No surprise, Michael Irvin and Mark Dacascos were sent packing from "Dancing with the Stars" tonight. It's unfortunate because Irvin had been steadily improving as the weeks went on; Dacascos on the other hand seemed to lose his footing in the past few competitions regardless of his partner (Lacey Schwimmer came down with a miserable case of the flu and did not dance Monday night with Dacascos). But both celebs have been consistently toward the middle or bottom of the pack, and as we head into week 8, it's dog-eat-dog out on that dance floor and this is where it comes down absolutely to fan base. Regardless of the judges' scores we're down to a pack of scoring leaders --- there really isn't a weak link left --- so it will be up to the fans to pour on the votes.
In a rather stunning turn of events tonight, Aaron Carter found himself in the bottom three after earning his highest score of the season, a 29, on Monday night. While Irvin learned his fate early on in the proceedings, Carter and Dacascos faced off in the dance-off until only one was left standing. It wasn't even close. No matter how much the judges praised Dacascos for his cha cha, it couldn't hold a candle to the fiery jive delivered by Carter and his partner Karina Smirnoff.
On the entertainment side of things: Colbie Caillat turned in a lovely performance. Note to Derek Hough and Mark Ballas aka Ballas Hough: If you want to make your lip synching even slightly believable please dump the hand mikes for headsets. Nothing is more ridiculous than watching, uhm, singer-dancers forget to hold their mikes up to their mouths while concentrating on the dance moves---- and by gosh, don't their vocals just keep on going!
Of course, special guest star Rod Stewart showed the youngun's how it's done with a marvy rendtion of the Four Tops classic "It's the Same Old Song." Not a synching lip in sight!
On to week 8.. I'm thinking Aaron and Kelly are the weakest of the strongest links right now. But Mya has been known to displease the judges (Okay, Len Goodman) with her penchant for "gimmicks" in her dance routines. That's a slippery slope to be on this late in the game. And Donny Osmond needs to start relying more on his footwork and less on showmanship if he wants to be the one holding the mirrorball trophy at season's end. Joanna Krupa has managed to enchant the judging panel, but does she have enough of a fan base to hold up against the rest, including Aaron Carter and Kelly Osbourne who could come on like gangbusters.
Week 7 of "Dancing with the Stars" was one of the most odd if my memory serves me right... and it does.
There was judge Bruno Tonioli awarding a crummy "7" to Michael Irvin, talking about how much the former pro footballer has improved!! Moments later, after loudly pointing out to Donny Osmond that his performance was just riddled with mistakes, Bruno promptly awarded the popster an "8"! I'm sure there's a logical explanation. I'm waiting, Bruno. Still waiting.
Kudos to Aaron Carter for finally picking up a personality at the mall over the weekend. He and Karina finally clicked in their fiery jive!
It was also a night filled with snotty noses... literally. There was Lacey Schwimmer looking like the flu had completely taken over every inch of her being, until Mark smartly told her to JUST GO HOME. Alas, poor Mark had only two days to work with substitute partner Anna Trebunskya and the result was a samba that the judges said was akin to "a mess," or as Bruno so eloquently put it: "It was like Kung-Fu Panda does the samba on Planet of the Apes." Just sit back and let that comment waft over you.
In the team competition, Team paso doble (Mark, Mya, Aaron and Michael) did their stomping best but just couldn't put the sync into their in-sync dancing. The final score: 24. Did you get a look at Michael Irvin's six-pack abs?
And now back to our program....
Over on Team tango, Kelly, Donny and Joanna were just too hot and too coordinated, and their tango was a sizzling success wtih the judges. Score: 29.
Back to runny noses... there was Donny in rehearsal footage going on and on and on and on about how sick he felt. There's something nasty going around the halls of the ballroom.
It's a double-elimination Tuesday night, and I'm thinking Mark and Michael will probably be hitting the road. I for one will be sad to see Michael leaving as his scores have steadily climbed and his dancing really has improved. Mark just hasn't been able to find his stride as the weeks went on. The stunning upset might be Kelly, who has been (up until tonight's solo samba and group tango) just a bit lackluster.(She was my early pick to make it to the finals, btw).
In week seven producers added a new task for the stars: Design their partner's costumes.
The results ranged from trashy to tacky, but it was a welcome distraction from watching the judges contradict each other.
Here's the breakdown.
MICHAEL IRVIN
The lovable football player earned a season high 23 for a fox trot that Len Goodman called "brilliant." Design: He confessed that he was inspired by Barney purple.
DONNY OSMOND
He made a few missteps during his quick step, but sold it to the judges, who awarded him a 24. Design: Equal parts car wash, Las Vegas, and Carrie Fisher in "The Empire Strikes Back."
MARK DECASCOS
Plagued by a missing partner and changing choreography, the chef's samba was awarded a disappointing 19. Design: Victoria's Secret Dream Bra + a teal chiffon scarf.
MYA
Despite criticism from Len that she's too gimmicky, the singer started her fox trot behind a screen. Len's 7 dragged her score down to 25. Design: A John Travolta white suit. Yawn.
AARON CARTER
His energetic, precise jive pleased all the judges. He scored 29. Design: It looked like a feather duster collided with a gay lamp shade.
KELLY OSBOURNE
Still bristling from being called "beige" last week, Kelly's salsa was "flirty and a little dirty," said Bruno. She earned a 24. Design: Four words: Electric blue tassel pants.
JOANNA KRUPA
She built on her momentum with a dramatic rhumba, and a score of 27. Design: A white shirt that looked like it was coming apart at the seams. Call it "albino Hulk."
Tomorrow night: Another dance-off, and double elimination.
Okay, so I was half-right.... Melissa Joan Hart did indeed exit the ballroom Tuesday night on "Dancing With the Stars," as I predicted Monday. I had also predicted that Michael Irvin would be heading for the locker room because he is saddled with a partner who cannot choreograph (Anna Demidova is a good dancer, but she cannot conceptualize fun, exciting, challenging choreography).
In the end, it was Irvin in the bottom two dance-off against Louis Vito, the snowboarder who thought his dancing skills were a wee bit better than they actually were. The judges voted to keep Irvin on for another week.
I think they made the right choice, but as we head into week 7, Irvin doesn't stand a chance against the more powerful performers ahead of him on the leaderboard. In better pro hands, Irvin might be a stronger contender. He's got the heart and the dedication, but Demidova's choreography can't hold a candle to that of Derek Hough or Louis Van Amstel. Still, anything can happen this season, with scoring completely out of the realm of sensibility.
So it's week six in the ballroom and things couldn't be more boring. What has happened to this gem of a reality show? Where has all the fun gone? Most of the contestants look tired; the pros just look bored. There's very little chemistry out there on the floor this season, and for some reason Samantha Harris' inane backstage chatter has become interesting. No, not really.
But it was a boring Monday night in the ballroom, despite Len Goodman's continuing firing off some very tough criticism--- and for once, all of it very much deserved. Some of the toughness has rubbed off on Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Toniolo who were both extremely critical on this night.
The highlight of the night was the mambo danceoff, which played out like a real dance competition with all the couples out on the dance floor. Mya and Joanna were the last two standing and alas, it was the swimsuit model (Bruno's personal fave this season) who walked away with the full 10 extra points from the judges. Gotta admit she fought very hard to win that dance.
Overall, it was a night of humdrum Viennese waltzes and not too exciting jitterbugs, save for Donny and Kym, who were not technically perfect, but who, at least in their jitterbug, managed to make it look like it was fun.
Can't say the same for pro Chelsie Hightower who was dropped not once, but twice by her partner snowboarder Louis Vito. NOTE TO LOUIS: Dude, she fell so hard on her behind toward the end of the routine you could hear the thud over the music. Making it all worse was the fact that he was so absorbed in his own awkward dancing that he didn't even realize it.
Two people are going home tonight. I have to admit it's a hard one to predict. Michael Irvin could be dancing a lot better if his pro partner Anna Demidova would actually choreograph something halfway interesting. Melissa Joan Hart has a great partner in Mark Ballas but she is just not improving as the weeks go by. I dunno. Right now, it's all about fan base because other than Joanna, Mya, Donny and Kelly, the dancing is so even keel this time out it and the judges' marks so "all over the map" that it wouldn't be suprising if one of the better dancers gets the boot before the dancers at the bottom of the leaderboard.
But based on the performances last night, I'm thinking either Michael or Melissa Joan will be hanging up their dancing shoes tonight.
Obviously, I think we're all upset to see Chuck Liddell go -- although I bet he's wishing it had happened BEFORE we got the image of him ripping off ruffled sleeves in our head forever.
Best parting words ever? ''You are a bear and you are my hippo."
Any conspiracy theories as to why Karina and Aaron Carter were in the bottom two? Don't tell me Aaron no longer has a tween following. Can't the cougar demographic make up for the slack?
"Dancing With the Stars," though still one of TV's top shows, is stumbling in the ratings. The competition episodes are averaging 17.1 million viewers, down 11 percent from last fall's first four episodes, and 15 percent lower than the 2007 fall shows. Last week's results episode pulled in just 12.4 million.
And last night, desperation was in the air.
No less than three dance teams incorporated the judges' table into the choreography, with Lacey Schwimmer actually running sideways alongside it.
And then there were the props. On a night that introduced four new dances - the Charleston, the Bolero, the Lambada and the Country Two Step - the dancers relied on canes, lassos, drink trays, hay, and toxic levels of glitter to distract from any missteps.
Derek Hough went so far as to dance shirtless, and darned if it didn't work. His partner, model Joanna Krupa, kicked off her lambada by molesting judge Len Goodman before grinding her way into Hough's crotch. Bruno Tonioli praised their sexual energy, saying, "I have enough now for the next six months." Total score: 26 out of 30.
Aaron Carter disappointed with a cartoonish lambada that was "not raunchy enough," according to Goodman. Adding to the pressure, Gilles Marini - who pretty much embodies the lambada - was watching from the audience.
But Melissa Joan Hart improved her chances with a Betty Boopish Charleston that the judges raved over, awarding her her first 10, for a total of 28. They're the experts, of course. But from here, it looked as though Hart was nearly grunting with the effort.
Front-runner Mya proved that hips don't lie, with a lambada that Tonioli called "an exotic, erotic roller coaster you would want to ride over and over and over again until you are left exhausted and exhilarated." Then he collapsed with ecstasy. Mya earned two 10s, with just an 8 from tough-love Goodman to bring her down.
The redundant quote of the night came from Bruno Tonioli: "I love Liza Minnelli," he gushed.
Flappers ruled the night on "Dancing with the Stars" as Kelly Osbourne, Melissa Joan Hart and Donny Osmond paid homage to the frolicky and fun dance from those roarin' 20s. Osbourne's was by far the best, as she as partner Louis Van Amstel did their utmost in tribute to the musicals "Chicago" and "Cabaret" and the legendary Emcee himself, Joel Grey. Hart actually went out there and for the first time really cut loose, once she realized her, uhm, acting skills would definitely carry her through one of the most "performance"-driven dances. Osmond gave it his best shot, but it wasn't as crisp and "silly" as the Charleston of the two ladies who danced ahead of him. But at least he too, like Melissa, finally cut loose and just had some fun.
When it came to the lambada, nobody was going to hold a candle to Joanna Krupa, who was positively smokin' on the dance floor with partner Derek Hough. It wasn't the best lambada in the world, but it was pretty steamy at every turn.
Poor Michael Irvin. He did his best to inject some sexiness into the bolero, but then again, he's saddled with the horrible choreography of Anna Demidova, who "won" the right last year to be this year's new pro. She may be a good dancer, but she hasn't a clue how to choreograph, and more importantly, how to choreograph a dance that on some layer gives Irvin a fighting chance. Seems Anna is spending a lot of time in New York concentrating on some sort of modeling career. Nothing like a wee bit of exposure on a hit ABC show to get the modeling agents calling, hey Anna?
And then there was this year's ballroom darling, the impish snowboarder Louis Vito, who, along with pro partner Chelsea Hightower, proved that there's more to dancing the "country" 2-step than walking around the dancefloor while your pretty girl of a partner is trying her best to camouflage the fact that you're walking around the dance floor ... and walking.... and walking.... Hey Louis, the show is not called "Walking with the Stars." He still managed a 16 for a pretty pathetic routine, despite even the judges' less-than-flattering comments.
And Mya, who's tan glow was oilier than Michael Flatley's in his "Lord of the Dance" heydey, could do no wrong with her lambada... except for judge Len Goodman who just didn't think she danced up to her potential. She had to settle for a 28 on this night.
To nobody's surprise, Tom De Lay announced he's done with "Dancing with the Stars" due to stress fractures in both feet.
Of course, he made the announcement AFTER dancing last night and AFTER amassing the judges' scores and who knows how many viewers' votes that COULD have gone to one of the other contestants tonight who at this writing are "in jeopardy" of leaving the ballroom (De Lay was "saved" by the votes tallied).
There should be a new rule on dancing: You get seriously injured (and I'm talking the kind of injuries such as stress fractures in BOTH feet that can leave you recouperating for a long, LONG time), you leave the show. It's not fair to the rest of the pack who are fighting for every single viewer vote.
Whoever is eliminated tonight can thank Tom De Lay on the way out of the ballroom.
Seems like "Dancing with the Stars" missed a priceless moment last night .... radaronline.com has video of what we DIDN'T see during the show's broadcast Monday night... ringside guest Paula Abdul's fingernails and toenails. All 20 digits were decked out with Simon Cowell's face. Yep, and what lovely portraits of Cowell they are!
Seems like she was paying tribute to her former "American Idol" pal in honor of his recent 50th birthday bash in London.
One awkward kiss deserves another.... and so it went tonight on "Dancing with the Stars" as Kelly Osbourne followed up Donny Osmond's goofy kiss of judge Bruno Tonioli, by planting a mighty powerful kiss on the unsuspecting lips of her pro partner Louis Van Amstel at the very end of their sultry samba. Poor Louis, he just stood there and licked his wound... seemed like he may have actually cut his bottom lip from the force of Osbourne's smooch. And what was that expression on the face of Osbourne's boyfriend Luke Worrall in the gallery? He didn't seem to appreciate the kiss much. Nope, not much. Nope.
At the end of the night it was mighty Mya at the top of the leaderboard, not that it's an exciting board to top so far this season. But she did turn in the best dance of the night.
Poor Debi Mazar, her boa-inspired (that's feathers, not snakes) skirt was as ridiculous as her dance steps tonight. Alas poor Maks Schmerkovskiy is probably headed for the exit in the next two weeks. That's because Tom De Lay will go home Tuesday night. I know he's wounded (stress fractures of the feet) but he is just not that interesting or fun to watch, regardless of what Carrie Ann Inaba says.
Prediction for Tuesday night's elimination: Tom De Lay. But watch out Debi Mazar!
It was one painful step for Tom DeLay, and one giant leap for non-partisan politics when the Hammer danced the samba last night -- against doctor's orders, no less. With stress fractures in both feet, DeLay insisted on performing. "I'm insane or stupid," he joked. Representing Republicans in tight red pants, with Cheryl Burke dressed as a star-spangled Democrat, the rump-shaking 62-year-old earned a standing ovation for his interpretation of War's "Why Can't We Be Friends?" He was awarded a judges' score of 15 out of 30.
Other ballroom oddities:
*A grim Paula Abdul, sitting in the audience, showed "American Idol" what they're missing. "Mr. Goodman, you're Mr. Badman right now," she scolded, adding that she just might call him "Sime-Len" ("Simon"). Ha. It got fairly desperate by the time she babbled, "Carrie Anne, I think you and I should start making out."
*When judge Bruno Tonioli called his rhumba "airy fairy," Donny Osmond lunged over and pretended to make out with him. "I don't think they're going to let me back to Utah anymore," he said.
*Mya earned the first 10s of the season with her leggy rhumba, held back only by Len Goodman's "7" paddle for a total of 27.
*Debi Mazar wore a skirt that looked like it was assembled with the tails of skinned Muppets.
*Unfounded online rumors -- perpetuated here -- indicate that Karina Smirnoff, 31, is dating partner Aaron Carter, 21. Since there is precious little time for dinner and a movie during the season, I assume "dating" is a euphemism. And that she is doing it all to torture ex Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
*Apparently it is impossible to dance the rhumba without doing the splits.
*Favorite contestant insight: Chuck Liddell gets weekly pedicures with his daughter.
*Foreplay alert: Chelsie Hightower and Louie Vito are conducting their courtship via camera, gushing about their "chemistry" together. I guess you just learn a lot about a person when you're stretching her leg behind her ear.
Tom De Lay, suffering from crushing stress fractures in both feet and against the advice of his doctors and "Dancing with the Stars" producers, still managed to pull off a samba with partner Cheryl Burke. It wasn't great by any samba measures, and he was visibly mouthing the count of the steps as the duo traversed the dance floor (other dancers have been roundly chastised for this by the judging panel).
His score of 15 was way inflated thanks to Carrie Ann's "6" for a really poor performance (and not a word about his counting!). But then the judging this season has been so unpredictable and so off-kilter. Even the ballroom audience doesn't know whether to boo or applaud; mostly they just moan.
TMZ.com is reporting that little Kelly Osbourne got quite a burning sensation from her "Dancing with the Stars" experience.
Quoting the Web site: "Kelly just tweeted she had to get her "DWTS" costume fixed so it would cover the fresh burns she suffered after using a British line of body fragrances called Impulse Body Spray. She wrote: 'Never use impulse body spray from the UK i sprayed it on myself and now have really bad burns all over my body.'"
The Web site goes on to say that they "contacted Impulse's manufacturer Unilever in the U.S. -- which also makes Axe Body Spray -- who said: "We are looking into the incident that Kelly Osbourne reported, and appreciate her feedback and input."
For photo of Kelly with her, uhm, burn, visit www.tmz.com.
Is it just me, or does that impish Louie Vito (who is charming the pants off of the "Dancing with the Stars" ballroom this season) bear an eerie resemblance to former child star Mason Reese? Look closely. Seriously. Take a real, close look.
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