Let’s look back at how the couples ended up on the final judges leader-board after last night’s two performances:
Maria & Derek- 57/60
Katherine & Mark- 54/60
Donald & Peta- 53/60
William & Cheryl- 53/60
Roshon & Chelsie- 52/60
Jaleel & Kym- 51/60
Melissa & Maks- 47/60
It was a really strong night of dancing as “classical week” once again brought it in the ballroom. In fact, I think last night gave us the clearest indication of who may very well be competing in the finale. I am feeling very confident that Katherine, Donald, and Maria will be our finalists. Katherine and Donald are the easy picks and Maria’s perfect score last night may just have elevated her enough for that third spot. Everyone else looks to potentially be playing for sixth place finish through fourth. But just how will the chips fall?
Are Melissa and Maks really a guaranteed elimination tonight? I don’t quite believe that. Some harsh critiques, though warranted from the judges may have resulted in a surge in voting. And Melissa has never found herself in danger. Maks went all out with the media last night after the show to say that he knows the judges are basically set on getting rid of Melissa and he hopes their fans turn out to vote. They very well could end up safe. Roshon had good scores last night and a few special comments from the judges but has had problems staying out of danger. Jaleel made a comeback last week but is it a bit too late for him? And tonight will be a real test to see how strong the fans are for William. He had a nice night and strong scores but performed early and was part of the arguably “weaker” team. Could he find himself in the bottom for the first time this season?
We have the final “dance duel” tonight. It is the last chance for the judges to make the call on who should be eliminated. Overall, despite my apprehensions about it when announced, the judges have used the duel wisely. We lost Gavin (who performs tonight) and Gladys and those were the right calls. If Melissa were to exit tonight, it would be another justified elimination and leave the strongest six celebrities to battle it out. In addition, next week is a double elimination without a dance duel. Those two eliminations are going to totally depend on the strength of the fan vote but let’s keep this to tonight.
I predict a bottom two made up of any combo between Melissa, Jaleel, Roshon, and William. I would say Melissa is eliminated regardless of who she competes against. If Melissa is safe, it gets super tricky. In this respect, I think the couple that does indeed perform best in the duel will be saved. Jaleel, Roshon, and William have all earned good will from previous weeks and if up against one another, they will need to just bring their A-game in the duel and hope for the best. It should be an interesting result show to say the least. Let’s see how it goes down segment by segment.
Segment 1
The show begins with a little speech from Len Goodman. He thought classical night was amazing. Now it is time for the encore. Naturally, the choice is Maria &Derek and their outstanding Paso Doble. This is such a blast to watch. Hopefully you guys can catch it if you happened to have missed it last night or tonight. Now, a look back at last night’s routines from Katherine & Mark, Donald & Peta, and William & Cheryl with some unseen footage. The results begin now…
William & Cheryl are SAFE.
Donald & Peta are SAFE.
Katherine & Mark are SAFE.
Segment 2
The final AT&T spotlight performance of the season focuses on Steelo Vazquez, a dancer who suffered a brain aneurism. His wife talks about how difficult it was to see what happened to him. In the fall of 2011, he had stabilized, and his goal was to return to dancing. Tonight, he is performing for the first time in public since the tragedy. He is performing with his crew tonight. These are some awesome street performers, doing some incredible moves. Steelo comes out later in the performance and does some awesome moves of his own. That is really inspiring to see considering what happened to him. Wow. The audience is chanting his name and he has tears in his eyes.
Segment 3
Backstage, Brooke is talking to the contestants who have not been given their results yet. Brooke tries to get Maria to admit she has pain but as usual, Maria doesn’t budge. Derek comments on Steelo Vazquez. Melissa thanks her fans and is ready for the duel. Roshon says they have prepared well for the duel. Jaleel has been comfort eating to deal with the stress. Everyone seems to be in good spirits. Now, Gavin DeGraw returns to do what he does best- sing. Louis and Karina are out to dance. That’s cute that they have Karina dancing while her former partner sings. Gavin is such a nice guy. He looks genuinely pleased to be back in the ballroom. Tom now talks about the ballroom battle competition that has been going on exclusively on ABC.COM. FILLER! Basically, six pros went around the country to find amateur dancers who competed as part of their respective teams. In Round 1, Cheryl’s team defeated Karina’s. Round 2 saw Tony’s team defeat Lacey and her team. And Round 3 ended with Louis’s team winning over Mark’s. Now the three teams will compete to find out who wins the ballroom battle. Wow. The audience is packed with celebs tonight. Paula Abdul is on hand as well as Nancy Grace. The ballroom battle will conclude after the break.
Segment 4
And now, a Jive relay with the three teams. The judges will decide the winners. Up first, Cheryl’s team. They did very good with a high energy jive. Up next, Tony’s team. Another crazy fast routine. I don’t know how they are going to judge this. Finally, Louis’ team is up. Fantastic. Lifts galore! Energy for days! Not a clue who these people are but good stuff all around. Len and Bruno both comment about how these are the stars for tomorrow. They all have a great individual style. Carrie Ann can say the influences of the coaches. We have no time for talking about it and Tom rushes the judges to make a decision. Tom curses (life’s a bitch), which is bleeped. Too funny.
3rd place goes to Louis’ team.
2nd place goes to Tony’s team.
1st place goes to Cheryl’s team.
Everyone is rushing to get this done in time. What a hysterical mess. The young couple gets the first ever ballroom battle trophy. That probably costs just as much as the mirror ball trophy does which goes to the winner of this show. That entire segment would have meant so much more if we got to see this competition on television throughout the season. I know it was featured on the website but this just came off as a whole lot of filler despite some really fun dancing.
Segment 5
Finally, we are back to the results. A look back at last night’s routines from Maria & Derek, Roshon & Chelsie, Jaleel & Kym, and Melissa & Maks. Damn. Melissa and Maks are pissed. The unseen backstage footage was interesting here. Okay. Results time…
Maria & Derek are SAFE.
Roshon & Chelsie are in the bottom 2. Kid can’t catch a break.
Melissa & Maks are SAFE.
Jaleel & Kym are in the bottom 2. Ouch.
Jaleel says Len is like the old guy outside of a grocery store who won’t give a kid money for candy. Roshon is worried because his previous Rumba didn’t go well. He offers to buy Len a tie to kiss up a bit. Damn. This really sucks. You see what happens when the judges slam a contestant too much? Backlash! I had a feeling Melissa and Maks would be safe. The voting audience loves Maks and they hate when they judges are difficult- even if they are on point. We now see some rehearsal footage. Jaleel and Kym are working hard while Roshon and Chelsie had a fight. It seems tempers are high as that bit of footage (though keep in mind that this is reality television) was not fun to watch.
Segment 6
Ugh. This is going to be difficult to watch. Melissa should be in this dance duel with either of these boys and should be the one going based solely on her run on the show. But it wasn’t mean to be. Now it’s time for the duel between the two couples. Wow. That’s tough. I must say, both couples did a great job with that Rumba. Carrie Ann says it isn’t easy and this was equal. She feels Roshon had the better chemistry tonight. Len is extremely torn. Not much talk about the dancing. Bruno compliments both couples.
Carrie Ann SAVES Roshon & Chelsie.
Len SAVES Roshon & Chelsie.
Bruno SAVES Roshon & Chelsie.
Jaleel & Kym are eliminated!
Jaleel only thought he would last for three dances. He has made incredible friends. He thanks the fans. He loves Roshon and is happy for him. He wants Len to give him a 10. We get to see the memorable moments from Jaleel and Kym’s time on the show. I do wonder if any of Jalee’s personal issues that were in the media had any effect whatsoever on his time on the show. After all, following week one, he was perceived as a frontrunner. But it wasn’t meant to be. Still, this elimination wasn’t warranted right now. The right exit was Melissa but that’s how it goes when the public votes!
