S27: Tinashe: She Can Do It All, But Can She Win the Mirrorball?

[OnceSane]

Not only does the multi-platinum-certified R&B disruptor Tinashe sing, write and dance, but she also produces, mixes, engineers, creative directs and edits. As a result, she blazes past any and all boundaries. Co-mingling seductive R&B, edgy pop and a nocturnal electronic sensibility, she emerged as a fascinating, focused and fiery outlier in 2014 with her full-length debut, Aquarius. Powered by the double-platinum smash "2 On" [feat. ScHoolboy Q], the album crashed the Top 20 of the Billboard Top 200 upon arrival before popping up on many of the top year-end lists. Between touring alongside everyone from Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj to Maroon 5, she revved up the official mixtape, Nightride. Tinashe also has a presence in the worlds of beauty and fashion, as well. Recognizing the artist's inimitable fashion sense and untouchable and undeniable je ne sais quoi, Ralph Lauren placed her in a high-profile campaign with Bella Hadid and Hailey Baldwin. Beyond an exclusive performance for Karl Lagerfeld, other partnerships include Alexander Wang, Calvin Klein and M.A.C. Cosmetics, among others. Moreover, Juicy Couture sought her out to be the face of its exclusive Urban Outfitters collaboration. Presently, Tinashe is carefully preparing more new music heading into 2019. 

Tinashe is partnered with Pro Brandon Armstrong.

[tedd]

tinashe is extremely talented and very underrated. she can sing, dance her ass off, write and produce. tinashe and brandon will definitely slay!!! if they really wanna win, they need to win over everyone and push boundaries. tinashe is a trained dancer and we all know for a fact that her dance experience will not sit well with lots of people. having dance experience in this show will sometimes help you or hurt you and i don’t want it to hurt her. i really hope they go far and win it!! as much as i want her to win, i’m so scared that they will do her just like they did mya, normani, zendaya, brandy, lil kim and i don’t want that for her. brandon said in an interview that he wants to make her look good and he wants to push boundaries. i really hope they go far and win it. 

Edited September 19, 2018 by tedd
typo

[vdw84]

Im scared too, women with, esp. woc of with extreme dance experience seem to have it the hardest on dwts to wow the audience. Jordan last season had serious training but the audience pulled for him to win, maybe because they wanted lindsay to win her first mirrorball but I really do hope Tinashe is given a chance.

[spanana]

I tend to agree.  I don't think she's going to win because my guess is the main demo will find somebody not quite as ringer-y to back and Tinashe will get a lot of the backlash, but I do think there are a handful of factors go into it.  First, other recent winners.  If a bunch of ringery folks have won in recent seasons, I think the public will likely want to back a different kind of contestant.   In this case, I don't think enough people watched the athlete season and I doubt most casual fans even remember what happened a year ago.

Also the pro.  In this case I think Brandon could be either a pro or a con.  On the pro side, Tinashe isn't going to get as much ire being paired with Brandon as she would with someone like Val.  While Val obviously has a more established fanbase, he also draws a lot of ire.  Particularly around the types of partners he gets and his penchant for almost always being in the finals (though that might die down this season now that he has the slightly older female).  So I can't see anybody NOT voting for them to spite Brandon because Brandon isn't yet enough on most casual fans radars to have an opinion of him one way or another.

But the flip side of that is unlike a Rashad or Jordan situation, I also don't think Tinashe is likely to draw votes because "So and so pro needs to win".  I expect people will like Brandon, but it's unlikely that fans are going to be that invested in making sure he gets that mirrorball in his first season, the way there were people that supported Jordan for Lindsay or Rashad for Emma.  Or the let's finally get Maks a mirrorball campaign of S18.  But of course it's certainly possible for new pros, or newish pros to win off the bat.

If I had to guess, I see Tinashe making the finals but not winning.  Either a second or third type of situation.

[Lady Calypso]

6 minutes ago, spanana said:

I tend to agree.  I don't think she's going to win because my guess is the main demo will find somebody not quite as ringer-y to back and Tinashe will get a lot of the backlash, but I do think there are a handful of factors go into it.  First, other recent winners.  If a bunch of ringery folks have won in recent seasons, I think the public will likely want to back a different kind of contestant.   In this case, I don't think enough people watched the athlete season and I doubt most casual fans even remember what happened a year ago.

Also the pro.  In this case I think Brandon could be either a pro or a con.  On the pro side, Tinashe isn't going to get as much ire being paired with Brandon as she would with someone like Val.  While Val obviously has a more established fanbase, he also draws a lot of ire.  Particularly around the types of partners he gets and his penchant for almost always being in the finals (though that might die down this season now that he has the slightly older female).  So I can't see anybody NOT voting for them to spite Brandon because Brandon isn't yet enough on most casual fans radars to have an opinion of him one way or another.

But the flip side of that is unlike a Rashad or Jordan situation, I also don't think Tinashe is likely to draw votes because "So and so pro needs to win".  I expect people will like Brandon, but it's unlikely that fans are going to be that invested in making sure he gets that mirrorball in his first season, the way there were people that supported Jordan for Lindsay or Rashad for Emma.  Or the let's finally get Maks a mirrorball campaign of S18.  But of course it's certainly possible for new pros, or newish pros to win off the bat.

If I had to guess, I see Tinashe making the finals but not winning.  Either a second or third type of situation.

I could see this. It'll all depend on how the premiere goes with them, but I think there are various reasons to assume that Tinashe may not win, and most of it might have to do with her having a new pro this year. I think it gives her a good chance to get far but he doesn't have the fanbase behind the voting, while other pros do. She could be a surprise elimination just because not enough votes were cast for them. We've seen it happen before. If Tinashe and Brandon do very well in their first dance, that could help build the momentum to them getting far. I think the audience can be split. Some like the underdogs, as proven with Frankie last year. Some have a very vocal fanbase who would vote for anything, such as with David Ross or with some of the pros. 

Sometimes, the ringer-ness of a celeb turns people off so that can cast votes away. However, most ringers do get far so it's not a bad thing to capitalize on their strengths to get farther. As far as I can tell, she's a very talented dancer and that should help her get to at least the semi-finals. Her struggle is finding the fanbase who will help her get there, as her scores won't be enough. Without a veteran pro who has the built-in fanbase, it might be more of a struggle for the first few weeks. I won't be surprised to see her in the bottom two a couple of times. 

Most ringers, especially female ringers, seem to have a harder time getting past the ringer name attached to them. The show will certainly showcase this side of her early on, but it could hinder her more than it helps. 

[spanana]

It's also going to depend on how the show edits Tinashe.  She's also going to have a problem if the show edits her as being too over confident.  Which don't get me wrong...I'm not saying she is.  But in women, especially women of color, any sort of confidence is often read as overconfident or cocky.  Even more so if there is a confidence in their sexuality, which I think Tinashe has. 

And of course it very much depends on who the other competitors are in the the said same season.  This is a field with a lot of question marks.  I could see the public wanting to back Evanna, but I have no idea how Keo or his choreography will go over.  I could potentially see them wanting to back someone like Milo.  Or Demarcus.  Or Juan.  Or Bobby.  Which I don't think Bobby will likely be a contender to win, but to get to the finals over other people with likely more innate dance talent?  Yes.  I assume Juan will also count as somewhat of a ringer, but I expect with Tinashe around he won't get the same sort of backlash.  Speaking of pros, I could potentially see fans wanting to back Cheryl since it's been so long since she won or had any sort of true contender.

So many question marks though I have high hopes for Brandon.

[boyznkatz]

She won't win. I can already see the prominently female middle aged audience complaining of "no-connection" with her while they back some mediocre male dancer they find "charming."

[insert eyeroll here]

[tedd]

i’m just gonna pray that tinashe and brandon will go far and i wish them well on this journey. these two are gonna be an iconic duo.

Edited September 19, 2018 by tedd
typo

[vdw84]

2 hours ago, boyznkatz said:

She won't win. I can already see the prominently female middle aged audience complaining of "no-connection" with her while they back some mediocre male dancer they find "charming."

[insert eyeroll here]

I bet that mediocre male will be damn football player and they never do anything for me dancewise but middle America goes crazy over them. Even my husband who is a huge football fan says he wishes the football players stay off this show, they are so stiff, lol. Rashad may have been the overall best football player contestant but even he didnt do it for me dance wise. 

[vdw84]

2 hours ago, spanana said:

It's also going to depend on how the show edits Tinashe.  She's also going to have a problem if the show edits her as being too over confident.  Which don't get me wrong...I'm not saying she is.  But in women, especially women of color, any sort of confidence is often read as overconfident or cocky.  Even more so if there is a confidence in their sexuality, which I think Tinashe has. 

realest comment I have read so far. She is sexy, young, confident, ringer and most of all woc. As someone who has watch this show since season 1 those kind of contestants do not do well with dwts audience but one can hope it will be better this time.

[boyznkatz]

1 hour ago, vdw84 said:

realest comment I have read so far. She is sexy, young, confident, ringer and most of all woc. As someone who has watch this show since season 1 those kind of contestants do not do well with dwts audience but one can hope it will be better this time.

Yep, how dare she be a woc and be confident and sexy.

For me, the football players are okay, even though most didn't deserve to win. At least they are entertaining and can dance. I can do without the smarmy bachelors. Most of them can't dance worth shit and they aren't sexy either. Yuck.

Edited September 19, 2018 by boyznkatz

[tedd]

[vdw84]

Very interesting that one of their songs for their jive is "Yes" off the dirty dancing soundtrack, im ready to see how that turnout because I love that song.

[tedd]

whatttttt

[vdw84]

They are so cute

http://www.etonline.com/dwts-tinashe-and-pro-brandon-armstrong-on-their-competitive-drive-to-win-the-mirrorball-trophy

[tedd]

what happened to normani, brandy, mya, simone, and zendaya will not happen to tinashe this season. not on my watch!!

[tedd]

DAMNNNN. we were so robbed of seeing this dance. i wish all the other couples did their second dance. 

Edited September 27, 2018 by tedd

[vdw84]

17 hours ago, tedd said:

DAMNNNN. we were so robbed of seeing this dance. i wish all the other couples did their second dance. 

I know they were going to dance to Yes off dirty dancing soundtrack, I'm pissed.

[madpsych78]

18 hours ago, tedd said:

DAMNNNN. we were so robbed of seeing this dance. i wish all the other couples did their second dance. 

I wish all the couples that we didn't get to see (other than Joe/Jenna) got to do their second dances, since, you know, they are better dancers so far.

[tedd]

tinashe will be dancing a cha cha and argentine tango next week. a cha cha on tuesday and argentine tango on monday. 

[vdw84]

On 9/28/2018 at 5:48 PM, tedd said:

tinashe will be dancing a cha cha and argentine tango next week. a cha cha on tuesday and argentine tango on monday. 

Saw some snippets of their Argentine T and it looks like it may be another great dance from them. I cant wait to watch them dance.

[tedd]

tinashe and brandon are about to EATTTTT!!!

[Dancelove]

To me this is far and away the best dance team, but unfortunately they won't get the vote from middle America.  It doesn't how sweet or deferential Taneshe is, my heart breaks again for black dancers who don't get the respect they deserve.  It happened on SYTYCD this season and it will happen here.  I've seen the others,  I'm only interested this team, so I'll tune in when they're on. 

Edited October 6, 2018 by Dancelove

[vdw84]

27 minutes ago, Dancelove said:

To me this is far and away the best dance team, but unfortunately they won't get the vote from middle America.  It doesn't how sweet or deferential Taneshe is, my heart breaks again for black dancers who don't get the respect they deserve.  It happened on SYTYCD this season and it will happen here.  I've seen the others,  I'm only interested this team, so I'll tune in when they're on. 

I agree, I don't appreciate how the head judge keeps discrediting Brandon's choreography. He has been incredible and has given his partner everything and more. Im glad she continues to takes up for him. She is always saying in interviews that Brandon is an incredible choreographer. I believe her support is what is keeping him from not losing it toward the judges.

[Dancelove]

Well that didn't take long.  Americans will NEVER give Black dancers the respect they deserve.  Bottom 2.  Unbelievable. 

[vdw84]

I didnt see that coming, im so disgusted with this show.

[PBGamer89]

Jeopardy in week 3 is the kiss of death.

No winner has been in jeopardy earlier than Week 6. We can hope she gets 3rd in the finals though, but with how the show treats women stars lately, I'm not so sure.

Since season 23, only 2 women have been in the top 2.

[MerBearHou]

I think Tinashe is lovely and mega-talented.  I’d never heard of her before this show (but I’m older) —  it seems like a lot of her fans are probably on the young side and those young girls who do vote tend to vote like crazy for the young guys they have crushes on like Milo.  We’ve seen it many times before.  I love how much she praises Brandon because with this being his first season, no one knows him and he hasn’t had time to build up much of a fan base at all.

[vdw84]

45 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

I think Tinashe is lovely and mega-talented.  I’d never heard of her before this show (but I’m older) —  it seems like a lot of her fans are probably on the young side and those young girls who do vote tend to vote like crazy for the young guys they have crushes on like Milo.  We’ve seen it many times before.  I love how much she praises Brandon because with this being his first season, no one knows him and he hasn’t had time to build up much of a fan base at all.

Thats the thing, her fans arent really that young like how some of the other pop stars were young. It is what it is. I love how she praises her partner to, I believe he needs that encouragement because the judges mainly Len have been hard on him.

[LoveDance]

10 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

I think Tinashe is lovely and mega-talented.  I’d never heard of her before this show (but I’m older) —  it seems like a lot of her fans are probably on the young side and those young girls who do vote tend to vote like crazy for the young guys they have crushes on like Milo.  We’ve seen it many times before.  I love how much she praises Brandon because with this being his first season, no one knows him and he hasn’t had time to build up much of a fan base at all.

It's time for older people to start voting for talent regardless of colour, don't you think? 

[MerBearHou]

34 minutes ago, LoveDance said:

It's time for older people to start voting for talent regardless of colour, don't you think? 

Always have.  It's talent and personality that I vote for -- color has zero bearing for me. 

[A.Ham]

I am just hoping that the “in jeopardy” is fake and not truly representative of the bottom two status. You never know with this show. In a way, this could help to rally people towards Tinashe. 

[vdw84]

23 minutes ago, A.Ham said:

I am just hoping that the “in jeopardy” is fake and not truly representative of the bottom two status. You never know with this show. In a way, this could help to rally people towards Tinashe. 

I didnt get to see the elimination part, did they say this wasnt necessarily the bottom 2 like they usually do sometimes?

By the way Tinashe parents are very attractive, no wonder she is gorgeous.

[boyznkatz]

5 minutes ago, vdw84 said:

I didnt get to see the elimination part, did they say this wasnt necessarily the bottom 2 like they usually do sometimes?

By the way Tinashe parents are very attractive, no wonder she is gorgeous.

No, they didn't say whether or not she was really in the bottom 2, and I don't think she was. However, I don't think she's doing that great, either. You aren't going to see people who are shoo-ins for the finals like Demarcus in jeopardy, ever.

Edited October 9, 2018 by boyznkatz

[vdw84]

I get so worried when I see talented black woman come on this because I just know its not going work in her favor at all esp. if she is young, attractive and confident. The fact that its just week 3 and tinashe was in the bottom 2 further proves that America will never root for someone like her. If she is gone home in the later weeks, I will never watch this show again no matter who come on. Im done.

[boyznkatz]

22 minutes ago, vdw84 said:

I get so worried when I see talented black woman come on this because I just know its not going work in her favor at all esp. if she is young, attractive and confident. The fact that its just week 3 and tinashe was in the bottom 2 further proves that America will never root for someone like her. If she is gone home in the later weeks, I will never watch this show again no matter who come on. Im done.

If she and Alexis get voted off, I don't think I would bother with the live broadcast either. The good thing this season is that they have half a dozen good people, so it keeps my interest. As the better dancers get voted off in favor of schmucks like Joe and Bobby, I don't think I would tune in. I'm on the west coast and this comes on until 10:00.  I don't think I would bother watching for just a couple of  people.

[vdw84]

2 minutes ago, boyznkatz said:

If she and Alexis get voted off, I don't think I would bother with the live broadcast either. The good thing this season is that they have half a dozen good people, so it keeps my interest. As the better dancers get voted off in favor of schmucks like Joe and Bobby, I don't think I would tune in. I'm on the west coast and this comes on until 10:00.  I don't think I would bother watching for just a couple of  people.

Yeah, I mean its others I like as well, like milo, evanna and alexis but not enough to stay tuned because it truly hurts me to see how black dancers esp. female do not get the love and recognition they deserve. Tinashe getting voted off will just be a travesty, she doesnt deserve it.

[boyznkatz]

5 minutes ago, vdw84 said:

Yeah, I mean its others I like as well, like milo, evanna and alexis but not enough to stay tuned because it truly hurts me to see how black dancers esp. female do not get the love and recognition they deserve. Tinashe getting voted off will just be a travesty, she doesnt deserve it.

Yes, I agree. The only black woman who won was Amber Riley and she was with Golden Boy. I don't think she would have won with Tony. The weird thing was that she wasn't that good. There were far more women of color on this show who were far better than her, but they didn't have the backing of the audience.

Edited October 9, 2018 by boyznkatz

[vdw84]

1 minute ago, boyznkatz said:

Yes, I agree. The only black woman who got votes was Amber Riley and she was with Golden Boy. I don't think she would have won with Tony. The weird thing was that she wasn't that good. There were far more women of color on this show who were far better than her, but they didn't have the backing of the audience.

Im going to be honest, I think her win was planned. I was actually chatting with someone in production during that time and at first I didnt believe this person because u hear every season how the show is rigged but at this time dwts was getting much heat because a black woman had never won before, so they were determine to shutdown the rumors asap and that is Amber Riley came along and won. Now, this what was told to me years ago but if it is true, I have no idea.

[boyznkatz]

8 minutes ago, vdw84 said:

Im going to be honest, I think her win was planned. I was actually chatting with someone in production during that time and at first I didnt believe this person because u hear every season how the show is rigged but at this time dwts was getting much heat because a black woman had never won before, so they were determine to shutdown the rumors asap and that is Amber Riley came along and won. Now, this what was told to me years ago but if it is true, I have no idea.

I'm not surprised. Len has been dogged with rumors of being a racist for years. I don't know if he's like that on SCD. I think not because he doesn't seem rude to the Indians who come on that show. I guess the show had to squash that rumor, quick. And since Derek's fans pretty much vote for anyone he is paired with (even Maria Menunous), Amber was safe from the "she's cocky, she's a diva" accusations.

[vdw84]

Well, amber was nonthreatening to dwts viewers, She was overweight and bubbly, just how they like us. Think about it. Out of 27 seasons, it took an  overweight black female paired up with Derek hough to win this competition.

[vibeology]

7 minutes ago, vdw84 said:

Well, amber was nonthreatening to dwts viewers, She was overweight and bubbly, just how they like us. Think about it. Out of 27 seasons, it took an  overweight black female paired up with Derek hough to win this competition.

Who was actively on a popular TV show with a rabid fan base. 

I don’t know that I believe the show is fixed but I can believe that producers went looking for an ideal contestant to finally break the streak of black women losing. 

[boyznkatz]

Glee was fading by the time she was on. I don't believe the hype about Amber having some kind of massive fan base. If it were 2010, yes, but not 2013 or whenever she won.

If it means anything Vdw84, Tinashe is leading Las Vegas odds:

https://www.puredwts.com/2018/10/09/puredwts-season-27-week-3-vegas-odds-update/

[Lady Calypso]

16 minutes ago, boyznkatz said:

Yes, I agree. The only black woman who won was Amber Riley and she was with Golden Boy. I don't think she would have won with Tony. The weird thing was that she wasn't that good. There were far more women of color on this show who were far better than her, but they didn't have the backing of the audience.

Laurie Hernandez won back in season 23, right? So not the only black woman to win, but I still see your point otherwise. 

I do still think that Tinashe's biggest challenge to win is having a not well known pro, along with not having the right fanbase behind her to vote for her. Also, Tinashe does have some fierce competition this year, unlike some other years (Normani, for example, shouldn't have had much competition but Rashad won and David Ross got second). Tinashe has Milo, Juan Pablo, Demarcus, Alexis, and, to a lesser extent, Evanna and possibly Bobby Bones, to beat out. All of them come with varying degrees of dance ability or the fanbase (or both). It's why this year is a little different for me. Unlike Normani's season, where it was ridiculous for her to get third, Tinashe is the best, but she's among some really great dancers as well. 

[spanana]

I don't know if the Amber win was planned, but I will say I called her as the winner from day one of that season.  Big fanbase from a popular show with rabid fans, Derek, etc.  I think she was also helped by Corbin had a lot of ringer backlash working against him.  Glee might have been past its heyday, but there were still rampant fans at least online.  Also throw in Derek's ridiculously overzealous fans.

Also I doubt Tinashe was really bottom two.  I do think it's an indication she may be struggling in votes, but I don't think she was actual B2.  Unless they actually say it, I never believe it's real B2.

And yes, Tinashe might be the best technical dancer but we can't exactly say she doesn't have competition this season.  So at least it's likely if she doesn't win that someone with talent will win...unless Bobby magically slips in there.  I could potentially see Bobby make a finals but I don't think he would win. Personally I see Milo winning with maybe Tinashe coming in 2nd.  Though it's so hard to say with Demarcus and Juan and etc. in the mix.

Edited October 9, 2018 by spanana

[boyznkatz]

5 minutes ago, spanana said:

Also throw in Derek's ridiculously overzealous fans.

They would vote for a potato if it were paired with him.

[madpsych78]

40 minutes ago, boyznkatz said:

Yes, I agree. The only black woman who won was Amber Riley and she was with Golden Boy. I don't think she would have won with Tony. The weird thing was that she wasn't that good. There were far more women of color on this show who were far better than her, but they didn't have the backing of the audience.

In the past 26 seasons, 13 women won, and 4 were women of color, including bi- or multiracial/ethnic women (Kristi Yamaguchi, Laurie Hernandez, Nicole Scherzinger, and Amber Riley). 

Which means 13 men won, and 9 were men of color, including bi- or multiracial/ethnic men (Emmitt Smith, Apolo Anton Ohno, Helio Castravenes, Hines Ward, JR Martinez, Donald Driver, Alfonso Ribeiro, Rashad Jennings, and Jordan Fisher). Thus, only 4 male winners were white/non-Hispanic (Drew Lachey, Donny Osmond, Nyle DiMarco, and Adam Rippon). More black men (6) have won than white men (4). 

It's interesting how it is such a reverse pattern for women. 9 white women and one black woman. 

Bringing this back to Tinashe, I think these statistics work against her, as they seem to favor white women and men of color. To top it off, she is paired with a black pro. The only pair of color who has won in 26 seasons was Cheryl and Emmitt; everyone else was paired with someone blonde or Karina or Val.

[boyznkatz]

Interesting analysis. I did notice that most of those male winners are hot guys. Maybe that is what viewers want. Most of the female winners were plain and bubbly, with the exception of Nicole and Brooke (who also happened to be partners of Golden Boy). Maybe they don't want to vote for good looking women.

Even if that is the case, Tinashe is screwed, as she's drop dead gorgeous.

I guess Kelly Monaco would be the only hot, sexy, non-Hough partner woman to win, but from what I remember her win didn't go over well.

Edited October 9, 2018 by boyznkatz

[gohawks]

Laurie is Hispanic. I realize there are many Hispanic people of African descent, but I am not sure if Laurie identifies herself as Afro-Hispanic.

The group that is regularly screwed by the voting public on DWTS is attractive,confident, talented Black and biracial/Black women.  

The cocky Black woman with a bad attitude is reality TV gold. 

[spanana]

Yes, but it was hard for a DWTS couple of color to win when we have barely had any pros of color ever. Contestants, yes. But it’s hard for POC pros to win on this show when they have barely existed on this show.