Dancing With the Stars Week 10

All good things must come to an end... until NEXT season, that is! 

Thanks for the memories DWTS season 14 cast!

Oh what a night!  The finals were a splashy spectacle last night, and with that said it is difficult to believe this is our last time together this season.  We have laughed, cried, and guffawed with you as the show rolled out on Monday nights.  As the token DWTS virgin of the group, I want to thank my friends Michelle Bell and Tracie Banister for showing me the ropes, and hanging out at my blog.  Thank you, my sweet girl Gracie, for spending time with your mom, and chatting up all things mirrorball related. I couldn’t love you more.  No matter who wins the competition, it was a phenomenal season and we all thank you for stopping by and spending time with us.  Here we go!

Standout Performance of the week:

Tracie: I LOVED Donald and Peta's country-fied Freestyle!  That was just plain ole fun!  Cowboy Troy did a great job with the song, Peta killed it on the choreography, and Donald looked like he was having a blast.  His musicality was fantastic and he made all of those lifts look effortless.  I especially loved the ending to the routine - "Get you some of that!" indeed! :)  P.S.  I loved that their cowboy/cowgirl costumes were gold and green, the colors of Donald's team, the Green Bay Packers. 

Michelle: There was no question about it - Donald and Peta put 110% into that country inspired freestyle dance.  I have watched it a couple of times so far and it was just perfect!  I was so happy to see Len finally giving up the 10.  I love all three of the final contestants and I will be happy with any of them winning, but I have to admit to pulling a little more for Donald and Peta after that fun freestyle dance.

Jen: I was all over the Cheesehead, Packer, Boot Scootin’ freestyle performance by Donald and Peta.  WOW!  That was amazing; fresh and original.  Cowboy and Cheesehead hats off to the duo for giving it their all until the very end. 

Gracie: I super liked the last dance of the freestyle kind of dancing.  Did you see Donald swinging Peta around like a Lalaloopsy doll?  Man is he strong!  I bet he could throw me up so high I could catch a cloud!  That would be so much fun.  But I might throw up too.

This Was Definitely Not Your Dance - Worst Performance:

Tracie: In theory, Katherine and Mark's swing-inspired Freestyle should have been amazing, but to my eye, it was an awkwardly-executed mess.  Mark threw everything but the kitchen sink in there and Katherine seemed to be struggling to keep up.  It was too frenetic!  There was no fluidity, no joy in the movement, and the lifts just looked arduous. 

Michelle: This was the finals...the freestyle dances should have blown my mind with how creative and risky they were.  I felt that William and Cheryl did a very safe salsa inspired dance that, as Len pointed out, relied on William doing what he does best - shaking his butt. The dance was not a favorite of mine.  And I wasn't overly fond of either dance that Katherine and Mark did tonight.

Jen: I was looking for some serious “out of the norm” dances tonight during the freestyle portion of the program, and sadly I think the mark was missed by two couples.  William & Cheryl’s opportunity to show off some other skills was missed.  Katherine and Mark entertained us previously with a flapper-esque routine.  I was left wanting more from both pairs.  Were they great dances?  Sure.  Were they amazing?  Not even close.

Gracie: I liked all the people who danced tonight.  I think that if you dance really hard to be in the final exams of dancing, then all of the dances are the best!

**Mom’s Note: Gracie’s brothers are studying this week for final exams in school, hence the test reference.  It’s the last week of school!**

The Tina Sparkle Award for best use of sequins and spandex:

Tracie: Peta's skin-baring Argentine Tango gown was a feat of engineering!  It might have been those sparkly gold straps of fabric on the sides that kept the skimpy periwinkle blue number in place, or maybe it was just a ballroom miracle, but either way I was stunned that no wardrobe malfunction took place as Peta was lifted, twisted, and dropped by Donald.  The bright blue was gorgeous on blonde and artfully tanned Peta and the body-hugging design showed her rockin' figure off to its best advantage.

Michelle: Peta's blue Argentine Tango dress was slinky and seductive.  It was perfect for her body type and fit her perfectly. I loved it all except for the gloves.  And Donald is very handsome in blue as well.

Jen: I go crazy for a sharp dressed, bald man!  Oh Donald.  Donald Driver.  You had me at your midnight blue colored suit.  Also, I loved the little “pop” of color that peeked out from the lining of Mark’s white jacket during the first dance.  I thought it was a nice little touch. 

Gracie: Cheryl looked like a rainbow!  I knew that she would get a 30 tonight because she had that beautiful dress on!

This just in . . . the wardrobe department hates you!

Tracie: The 1920s flapper look worked for Katherine once, so I can understand why the wardrobe peeps decided to go back to that well again for her Freestyle.  Her fringey white dress was okay, but like Michelle said, the white granny panties under the costume were fugly and distracting.  And I couldn't take my eyes off of Katherine's sensible white shoes that looked like something a nurse would wear.    They drew way too much attention to Katherine's feet and legs (which were a bit wobbly throughout the routine.) 

Michelle: I thought Cheryl's multi-colored dress for the cha-cha was very unflattering for her. It had a weird cut and weird shape to the bottom of it.  Plus her hair extensions are getting a bit unruly and looking too droopy for her.

Jen: I was not as big a fan as my daughter was of Cheryl’s dress for the Cha-Cha-Cha.  She is so lovely; so beautiful.  For one of her last dances, I would have loved to have seen her in something silky, form-fitting, and sleek.

Gracie: I couldn’t stop laughing when Katherine wore that bull fighter costume when she danced the first time.  She made a left turn at Albuquerque like Bugs Bunny did when he fought the bull and people threw roses at him!  *Gracie cracks herself up* Oh, I will miss you when you do funny things like that Katherine.     

What were the judges' smoking?

Tracie: They always punk out in the final and hand out nothing but 9s and 10s so that it's left up to the viewers to choose the winner and that's okay.  But it did annoy me that they were gushing over dances that were clearly not that great (Katherine's Freestyle) and nitpicking dances that were well-done (see Len's comments about William's Freestyle.)

Michelle: Len has been so tough on Donald and very stingy with giving him a 10.  I think the judges are clearly wanting Katherine and Mark to win as they scored them perfect 30's for both dances, which I felt was too high for both routines.

Jen: Did you see Carrie Ann go all Mr. Roboto scoring William’s freestyle?  What was that?

Gracie: HOW DARE YOU, LEN!!  How dare you give Donald and Peta a “9” for their first dance!  How dare you!!!  Carrie Ann, you should not stand on top of desks, even if you like William dancing for you.  If you did that at my school, you would do straight to the principal’s office, and they would call your mom!  You could’ve cracked your head open if you fell, you know!  That was a bad choice!  If I was your Mommy, you would be grounded from Hello Kitty Bingo for many days.

Tom Bergeron's best one-liner:

Tracie: After William and Cheryl got their Cha Cha scores, the camera cut back to Tom who was standing in the middle of the dance floor holding red and green streamers with a perplexed expression on his face.  I cracked up when he said, "Did we get these at a Christmas sale?"

Michelle: "I think Len might be suffering from bum envy" after Len criticized William and Cheryl for resorting to a typical butt shaking dance in the free-style.

Jen: Speaking to Donald concerning Len, “He’s really starting to annoy me…”  Really?!?  Just now?!? 

Gracie: That Tom was just making everyone talk fast and go fast tonight.  Go up those stairs.  Hurry up and finish your talking.  Get your dancing done.  He sure was in a hurry for something.  Maybe he was going to play XBOX Live with his friends after the show and that’s why he wanted to get out of there so badly.  

The "Oh, Brooke!" moment of the week:

Tracie: Brooke was dying to get Donald to say something rasty about Len after he denied Donald a 10 in the Argentine Tango.  I was glad that Donald laughed it off and said that Len was going to love their Freestyle and would have no choice but to give them a 10 then (he was right!)

***SIDEBAR***Rumor has it that Brooke wants to return to the dance floor as a contestant in the fall's All-Star Season, which means we'd get a substitute celebraquarium interviewer.  I vote for Carson Kressley! **Oh! Jen loves this idea!**

Michelle: Brooke's hair looked atrocious.  I didn't really pay much attention to what she had going on tonight so I missed any moments of rolling my eyes at her Brooke-speak. It does, however, greatly bug me when she asks them what they think about the scores they have received and then doesn't give them a chance to do more than say a word or two.

Jen: I didn’t really listen to Brooke tonight.  Gracie and I were doodling on our score sheet in-between dances and perked up when the scores were about to be given.  Professionals might call that my “coping strategy” to tune things out that I choose not to hear.  I just call it enjoying some moments with my baby girl.

Gracie: Brooke looked like Silver Barbie tonight!    

Time to hang up your dancing shoes:

Tracie: I would be fine with any of the Final 3 taking home that mirrorball trophy as I think they've all done well this season and seem like wonderful people.  But based solely on their performances in the Final last night, I think it's going to be Donald Driver.  I'm not sure about second and third place, though.  That's going to be a tough call and will probably depend on the size of William's and Katherine's fanbases.

Michelle: This is a really close final three.  All three have shown vast improvement and all three have amazing talent.  If it comes down to fan votes, Katherine has been shown to not have the bigger fan base of the three and I feel will be the first one voted out tonight.  Between William and Donald, I am truly torn.  I feel that Donald should win, but I have a feeling William has a huge fan base that may take him over the top.   If it comes down to a judges' vote, it will most likely go to Katherine as they have clearly favored her all season long.  The ballroom is going to be rocking tonight!

Jen: Katherine has a very strong fan base that propelled her to the finals.  I think it may come down to Katherine and Donald.  William has been a huge contender all season, yet I am not sure if he really scored big with viewers last night to secure enough votes.  If we scored the stars solely on last night’s dancing; Donald wins hands down.  Hats off to all of the stars who participated this season!  You were all tops to me.

Gracie: I really do like Peta, and Donald too so I don’t want them to lose their shoes.  I would like them to win.  You know, I just really think they all got to have a lot of fun and so I can’t pick someone to lose.  They all took dance lessons, they put on shiny costumes, and they worked so hard.  I wish they could all have the trophy.  If they all can’t have it then they should share it.  That’s what friends do!

We have had a blast!  Thank you for spending time with us for DWTS!

XOXO

Michelle, Tracie, Jen & Gracie

Dancing With the Stars Week 8

  

  It was a night of pairs and trios on week 8 of Dancing With the Stars, and the contestants were ready to rumble!  The energy the guest dancers brought to their trios helped each couple step up their game tonight.  Last week, we said goodbye to Jaleel White as he was eliminated from the competition.  Tonight’s stars face a double elimination this week; be still my beating heart!

     Joining me are my favorites gals bringing you their take on the performances in the ballroom.  Author Tracie Banister, blogger Michelle Bell, and my little peanut pie Gracie.  Due to DVR technical difficulties, Gracie did not have the opportunity to watch the entire lineup of performances.  However, her looksee into the first 28 minutes of the show will keep the conversation colorful.  Let’s roll!

Standout Performance of the week:  

Michelle: William and Cheryl's foxtrot was definitely my favorite and I think they deserved the 30 that they received.  Cheryl is such an amazing choreographer for most dances and the foxtrot is one that she does well with. Their costumes, the song, and the smooth dancing...all perfect.

For the trio dances, I really enjoyed almost all of them, but I think the best was Donald, Peta, and Karina.  Donald takes risks and he is the one that keeps improving more and more each week.  Don't count him out as the possible winner of it all.

Tracie: No question - it was the trio jive that Donald Driver did with Peta and Karina.  The joint was jumpin' with that number and Donald killed it!  I just loved everything about his performance.  He was so relaxed, his musicality was fantastic, and he kept up with those two amazing female pros who were dancing their butts off!  I have already re-watched that Jive three (ha!) times on You Tube this morning.  That Jive was THE dance of the season for me.  So much fun!

Jen: William and Cheryl earned that 30!  Classy, brilliant; bellissimo! 

Topping any of the duo performances was Donald and Peta’s trio!  Joined by Karina, I felt that sparkly Elvis had entered the building!  Amazing timing, brilliantly choreographed; kudos!

Gracie: Maria really made me smile today because she made me forget all about her vampire issues last week.  She was like a dainty flower that spins in the wind.

Mom’s note: Aww……..

This Was Definitely Not Your Dance - Worst Performance:

Michelle: While the judges loved Maria and Derek's dance, I found nothing about it that pulled me in. But it was, unfortunately, Melissa and Maks that had the worst dance of the week.  Maks was clearly frustrated with Melissa this week and was visibly unhappy with the way the dance went and the fact that they showed the rehearsal footage that they did. (Maks has a fiery temper, it doesn't even faze me when he goes nutballs on someone anymore.)  The dance started out with some stumbling errors and at that point, Maks appeared to shut down. 


For the trio, the worst thing Roshon and Chelsie could do was bring Sasha in to dance with them.  It showcased how talented HE was and how well he and Chelsie danced together, leaving Roshon hanging out there as the weakest link.

Tracie: Oh, geez, I don't know.  It's hard to bag on anyone at this late stage of the game.  But if I'm honest, I wasn't crazy about the trio Bollywood number with Derek, Henry, and Maria.  I'm actually a big fan of Bollywood musicals and could boogie down to "Jai Ho" all day long, but that was supposed to be a SAMBA, Derek!  And Len was right about there being very little Samba flavor or technique in that dance.  I didn't think that Maria danced that well with two partners, either.  The whole routine gets a big "Whatever" from me.

Jen: You know, I think the remaining contestants have all fought hard to remain in the competition and came to play tonight.  Tonight it was a matter of whose dance I did not connect with.  While lovely and dreamy a dancer as always, I did not connect tonight with Katherine and Mark’s performance.  Katherine shines as a dancer, and the routine did not woo me.  I would have loved to see her challenged with tough moves.   

The Tina Sparkle Award for best use of sequins and spandex:

Michelle: Shallow moment...I loved Maks and his nerd glasses! Okay, now that is out of the way...I think that Katherine looked like a sweet princess in her lovely pastel and lace dress tonight.  The upswept hairdo was very flattering for her.  In the trio dances, I absolutely loved Cheryl's purple and black dress.  Very sexy and Spanish, the perfect dress for the Paso.

Tracie: I was seriously in love with Cheryl's Paso Doble dress.  Body-hugging purple lace with black fringe?  How could any woman go wrong with that combo?  It was sexy and perfectly suited to a Latin dance.  Cheryl's slicked back chignon with the purple flower tucked behind her ear was aces, as well.  I'd also like to give a shout-out to Brooke, who looked gorgeous from head to toe last night!  That beautifully fitted peach gown (with no boobage for a change!) and her straight, softly swept to the side hairstyle were the epitome of understated elegance.  Brava! 

Jen: Remember when I complained about William not being naked nearly enough?  There is nothing like a tuxedo to make me swoon.  William was dashing!  Married with Cheryl’s lovely gown, hands down the loveliest costumes of the night. 

Gracie: When I saw Katherine walk down those stairs when they said her name, I just felt like she was Cinderella walking down the stairs to dance at the ball.  Do you think Katherine has mean stepsisters in her real life?  How could anyone be mean to her?

This just in . . . the wardrobe department hates you!

Michelle: I LOVE Sheldon Cooper in a plaid suit on The Big Bang Theory.  On Roshon, not so much. It was a very silly look for him that I think fell flat.  Peta looked like a ballroom dominatrix tonight.  Not a good look for her, either.

Tracie: I'm not sure if it's the wardrobe dept. that hates Melissa, or if it's Maks since he's the "mastermind" behind all of her costumes, but dear Lord, her tiger-striped Foxtrot dress was Hideous with a capital H!  I hate dresses that have huge bits of flesh-colored stretch fabric for modesty purposes.  It's always an eyesore and it didn't even work in Melissa's case because she had tons of cleavage showing down the center, as well as major side boob!  So tacky on a woman of her age!  And the shape of the dress made her look like she had no waist.  Just UGH!

Jen: Holy boobalicious Batman!  Yikes on Melissa’s dress this evening.

Gracie: Oh my goodness…  Did you see that tiger lady (Melissa)?  I say it every week!  Put your clothes on, people!  Why do you have to be naked on tv?

What were the judges' smoking?

Michelle: "8" seemed to be the magic number of the night.  Bruno was in his typical lecherous mood, but Len and Carrie Ann were a bit cranky. Of course, we are heading to the semi-finals and they want to see massive improvement and the wow factor. I do NOT agree with the two 10's that were given to Roshon and Chelsie for their first dance.  I think the judges feel bad because he had his grandmas in the audience.

Bruno was the first to take the trio aspect and run with the one liner - "It is so hard keeping in sync with a threesome."  Bwahaha!

Tracie: It really irks me when the judges' comments don't match their scores.  They all flipped out over Donald's trio Jive and praised it to the high heavens, then gave him a combined score of 28?  That means they thought Roshon's and William's Foxtrots were BETTER than that awesome, crowd-pleasing Jive?  Ridiculous!

Jen: We three seem to have the same difficulty tonight with scoring not reflecting accurately compared to comments by judges.  The scoring for trios was difficult for me to swallow.  I find it very difficult to come to terms with the judges giving a ravishing trio score to Roshon and William’s teams respectively against Donald’s Jive.  Something is amiss in the ballroom.

Tom Bergeron's best one-liner:

Michelle: I had figured that Tom would get that threesome line in first, but he refrained.  He called out the fact that Len obviously had it in for Derek tonight with "They got two nines and one mood swing."

Tracie: Hee hee!  I'm still laughing over Tom saying that Maks and Val were wearing outfits from "The Larry King Chippendale Collection" (they were shirtless with suspenders holding their pants up.)  Funny, and so true!

Jen: In reply to Len’s comment to Roshon’s trio, that the men looked like, “two skinny fries chasing the ketchup” when dancing with Chelsie; I loved that Tom said, “WOW!  Someone just had a Happy Meal!”  

The "Oh, Brooke!" moment of the week:

Michelle: Brooke clearly was hoping to get something more out of Melissa and Maks when she brought up the rugged rehearsal footage that was shown, especially with the query of "Maks, are you okay?"  The look on his face was all "sit down and shut up."

Tracie: Brooke is in my good graces this week for holding both Derek and Maks accountable for their unprofessional and borderline abusive behavior towards their partners in rehearsal this week.  She didn't let either one of them off the hook and basically got them both to apologize, so kudos to her for standing up for the ladies!

Jen: Tonight was the night that Brooke asked questions I wanted to hear answers too!  I loved that she asked the teams that struggled with relationship strain in rehearsals about the tension.  Great job, Brooke!

Gracie: Peanut Butter Noise?  That’s that girl’s name??  Brooke said it was Peanut Butter Noise! 

*Mom’s note: Gracie would be referring to Peta Murgatroyd*

 

Time to hang up your dancing shoes:

Michelle: Melissa and Maks should not make the semi-finals.  Yes, they have a pretty strong fanbase that MIGHT save them, but if it comes down to talent and not a popularity contest, then they will go home tomorrow night.  As much as Melissa tries, she isn't improving enough to go any further.

Joining them should be Roshon and Chelsie.  They have been barely skating by for a couple of weeks now and I think tomorrow they will finally be escorted off the show.  Besides, how boring would their free-style be when you know they would just pull out a Michael Jackson dance since that is what Roshon falls back on all the time.

Tracie: Although she did improve a lot this week, I think it is way past time for Melissa to hit the Jimmy Kimmel show and have her dancing shoes burned.  She seems to have a huge fanbase power-voting for her, though, so who knows?  Roshon had quite a comeback and got good scores from the judges.  I fear that Katherine may be in jeopardy, along with Maria.  This whole double elimination thing is scary!  If I had my druthers, it would be Melissa and Maria going, but I wouldn't be at all surprised by a "SHOCKING!" elimination (Katherine, William, Donald - please, no!)  Tonight's results show will definitely be a nailbiter!

Jen:  Roshon and Chelsie finished with high scores this week, and worked hard to improve.  I am not convinced it is enough to keep them from the bottom two again this week.  I think we will also see Melissa and Maks meet up with Roshon and Chelsie as most likely to go home.  Although both teams worked hard this season, I think we are down to the best of the best staying, and the remaining four couples are just that.  In my Final Four, that does not include Roshon or Melissa. 

Gracie: *sing songy voice* People go home… People hug their dogs…  People eat ice cream…  So really, losing just means you sleep in now and quit breaking your feet and bumping your head when you practice your dancing.  I think that is a great reason to go home and lose!

See you next week!

XOXO

Michelle, Tracie, Jen & Gracie

Dancing with the Stars Week 3

     

     What have I been waiting for?!?  I have never watched Dancing With the Stars, in any of the years it has been on their air, and I am starting to wonder what the heck was wrong with me?  Well, besides my obvious life issues, that is.  If the iconic television shows, Disco Fever and Solid Gold had a baby together, DWTS is their prodigy!  Those were shows of my yesteryears that helped make me who I am today.  I pay homage to you Denny Terrio.  Nothing but love…

 

     It is no secret that I only began watching this season out of loyalty to Jack Wagner.  You see, I chose Jack’s hit ballad, All I Need, as a dark horse in a contest my friend, author Erik Atwell was running.  The starry cast for the 2012 season had just been announced, Erik was looking for songs to sing his son to sleep that were crooned in the 80’s era, and voila!  Jen put those two cookies together, and won the coveted 2012 Sing My Baby to Sleep Contest!  I publicly thanked Jack, Frisco Jones, and even Erik’s son for falling asleep at a record time for the win.  With that victory, I felt like I had to give back those who made it possible in some way, and so my curiosity to watch DWTS was born.  As the late, and always great, Paul Harvey always closed his broadcasts, “Now you know the rest of the story.”

The song Jack & Anna danced to, Lighting up the Night, I heard Jack sing in concert in 1985 with my friend, Kim.  Glory days...

     Every Tuesday for the season, I will be joined by some fabulous ladies, giving their input on the previous night’s events on DWTS.  Popular blogger, Michelle Bell; author Tracie Banister; and last but not least my five-year-old daughter, Gracie.  I am coming from a place of being a novice, so I am so thankful that I have these experts in the history of DWTS to really help guide me while I learn.  Gracie.  She is key for colorful commentary.  This is all in good fun, so without further ado, let’s roll!

The Tina Sparkle Award for best use of sequins and spandex:

Michelle: It is a tossup between Maria and Katherine.  Both looked so absolutely beautiful, but I think that Katherine brought just a little more to the show tonight.

   Tracie: Anna Trebunskaya (Jack Wagner's partner) did Tina Sparkle proud in her Samba outfit, which was a glittery orange-and-gold bikini adorned with copious amounts of fringe, and best of all, an explosion of ruffles emanating from Anna's backside.  That ensemble screamed, "PAR-TAY!" and it was the perfect complement to Anna's coppery hair, as well as a great showcase for her abs - is there any way I can get my own set of those without having to dance 8+ hours a day?    

  

Jen: Sherri took my breath away in her dress!  She shines and glows when she steps out onto the floor.  Love her!  No matter what Katherine wears, she is just delicious!  Her black and pink fringe number last week, and then the beautiful, fluid gown she wore for this performance, both devastatingly amazing.  William Levy, you are a tall drink of yum!  I think you could dance in a parka and you would make it shine!  Please don’t take me seriously, and cover yourself up in a parka.  Please?

Gracie: Matt Lauer should be here dancing too.  Why didn’t they invite him?  That’s so mean…

This just in . . . the wardrobe department hates you!

Michelle: Sorry, Jack Wagner!  The color is HORRIBLE on you and they dress you so much older than they should.  I didn't dig Roshon's outfit, but it wasn't as bad as Jack.

Tracie: There was a three car pile-up on the fashion freeway last night.  Melissa Gilbert has a rockin' body for a 47 year-old, but that purple monstrosity she wore for the Jive did her no favors.  It was way too short, so we had full view of her legs throughout the routine and mistakes could not be hidden.  The fit of the bodice made her look top-heavy and the color was all wrong for her freckly skin and red hair, which looked beautiful last night without the overabundance of hair extensions from previous weeks.  Did the costume designer who made that sassy red frock for Gladys Knight in the premiere go to Lauderdale for Spring Break this week?  Because the poor woman looked like she was wearing a coral-colored potato sack last night!  It was shapeless and so unflattering, doing her curves no favors at all!  As for Cheryl Burke (William Levy's partner), where do I begin?  Her Salsa outfit should have been sleek and sexy, but it was a riot of clashing colors (turquoise and banana yellow - ugh!), which had no correlation to William's very tame white shirt/brown pants combo (oh wait, I forgot, he was wearing a supposed-to-be-turquoise-but-wasn't bandana.)  And Cheryl's skirt was too poufy; it looked like a ruffle meringue and it totally obscured her hips and booty, which is the center of movement in a Latin dance.

Jen: I do not understand why they are not putting my man Jack in clothing that makes him shine.  The wardrobes of William and Cheryl were amazing last night, and similar clothing styles would have rocked Jack and Anna’s genre of song choice.  I understand the salute to MJ with Roshon’s fashions.  It was a little too “throw back” for me.

Gracie: Wow!  Josie (Chelsie) is so pretty in orange!  I think Josie (Chelsie) is my favorite because she has the same name as my friend Josie P.

*Mother’s Note* Yes, I told Gracie her name is Chelsie.  Gracie wasn’t willing to acknowledge the name correction, and therefore she shall refer to Chelsie, as Joise.

What were the judges' smoking?

Michelle: While he was good, I don't think that Jaleel White deserved the "9" from Carrie.  Otherwise, I'm surprised to have to say that Len must have passed his happy pills around because the judges were pretty much spot on with everything they had to say.

Tracie: Apparently, their 1-7 paddles were taken away from them last night, so there was a lot of overscoring, but nothing horribly egregious.  Carrie Ann did put her foot in her mouth when she exclaimed that she wanted to go to Cuba after seeing William's Salsa.  This, after William spent most of his rehearsal package talking about what a repressive, miserable place Cuba is and how happy his family was to get out and come to America.

Jen: Oh Bruno Toniolli, with his quote, “Gavin, you have that premature stiffness under control!”  Did Gavin really want all of America to hear that?  Sorry, I know.  I went there.

Standout sob story of the week:

Michelle: Donald Driver brought tears to my eyes with his story, but Katherine Jenkins made me sob from story through dance.  And I have to say that I did not feel Jaleel's story and his tears at the end just felt off to me.  (Sorry, Urkel! I think you are a cool guy, but crocodile tears were fake.)

Tracie: Since it was "Most Memorable Year of My Life Week" on DWtS, or as I like to call it "Emotional Breakdown Week," all of the celebs had a sob story to share.  The one that really got to me was Katherine's story about her father dying when she was 15.  Her Waltz with Mark was such a beautiful and poignant tribute to her dad, so when she broke down in his arms afterwards, I was a sobbing mess!  And, of course, Carrie Ann could barely give her critique because she was so choked up, which made Katherine cry even harder.  I think I went through a whole box of Kleenex during those five minutes!

Jen: All of the stories truly touched my heart.  This week has personally been difficult in our family, with my son’s buddy losing his mother to cancer.  My father is a cancer survivor.  Katherine and Donald’s stories had me in tears.  With each couple that hit the dance floor, I was cheering them on to make it through to the end.  I truly believe it is the grace of God, plus the nervous energy of the performance, that saw them to the end of their number without breaking down.

Gracie: I didn’t like seeing Sherri’s sick baby in the hospital.  No mommy should ever have a sick baby because that makes me sad.

Tom Bergeron's best one-liner:

Michelle: It wasn't even a one-liner, it was the slack jawed look on his face after watching Derek and Maria.  He wasn't quite sure what to say.

Tracie: Tom held back on the one-liners last night since the mood in the ballroom was so serious, but I did get a chuckle out of him personally walking Sherri over to the celebaquarium stairs because she was holding things up by crying and making gestures to the audience and running over to kiss her son.

Jen: In reference to William Levy, Tom said, “Clark Kent doesn’t get that reaction when he rips off his jacket!”  Do you know why that is Tom?  BECAUSE HE ISN’T WILLIAM LEVY!!!!

Gracie: Hey!  I know him!  He’s on the video show where people hurt themselves and put it on TV!  I like him.

The "Oh, Brooke!" moment of the week: 

Michelle: "Did you guys actually kiss?  We couldn't tell."  To Derek and Maria.  She is such a nosy one!

That and every time a contestant got emotional she thrust herself into the camera, throwing her arms around them and "aww"ing. Back off, woman!

Tracie: I've got to give Brooke credit because she handled all of the post-dance crying jags by the celebs pretty well this week.  She was sympathetic without losing it herself and when a celeb was too emotional to answer a question, she tossed it to their partner or called for the scores.  Of course, there was that cringe-inducing moment when she asked Derek and Maria if they had kissed during their Rumba, but I'm pretty confident that she was fed that question through her earpiece by a producer.  So, I can't really blame her for it.

Jen: I heard Brooke ask Gladys, “Sam Cooke taught you about singing.  Did that help you tonight?”  Gladys had a momentary look on her face that read to me, Seriously?!?  Did you seriously just ask me that??

Gracie: That girl upstairs (Brooke) is not as good as Ann Curry could be with the microphone asking the questions.   

Time to Retire those Dancing Shoes!

Michelle: Gavin and Karina, it is time to go.  I think the bottom three will be Gavin/Karina, Melissa/Maks, and Jack/Anna.  I do worry for Gladys when the dances get faster...

Tracie: Gavin Degraw would be the obvious choice since he was in the bottom two last week and he was one of the lowest-scoring celebs last night, but . . . my spidey sense is telling me that Melissa Gilbert will get the boot this week.  Who goes home has been pretty much left up to the fans and I'm just not sure that Melissa has been connecting with viewers so far.  We shall see later tonight!

Jen: I really worried this week for Gladys.  Her dance was lovely, but I didn’t connect with it as I did with her earlier performances.  I think she will be safe this week, but I am concerned about her, and want her to go on and do well.  I think Gavin and Karina might be heading home.  Jack, I am worried about you too, my love. 

Gracie: Gavin and Karina.  They get a big boo from me.

Thanks for joining us!  See you next Tuesday!

XOXO

Michelle, Tracie, Jen & Gracie