S25.E02: Week 2: Ballroom Night

[Packerbrewerbadger]

6 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I wish people would quit booing over Len's comments. He usually has valid things to say.

I totally agree with Len's valid comments but it bugs me that sometimes he'll stop and say " What?" when there isn't any booing, actually prompting audience to boo. I say "boo" to that !

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Debbie is in that middle ground of being competent but not outstanding, but I don't know if she has a big enough fanbase to last more than a few weeks.

The two best things about Nikki's waltz were the beautiful faux starlit background and Artem. Nikki is not very graceful and she's not as coordinated as I thought she would be. I'd put her dancing around the same level as Debbie's right now.

Lindsey is one of the better females but I don't understand why the judges seem to like her so much because she isn't amazing or anything. I feel like Mark's concepts are often more memorable than the actual performances. I could tell you that Lindsey had on a butterfly dress but I can't even remember what dance style she had this week, only a few hours after I watched her performance. I'm not even necessarily saying that his concepts are great, just that there's so much pomp and circumstance with the sets and the costumes and the story.

Nick isn't a bad dancer, but he's not a great dancer either. One thing he needs to work on is what he does when he isn't given specific dance steps. When he was walking in the middle of the dance, he looked like he was just walking down the sidewalk. When you're dancing a routine, everything should be dance, even the parts that you think aren't dance.

Barbara was better than last week but she is still the least skilled dancer of the group so I'm fine with her going home first. Keo looked good during their dance without looking too showoffy. I know that the pros don't want to water down their performance, but sometimes the pros go way overboard. Keo looked like a pro without seeming like he was deliberately trying to outshine his partner.

Drew is clunky and awkward. He's not the worst male celeb this show has ever seen but he has a lot to work on, particularly his sloppy feet.

Loved Vanessa's shiny gold dress! I know it's only week 2 and everyone's routine had a good 15-30 seconds of faffing about, but I don't know why Maks bothered to waste all that time at the beginning of the routine when it's obvious that Vanessa is a competent dancer. Faffing about is necessary for the celebs who can't dance or learn the choreography. Vanessa falls into neither of those categories so it seems like a waste that he didn't give her more to do with that intro.

Frankie continues to impress me as one of the better male celebs. Right now Jordan is the only one who is head and shoulders above the male celebs. Frankie isn't perfect, but I think he is better than Drew, Terrell, and Nick. He seems like he's learning well, so as long as Witney does a good job teaching him, he should be able to stick around for a while. But damn it, do we have to talk about this every season? Why would you put someone in a red costume and then use red lights? He looked like the devil trying to camouflage himself at a business meeting by wearing one of Arsenio Hall's old suits from 1992.

I felt like Cheryl was trying way too hard to make that foxtrot sexy. Terrell seemed very confident so I give him credit for that.

I thought Sasha did much better this week, so maybe she's more suited for slower/more elegant dances? I'm afraid to see her do something like the jive though. I was fine with the feather dancers during the intro but I wish they hadn't been in the background for the entire dance.

I couldn't remember who Victoria was until almost the end of her dance. I think she did well in her tango.

Derek's foxtrot was really fun to watch, so kudos to Sharna for that routine. I thought he did slightly better at this routine than Frankie did at his tango.

Jordan's waltz was the best of the night, which is not at all surprising. I don't care if the celebs have previous dance experience. I'd rather see good dancers. It's painful to watch the really uncoordinated celebs for half the season.

[katha]

Well, that wasn't so bad? Perhaps the second night will bring the trainwrecks caused by lack of practice time? The ringer debate is tiresome and I've always liked good dancing on the show, so I don't mind people with experience. But yeah, at this point it's pretty darn obvious that Jordan is a professional dancer and the other contestants are...not. Getting dance lessons for your stage show/music videos (Lindsey) or getting dance lessons to go with other performance training (I'm sure many of the actors fall into that category) is not the same as being a trained stage performer. Jordan is a trained stage performer. Not at ballroom dancing, but still. His quality of movement is just vastly superior to everyone else's. He's so smooth, really lovely to watch. As for who "deserves" to win. Who cares. As if this show ever was a real competition. He'll deliver good dancing, so that's cool.

Victoria was really good. She will probably do better with the dances in hold, where Val can better control her movements. But I'm sure she'll improve overall and I'm looking forward to watching her progress. Once again, Vanessa had an annoying gimmick at the beginning of her dance that then sequenced into very nice foxtrot choreography. And a pretty dress. Maks should just stop with all the outside stuff and stick to the bare bones of the dances. He's good at those. Whenever he tries "story", the outcome can get dicey. Nick is clearly weaker than his wife. Frankie is sweet, and good to see Witney really into it again.

Oh, and I love most things Mark, but that wasn't one of his better efforts. The costumes were pretty, the choreography was okay, but he's done better quicksteps. The ones with Shawn, Chelsea, Katherine, Paige were really memorable, this was...nice. Also, Lindsey might have a problem going forward because IMO she's not very charismatic outside her music performer persona. And she also doesn't quite know how to translate it into dance performances without a violin yet. In her packages she's nice and perky, but I can't see a grand narrative for her and she's not a very loud personality. Someone here said she reminds them of a kindergarten teacher and...yeah. That's kinda her vibe. There's nothing wrong with that, but she'll need to be careful that she doesn't fade into the background.

Edited September 26, 2017 by katha

[Good Queen Jane]

Poor Keo! I'm not very impressed by him as a pro, but he doesn't seem to get partners who have any dance ability. He looked positively terror stricken when Tom suggested a dance off between Barbara and Charo. Speaking of Tom, you could practically see him biting his tongue when Barbara wailed "What am I going to tell my friends!" I think he wanted to say something like "Tell them you can't dance, you silly woman" but restrained himself as a good host should. Tom clearly had enough of Barbara's cougar tactics as shown by bringing up that she did have a husband.

[Electruck]

Ohhh, Artem and Nikki’s waltz...I loved the look and feel of it. The dress, the stars above and below, Artem...that’s what waltzes look like in my dreams. 

[Emily-D]

Nikki got screwed by the dance style I thought. The slow Waltz is probably the most boring Dance style you can get on the show and there’s a reason it’s hardly ever used anymore. Yes traditional Len obviously loves it but in terms of the audience it’s far more boring and unentertaining to watch then say a Foxtrot or Quickstep. Credit to Artem who did his best to make it memorable with the lalaland style set but he was beating a dead horse with the Waltz. Having said that I thought her and Lindsey’s scores of 7s were fair, until the likes of Vanessa and Sasha started getting 8s. The judges are kidding themselves when they say that couples going early don’t have a disadvantage scores wise.

Edited September 26, 2017 by Emily-D

[tessaforever]

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall at the meeting where TPTB were like "Hey Barbara, after the "crotch grab heard around the world" we need to improve your image! Any struggles to share??" and then she pulls out dyslexia and makes that the focus of her package. (Not to dis on dyslexia, my daughter has it and it's a real struggle, even more for the older generation that wasn't diagnosed properly). It was just such an obvious hard right turn. But I don't think it would have mattered if she pulled out the sob story to end all sob stories - she alienated everyone with her disgusting behavior the first night, and there was no winning them back. 

I thought the most improved (not the best...) was Drew the Property Brother. Maybe there's actually some potential there. The Lacheys can go at any time. Still like Lindsey, Jordan, or Victoria for the win. 

Edited September 26, 2017 by tessaforever

[LadyMustang65]

We thought everyone did quite nicely last night.  Even Barbara was better.  Sasha was much better, we thought, but she's not grabbing us, and we don't care much for Gleb, so we won't be sorry to see her go when her time comes.  We have never cared much for TO, but I had to give him one vote last night just because of Cheryl's "Boo hoo.  Let's go."  (So the vote was more for Cheryl than him, I guess.)  We do enjoy Cheryl.  :)  Nick is clearly one of the weaker dancers this season, as is Drew.  Neither of them are terrible, but I'm not sure how much potential they have to get too much better.  Before Len said it, I had made the same comment about Drew being "gangly" to my husband.  He's just all arms and legs and seems very "flail-ly."  Kind of like the Scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz.  I'm not sure there's anything he can really do about that.  Personality-wise he seems nice enough, but he's another one we won't really miss when he's gone.  Same with Nick.  Debbie seemed much improved this week, and we really enjoyed her dance.  I hope she can make it to mid-season at least.

The rest we both really enjoy.  Frankie just seems like a genuinely nice person, and he's doing pretty well.  We like Vanessa's personality - she seems like a good match for Maks.  We also think she's dancing really well right now.  Victoria amazes us.  Nikki toned down the 'tough girl' stuff and did a very nice job with her dance.  We don't see any cockiness in Jordan at all, and I'm honestly not sure what others are seeing to make them think that.  He seems like another nice guy.  Lindsey is dancing well, but we weren't crazy about this particular dance.  As others have mentioned, running into the 'cocoon' was just too literal.  We were also surprised that it happened so early.  From the way Mark was talking, we were kind of expecting the transformation to happen near the end of the dance.  We didn't really see the 'struggle' that they were supposed to be going through at the beginning.  Derek has definite potential.  There's still so many I can't remember if I've missed someone, but I have to say this is, for us, one of the best overall groups they've ever had.  Even the worst of the dancers (Barbara) weren't a train wreck, and it seems to us that the vast majority of this current crop of celebs is either good and could be really good or is doing at least okay and showing signs of being able to be good.  So far, we're loving this season.  :)

[bealled]

I kind of think Barbara got a raw deal night one because of her song choice. I feel like that kind of set her up to have a non-serious/goofy dance. She definitely was the weakest dancer and deserved to go, but I kind of disliked the show making her out to be a joke. She did bring the bad cougar edit onto herself though. Not sure why Keo seems to always get the strangest contestants as partners.

Overall this season is shaping up well. Nobody has been flat out awful, and I don't think there is an obvious front runner to win. I think it's too early to call and the freestyles could make a big difference. Right now I'd predict Jordan, Lindsey, and Derek for the final 3 but I could really see a lot of people make it to the end. I do think Jordan is the most likely to make it to the finals (just because he is clearly a better dancer) but I don't necessarily think Jordan will win.

I gave votes to Debbie, Sasha, and Frankie. They aren't necessarily my favorites, but I think they could be in jeopardy of leaving early so I'm throwing them my votes for now.

Debbie actually seems rather good. I'd probably rank her above Terrell, Nick, and Drew right now (at least this week). I think Debbie may be an early exit though.

Frankie is very likeable. I actually love that he seemed so nervous. I tend to get anxious about things too, and I love that he was so open about that. He seems so nice and his dancing has a lot of room for growth.

Drew actually impressed me during the Charleston bit at the end of his dance. I think he won't last too long though.

Terrell received a bad edit. I think he dances like he's at the club more so than a ballroom dancer. I wouldn't mind if he left next.

Sasha has been pretty good. I'm surprised nobody is commenting on her parents being professional dancers. Usually people would be calling her out for this, although I'm uncertain if her parents ever taught her dance at all or not. I know she has been acting since a young age. I like her because I was a Pretty Little Liars fan.

Vanessa is actually very good. She could be the best female contestant this season, but we will see. I could see her in the finals, but I also could see her not quite making it.

Nick is just okay. I think he may last a week or two longer than he should just because he's Nick Lachey.

Nikki is actually pretty good too, but I'm not really invested or interested in her. Same with Val's partner (sorry I forgot her name). Her story is crazy though.

I think Lindsey and Mark will be a good pairing. Hopefully Mark doesn't go too overboard with the creative routines though, as in the past I think that has hurt him. I really don't know why she would have been called a ringer. I think because she was one of the more well-known cast members, people wanted to brand her a ringer. I feel like this happens a lot. I'm not sure how being a violinist would make one a ringer... as it's not like you are doing choreographed dances while playing the violin...

Derek is another charismatic contestant. He may be the underdog male who continues to improve. He already is pretty good. I know he is a popular athlete which is why I could predict him making the finals. He appears to have the dance skills to make it far.

Jordan is definitely the best dancer right now. If anyone is a ringer, it is definitely him. I wouldn't mind seeing Lindsay actually win a season. Jordan could definitely take her to a win, but right now I'm not sure if he would take it. He wasn't well known before this season, and there are quite a few better known contestants. A lot of seasons end up with the best dancer not winning (Normani, Paige, Corbin, etc). However, Jordan seems really likeable and I could see him and Lindsay having an amazing freestyle so we will see.

Edited September 26, 2017 by bealled

[boyznkatz]

I love Jordan. I think the last bright star they had on the show was Zendaya. There was also Alfonso, but nothing beats seeing a star in the making.

Everyone else is either annoying or forgettable. I like Derek, but he isn't a very good dancer. Drew and Nick just suck.

Lindsey and Vanessa are decent dancers, but Vanessa is so annoying.  Lindsey is good, but Mark Ballas isn't doing her any favors with his wierd choreography. That said, she still got robbed. She was better than all the over-rated folks who got 8s.

Edited September 26, 2017 by boyznkatz

[spanana]

1 hour ago, bealled said:

Sasha has been pretty good. I'm surprised nobody is commenting on her parents being professional dancers. Usually people would be calling her out for this, although I'm uncertain if her parents ever taught her dance at all or not. I know she has been acting since a young age. I like her because I was a Pretty Little Liars fan.

I don't think much has been said about Sasha's parents being professional dancers because it doesn't seem like she has any dance experience.  In one interview she mentioned taking some ballet at 5 like many little girls do but that was the extent of it.  So I think she veered off pretty quickly into acting and never really looked back.  If she had taken ballroom at one point, I think it would show.  She genuinely looks like a novice.

I do think it's interesting that her parents are ballroom dancers and didn't insist she take lessons.  It always seems like such a family business.  Look at the Ballas family.  But Sasha was acting from a super young age, so maybe that is why.

Edited September 26, 2017 by spanana

[iMonrey]

Quote

Drew is clunky and awkward.

He certainly is awkward in hold, but when they're doing side by side dancing he's actually pretty decent. He has energy and charisma to spare and really sells it. I think it's more about what Carrie Ann pointed out - that he's so tall and lanky he needs to get control of his limbs. 

Aside from maybe Frankie Muniz, Drew is about the only celeb I give two shits about this season, honestly. I've barely heard of any of the others before this. I just don't have a dog in the hunt this time around.

[Wings]

1 hour ago, bealled said:

I kind of think Barbara got a raw deal night one because of her song choice. I feel like that kind of set her up to have a non-serious/goofy dance. She definitely was the weakest dancer and deserved to go, but I kind of disliked the show making her out to be a joke.

She made a joke out of herself.  She makes inappropriate comments on Shark Tank, too.  They don't happen often, good thing because I love that show.  She may wake up to that when she reads the feedback she got, everywhere.  

1 hour ago, bealled said:

Jordan is definitely the best dancer right now. If anyone is a ringer, it is definitely him. I wouldn't mind seeing Lindsay actually win a season. Jordan could definitely take her to a win, but right now I'm not sure if he would take it. He wasn't well known before this season, and there are quite a few better known contestants. A lot of seasons end up with the best dancer not winning (Normani, Paige, Corbin, etc). However, Jordan seems really likeable and I could see him and Lindsay having an amazing freestyle so we will see.

He is my favorite and I expect to see him go far.  But win, probably not unfortunately.  The athletes are bound to have a huge fan base.  

[Emily-D]

Does Derek really have a big fanbase? I’m not so sure to be honest, he’s got Sharna’s rabid fans but I don’t really see Lakers/BBall fans coming out the woodwork to vote in their droves. He needs to improve his scores to stay in the game.

[Wings]

3 hours ago, Emily-D said:

Does Derek really have a big fanbase? I’m not so sure to be honest, he’s got Sharna’s rabid fans but I don’t really see Lakers/BBall fans coming out the woodwork to vote in their droves. He needs to improve his scores to stay in the game.

I think he must.  Jimmy Kimmel always votes for who he thinks will win before the show starts or after the first episode.   He has him as the winner.  Why else would Kimmel choose him?  His pick is not a joke, he is serious.   

Edited September 26, 2017 by wings707

[suebee12]

Not a dance question but an audience question! Did I see the Boy Band winners there? I only "sorta" watched the show but I thought I saw them there.

As to the dancing, I can't wait until we thin out the group so that we get longer dances and can see if the contestants can do a longer routine. These short little numbers don't really let us see the dance skills and it felt like some of the routines were shorter than the ones last week.

[BoffoDaWonderSheep]

Those were indeed the Boy Band winners. I think they rotated their seating so each of them could get some camera time, although I don't think they got any mention from Tom (I tend to fast forward through a lot of the non-dancing stuff, so I'm not sure)

[spanana]

While youtube views aren't the best predictor, next to Barbara, there is a general four way tie for lowest views between Nick, Drew, TO and Derek so I suspect somebody in that pool will leave tonight.  Youtube views can be skewed since those with younger fanbases tend to be the ones that watch vids of their faves endlessly on loop, but in the early going I do think it's indicative of something.  For two weeks running, Nikki and Lindsey have the most views.  Jordan isn't doing badly but he's not getting the immediate online hits as quickly.  Top views so far are Nikki, Lindsey, Sasha (PLL fanbase), Frankie, Jordan, Victoria.

[calipiano81]

I'm so surprised to read all the negative comments about Lindsey and Mark's quickstep, even from Mark fans!

 

I thought Lindsey was technically stronger than last week...her frame was pretty good, and her shoulders/neck when dancing on her own were improved (though could still use some work). And their dance had me smiling the whole time I was watching, it was so fun and pretty.

 

Yes, Mark should have had more in hold, but as I posted elsewhere...A lot of the pros for the past several seasons have been breaking hold in quickstep and standard tango without any of the judges saying anything (Nyle/Peta quickstep, Simone/Sasha Quickstep, Nancy/Artem Tango are some quick examples). It's been often enough that I actually thought the show had done away with the "maintaining hold throughout" rule! Even Mark's Toy Story quickstep with Paige (which had a lot of similarities to Lindsey's butterfly one tonight) also had breaks in hold...Len didn't say anything and they ended up tied for the top score that night, so I wouldn't be surprised if Mark (and even some of the other pros) weren't clear about that rule still existing.

 

But one of the things I like most about Mark's choreography is his musicality. Some people say that his dances are mostly memorable for his production and costumes, but I say that it's unfortunate that they can't look past the production and costumes (which he uses to make a complete package and IMO, give more context to the choreography) and see all the interesting ways he uses ballroom content and other movement to express the different nuances in the music.

 

Like in tonight's butterfly quickstep, their bursting out of the cocoon matched the sudden transition burst in the music, which kicked it into the faster pace. The points at which they got out of and then back in hold, the tapping of their feet, Lindsey's flicks of her dress, the Charleston section, etc. all were designed to match the details in the music.

 

So for me, tonight's quickstep was another successful Mark creation. And while I always wish for Mark not to break rules, I respect his musicality enough to understand when he does.

Edited September 26, 2017 by calipiano81

[ljenkins782]

5 hours ago, tessaforever said:

I wish I could have been a fly on the wall at the meeting where TPTB were like "Hey Barbara, after the "crotch grab heard around the world" we need to improve your image! Any struggles to share??" and then she pulls out dyslexia and makes that the focus of her package. (Not to dis on dyslexia, my daughter has it and it's a real struggle, even more for the older generation that wasn't diagnosed properly). It was just such an obvious hard right turn. But I don't think it would have mattered if she pulled out the sob story to end all sob stories - she alienated everyone with her disgusting behavior the first night, and there was no winning them back. 

If she had gone with that angle on the first week, she might have had a chance of winning people over. I thought it was very sad when she said "I don't want people laughing at me" and I think people would have responded kindly to that. But being the batty cougar and going WAY over the top with that was a huge turn off.

She was a little odd with the judges and Tom/Erin too, clearly banter is not her thing. Even when they were trying to help or praise her, her response was a little off and it made things awkward. Glad she's gone first. 

Quote

We have never cared much for TO, but I had to give him one vote last night just because of Cheryl's "Boo hoo.  Let's go."  (So the vote was more for Cheryl than him, I guess.)  We do enjoy Cheryl.  :) 

Cheryl's complete lack of sympathy to her partners' complaints has always made me laugh. Too bad the show was desperate to flog the "married couples" angle, it seems like it would have been fun to pair her with Nick Lachey just to make the competition with his brother equal. ;) Especially since Vanessa is pretty far ahead of Nick in terms of dance ability, so there's really no competition there. 

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Frankie continues to impress me as one of the better male celebs. Right now Jordan is the only one who is head and shoulders above the male celebs. Frankie isn't perfect, but I think he is better than Drew, Terrell, and Nick. He seems like he's learning well, so as long as Witney does a good job teaching him, he should be able to stick around for a while. But damn it, do we have to talk about this every season? Why would you put someone in a red costume and then use red lights? He looked like the devil trying to camouflage himself at a business meeting by wearing one of Arsenio Hall's old suits from 1992.

I don't know why I'm not seeing the talent in Frankie. Maybe his nervous demeanor throws me off or it's that I'm so distracted by the receding hairline atop the face of a 12-year-old, I can't figure it out but he hasn't impressed me so far. 

Quote

Vanessa:  She looked a little out of control but clearly she's having fun and she sure knows where that camera is. Overscored.  What was she laughing about? A case of the nerves?

There was something very off about Vanessa's reactions to everything last night. Any chance she's pregnant again? The crying during Nick's dance and then the manic giggling the rest of the night...it seemed like wacky mood swings. 

I'm not incredibly invested in any contestant so far, but I'm kind of liking the mix overall. Not too many embarrassing novices or straight up ringers, most of them are middle of the road to good with a few above average. Could make for a fairly even race. 

[MsJamieDornan]

4 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

it seems like it would have been fun to pair her with Nick Lachey just to make the competition with his brother equal. ;

I was hoping for that!

[TeeMo]

I want to like Vanessa but she is just a lot. She was sort of a lunatic last night. Her personality seems like it might be exhausting Maks a bit which amuses me since he can be pretty exhausting himself. I am still not sure I am sold on her but I think they are a good pairing.

Frankie is still my dark horse favorite and he has made me like Witney a little bit again. She has seemed pretty over this show for a couple of seasons but she seems more enaged with him. It is nice. 

Every season there are usually 1 or 2 contestants I forget about entirely when they are not on my screen dancing (resulting in me saying "oh, right, him") but this season there are a good 3 or 4 which doesn't bode well for my overall interest. Sasha, Nikki, Victoria and Terrell all fall into that category for me with Debbie, Lindsey and Drew not far behind. This season has an odd dynamic to me but I don't know why.

Edited September 26, 2017 by TeeMo

[boyznkatz]

Instead of Nick they should have brought on Jessica Simpson. She wouldn't have been boring. I guess she is too famous for the show.

Why are Maks and Peta still on the show? They look like they are on autopilot. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

It was quite telling that Len acknowledged they were inconsistent last week.  TO (and Cheryl) got the shaft, for sure.

Score inflation is already rampant and we are 8 days into the season.  Spare me.

Do we think TO was the actual 2nd-lowest total score or was this a favor given by the TPTB to make up for the lousy score he was wrongly awarded? 

[Emily-D]

YouTube views won’t mean anything. For example Nikki will have the most views every week because WWE has a huge international fanbase in places like Europe and Australia who can only see Nikki dance on YouTube. These same people can’t vote so these views effect the votes. I highly doubt Nikki is getting more votes than say Victoria despite having thousands more views of her dances online.

[Fliz]

Lindsey's costume, brought to you by Effie Trinket!

[vdw84]

9 hours ago, spanana said:

I think the confidence/cocky issue and ringer issue are two different things. Unfortunately the show is a microcosm of society and so people view confident women very differently than confident men. Women are held to a much higher standard and will get called on that confidence. Make that double for black women.

Also while I do think women have it harder on this show in many ways, ringers rarely win period. It's not like male ringers are overwhelmingly rewarded while females aren't.  Male ringers have often gotten backlash.  

It's also not like this show has historically had a problem with giving women the mirror ball.  Just because a male won last season doesn't negate the 23 seasons before that.

That said it genuinely surprises me how little backlash Jordan is getting so far.  He should at least be getting backlash on par with Corbin or Zendaya.  Though Corbin's ringerness was counterbalanced by how hard the judges were on him. I'd argue Jordan actually has considerably more relevant dance training than someone like Zendaya and she was practically drawn and quartered by some fans for her extremely exaggerated training.  Though with her, see above with confidence.  Also I think a lot of the grown women being awful to her were Hough fans afraid she would snatch the mirrorball away from Derek, so there is a lot of selective outrage on these issues. I think one of the things keeping Jordan's backlash at bay is that a lot of people genuinely like Lindsay and want to see her get a win. 

Bingo, I think u nailed that perfectly. I think alot of people r tired of the same pros winning all the time that is why Emma won last season and Lindsay may win this season so it really doesnt matter what Jordan says, he can even be as bold and say something like TO did or what Tamar said her season about being the best dancer and people will still root for him and Lindsay to go all the way.

[vdw84]

6 hours ago, boyznkatz said:

I love Jordan. I think the last bright star they had on the show was Zendaya. There was also Alfonso, but nothing beats seeing a star in the making.

Everyone else is either annoying or forgettable. I like Derek, but he isn't a very good dancer. Drew and Nick just suck.

Lindsey and Vanessa are decent dancers, but Vanessa is so annoying.  Lindsey is good, but Mark Ballas isn't doing her any favors with his wierd choreography. That said, she still got robbed. She was better than all the over-rated folks who got 8s.

Don't forget Normani, that girl had one amazing journey and I def. see a star in the making with her. I think she is going to bigger than what she is producing in her group.

[vdw84]

I find Lindsay and Victoria boring. Im just not vibing with them and I don't get all in awe about her as everyone else does. I guess because her disability is not visible as Amy Purdy or Noah' was. Im actually more intrigued with sasha as for as the females, I just want see her transformation and she wanting to do this to lose weight and just would love to her transformation the longer she stays in the competition and I like her personality.

[Sister Havana]

12 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Actually, traditionally ringer women have won more than ringer men. The only ringer male to win was Alfonso. On the flip side, Nicole and Meryl won and since some think gymnasts are ringers (I don't), Shawn and Lori won. Meanwhile Corbin lost, Riker lost, Mario lost.

Don't forget Kristi Yamaguchi, who won Season 6.

[spanana]

2 hours ago, Emily-D said:

YouTube views won’t mean anything. For example Nikki will have the most views every week because WWE has a huge international fanbase in places like Europe and Australia who can only see Nikki dance on YouTube. These same people can’t vote so these views effect the votes. I highly doubt Nikki is getting more votes than say Victoria despite having thousands more views of her dances online.

Youtube views aren't a great indicator for the reasons mentioned, but I do think it isn't totally worthless in the early going.  I never claimed that Nikki was going to win because she's getting the most views.  I'm not even convinced she will be in the finals in this field. Plus even with her getting the most views, she's not so far out in front of the others for it to mean much. However I do think those generating youtube interest in the early weeks are not likely to fall prey to early elimination and will at least get carried through the first handful of weeks.  

Quote

Don't forget Normani, that girl had one amazing journey and I def. see a star in the making with her. I think she is going to bigger than what she is producing in her group.

For sure.  I don't know what will come of Normani's career but she's not going to break out until she ditches the group.  I don't think she's a fabulous singer, but she can dance and perform her ass off.

Edited September 27, 2017 by spanana

[Emily-D]

26 minutes ago, spanana said:

Youtube views aren't a great indicator for the reasons mentioned, but I do think it isn't totally worthless in the early going.  I never claimed that Nikki was going to win because she's getting the most views.  I'm not even convinced she will be in the finals in this field. Plus even with her getting the most views, she's not so far out in front of the others for it to mean much. However I do think those generating youtube interest in the early weeks are not likely to fall prey to early elimination and will at least get carried through the first handful of weeks.  

For sure.  I don't know what will come of Normani's career but she's not going to break out until she ditches the group.  I don't think she's a fabulous singer, but she can dance and perform her ass off.

Having just watched her dance I have a suspicion both our theories will come to the test next week. Because Nikki’s going to be right down the bottom with those sixes.

[truthaboutluv]

37 minutes ago, Sister Havana said:

Don't forget Kristi Yamaguchi, who won Season 6.

Too true. I forgot about her. Btw, regarding Mark and Lindsey's dance and the criticism, as a person who tends to love Mark's concepts, I will say that the dance didn't work for me because I didn't realize they were doing a Quickstep. Until I came on the board, I was positive that they doing a Foxtrot. It wasn't just the constant break of hold. I felt like I saw very little if any of the leg interplay that is a staple of and integral to a Quickstep. I honestly didn't get it. 

[McManda]

4 hours ago, boyznkatz said:

Instead of Nick they should have brought on Jessica Simpson. She wouldn't have been boring. I guess she is too famous for the show

Lol, Jessica Simpson is about as famous as Nick at this point, which is to say they're perfect for this show.

Intriguing thought, though. Instead of the marrieds they should go with the exes.

[crowceilidh]

I loved the design of the monarch dress.  That was beautiful.

Even when Peta tries to look soft, she still picks strangely hard lines -- what was with having a waistline that blunt and high?  It was interesting to watch her trying to look like the insanely-beautiful-yet-strangely- virtuous-blonde-next-door - her face is just too hard to pull it off consistently, she wavers in and out of being able to do it.

[madpsych78]

1 hour ago, McManda said:

Lol, Jessica Simpson is about as famous as Nick at this point, which is to say they're perfect for this show.

Intriguing thought, though. Instead of the marrieds they should go with the exes.

In that case, bring back Karina.

[BoogieBurns]

17 hours ago, McManda said:

Jessica Simpson is about as famous as Nick at this point

Ah, we are forgetting her billion dollar shoe line. She's behind the scenes; not less famous. Very very rich. 

[boyznkatz]

1 hour ago, BoogieBurns said:

Ah, we are forgetting her billion dollar shoe line. She's behind the scenes; not less famous. Very very rich. 

She is actually very smart. The dumb blonde act is just that...an act. She would be interesting. Nick is about as interesting as a cardboard box.

[ari333]

Barbara disgusted me. "You're my racehorse and I'm gonna ride you." Ewww. 

[Pandorap]

I like Debbie, but she, Nikki and Lindsey kind of blend together for me. No one stands out. 

Barbara- She looked like she was really enjoying the dance this time around. I personally like Keo a lot. I hope he gets another chance to dance next season. 

Nick and Peeta - BORING. 

Drew and Terrel's height difference is so distracting to me I can't even try to enjoy their dances. I don't remember this being such an issue for me in previous seasons.  Hoping for more dances from Drew though. 

Vanessa and Maks -  at this point I was wondering why I was even watching this season. Don't care for her and I'm hoping this changes. Maybe when Nick gets booted. 

Frankie - I'm in love! And I also thought he did a really good job. One person so far that I'm looking forward to seeing growth and improvement. 

Sasha and Gleb - boring

Victoria- amazing story. Will become repetitive if she stays throughout the season. I love her energy though. 

Derek- I really enjoyed his dance last week, so was looking forward to this week. I felt kind of disappointed That i didn't really like his dance.

Jordan- am I the only person who is ambivalent about him? He has a lot of presence and is obviously comfortable in front of an audience. I feel like Lindsay made him look good. I'm looking forward to seeing more content to see if he wows me the way he's wowing everybody else. 

Now im off to read the next thread and find out what happened  on Tuesday night because my PVR didn't record it. Boo!

[luvthepros]

On 9/26/2017 at 11:42 AM, bealled said:

.........Jordan is definitely the best dancer right now. If anyone is a ringer, it is definitely him. I wouldn't mind seeing Lindsay actually win a season. Jordan could definitely take her to a win, but right now I'm not sure if he would take it. He wasn't well known before this season, and there are quite a few better known contestants. A lot of seasons end up with the best dancer not winning (Normani, Paige, Corbin, etc). However, Jordan seems really likeable and I could see him and Lindsay having an amazing freestyle so we will see.

I may have missed it but....Jordan should have promoted himself as starring in the TV version of Grease. Most fans of this show would have seen him in that production given Julianne Hough was in the show in a lead role. I understand "Hamilton" is very popular but that is a Broadway show and does not reach out to most of America.

[Snarklepuss]

7 hours ago, ari333 said:

Barbara disgusted me. "You're my racehorse and I'm gonna ride you." Ewww. 

Barbara was truly mortifying and IMO I don't care how she was bullied and dyslexic, my husband was too and he doesn't use that as an excuse to embarrass himself in public like that.  For anyone that has gotten as far as she has in life her behavior is even more unbecoming and inexcusable.  I don't even care if it was an act, if so it was a BAD act and it made her look like a complete idiot.  Thankfully I've never seen her do that on "Shark Tank", although I don't watch that show so often.  She especially revolted me as an older female that hates when other older females make complete fools of themselves.  Her "what am I going to tell my friends?" was truly pathetic and only added to her mortification factor!  I rarely come to this forum to post but I just had to get that off my chest!