RomanKat

The final margins behind Joey/Chandler: Ilona 0.4%, Danny 1.4%, Stephen 1.8%. Generally smaller than last week wrt Chandler (2.5%, 2.8%, 1.9%). I was tracking margins during the show. For a while, I thought they might be targeting Stephen, but when they didn't mark down for the second dance--despite being gifted the opportunity to apologetically do so after the glasses mishap--It was clear that they weren't caring about margins anymore. They did their job in the quarter-finals, getting the finale 5 they wanted. With two weeks of combined scores, those margins are more likely to close than to open. The judges will have work to do, should they want separation. Same for the combined fan vote margins, but those may already be decisively big. Looks to me like the producers are satisfied to go with the fan vote results. The only "other country" pipelines they pursued were International versions of DWTS (e.g. Kym, Gleb, Artem) and Burn the Floor (e.g. Peta, Sharna, Emma, Tristan, Sasha, Keo). Indirectly, those who competed on other tv dance shows like SYTYCD & WOD (e.g. Dmitry, Pasha, potentially Roman). When Miami dancers started making waves on other pipeline shows, I thought they might become the next talent pool for DWTS. But that fizzled fast. One troupe season each for Sofia Ghavami and D'Angelo Castro, then two pro seasons for ballroom-transitioned Koko...and they're back to mostly Utah and Eastern European prospects. At least they're finding more diversity among the Utah prospects, even if their cultural identity is primarily still Utah.

Thank you for posting the article. I don't participate in TikTok enough to assess it's effects on votership. (Hardly at all.) However, I do remember Rylee-Harry going viral last year--because there was news about it going viral--and figured that played into the Rylee-Stephen pairing. So even though I don't participate in TikTok, I figured it had some influence in producer decisions, TikTok being the trendiest social media. Same thing happened with Twitter in the past. "Twitter impressions" became a thing in measures of TV viewer engagement, with even Nielsen getting involved, and all of a sudden DWTS was having Twitter voting challenges every week. That stopped when media corporations realized there was no money to be made in "Twitter impressions". To simplify the argument that DWTS may be favoring Danny & Witney: They get TikTok views, and that could potentially translate into money (or season 34) for themselves or the network. That could also influence the producers choice of dance styles: To help Witney create those social media "moments" she speaks of. That's more plausible, and kinder, than accusing Danny of dictating dance styles to get himself a spot in the finals. JMO I've seen DWTS encourage voting for all contestants on Twitter and Instagram, so I'll assume it's the same on TikTok. FWIW, Rylee & Harry didn't make the finals, despite their TikTok popularity. ETA: YouTube views, Instagram followers, Twitter likes, etc. have never been reliable indicators of voting. Also, I'm not convinced that Danny needed extra fandom to pass most of the eliminated contestants. Jenn, maybe, but I'm not aware of Bachelor Nation blaming Danny and TikTok for her elimination. (Do they?) Circling back to Instant Dances: I'm not denying that they created separation. However, the producers know the voting patterns this season. They could have used the first dance to create separation. They used the Instant Dance. All that matters are the final scoring percentage margins, and those weren't exaggerated, nor were placements illogical. For reference, these were the scoring percentage margins between Chandler and the other contestants after the Instant Dance: Joey 1.6%, Stephen 1.9%, Ilona 2.5%, Danny 2.8%, Dwight 3.8%. Chandler needed to beat one contestant, and Dwight was the target. The only thing we know for sure is that he did not get 3.8% more votes than Chandler, nor enough to overtake anyone else. With five celebrities remaining, the same week 8 scores would yield the following margins: Joey 1.8%, Stephen 2.2%, Ilona 2.9%, Danny 3.3%. (Sorry for getting technical. It's as much for my own reference.) Presuming the producers want Chandler (and Joey) in the finals, they'll do what they can to create the separation they need, as reasonably as possible. Should they need to "target" anyone, I would normally guess the lowest projected vote getter among Stephen, Ilona, Danny. Based on what you've posted, maybe it's the lowest social media impact instead. We can guess more, should they actually target anyone tonight. They might just cluster them, and let the fans decide.

OK, we're seeing things differently. Admittedly, I haven't seen the social media reactions you're referencing. Who exactly are these like-minded fans believing was hurt by (Danny's?) TikTok? (Maybe we should clarify "shows ago" or "eliminations ago", as having one week off ambiguates "weeks ago".) ETA: I don't know the reason for the lack of rhythmic dance, nor do I automatically process it as clear favoritism. There could be other reasons, especially if celebrity well-being is of greater priority this season. Again, we see things differently. I don't consider this scoring scenario to be blatant boosting. The final scoring margins weren't inexplicably huge. Chandler averaged 10's while Dwight averaged 8's. If Chandler needed more help, then the judges could have set lower baselines for several contestants (as you noted). Apparently, they didn't have to.

FWIW, I'm not seeing signs that the show is blatantly favoring Danny. It's not like "he should have been gone weeks ago, why is he still here?" Also, it's not true that Danny, Stephen, or Ilona can have good semis only at the expense of Chandler or Joey. My guess: The producers are well-situated. Not only are ABC/Disney affiliated stars Chandler and Joey the best dancers, they both made semis without massive help. There could have been a marathon dance or something, had there been urgent need of score separation. Instead, the judges have been maxing out contestant scores lately, imho. (That not only reduces point spread, it reduces the impact of high scores by diluting differential vote percentages.) Here's an optimistic take: It's possible that the show can give all remaining stars a positive semis experience, while still producing enough score separation between the top and bottom to ensure that Chandler and Joey advance. The best possible scenario would be for the eliminated couple to leave with their heads high, feeling supported not targeted. Assuming my guess is correct and Chandler and Joey are in, the judges might cluster Danny, Stephen, Ilona close enough to allow the fan vote to decide who's out. (And if Danny's in, I'd likely enjoy a Witney freestyle over an Alan freestyle, fwiw.) If my guess is off and Chandler or Joey are out, then I'll do a post-mortem. I'm just not ready for a pre-mortem, based on what we've seen.

Samba's hard, even for trained ringers. At this stage of the competition, producers are more likely to assign samba to contestants they want to kick out, not keep in, imo. The show might be doing Chandler a favor... FWIW, I doubt that ABC-employed producers would back Tony the Tiger over Mickey the Mouse. But we'll see...

FWIW, I enjoy Brandon's back-to-basics approach to choreography. I also like his relatively low-key, ambiverted personality. That said, I recognize how general audiences might prefer Alan's (for example) higher energy, extroverted personality and showier routines, even though I personally don't find Alan's choreography to be objectively better than Brandon's <shrug>. To be clear, I can enjoy different approaches for different reasons on DWTS. It's a variety show, after all. And good choreography is good choreography, regardless of approach. I'd rate their chance of making the final as pretty good. We're at the point of competition when producers historically "help" contestants they'd like to see in the finals. Between her Disney connections and the show (presumably) preferring a diverse cast, Chandler and Brandon might get some help. They might not need much, however, because her dance ability justifies high scores. Also, the scoring spreads haven't been huge this season, like in Ally Brooke's season when artificially large spreads helped extend her stay. We also haven't seen sudden wrinkles, like the winner-take-15 points dance-off during Chelsea Kane's season. My guess is that Chandler/Brandon are doing well enough within the current voting system to make the finals without blatant assistance. But that's just a guess, presuming the producers very much want Chandler in the final. Speaking of producer shenanigans, the cleverest of all imho was when they tricked Davis/White fans into thinking Charlie was safe but Meryl was in jeopardy. It indirectly knocked Charlie out of the finals, and consolidated support for a Meryl/Maks win. Which indirectly brings me to this very loose take on ringers and voters: Ringers do better when a plurality of voters want their pro partner to win. However, pros have to priorly "earn" ringer wins--especially mega-ringer wins--in the voting fans' view. Lindsay "deserved" to win with Jordan after taking the likes of Alek Skarlatos, 40-something Wanya Morris, Calvin Johnson, and David Ross deep into the competition. (They all made the finals save Wanya, who made the semi-finals.) Maks was "over-due" with Meryl, per his fanbase. Mark had been through many shocking eliminations / near misses before finally winning a 3rd mirror ball with Charli. Derek deserved ringers, alongside challenges, because of his record of awards worthy choreography, per his fanbase. Etc.. That's not to say that ringers can't win with relatively unproven pros. It's just a loose observation about why/when fans have been more willing to vote for ringers to win DWTS.

It's worth remembering that Lindsay wasn't good right away. She debuted as a pro her first season, but struggled in the role. She then spent 4 seasons (2 years) in the troupe before returning to the pro lineup. ETA: I don't think Rylee is seasoned enough yet to get the most out of Stephen, but the producers wanted to pair him with someone young. When you neglect to develop new pros such that there's a 10 year gap between the youngest and next youngest female pros, you end up with sub-optimal pairings.

It's true that Allison struggled as a teaching ballroom pro. She did well, however, as a student / contestant learning club Salsa, West Coast swing and Argentine tango on SYTYCD from qualified instructors. She also did well collaborating with DWTS champion instructor Derek on an Emmy nominated Argentine Tango fusion dance that so impressed the DWTS producers, they believed she could succeed as a DWTS pro... So while Allison failed as a pro, she might have been brilliant as a celebrity contestant under the tutelage of Derek, Mark, or Val (to name the winningest male pros). I've been wondering about the lower emphasis on dance technique. There was so much bad press over the summer between SCD and DWTS regarding celebrity contestants who felt they'd been pushed too hard, to the point of abuse. Perhaps the DWTS producers decided to emphasize fun over stressful workload this season? Realistically, there's only so much technique and choreography newbies can learn each week before they--or their pros--reach a breaking point. In the old days, DWTS producers loved that drama. It got media attention, and fed the pro fanbases. But it grew tiresome, imho. FWIW, I feel like the celebrities as a whole seem to be having fun this season. And I'm enjoying that. As for the judges, I think they're starting to ask for more now, but perhaps trying to balance technical demand with positive celebrity experience?

FWIW, it was Keo who partnered Jodie Sweetin. I do think Brandon's partners get lost in the mix partly because Brandon himself isn't very memorable. A nice guy, but lacking some screen presence and charisma of other pros.

I've also been watching MQB this season. For those who don't, the pro roster this season includes six alums from DWTS, SCD, SYTYCD: Jonathan Platero, Oksana (Dmytrenko) Platero, Sofia Ghavami, Allen Genkin, Gennesy Castillo, and Marcquet Hill. This was a "second chance" season, with former non-winners of MQB and various other Spanish celebrity dance competition shows. (No one super famous, but as a fantastical aside, imagine a DWTS season with the likes of Zendaya, Chris Hemsworth, Trevor Noah, etc.. Make it for charity, and you could add a SYTYCD ringer like Ariana DeBose.) The finals are set for this Sunday at 7 pm on Univision, should anyone new want to check it out. The three finalists are solid, but it's unfortunate that a very strong contender had to withdraw with an injury.

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Mira Quién Baila Season 10 has ended. I was very happy with the winner and runner-up. Both María and Ana are fantastic dancers, but María was a little better. I would have preferred 4th place Miguel over 3rd place Jorge in the Finale. Interestingly, Jorge chose to perform Miguel's week 4 jive for the "I can do it better" Finale round, but the judges decided 2-to-1 that Miguel's was better. Ana & María each won their round, and all participants were good sports about the "I can do it better" challenge. Here's María's 2nd round freestyle: Following are the Season 10 MQB results. Boldface indicates judges' weekly choice for Best of the Night: 1st - María León - Mexico - Singer & Actress - Previously won Mexican version of Masked Singer Wk1 Salsa - Wk1 Samba - Wk2 Mexican - Wk3 Foxtrot - Wk4 Contemporary - Wk5 Mambo - Wk5 Charleston - Wk6 Bachata - Wk6 Freestyle 2nd - Ana Isabelle - Puerto Rico - Singer & Actress - "Rosalía" in Spielberg's West Side Story Wk1 Urban - Wk1 Bachata - Wk2 Disco - Wk3 Tango - Wk4 Boogaloo - Wk5 Jive - Wk5 Foxtrot - Wk6 Cha Cha - Wk6 Contemporary 3rd - Jorge Anzaldo - Mexico - YouTube Star - Trained in musical theater Wk1 Urban - Wk2 Tango - Wk3 Quickstep - Wk4 Freestyle - Wk5 Waltz - Wk5 Contemporary - Wk6 Jive - Wk6 Samba 4th - Miguel Martínez - Mexico - Actor & Singer - Has been in telenovelas since childhood Wk1 Cumbia - Wk2 Waltz - Wk3 Urban - Wk3 Salsa - Wk4 Jive - Wk5 Paso Doble - Wk5 Bhangra ----------------------------------------------- 5th - Ferdinando Valencia - Mexico - Actor - Married to 6th Place Brenda - Wk3 Mambo was pro Karen's only dance 6th - Brenda Kellerman - Costa Rica - Actress & Host - Wk2 Contemporary dedicated to twin son lost in infancy 7th - Michelle González - Mexico - Actress - Wk1 Cha Cha won "best of night", then surprise 2nd elimination 8th - Gabriel Coronel - Venezuela - Actor & Singer - Injured in Wk 1 rehearsals, then reinjured in Wk2 Jive

The Latin American version, Mira Quién Baila, takes place in Miami and airs on Univision. My heritage is South American, so I don't always understand North American Spanish, but I'm enjoying MQB nonetheless. This season has high dance and production levels. Other seasons, I'd forget about it before catching up a bit on YouTube. This season, I've re-watched MQB dances more than DWTS dances, partly because YouTube is more convenient than streamers. There's also a feel-good aspect of celebrities competing for charity that offsets ringer concerns, imho. Presently, I'd rather write on MQB than DWTS. (Hence this post.) The current cast includes pros largely recognizable to DWTS/SYTYCD/WOD/SCD viewers. Here's a bilingual MQB segment and performance featuring the pros: While there may not be general interest in MQB among DWTS fans, there may be interest in recognizable pros. Below is a summary of their Season 10 work. Linked videos are from Univision's official MQB playlist on YouTube. Note that pros and stars are paired weekly, based on dance style. Also, the titular "All-Star" is to indicate celebrity participation, not returning stars. Jonathan Platero (SYTYCD S5 Top 20) Wk 1 Cha Cha - Wk 2 Disco - Wk 3 Foxtrot - Wk 4 Contemporary - Wk 5 Charleston - Wk 6 Cha Cha - Wk 6 Contemporary Oksana Platero (nee Dmytrenko; DWTS S12-16 troupe; SCD S14 pro) Wk 1 Waltz - Wk 2 Tango - Wk 3 Quickstep - Wk 4 Rhumba - Wk 6 Samba Sofia Ghavami (SYTYCD S16 Top 20; DWTS S30 troupe) Wk 2 Waltz - Wk 4 Freestyle - Wk 5 Paso Doble Genessy Castillo (SYTYCD S15 3rd Place) Wk 1 Urban - Wk 3 Urban - Wk 5 Bhangra Ashley Sanchez (SYTYCD S16 Top 20) Wk 1 Tango - Wk 2 Jive (interrupted, star injured) - Wk 3 Quickstep - Wk 4 Jive - Wk 6 Jive Allen Genkin (SYTYCD S15 Top 20) Wk 1 Tango - Wk 1 Samba - Wk 3 Viennese Waltz - Wk 4 Disco - Wk 5 Jive - Wk 5 Foxtrot Ricardo Vega (WOD S2 Upper Division Finalist, with Karen) Wk 1 Salsa - Wk 2 Salsa - Wk 3 Tango - Wk 4 Boogaloo - Wk 5 Mambo Karen Forcano (WOD S2 Upper Division Finalist, with Ricardo) Wk 1 Salsa (cancelled, star injured) - Wk 3 Mambo

I suspect Mark, with his history of "shocking eliminations" on DWTS, returned in part because the judges now decide eliminations. WRT mirrorball trophies at this point in his career, he'd probably prefer Emmy nominations and trophies. The game plan to eliminate Vinny this week appeared to be: Concede that Heidi and Trevor will finish bottom 3 after having twice been bottom 2. Down-score Vinny as much as possible. Up-score the remaining celebrities. I didn't think any of the performances deserved 10's this week, except maybe Charli based solely on technical merit. Daniel got some extra help between jazz (an invitation to upscore along with contemporary) and the sob story. As for the silent part of the routine, it was also done on SCD by last year's winner, a deaf actress. Video link: Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice dance Couple's Choice - BBC Strictly 2021 While there's always been an anti-ringer bias on this forum, I feel like there was a bit more balance between anti- and pro-ringer opinions during past seasons. Maybe that's a segment of forum participation that we lost in the move to Disney+. <shrug> This made me go back to re-watch her reaction. I saw some teenage awkwardness with an attempt at humor, but I didn't see murderous intent, lol. Is it possible that you were thrown by the "possessed" cosmetic contact lenses she was wearing that night? As others have noted, social media stars have not done particularly well with voters in the past. At this point, she is likely making the finals. Even if she lands in the bottom 3, the judges likely advance her over anyone else. Assuming the same double elimination process of the past 3 seasons, the only way she's eliminated is if she's at the very bottom. I'm OK with that, and with Mark getting more tries at Emmy-worthy choreography. Charli's technique is worth watching, even if expected from a trained dancer and even if the performance skill falls short. However, I don't expect her to win. Even at the start of the season, Wayne Brady seemed the most likely DWTS fan favorite, while Gabby had the most proven DWTS fanbase. I'm hoping Shangela makes the final. She's been consistently entertaining, and is the most unique remaining star wrt DWTS history. So true. :-) Both Wayne and Trevor have been affected by injuries, as well. And while Trevor is only 44, that's still relatively "old" for DWTS. Over 40's tend to hit a wall as the show moves to two performances a week, so both have acquitted themselves well. On that note, I'd like to give Heidi some appreciation. She had the same insecurities and difficulty connecting to the audience that other over-40 females have had on the show. But she did well for a 50-year-old woman on DWTS, and should feel proud of her effort.

Late reply, but I suspect the simplest explanation for no group costumes would be budget cuts. It was rumored that moving to Disney+ would entail a smaller production budget, including reduced pros' salaries. Not sure whether that was ever confirmed, however. This is how Alexis became the first SYTYCD ballroom winner. The current system of voting during the live show--to determine that night's elimination--was implemented by the previous showrunner. The past 2(?) seasons, West Coast viewers were upset that the voting window would close before the show even aired on their local ABC stations. They either had to vote blind, or not vote at all. At least now, West Coast viewers can live stream Disney+ during the voting window, which is probably why Conrad Green opted not to revert to the older system. Agreed that voting feels rushed now, but that's due to the lack of commercials, imho. It's based on percentage. The percentage of judges score is added to the percentage of viewer votes. e.g. If dancer A receives 20% of the judges' scoring points and 30% of the viewer votes, then their tally is 50. If dancer B receives 10% of the judges' points and 15% of the viewer vote, then their tally is 25. The higher tally is the better result. Brandon has an "old soul" personality, imho. I've enjoyed his partnerships with stars like Mary Wilson and Kenya Moore, because their energies match better. Jordin still has a youthful energy, and a winning personality as evidenced by her AI title. Although Brandon is a little younger, this was a mismatch imho. Don't know why they dropped Keo, but he might have matched Jordin's personality better. Of the current tall pros, only Alan (or maybe a reformed Gleb?) brings younger energy, although Ezra from the troupe might become an option for youthful tall stars.