To kick things off, let’s take one last look at last night’s final judges leader-board:
Katherine & Mark- 39/40
Jaleel & Kym- 37/40
William & Cheryl- 36/40
Donald & Peta- 34/40
Maria & Derek- 30/40
Melissa & Maks- 30/40
Roshon & Chelsie- 28/40
Gladys & Tristan- 24/40
Motown performance night brought us some great entertainment with live performances from the actual artists singing their classic tunes. We should really have live performances like this each week. It makes the dances that much more exciting to watch. Couple that with some impressive routines and we had a really fun night of dancing. But here comes the difficult part. I am going to try (though epically fail as I usually do) to come up with some predictions as to who might be in trouble tonight.
As usual, I think Katherine is safe for sure. She has continued to turn in great performances and the judges have no problem handing out those 10’s to her. She also won the Motown marathon and added ten extra points to her total score. Last week, Jaleel was in the bottom but finally came back swinging last night with his best routine since week one. I think his fans turned out to vote to make sure he is safe this week and I imagine he will be.
I have a pretty good feeling about Donald. I think he and Katherine are the only two real locks for the finale at this point, so I think he is safe. Len is eventually (maybe even next week) going to give him that 10 he wants so bad and going by the quality of his routines, he will deserve it. Finally, we have Maria. I was surprised that she was eliminated so early from the marathon but if you saw the small segment they showed with her dancing, she deserved the boot. Derek was giving it his all but Maria was really lazy in those Cha-Cha-Cha movements. She scored decent enough in her regular routine and has been safe since week one, so I feel confident that her name will be called for safety this week. I’m not as sure with her as I am with the celebrities mentioned before but no guts, no glory. :)
And now, things get very tricky. I would be more inclined to declare that William will be safe but many folks on here and around the net are calling him out for a lackluster Rumba. They feel as though the judges are scoring too high and that he isn’t bringing it like he should. If this opinion translates to the masses that vote, he could find himself in jeopardy for the first time this season. Roshon is interesting. A few weeks back, Carrie Ann called him the best male dancer on the show. He has been in the bottom, so I am not sure how strong his connection with the audience is at this point. Some low scores last night could result in a trip to the bottom though once again, he doesn’t deserve it. Heck, even William & Cheryl commented last night after the show that Roshon was robbed of higher scores and did amazing.
And now, how about those final two ladies that I keep thinking will hit the bottom each week and never do? Melissa and Gladys. Gladys was at home with Motown but her scores were weak and the dancing as usual, left something to be desired. But her fans could rally. Would the show really put her in jeopardy during Motown week? Melissa came out strong last night, delivering what I thought was her strongest routine of the competition. She is another one with fans behind her. Did they turn out again last night and vote or did they cool off thinking she was safe after finally doing well? To make things easier for myself (and cheating a bit), I will say the bottom is going to be a combination of Gladys, Melissa, Roshon, and William. If someone else ends up having to compete in the dance duel, it wouldn’t shock me. Honestly, only Katherine and Donald being in the bottom would be a true shock in my eyes.
As far as the duel goes, the judges will save Roshon and William if they are against anyone other than one another. And I feel as though Gladys and Melissa will be booted as long as they aren’t matched up to compete. So if we end up seeing a Roshon Vs. William or Gladys Vs. Melissa duel tonight, I have no idea what will go down. And like last week, I am really interested in seeing if the judges are going to base their decisions on just the duel as they say or if they end up saving someone because of weeks of good will due to stronger dancing.
We should get some more Motown fun tonight and the results should be intriguing to say the least. Let’s get this started with the usual segment by segment recap. :)
Segment 1
Cue dramatic opening video package highlighting last night. The show begins with a Motown medley. None of the performers from last night are on hand and instead, we have our usual band and singers. But the good stuff here is the dancing. A mix of regular pros and members of the troupe are out. We have fun dancing and sexy dancing. Louis choreographed this whole thing and is on hand to dance as well. Time for some results. We get to see footage last night from William & Cheryl, Maria & Derek, Jaleel & Kym, and Melissa & Maks. Of course, some fun added in moments that we didn’t get to see on last night’s show. Results for those four couples following the commercial break.
Segment 2
Let’s get to some results.
Jaleel & Kym are SAFE.
Maria & Derek are in jeopardy.
William & Cheryl are SAFE.
Melissa & Maks are in jeopardy.
Well, I can’t say I am surprised by which two out of those four are in jeopardy. But don’t forget, jeopardy doesn’t necessarily mean bottom two, so we shall see what happens. We now see a video of a girl who was adopted from Africa. She was a very sick girl when she first came to America, having survived a nightmare of a life before being adopted by a very loving family. She started to take ballet lessons and is now considered a world class ballerina. Back live in the ballroom, she is out to perform for us all while Natasha Bedingfield sings “Wild Horses.” This is such a pretty song and a such a perfect choice to accompany the ballet/contemporary routine we are having the pleasure of seeing. It’s amazing to think how much dancing can change people’s lives. This was beautiful all around. That was the AT&T spotlight performance. And we head to another break.
Segment 3
Two cast members from “Shark Tank” are in the audience. And we are now in for some filler. A backstage package shows the celebrities discussing how difficult the show really is. They talk about the injuries, the dance steps, the pressure and nerves of the show, and what is has been like to survive the first half of the season. This is of course the usual “I will not quit. I will survive. This is the hardest thing I have ever done.” And now, time for the weekly Macy’s Stars of Dance performance. The new dance company “Shaping Sounds” which features alumni from “So You Think You Can Dance” are performing a gorgeous contemporary number. I have goosebumps. You guys should check this out if you get a minute. The caliber of contemporary dance is incredible. We see this every summer on SYTYCD but it is always magical to see. From a flying dancer to gliding across the stage like they are on air. It really is something to take in. Bravo!
Segment 4
Boys II Men are starting out our fourth segment. Anna and Dmitry are out to dance together. I miss Anna already this season and I miss Dmitry completely. I wish he was on this season as a regular pro but perhaps in the fall. That was too quick! I was just getting all invested in it. Great job from Anna and Dmitry. And now back to some more results. Let’s look back at Donald & Peta, Roshon & Chelsie, Katherine & Mark, and Gladys & Tristan. Some of this unseen footage is interesting. We see how frustrated Roshon is about his scores and how the other celebrities agree with the frustration. We see Katherine being super shocked- yet again. And we see Gladys thinking she is definitely in the dance duel but she knows people have kept her on the show with votes. Here we go…
Katherine & Mark are SAFE.
Gladys & Tristan are in jeopardy.
Donald & Peta are SAFE.
Roshon & Chelsie are in jeopardy.
Ugh at Roshon. Hopefully he is just in jeopardy but declared safe in a few minutes because he doesn’t deserve the dance duel. Gladys & Tristan I fully expected. Time for a break.
Segment 5
And we have some results right away.
Melissa & Maks are SAFE.
Gladys & Tristan are in the bottom 2.
Maria & Derek are SAFE.
Roshon & Chelsie are in the bottom 2.
And that’s our dance duel. Gladys & Tristan Vs. Roshon & Chelsie. Gladys comments about how it is bittersweet to be in the duel on Motown night but she is happy and understands. Roshon has rehearsed this morning early for the duel and is ready to go. This is totally obvious. There is no way that the judges are going to save Gladys, no matter how much they love her, over Roshon. And I can’t say I will be disappointed either. I love the music of Gladys just as much as anyone but her dancing at this point, on par with Melissa (who has fans who are voting like crazy) is the weakest in the competition. We now get some rehearsal footage of both couples working on the Jive, which is the type of dance they must perform in the duel.
Segment 6
Tom tells us how cordial and supportive the two couples were with one another during the commercial. Let the duel begin. Such dramatic tension and music with this! As expected, Roshon has tons of energy in this Jive and Gladys has…less. However, Gladys performed a whole heck of a lot better in this duel than Gavin did last week when he had to dance. But in my opinion, this was Roshon’s victory. Carrie Ann has respect for both couples. Len thinks both couples handled it very well. Bruno compliments both. These judge comments, like last week, are complimentary as they should be to both couples. They need to make them feel good because this is tough to have to do.
Carrie Ann SAVES Gladys & Tristan. WOW.
Len SAVES Roshon & Chelsie.
Bruno SAVES Roshon & Chelsie.
Eliminated: Gladys & Tristan.
Why do I get the feeling Carrie Ann’s “save” was just to be sweet to Gladys? Although, she did have some critical remarks to say about Roshon so perhaps she stands by that decision. We now get a wonderful package focusing on Gladys and her work on the show. She wishes everyone good luck. She calls it a “family.” Everyone comes down for a super huge group hug. And with that, another week of DWTS comes to a close. More later…
