S21.E12: Trios Night

[Tara Ariano]

An elimination occurs after the tenth week of performances.

The semi-finalists will dance head-to-head in a competition that was just added to the lineup for Monday.

For the dance-off challenge, Nick Carter and partner Sharna Burgess will dance a samba against Bindi Irwin and partner Derek Hough.

And Alek Skarlatos and partner Lindsay Arnold will dance a cha-cha against Carlos PenaVega and partner Witney Carson.

The judges will score the dances and each couple that wins the dance-off challenge will be awarded three points.

These points will be added to the points received for the two previously scheduled dances the couples have been preparing: one featuring a dance style they have not danced yet this season and another as a trio featuring a second pro dancer of their choosing.

Skarlatos and Arnold will dance a waltz to "America The Beautiful" performed by the house band Ray Chew Live and will dance their trio dance with the train hero's crush, Emma Slater, whose partner Hayes Grier was eliminated week seven.

Irwin and Hough will dance a salsa to "You're Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile" by Sia and chose Mark Ballas – who had been partnered with Alexa – to complete their trio.

Carlos and Carson will do a contemporary to "Drag Me Down" by One Direction and will dance their trio dance with Karina Smirnoff, whose partner Victor Espinoza was eliminated in week two.

Carter and Burgess will dance a tango to "Scars" by Alesso feat. Ryan Tedder and will be joined for their trio dance by Peta Murgatroyd, who had been partnered with Andy Grammar but had to drop out before the season began because of an injury.

[legaleagle53]

Psst -- there's no "'s" in "trios."  That's only used to show possession in the singular or as a contraction of "trio is", not pluralization.

[just prin]

Another grammar nut like I! Not many of us left. Love ya!

Edited November 14, 2015 by just prin

[Andie1]

  "Another grammar nut like me"   I think is the correct grammar. 

Edited November 14, 2015 by Andie1

[crowceilidh]

tri·o ˈtrēō/ noun
plural noun: trios

 

Looked it up.
 

[ari333]

tri·o ˈtrēō/ noun

plural noun: trios

 

Looked it up.

 

Thanks!

I was  "fixin' to" ask how does one refer to more than one trio?

And random side note  tidbit - one used to get beaten up in grade school for referring to oneself as, "one." [/sheldon Cooper]

"There is some crap up with which I will not put" [/Rebecca from Cheers]

I'll take my further riveting rants to small talk.

 

I'm looking forward to the trios. :) I just dearly hope that Sia does not show up in person. BLARG. I do enjoy "Drag Me Down" so there's that. Hope they don't butcher it.

Edited November 14, 2015 by ari333

[just prin]

  "Another grammar nut like me"   I think is the correct grammar. 

No, me is incorrect. You may state the sentence as: Another grammar nut like I am. Another grammar nut like me am would sound quite stupid!

[Andie1]

No, that's incorrect.  First of all,  to fully form the sentence it would read:

 

You are another grammar nut like me.  

"You" is the subjective pronoun, and "me" is the objective form of "I"   

You can use "I" if it's subjective and it's not in this instance, since "like" is the conjunction.

Edited November 14, 2015 by Andie1

[Andie1]

nm

Edited November 17, 2015 by Andie1

[radishcake]

Poor legaleagle53! You are absolutely right about the apostrophe! Fixed it!

[BW Manilowe]

Any thoughts on which couple would've left tonight--between the 2 in jeopardy: Bindi/Derek or Nick/Sharna--if Tamar hadn't withdrawn after Alexa was eliminated last week & there had actually been an elimination tonight?

I think it would've been Nick & Sharna.

Edited November 17, 2015 by BW Manilowe

[sinkwriter]

Gee, Carlos, you got over your wife's dance elimination very quickly.

 

He did dance well tonight, though. And at the same time, I still agree with Carrie Anne that they got slightly (just slightly) out of sync from one another here and there. But I didn't really care because that Charleston was very entertaining.

 

Who was on sync better than Carlos and his crew? Nick and Sharna and Peta. Great job! I thought they looked terrific, and I was really glad about that after the missteps in round 1. Way to come back.

 

Side note: I had a good laugh when Tom told Peta to come over and give his suit a little bit of spray tan. LOL!

[McManda]

Not a fan of Emma (and Karina’s) Charleston choreo. I felt a little like they watched YouTube videos and put every move they thought screamed “Charleston” into it. I don’t know. I was underwhelmed.

 

I’m so tired of Bindi and her enthusiasm and the judges constant praise. Someone else said it a while back … she’s like Alec Baldwin’s character from Friends … “like Santa Clause, on Prozac, at Disneyland, getting laid”. Click!

Tonight is the first time I’m afraid for Nick with his low score from the tango. He came back from the mess up well though, because I was afraid that was going to get him too into his head. His samba and his salsa were great. I loved his trio salsa, actually. The dude rocks the club dances like no other.

 

We’ll see how many Nick fans are out there (as opposed to someone like Alek). He’s got some ground to make up. Poor guy looked so confused when they didn’t eliminate anyone. (That said, I was a little shocked that Bindi and Nick were “the bottom”, but of course that makes sense if they weren’t eliminating anyone.)

 

And wow, Peta recovered well from surgery. Though I have to say … I didn’t really miss her this season.
 

Any thoughts on which couple would've left tonight if Tamar hadn't withdrawn after Alexa was eliminated last week & there had actually been an elimination tonight?

 

I think it would've been Nick & Sharna.

 

I don't really have a good guess, but Nick and Sharna had a good week last week. I would've been surprised if it were them.

Edited November 17, 2015 by McManda

[Callaphera]

You would think after all these years of this show being on they'd have a handle on the crappy camerawork and production. No, we don't want to see the dance. We want to see random stagehand #3 in the background and a crooked shot of the floor instead.

[sinkwriter]

 

I think it would've been Nick & Sharna.

 

I think so, too. And I would have been really bummed for him.

[SophiaPehawkins]

I think it would have been Alek and Lindsay.

 

Loved loved loved Sharna and Nick's trio dance with Peta. Speaking of Peta, so glad she's back. I missed her and I was amused by Tom telling her to get a little spray tan on his suit, his way of asking for a hug.

Edited November 17, 2015 by SophiaPehawkins

[sinkwriter]

I'd like to know how the judges saw Bindi and Derek's first dance, when their mini stage was surrounded by people. Did they stand on the desk?

[truthaboutluv]

Okay, I’ll give credit where it’s due, the opening number didn’t entirely suck. It wasn’t amazing but it at least included some really good ballroom dancing and was somewhat interesting. So yea! for that. 

 

With all the damn theme weeks that exists on this show now, the semi-final package of the celebrity’s background just doesn’t hold much weight anymore. I learned nothing about any of these celebrities tonight from those packages that I didn’t already know or hear from other packages this season.

 

Bindi/Derek (Salsa) – Hmm, this felt a little under-choreographed to me. I liked that it wasn’t stuffed with lifts like some other salsas I've seen, but it just sort of felt like not a lot happened. And I absolutely agreed with all the judges about Bindi not being fully grounded in her hips, which is key in the salsa. It felt like a very pretty, shimmery, cutesy salsa. So, kind of okay for me and thought the scores were fair.

 

Alek/Lindsay (Waltz) – Yes it was sweet and his frame was good but I still found him a bit stompy at times and he had the usual panicked, stone-faced look on his face. So I definitely did not agree with the 30 but honestly, whatever. Once they pulled out the America The Beautiful and all the patriotism talk, I saw the writing on the wall. 

 

Carlos/Witney (Contemporary) – Didn’t get the point of the nude bodysuit on Witney but whatever. Honestly, I was bored for most of this and the ending rope thing just gave me shades of Amy’s freestyle. I’m with Carrie Ann, in not really getting it. Honestly, Carlos just does nothing for me. Um, did Alexa get a special deal on leather?

 

Nick/Sharna (Tango) – Oh this was a mess.  It was almost as bad as the Jive. I missed the mistake but when they had the weird pause in the middle, I knew something clearly went wrong. To be honest, this kind of went bad right from the start. Nick was hunched forward almost immediately and again with the butt sticking out. I want to root for Nick but this is the inconsistency problem I’ve had with him this season. And holy crap, Aaron Carter does not look good at all. Does dude even weigh a 100 pounds right now?

 

Dance-Offs

 

Alek v. Carlos (Cha Cha) – So apparently this dance off was so rushed there wasn’t even enough time for new costumes huh. I can’t believe I had to see Lindsay again in that very unattractive costume. There was some weird crotch action going on with her in that costume. I do appreciate that they didn’t do the side by side crap again so I got to better see and judge each couple. Not that it mattered, because Carlos so clearly won this. Was Carrie Ann high voting for Alek?

 

Bindi v. Nick (Samba) – This was good but I feel like Bindi had way more Samba content in her number. Nick really just re-did the Samba parts from his Saturday Night Fever/Samba dance. I feel like because Bindi hadn’t done a Samba, Derek made sure to really focus on it which might have cut into time for their Salsa.

 

Trios

 

Bindi/Derek/Mark (Jazz) – I really loved this. But I have to say, as well as Bindi did, I did watched the number the whole time thinking of how amazing it would look with a trained dancer. And something tells me if Derek and Julianne do another tour, that number will show up.

 

Alek/Lindsay/Emma (Argentine Tango) – It was okay I guess, although to be honest, I looked at Lindsay and Emma more than him. I didn’t feel like he ever grabbed or drew me in. The choreography was good though and Emma and Lindsay did a good job trying to keep Alek the focus. I just really wasn’t drawn to him.

 

Carlos/Witney/Karina (Charleston) – This was actually really good and fun. I thought the second half was better than the first half and Carlos really picked it up as the dance went on. I feel like Carrie Ann can’t stand Carlos. First she picks Alek in the dance off which was a total WTF and then she gives the dance a 9 even though she only gave positive comments.

 

Nick/Sharna/Peta (Salsa) – I didn’t love this and I didn’t think it had a lot of salsa content. Granted that awful song did not help. I like Nick, I really do but he just hasn’t been as consistent this season as I would have liked.

 

Totally called no one going home the second they called Carlos safe and left Nick and Bindi in jeopardy. I can absolutely believe Alek actually got into the Finals but there is NO WAY anyone would convince me that Carlos got more votes than Bindi or Nick so come on now. Way to make it obvious producers that you’re expecting this to likely come down to Nick and Bindi. Although with these inflated scores for Alek tonight, I would not be shocked to see some upset where Nick ends up third.

Edited November 17, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[sinkwriter]

I liked Bindi, Mark and Derek's trio, but I think it was more "conceptual" than "major dance routine." Still, it was very interesting to watch and they had terrific timing together. They looked cool.

[Artymouse]

Wow, they really faked us out with putting Nick and Bindi in jeopardy. I'd forgotten that they don't eliminate anyone when someone has dropped out.

That said, I loved Nick's trio dance; so much fun to watch, and great to see Peta back in the ballroom.

After a few weeks of finding Alek annoying, I felt like he made a comeback tonight. I loved the (was it a) waltz with Lindsay, although it's possible I was mesmerized by her lovely, flowy dress. And the AT with Lindsay was great too.

Bindi's trio dance bored me. Of course it was perfectly executed, but it didn't really move me.

[Lisa4106]

Tom did say at the end that either Bindi or Nick had the lowest combined score, right before he said everyone was safe.

[sinkwriter]

 

Alek v. Carlos (Cha Cha) – So apparently this dance off was so rushed there wasn’t even enough time for new costumes huh. I can’t believe I had to see Lindsay again in that very unattractive look. I do appreciate that they didn’t do the side by side crap again so I get better see each couple. Not that it mattered because Carlos so clearly won this. Was Carrie Ann high?

 

Seriously. There was no way Alek did better than Carlos. I feel like they boosted his scores for that waltz to keep him in the competition.

[GreekGeek]

Everybody turned in good performances tonight, especially on the trio dances. I didn't catch Nick's misstep in his first dance. But did we need another rehash of Bindi's loss of her dad, the Penn-Vega drama from last week, Alek's heroic deeds, Nick's difficult childhood, etc.? I appreciated the update on Tamar, though.

 

That bit of "in jeopardy" drama at the end wasn't necessary.

[sinkwriter]

 

Bindi v. Nick (Samba) – This was good but I feel like Bindi had way more Samba content in her number. Nick really just re-did the Samba parts from his Saturday Night Fever/Samba dance. I feel like because Bindi hadn’t done a Samba, Derek made sure to really focus on it which might have cut into time for their Salsa.

 

I think so too. They (Bindi and Derek) really seemed to go all out for this dance-off. Nick and Sharna were good, but Bindi and Derek were really cooking. Lots of content on this one. As much as I root for Nick, I think Bindi did much better in her part of the dance-off.

[thesupremediva1]

Let me just say this about the array of BS that took place tonight: I'm not a Carlos fan by any stretch of the imagination, but his first dance was, IMO, the best of the season. If there was ever a time too nitpick "too much face" it certainly wasn't on that number. And Carlos barely registers on the scale when compared to mug queen Bindi. Get a clue, Carrie Ann. Your critique was not remotely in line with reality. Again, thank goodness that Bruno, of all people, consistently functions as the new voice of reason.

I missed Tamar. Nick got all my votes.

[Uke]

Ok. Heading down to the finals.

 

Bindi:
I really wish I had a better feel for who the real Bindi is outside of her camera-on personna or as Steve's daughter. But I've got to hand it to her - she's kept the facade up consistently.  Nice salsa, one little stall, weird ending.  Julianne-I don't think Bindi does "down & dirty".   Good grief! They actually critiqued her a little?  9s? Ooookayyyy.

 

Alek:
What this guy has been through over the past few months is just mind boggling. He looked so comfortable and relaxed. Maybe it was America the Beautiful or what, I don't know, but I got a little teary. I'm good with the scores.

 

Carlos:
Ha! They replayed his fake crying. Sorry but I just don't like this guy. (Not hating on him - just expressing my preference!)  He's gonna win it for Alexa? I don't think so. He's in it for himself.  I didn't understand the theme - agreed with CAI on this.  I guess the theme was nobody is going to drag him down - literally playing out the song?   But he's now giving it a religious spin. I don't know. Scores are fine I guess.

 

Nick:
Heavy duty package. I'd love to see him lighten up now and just be happy.  Posture is still come-n-go and his butt is still out there. I saw something with the footwork but wasn't sure if that was the choreography or Nick messing up.  Judges are calling it a timing issue.  8s? Ouch!

 

Dance-Off - Alek vs Carlos
Interestingly neither had any hip action.  Alot of gratuitous chest baring.  I'd say Alek is most improved but Carlos did sell it better. Agreed with Carlos getting the 3 points.

 

Dance-Off - Bindi vs Nick
Bindi had alot of tricks but didn't seem to have the bounce or hip action. Nick sold it. Disagreed with the judges. Nick should have gotten the 3 points.

 

Trio - Bindi
Interesting choreo. I didn't really get the lightbulb part and swinging it around her neck but executed well. Agree with the score.

 

Trio - Alek
I actually laughed (in a good way) at the end of this. I forget how young Alek really is and he's trying to hold it together with 2 hot gals, one being his lady crush.  I disagreed about losing steam at the end. I thought the 9s were low. I would have given a 10 or two.

 

Trio - Carlos
Cute but I have to wonder who did the choreo. Did Witney say she was going to troll youtube?  Sasha was doing that lift on IG with Alexa and Lindsay.  Agreed with CAI there was some out of sync at the beginning and it was really hard to see at the beginning. I thought the score was a point too high.

 

Trio - Nick
He really looked like he was into it and having fun. A little too much hip hop for my taste but I enjoyed it. I'm ok with the scores.

 

Wow - wasn't expecting an elimination tonight. Did Tom just say either Bindi or Nick had the lowest combined score? Eeks!

[jennifer6973]

I'd like to know how the judges saw Bindi and Derek's first dance, when their mini stage was surrounded by people. Did they stand on the desk?

 

 

I think I saw a pop up monitor in front of Julianne when they went back to the judges table.

[SophiaPehawkins]

Tom did say at the end that either Bindi or Nick had the lowest combined score, right before he said everyone was safe.

 

 

I know that Derek probably has the biggest following of all the pros, but maybe Bindi isn't getting the votes everyone assumes she is. I have a hard time believing Nick's votes are suffering. It also surprises me that it's not Alek or Carlos with the lowest combined score. Really rooting for Nick and Sharna next week.

 

I'm also sick and tired of Derek's hand choreography. It's old and played out. I get that it can be a part of Jazz, but I feel like this is the millionth time he's done it.

 

Julianne-I don't think Bindi does "down & dirty".   Good grief! They actually critiqued her a little?  9s? Ooookayyyy.

 

Julianne is an alright judge, but I don't think she's a good fit. She rarely has anything to critique Bindi about. I think it's too biased of an opinion. Another problem is that when she does critique Bindi, it's on something so stupid like the "down and dirty" thing. How about her hips, Julianne? Bindi is definitely a solid dancer, but she's not perfect and I wish the judges would recognize this. It kills me when some get harsher critiques than others.

Edited November 17, 2015 by SophiaPehawkins

[sinkwriter]

 

Alek/Lindsay/Emma (Argentine Tango) – It was okay I guess, although to be honest, I looked at Lindsay and Emma more than him. I didn’t feel like he ever grabbed or drew me in. The choreography was good though and Emma and Lindsay did a good job trying to keep Alek the focus. I just really wasn’t drawn to him.

 

I agree. I think he's good enough to not drive me up a wall like, for example, the race car driver (who I couldn't believe managed to stay as long as he did). But at the same time, I don't think Alek is able to really let go and become a character like the other "stars" do. And maybe that's to be expected because the rest are all show business types, while Alek has a completely different, non-performance background. But that also means I don't think he should be in the finals. He danced nicely, but he's never really surprised me in that way where I feel like the dancer and his partner finally meld and everything else melts away because you're so drawn to the two of them dancing. Alex can't get there. 

[smiley13]

Was anyone else creeped out about Bindi's nasty, funked up feet being bare on the dance floor?  As much as I love Mark, I thought their trio dance was awful.

 

On the other hand, Alek and Carlos rocked their trio dances!  Nick's was blah.  And I have not missed Peta either,

 

Alek's first dance was amazing!

[Saylii]

I already deleted it so I can't rematch, but did Tom ever say that Nick and Bindi were actually the lowest scores + votes? Otherwise I think it's a sleight of hand. I think he started with whoever has the lowest scores + votes go home tonight, Carlos & Alek you are safe, Nick & Bindi you are in jeopardy, j/k no elimination because of the withdrawal.

My biggest takeaway from the night was Whitney's first outfit. When I saw butt crack that took me out of the dance (at one point her bikini bottom thing shifted badly). I couldn't concentrate on the dance after that. If that dance was supposed to be a dedication, I missed it. I understood what Carrie Ann was saying because it felt like a bunch of waving arms and man body, but there was no substance to the dance at all.

I felt bad for Nick. When he was standing there with Sharna in the middle of the dance, I thought maybe he popped an ankle. He looked so uncomfortable.

Alek is going to sail into the final 3 with the America Rah Rah, especially after this week.

I think Bindi's going to win it all. The boys seem to be imploding separately so I think she's going to sail away with the mirror ball.

Holy meth face, Aaron.

[sinkwriter]

Is that really possible that both Witney and Karina have never done the Charleston? I feel like Witney must have done some of it in dancing with Alfonso. And I could have sworn Karina threw in some of those types of moves in once of her dances with Corbin. Them saying that seemed so weird to me. I mean, they must not have or they wouldn't have bothered to make such a big deal out of it, but I feel like that can't be true.

[Janie1130]

Tom did say that of the two couples in jeopardy that one had the lowest combination of judges scores and audience votes. I think it was Nick and Sharna who would have gone home.

[McManda]

Tom does say that either Nick or Bindi had the lowest combined total of judges scores and viewer votes.

 

That said, I would also be surprised if Nick wasn't pulling the votes. I mean, he's probably got a few people voting from just the show, but the Backstreet Army isn't small.

Edited November 17, 2015 by McManda

[wanderingstar]

It pains me to say it because he really bugs me, but I enjoyed Carlos' trio dance with Witney and Karina. Also really enjoyed Nick, Sharna and Peta's dance. Bindi, Derek's and Mark's was good, too, but she and Derek get on my damn nerves with the constant cheesing and mugging, not to mention the judges' constant slobbering over them.

 

Resigning myself to a Bindi/Derek win.

[LotusFlower]

If what Tom said was true - that either Nick or Bindi had the lowest combined votes, then I'm sure it was Nick, because of the low scores for his first dance, and then losing the dance-off (Bindi and Derek got the 3 extra points).

[Saylii]

Tom does say that either Nick or Bindi had the lowest combined total of judges scores and viewer votes.

That said, I would also be surprised if Nick wasn't pulling the votes. I mean, he's probably got a few people voting from just the show, but the Backstreet Army isn't small. Does Bindi have all of Australia voting?

Since that's the case, I wonder how the votes for Tamar affected the votes for everyone else. I also wonder if Nick or Bindi was true #5 or really #4. Either way this is going to make for a very interesting finale. I may have to get my barf bag ready if Carlos actually eeks out the win and the platitudes he will platitude.

[NicksDancingPants]

Tom does say that either Nick or Bindi had the lowest combined total of judges scores and viewer votes.

That said, I would also be surprised if Nick wasn't pulling the votes. I mean, he's probably got a few people voting from just the show, but the Backstreet Army isn't small. Does Bindi have all of Australia voting?

 

Well, I haven't been consistent with my voting for Nick, to be honest. On top of that, his fans really don't like his wife, to the point that there are grown women sending her death threats, so I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he isn't getting as many votes as one would think. I'd hope the more sane ones are voting for him, though. I guess there isn't a real great way of telling though. 

 

Definitely rolled my eyes when Bindi squealed "it's raining happiness!" after her solo dance. Calm down.

[smiley13]

If what Tom said was true - that either Nick or Bindi had the lowest combined votes, then I'm sure it was Nick, because of the low scores for his first dance, and then losing the dance-off (Bindi and Derek got the 3 extra points).

But an elimination tonight would have had nothing to do with tonight's scores.  It would have been based on last week's totals.

Definitely rolled my eyes when Bindi squealed "it's raining happiness!" after her solo dance. Calm down.

That was a gag me moment for sure!

[McManda]

Since that's the case, I wonder how the votes for Tamar affected the votes for everyone else.

 

Oh, that's true. I also wonder how people that voted for Tamar might shift their votes.

 

On top of that, his fans really don't like his wife, to the point that there are grown women sending her death threats, so I wouldn't be entirely surprised if he isn't getting as many votes as one would think.

 

This is really, really sad. (Both for her - no one deserves death threats, especially just because they married someone - and for the people that think it's appropriate to do so.)

[PBGamer89]

- Bindi/Derek (Salsa): It was a proper Salsa. I wish it had a more Salsa appropriate song, but I think ultimately it was light and fun and felt like it fit Bindi’s personality. I loved the speed of her turns and I saw a lot of basic Salsa in that. Ok, maybe it needed to be slightly more grounded, but overall props for doing a proper dance. I think Len would’ve agreed on the content as well. 

 

- Alek/Lindsay (Waltz): OK, so he gets yet another Ballroom dance, dances it to a patriotic national anthem and a package about how he saved people again? Yea, they weren’t trying AT ALL to sway votes towards him. Was it a good Waltz? Yes. Was it his best dance? Yes. Was it a perfect 30? No! 

 

- Carlos/Witney (Contemporary): I have to say I agreed a bit with the female judges with this one. It felt very over dramatic and didn’t actually make sense. On the contrast of Alexa whose emotional Contemporary felt real and genuine, this felt a little put on. Also, nice way of basically stealing the end move of Amy’s freestyle.

 

- Nick/Sharna (Tango): Wow, I don’t often see dances like this in the semi-finals where it is this messy. I mean from almost the start he lost his footing and just never regained any of it throughout and then the strange stop and mini pep talk in the middle was odd. Not a good dance for him at all. 

 

Dance Off thoughts: I found it funny how Carrie Ann could think this Carlos/Alek was an even playing field. Alek’s snippet was basically “my Latin sucks, so here’s a knee slide and my bare chest”. Guess it worked for Carrie Ann. Bindi killed her Samba snippet and I’m glad we were able to see some semblance of a Samba from her because she hasn’t gotten to do it yet.

 

Trios
- Bindi/Derek (Jazz) w/Mark: Whoa! I think this was so powerful and unique. This almost looked like it could’ve been on SYTYCD. I know Bindi hasn’t had much dance experience but damn she picks up each dance like a pro each time and this was so daring and dangerous and my god she pulled it off. Mark and Derek are genius separately but when they join forces it’s magic. 

- Alek/Lindsay (Argentine Tango) w/Emma: A prime example of showing how little the men do in certain dances. Judges praise it and say it showed off Alek, but to me it just showed how little he did. He doesn’t lead, he’s back-led by the pros; an easy and commonly used tactic by the female pros. Very few men have actually lead in any season. I think I could count them on one hand. Didn’t like the weird acoustic very of Elle King’s song. Overall, it just seemed like an OK number. 

 

- Carlos/Witney (Charleston) w/ Karina: I don’t know why Tom stated Samba and then it was all Charleston after that comment. I read he was supposed to have Samba and it got changed on Tuesday. Interesting. It was a good number but he sometimes overdoes the facial expressions, like almost to a degree where it looks fake. 

 

- Nick/Sharna (Salsa) w/Peta: Nice to see Peta back, a season long absence made me miss her when I otherwise don’t really care for her as a pro, but overall it was a flashy number, but light on the actual Salsa. Bindi’s had more recognizable Salsa. I laughed after when Sharna said in the package “this is a competitive Salsa” because that’s not really what came out afterward. It was a music video with a Salsa flare. 

Edited November 17, 2015 by PBGamer89

[vibeology]

I hated Bindi's trio dance. Hated it. She's a very good dancer but that was too much stuff for her to deal with. The whole time with the box, I could see her thinking and she struggled with the light on a rope too. That was a big number that suited Derek, Mark and someone else, but that someone wasn't Bindi. That dance required intensity and some menace and Bindi does not do menace.

 

I did love the editor who showed the replay of Bindi messing up the rope catch and whacking herself in the face with that light just as Julianne was saying that every step was perfect. Someone up there is over Julianne.

 

Weirdly Carlos was my favourite of the night. I thought with first number was very strong. I do think it was too intense and aggressive. It needed a tender moment somewhere to provide that shade that makes the big moments even better. His trio was my favourite of the night and he was so far ahead in the dance-off. CAI voting for Alek was a joke especially since Bindi and Nick were closer and no one threw him a pity vote.

 

Nick losing his footing and turning to Sharna to get him back on track was actually a lovely moment. That showed me that their partnership is really strong. Obviously the dance wasn't great, but I do love seeing when a partnership is genuine.

[Artymouse]

I think it's possible that Tamar had the lowest scores and would have been eliminated had she not withdrawn, leaving either Nick or Bindi as next-lowest. I would have thrown something at my TV if Nick had gone home and Carlos had stayed. And as I think about it, it's very possible that Bindi's viewer votes could be falling off because of fans who don't want Derek to get his sixth mirrorball.

And am I correct in thinking that tonight's dance scores go toward next week, in choosing who leaves in fourth place? If that's the case, I hope Nick pulls in a boatload of votes because his judges' scores were so lousy.

[RemoteControl88]

-The opening number was good.

-Val & Jenna number was awesome. I really love seeing 2 pros out there doing pure dance.  They killed it.

-Carlos: besides the rope serving no purpose in the contemporary...the routine was just sloppy.  He is actually slightly pigeon toed or something and he has not corrected that all season. I'm not loving Witney's choreo this season....but then again she's getting some crappy songs...last week it was Justin Bieber...this week 1 Direction. The song alone will make me hate the dance.

-Alek's trio was his best dance IMO. He will never be super expressive on the dance floor...but for his ability I really enjoyed his routine...and the lifts were great.

-I was prepared to roll my eyes at more props from Derek...but that jazz was very cool. Bindi is 1000% more interesting to me when we see a different side of her that isn't perky/bubbly.  It was a great contrast to her individual dance.  Her samba & salsa were fine...but they kinda felt like the same dance (energy wise) and it was more of what we've seen from her before.  Same vibe as her cha cha earlier in the season.

-Nick he is also pigeon toed? Or maybe he just doesn't have clean footwork. He got better as the night went on...but not his best night of dancing.

 

The dance off...was a complete waste of time.  It serves no purpose but to advance some producer agenda.  Case and point...CAI scoring Alek over Carlos?  WTF???  I would have rather have seen more pro dancing or pro group number than that.  

 

Also the show has completely played out the "theme night." The theme/packages were all a re-hash of "most memorable year" and 2 other random theme nights we already had this season.  

[LotusFlower]

But an elimination tonight would have had nothing to do with tonight's scores.  It would have been based on last week's totals.

Oh. So confusing! So that means Nick's in trouble next week?

[PBGamer89]

I don't think Bindi's votes would be sliding because fans don't want Derek to have another mirrorball.

 

I remember that same conversation coming up right before his wins with Kellie and Amber. Yes it would be his 6th win, but I view it more for the celeb than anything.

 

Why penalize a good celeb because of something regarding their pro?

[sinkwriter]

 

Definitely rolled my eyes when Bindi squealed "it's raining happiness!" after her solo dance. Calm down.

 

LOL! I did too. I mean, I really do love her positivity and I think it's freakishly genuine, but even I will say that was over the top. Calm down, Bindi. 

 

I may have to get my barf bag ready if Carlos actually eeks out the win and the platitudes he will platitude.

 

I may join you if that happens. His "rope ladder to God" was pretty over the top, too. 

 

- Alek/Lindsay (Waltz): OK, so he gets yet another Ballroom dance, dances it to a patriotic national anthem and a package about how he saved people again? Yea, they weren’t trying AT ALL to sway votes towards him. Was it a good Waltz? Yes. Was it his best dance? Yes. Was it a perfect 30? No!

 

YES. Exactly. The waltz was much more in his wheelhouse than any fast song (which he just can't seem to keep up with), and it was a lovely dance, definitely one of his best, but no way was it an all 10's kind of dance. It was "nice," not "OH MY GOSH THAT WAS AMAZING I LOVED IT!"

[Saylii]

I don't think Bindi's votes would be sliding because fans don't want Derek to have another mirrorball.

I remember that same conversation coming up right before his wins with Kellie and Amber. Yes it would be his 6th win, but I view it more for the celeb than anything.

Why penalize a good celeb because of something regarding their pro?

If Bindi was actually true bottom two, which hasn't been clarified at all this season, it has nothing to do with Derek. Bindi as a person has been stuffed down our throats from the beginning by the media, and by extension the producers. I can easily see where average fans aren't voting for her because they think her bloc is massive due to overexposure.

I suspect that last week Nick and Bindi had their fair weather voters vote for Tamar. Who wouldn't after that production? Carlos would have gotten a nice bump from Alexa's fans. Alek has his own bloc that has nothing to do with anyone else and is unaffected by any eliminations.

[sinkwriter]

Val & Jenna number was awesome. I really love seeing 2 pros out there doing pure dance.  They killed it.

 

OH YEAH! Thanks for reminding me! That was really, really good. I loved watching them dance. And Val just seemed to just let loose. Great performance.

[Artymouse]

I don't think Bindi's votes would be sliding because fans don't want Derek to have another mirrorball.

I don't know, but I've been reluctant to vote for Bindi, even though she's been consistently good, and I think it's mostly been because I figured she would be getting plenty of votes because of the combo of her talent and Derek's fan base. But, right or wrong, I've had those thoughts of, it's time for another pro to win; Derek has enough trophies. So I'm sure others have had those thoughts too. But whether it's enough to make a dent in the voting scores? Maybe not.