
Audrina Patridge - 23
Kyle Massey - 22
Bristol Palin - 22
Rick Fox - 21
Brandy - 21
Kurt Warner - 21
Florence Henderson - 19
The Situation - 18
Margaret Cho - 18
Michael Bolton - 12
Last night, tuning into the results show, we first learned that Kyle & Lacey are safe & Brandy & Maks are "in jeopardy". But you know how that goes. Half the contestants will be left "in jeopardy" until the end, but only one star is actually going home.
I love the little fight going on between Len & Bruno over Michael Bolton's scores Monday night. It's funny that Len lectured Bruno on being nice. I thought Bruno was kind of an ass myself. He can say it was terrible, he can make a joke at his expense even, but does he really have to say it was the worst he's ever seen? Typically, the judges give weekly pointers that the contestants can work on. It's pretty mean-spirited to offer nothing constructive. I've often made the observation that the judges and hosts on DWTS seem to genuinely enjoy each other. I imagine them going home happy with their jobs and co-workers overall. I don't get that same vibe when watching a show like American Idol and I don't like the undertones of actual hostility I sometimes sense between the judges of AI. I like my judges & co-hosts happy thanks. Please adjust the attitude before next week Bruno.
But Len ended the squabble and announced that Kyle and Lacey were the judges pick for the encore dance tonight. I think Kyle's got a lot of musicality, he's incredibly engaging, and he's just plain good. Now, I don't think it's unfair to call Kyle chubby - don't get me wrong, I think he's adorable! But I wasn't expecting him to be as quick & agile as he is. I'm pleasantly surprised with Kyle's awesome performances. I loved Len's comment last night about how it looked like Kyle was caught up in the midst of a huge feather duster! The skirt was a bit odd but I liked it. The whole thing worked for them.
Next, Janelle Monae sang Tightrope and I'm a little curious what was going on up in that hair, but I really dug the James Brown vibe she had going. Honestly I hadn't heard of this girl before last night but I might check out more of her music. That was pretty entertaining.
You may have noticed the crazy level of booing in the ballroom last night at one point and there was a lot of news coverage later, claiming the audience began to boo as soon as they saw the cameras & Tom Bergeron were setting up to shoot a segment with Sarah Palin. DWTS came back with raw footage of another camera which indicates the audience was booing the low scores given to Jennifer Grey & Derek. Some of the audience was even chanting "Nine! Nine! Nine!" so it seems clear that the booing was not at the political figure. Though
according to some bloggers that's what it was about. Lets just consider both possibilities for a moment: Clearly there were people in the audience chanting nine and booing the scores. But I know cameras set up in preparation for the next segment in a live show and I have no doubt that some audience members didn't care about the already great scores of Jennifer & Derek, don't like Sarah Palin and took the opportunity to boo at her. I'm pretty sure the booing was a combination of the two. I have no doubt there was at least one audience member who was genuinely under the impression they were booing at Sarah Palin, which means they in fact were. No matter if others were genuinely booing the judges scores. Still, Jennifer & Derek thanked the audience for their show of support & all was put aside.
Of the next couples up, Florence & Corky are safe as well as Bristol & Mark. Which means that in this go-round, The Situation & Karina are "in jeopardy". Next Audrina & Tony are safe and Jennifer & Derek join them immediately, safe as well. How funny - they only had two couples up in that round and both were told they're safe tonight. I love how they love to mess with the contestants minds!
Next was a packet of the pro's talking about their rituals and routines on show-day. They do stuff like pass a football back & forth, eat chocolate cake and sniff the ballroom floor. Most of them keep their star partner close and all outside distractions away. Most of them have got a lot of experience in this style of competition by now and are very clear on what works for them.
The Macy's Star's of Dance put on an amazing ballet/cirque style dance to Every Little Thing She Does is Magic. And after an endless commercial break, Seal sang The Weight Of My Mistakes. Cheryl, Lacey, Kym & Chelsie came onto the floor in fluttery little pink nighties & wavy flowing hair, dancing like little slumber party nymphs around him. I wonder if we could get a nightie clad nymph for my next party.
Of course, how could they air a packet about pro's and their show-day rituals without also talking to the contestants about their thoughts & feelings so far in the game. Some of them talked about how intimidating it is going up against big competitors and real stars - I'm sure it would be surreal for a reality star like Audrina or The Situation to suddenly find themselves making friends with people like Florence Henderson or Rick Fox. And of course the serious competitors like Rick Fox, say things like they've played to win at everything they've ever tried in life and this dance competition is no different.
Kurt, Michael, Rick & Margaret were last up and we found Kurt & Anna and Margaret & Louis were safe, but before we could learn the fate of Michael or Rick, Tom sent us to another commercial! Or ten.
So back to the stage and the 4 remaining contestants are all up in lights. Rick & Cheryl are told right away they're safe. Remaining are The Situation & Karina, Brandy & Maks and Michael & Chelsie. Aaaaand it's another commercial. Of course. At this point I think Michael Bolton should go home. I hate to make people feel bad so I hate what Bruno said. especially since it's likely Michael could go home in a minute. That really sours his elimination & might send him home feeling bad. But despite that, I think he's the weakest dancer & should be the next to be sent away.
Brandy & Maks are safe!
And yep, The Situation & Karina are safe and Michael Bolton & Chelsie Hightower are sent home in week two. Tom asked Michael about the camaraderie he experienced and if he expected that. I would imagine the consistency with which the stars get so close season after season is owed to the fact that they all share the condition of being completely immersed in unfamiliar territory.So hopefully Michael has made a few life-long friends that will make all of Bruno's words insignificant in the end. Aside from that, I do think he was the right choice to go home.
Next week it could go a couple of ways. Florence could get a dance that's tough for her - maybe one with some hip action required? And that could negatively impact her overall standing. Or, one of Margaret & The Situation will step up a bit and the other will go home. We'll see...
