Kelly has surprised everyone, including (I bet) the producers, who cast her in the ‘Steve-O Crackpot / Recovering Addict / Comic Punching Bag’  role. She was clearly CLEARLY earmarked to leave this week; they gave her the freakin’ kiss of death dance: the Quickstep! No one survives the Quickstep!!

Don’t agree at all. The producers want to keep Sharon Osborne happy. (There’s so much incest in the reality TV shows AI, AGT, DWTS.) I’m sure it was no mistake that Hugh Hefner was interviewed to “support” Joanna. Mostly women watch the show (and, more than men who do, vote) and, liberal or conservative, young or old, are very likely to be disgusted by Hefner. The producers knew that. Joanna probably knew that –and that they were essentially kicking her off the show and that’s why she was crying on Monday. She and Derek both seemed to know they were going. Thank God the producers didn’t do that to Brooke Burke, who was so talented and charming.

Oh and Louis is my favorite pro ever, love him

I’m kind of afraid to ask, but wasn’t Whitney Houston supposed to perform tonight?

JosieX – She’s scheduled for next week’s results show.

I actually like all three pros in the finals, but I’m very happy to see Louis there.

Kelly has surprised everyone, including (I bet) the producers, who cast her in the “Steve-O Crackpot / Recovering Addict / Comic Punching Bag” role. She was clearly CLEARLY earmarked to leave this week; they gave her the freakin’ kiss of death dance: the Quickstep! No one survives the Quickstep!! Kelly actually has some natural ability and has been surprisingly endearing. Her dancing has dramatically improved each week. She’s the underdog, for sure, and America loves an underdog. Don’t count her out.

Mya is in a different league, dancing wise. She could be a pro. In fact, she did appear as a DANCER in the movie Chicago so… she is a pro. Even so, Mya is far and away the best dancer and to my knowledge never did ballroom dancing before this. She’s always fan-freaking-tastic, week after week. I’m just sayin’…. the girl has had some training.

Donny’s had years of training too, as a showman, an entertainer, and yes – as a dancer. He’s appeared in musical theater as well as on the pop stage. He’s also 51 years old. His sons are older than many of the former winners of the show!!! He’s a good dancer but not the best, and though he’s in great shape, he is losing steam now. Even so, you KNOW he has a huge voting block – his fans are likely the core demographic of the show.

I’m with MJ, that Donny has the best chance to win. Mya is the best dancer, but from a fanbase perspective, I think Kelly has the only chance of beating him.

So thank God it’s not about dancing perspective!

Then they should really rename the show to Performing with the Stars. Nigel would be yelling at the voters if he were associated with the show.

I said before the season even began that Donny would be in the Finale, and probably win it, whether his dancing deserved it or not. Which is a shame, because the show is supposed to be about dancing.

You can improve drastically from poor to fair but once you’re good then the change from good to very good is far less dramatic and harder for amateur eyes to spot, tho it still takes the same amount of effort.

Well said.

so Joanna and Derek got the boot? If so, then from a dancing perspective it won’t even be close. Donny and Kelly aren’t that good of dancers.

So thank God it’s not about dancing perspective!

Mya leaves me absolutely cold- I wouldn’t care if she danced with the precision of a mechanical marvel, I wouldn’t vote for her.
I vote Kelly because I like her and I want to, but think Donny has a better chance at winning. I may have to eat my preseason words and vote for him to keep Mya from winning.

I usually vote for the star who has grown the most over the season. I love the transformation as a dancer and as a person. It can be a very humbling experience to stand in front of those judges.

I will also admit that I like some of the pros more than others and that it does affect my voting some. But at the end of the day, I vote for the star who connects with the audience and who is the most improved, not the star who is necessarily the ‘best’  dancer.

Idk to me that’s like grading for effort in schools, or medals for most improved player on little league teams… It’s one of the aspects of American culture I don’t like. Besides, when you start off good, there is less room for obvious improvement. You can improve drastically from poor to fair but once you’re good then the change from good to very good is far less dramatic and harder for amateur eyes to spot, tho it still takes the same amount of effort. At a certain point you start to plateau. So voting for most improved pretty much guarantees that you can’t pick the best dancer. I understand where you’re coming from tho, just sharing why that doesn’t work as much for me

I will also admit that I like some of the pros more than others and that it does affect my voting some. But at the end of the day, I vote for the star who connects with the audience and who is the most improved, not the star who is necessarily the “best” dancer.