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

[vdw84]

22 minutes ago, gohawks said:

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. 

Laurie is not black, sorry. Tinashe is beautiful, talented dancer who is confident and she is paired with black male pro. Its hard getting a black woman to win with white pro, u think she stands a chance with one of her own race rather he is new or not. I love how she appreciates him because I know he got alot pressure on him because he is new and he wants to do right by her and her encouraging and praising him is what he needs.

[gohawks]

Little girl Tinashe, singing her heart out, was adorable.

 

Also, her dad cracked me up when they went to him in the audience after Erin said he was good-looking. 

[vdw84]

13 minutes ago, gohawks said:

Little girl Tinashe, singing her heart out, was adorable.

 

Also, her dad cracked me up when they went to him in the audience after Erin said he was good-looking. 

She was such a precious baby and it was funny when her dad was looking confused after Erin made that comment, lol. 

[McManda]

4 hours ago, spanana said:

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.

Have there been any, outside of Keo? IMO he's not winning for reasons other than his race, but mmv. From what we've seen I think Brandon is a better teaching pro than Keo (though to be fair, Brandon has had no challenges), but again, mmv.

Are we counting Cheryl? Everyone else is either eastern European or Mormon so, yeah, that takes out basically all the pros.

[vdw84]

24 minutes ago, McManda said:

Have there been any, outside of Keo? IMO he's not winning for reasons other than his race, but mmv. From what we've seen I think Brandon is a better teaching pro than Keo (though to be fair, Brandon has had no challenges), but again, mmv.

Are we counting Cheryl? Everyone else is either eastern European or Mormon so, yeah, that takes out basically all the pros.

Keo had chaka khuan but she was an older lady, so of course keo didnt know what to do with her or she just didnt have the talent of dancing.  Brandon and Tinashe are the black couple that is actual threat and I do agree brandon seems to be a better teacher and he will be tested this week on how great he really is because their trio dance has amy purdy in it, so im interested to see how this go. 

[McManda]

7 minutes ago, vdw84 said:

Keo had chaka khuan but she was an older lady, so of course keo didnt know what to do with her or she just didnt have the talent of dancing. 

Other pros have had older stars, or more uncoordinated stars, or just plain awful stars. That is not a problem specific to Keo.

If Mark can choreograph a quickstep for Paula Deen, or Tony can work with Kate Goslin, or Artem can choreograph a salsa for Patti LaBelle to a 50 Cent song I'm going to expect better from Keo than not knowing how to deal with an older lady.

Edited October 10, 2018 by McManda

[vdw84]

44 minutes ago, McManda said:

Other pros have had older stars, or more uncoordinated stars, or just plain awful stars. That is not a problem specific to Keo.

If Mark can choreograph a quickstep for Paula Deen, or Tony can work with Kate Goslin, or Artem can choreograph a salsa for Patti LaBelle to a 50 Cent song I'm going to expect better from Keo than not knowing how to deal with an older lady.

I actually think this season is the first time keo is shining with evanna. I mean i can possibly see him making it to the finals with her if they play their cards right. Sometimes it takes that one partner to showcase what ur about and maybe this is keo's season to showcase what he is about because he finally got a partner he can click with.

[RomanKat]

26 minutes ago, vdw84 said:

I actually think this season is the first time keo is shining with evanna. I mean i can possibly see him making it to the finals with her if they play their cards right. Sometimes it takes that one partner to showcase what ur about and maybe this is keo's season to showcase what he is about because he finally got a partner he can click with.

The right partner at the right time.  Lindsay was rushed to pro her first season, then spent four seasons in the troupe before she was ready to shine...and she didn't need a ringer partner.  Alec was the right partner at the right time for her development as a pro.  Keo was also rushed to pro and struggled to figure things out.  An eye-opening season with Jodi helped him realize there was more to pro success than a capable partner, imho.  A subsequent season in the troupe followed by short but sweet seasons with Charo and Barbara (and Jennie) essentially resulted in three troupe seasons with valuable teaching and mentoring experience at a time where he could appreciate the lessons learned.

One reason I wasn't ready to write Keo off was because I honestly felt like he enjoyed his time with Charo and Barbara...and appreciating your partner is a big lesson for DWTS pros, imho.  (Yes, I'm aware that many DWTS fans found Charo and Barbara to be annoying clunkers, but they deserved a good experience regardless.)  There are still things Keo can work on to showcase his partner, but Evanna might be the right partner at the right time in his development.

[spanana]

Lindsay was rushed to pro and would have done better by being in troupe upfront, but the only thing I will add is she had a tough assignment in that first season she appeared.  She was a newbie pro with Victor Ortiz.  A guy who has just been arrested for rape charges.  On the show he was enthusiastic but had zero attention span and was very all over the place.  He was mostly there to goof off and have a good time with his boys.  I do think Lindsay needed time to marinate in the troupe, but I also don't think anybody was going to do well with Victor.

[vdw84]

The thing is, I think the reason keo was rushed is because dwts was trying create more diversity on the pro sides. It was getting called out for not enough diversity within the pros and I do believe that is why they just found keo asap and put him on the show without him acutally working his way up in the troupe.

[LoveDance]

It' s all right I suppose to compare folks who have been on the show before who were black and how they have been treated,  the exception as always is black footballers who seem to get a pass no matter how flatfooted they are ESPN is just part of the ABC family and therefore will always go farther and even win if they get their fans behind them. 

But this is a black woman paired with a black pro. This has never ever happened in the history of the show, but the outcome is predictable no matter how talented  the American public will never accept that they are good enough to win.    You could have put Kerry Washington with Keo and the outcome would be the same.  Kerry would go farther based on name recognition, but that's where the charity from the all white middle America votes would end.     

Edited October 15, 2018 by LoveDance

[vdw84]

1 hour ago, LoveDance said:

It' s all right I suppose to compare folks who have been on the show before who were black and how they have been treated,  the exception as always is black footballers who seem to get a pass no matter how flatfooted they are ESPN is just part of the ABC family and therefore will always go farther and even win if they get their fans behind them. 

But this is a black woman paired with a black pro. This has never ever happened in the history of the show, but the outcome is predictable no matter how talented  the American public will never accept that they are good enough to win.    You could have put Kerry Washington with Keo and the outcome would be the same.  Kerry would go farther based on name recognition, but that's where the charity from the all white middle America votes would end.     

I don't like the comment Len made to them during their cha cha cha. I realize that Len doesnt care for hiphop, I get that but for him to say that is all they do is hiphop was to me very disrespectful because I only recall Brandon and Tinashe doing hiphop in that one routine, they had a dance break, so why not freestyle, its nothing wrong with that. Len is so fuckin old and set in his dance ways that he cant get behind new improved dance ways to sell a dance and it just didnt set well with me and then he had the nerve to call Tinashe's rumba her best dance so far, is he crazy??? This girl has been consistently good this entire season so far but u want to discredit her talent with that is her best dance. I called it from the beginning, as much as I was thrilled to see black couple this season on the show, I knew they were going be disrespected and treated unfairly, I knew it and I said it from the beginning and I was right. 

It will be very interesting to see how they are treated tonight since they have a trio dance with someone who America deems as a right kinda person to root for and that is Amy Purdy.

[madpsych78]

6 hours ago, LoveDance said:

It' s all right I suppose to compare folks who have been on the show before who were black and how they have been treated,  the exception as always is black footballers who seem to get a pass no matter how flatfooted they are ESPN is just part of the ABC family and therefore will always go farther and even win if they get their fans behind them. 

But this is a black woman paired with a black pro. This has never ever happened in the history of the show, but the outcome is predictable no matter how talented  the American public will never accept that they are good enough to win.    You could have put Kerry Washington with Keo and the outcome would be the same.  Kerry would go farther based on name recognition, but that's where the charity from the all white middle America votes would end.     

Keo was paired with Chaka Khan in season 21, so Brandon and Tinashe are not the first black couple in all of DWTS; however, one could argue they are the first black couple in which the celebrity is a contender to win. 

[vdw84]

22 minutes ago, madpsych78 said:

Keo was paired with Chaka Khan in season 21, so Brandon and Tinashe are not the first black couple in all of DWTS; however, one could argue they are the first black couple in which the celebrity is a contender to win. 

Yeah, I mentioned about keo, but yeah tinashe and brandon are the first black couple that is actual threat and for some reason I feel some don't like that, im just be honest.

[PBGamer89]

Tinashe isn't going to win no matter how well she comes across or how well she dances. TPTB put her in jeopardy in week 3. The earliest a winner was ever in jeopardy was Jennifer Grey week 6.

 

Not to mention the women in general lately have been struggling and look at all the flack Laurie got during her season and how some say James still deserved it. We had a field day of female celeb winners from like seasons 15-21, but since then it's been a complete struggle for them to win or even make the top 2. Since season 22, only 3 women have made the top 2 and only one won, and this is already season 27.

[calipiano81]

Have there been any young(er), beautiful black female contestants on DWTS who were naturally talented dancers BUT came in without any prior dance experience/performance background?

Off the top of my head, the only one I can think of is Laila Ali from Season 4.

Mel B, Brandy, Zendaya, Mya, Normani...I am wondering if they weren't "ringers" if their outcomes would have been different. I think female ringers in general have the hardest time on this show because the expectations are highest for that type of contestant (unless you are a sweetheart figure skater).

[PBGamer89]

The female ringers have a hard time because the audience does that dumb "they are arrogant/too good/too cocky" schtick the male ringers never get.

I don't mind ringers the show would be boring without them, but I am getting very tired of the deck being stacked in the male celeb's favors.

Part of the issue is the pro roster. We lost Derek and Mark, arguably the two best male pro choreographers, and Val was stuck with an early out. Brandon hasn't had the time to prove himself or build a fanbase. The women pros have all prior champions, and Sharna who has been in the semis/finals basically every season, so thats part of the recent success in the last few seasons of the male celebs.

[McManda]

10 minutes ago, PBGamer89 said:

The female ringers have a hard time because the audience does that dumb "they are arrogant/too good/too cocky" schtick the male ringers never get.

I would greatly disagree with this. Make ringers get the arrogant and/or cocky label, too. Jordan did last fall, and so did Corbin, and so did Mario Lopez all those years ago.

Similarly, there were female ringers who got the same label who were not black women; Sabrina Bryan comes to mind. 

 

37 minutes ago, calipiano81 said:

(unless you are a sweetheart figure skater).

Or Mirai.

I just think we need to stop trying to fit everyone into a box. Some people connect with people, others with others and that's okay.

[gohawks]

1 hour ago, McManda said:

I would greatly disagree with this. Make ringers get the arrogant and/or cocky label, too. Jordan did last fall, and so did Corbin, and so did Mario Lopez all those years ago.

Similarly, there were female ringers who got the same label who were not black women; Sabrina Bryan comes to mind. 

 

Or Mirai.

I just think we need to stop trying to fit everyone into a box. Some people connect with people, others with others and that's okay.

It happens consistently with talented , attractive black women. 

[Dancelove]

5 hours ago, madpsych78 said:

Keo was paired with Chaka Khan in season 21, so Brandon and Tinashe are not the first black couple in all of DWTS; however, one could argue they are the first black couple in which the celebrity is a contender to win. 

My mistake. Keo had been the Black Artem until now. Also Chaka Khan was born in 53  so 7 years before the oldest female winner of the show, so  you know things like arthritis set in and you make allowances.. I'm talking about contenders closer in age to their pros...  Now if she were born in 93 like Tinesha I'd be wondering. 

2 hours ago, calipiano81 said:

Have there been any young(er), beautiful black female contestants on DWTS who were naturally talented dancers BUT came in without any prior dance experience/performance background?

Off the top of my head, the only one I can think of is Laila Ali from Season 4.

Mel B, Brandy, Zendaya, Mya, Normani...I am wondering if they weren't "ringers" if their outcomes would have been different. I think female ringers in general have the hardest time on this show because the expectations are highest for that type of contestant (unless you are a sweetheart figure skater).

Or you have a famous mummy or daddy like Rumor Willis or this obnoxious Milo kid.

Edited October 16, 2018 by Dancelove

[tedd]

The good sis tinashe just got eliminated on dancing with the stars. I’m not surprised, they never want to see a black woman win this show. They would rather a mediocre white male win this show rather than a confident black woman who can dance mountains around them. Like i said before, even when you are the most consistent, it still isn’t enough. But hey, a slay is a slay so she winnin anyway. I don’t even know why i keep wasting my time watching this bullshit ass show lol

[Lady Calypso]

It does suck for Tinashe's elimination and I'm bitter she's gone over some others, like Joe and Bobby. 

I wonder what would have happened if Tinashe had gotten Alan as a partner instead of Brandon, though. I've been thinking of who would have been the best male pro to get Tinashe as far as he could, and I think Alan would have been the only one to do that. I think Alan's one of the more popular male pros this year. He's newer than some of the others, but he's been establishing himself throughout the last couple of seasons. He probably has a bigger fanbase than Brandon does right now. I also think Alan and Tinashe could have meshed well together. 

I know I've reiterated my opinion that Tinashe and Brandon did not have the fanbases for this show, and I stand by that. Which is why I think Alan might have been able to take her further and I think Alan could have done a good job mentoring her. Brandon was simply too new for this show, especially to get a ringer such as Tinashe. I had no clue who he was before this season and Juniors, and there lies the bigger problem. The voting system IS too heavily weighted toward the fan vote, and I feel like they need to find a way to even it out. 

At least this established Brandon more for his next season, and I think it even added some fans to Tinashe (I had no clue who she was before this show, which is another reason why she probably didn't get the votes; some people do vote on nostalgia and favourites). And she got an excellent experience out of it, so she may have lost the competition, but I think she'll be alright and probably won in her actual career by getting some more experience and more fans. 

[vdw84]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

It does suck for Tinashe's elimination and I'm bitter she's gone over some others, like Joe and Bobby. 

I wonder what would have happened if Tinashe had gotten Alan as a partner instead of Brandon, though. I've been thinking of who would have been the best male pro to get Tinashe as far as he could, and I think Alan would have been the only one to do that. I think Alan's one of the more popular male pros this year. He's newer than some of the others, but he's been establishing himself throughout the last couple of seasons. He probably has a bigger fanbase than Brandon does right now. I also think Alan and Tinashe could have meshed well together. 

I know I've reiterated my opinion that Tinashe and Brandon did not have the fanbases for this show, and I stand by that. Which is why I think Alan might have been able to take her further and I think Alan could have done a good job mentoring her. Brandon was simply too new for this show, especially to get a ringer such as Tinashe. I had no clue who he was before this season and Juniors, and there lies the bigger problem. The voting system IS too heavily weighted toward the fan vote, and I feel like they need to find a way to even it out. 

At least this established Brandon more for his next season, and I think it even added some fans to Tinashe (I had no clue who she was before this show, which is another reason why she probably didn't get the votes; some people do vote on nostalgia and favourites). And she got an excellent experience out of it, so she may have lost the competition, but I think she'll be alright and probably won in her actual career by getting some more experience and more fans. 

Lets not bash brandon. Brandon was great with her and they had an amazing partnership. Yes, he was new and didnt have much of a fanbase but u forget Alan even with a bigger fanbase was voted out very early his first two seasons. This is the first time he has staying the competition long. I just think things happen for reason. Im truly going to miss them on the show, they were wonderful together.

[MerBearHou]

Did any of you catch Tinashe and Brandon on Good Morning America today?  They were delightful.  Both so gracious and positive and just adorable people.  They seem to have such a nice friendship and oh my gosh, videos of 12-year-old Brandon dancing on DWTS were GREAT!  I had no idea he had such a long history with the show -- he said that so many of the pros were folks he'd basically grown up with as a dancer.  George talked about what a shock it was that they were eliminated. 

[Lady Calypso]

41 minutes ago, vdw84 said:

Lets not bash brandon. Brandon was great with her and they had an amazing partnership. Yes, he was new and didnt have much of a fanbase but u forget Alan even with a bigger fanbase was voted out very early his first two seasons. This is the first time he has staying the competition long. I just think things happen for reason. Im truly going to miss them on the show, they were wonderful together.

I wasn't bashing Brandon. I've grown to like Brandon. I was talking in terms of who she could have won with, or gotten the furthest with, as I never saw her winning with Brandon because he doesn't have the fanbase yet. I know there have been pros who have gotten far in their first seasons, and I think one or two actually won in their first season, but these recent years, with social media growing so much, I think it's a much different time. Plus, I wonder what Brandon could have done if he got Alexis, as they would have worked well together as well. 

[vdw84]

14 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

Did any of you catch Tinashe and Brandon on Good Morning America today?  They were delightful.  Both so gracious and positive and just adorable people.  They seem to have such a nice friendship and oh my gosh, videos of 12-year-old Brandon dancing on DWTS were GREAT!  I had no idea he had such a long history with the show -- he said that so many of the pros were folks he'd basically grown up with as a dancer.  George talked about what a shock it was that they were eliminated. 

They have amazing partnership and I think tinashe being the positive person she is, helping brandon cope better because he feels he let her down but she keeps telling him he didnt. I think people wanted to discredit brandon because he is new but I thought he did an awesome job with Tinashe.

[MerBearHou]

57 minutes ago, vdw84 said:

They have amazing partnership and I think tinashe being the positive person she is, helping brandon cope better because he feels he let her down but she keeps telling him he didnt. I think people wanted to discredit brandon because he is new but I thought he did an awesome job with Tinashe.

I totally, totally agree.  You can see they genuinely like one another.  Tinashe is strong and seasoned and I bet you're right -- she is helping Brandon realize what a terrific job he did/they did together and not be too hard on himself, especially in his very first pro season.  I wish him a long, fun, successful career on DWTS if he wants it!  There are SO many ups and downs and head-scratching moments on this show, but as a dancer, it's incredible exposure and probably has some really great moments on and off the stage.

[Best grandma]

She is beautiful and a great dancer. However, I couldn’t understand the lyrics of her so g that she danced to, so I looked it up. 

I realize I live under a rock, but that was vulgar filth. If she wrote that, there is someyvety ugly in her soul. Hip hop doesn’t have to be vulgar. 

I wouldn’t vote for her on a bet after seeing her lyrics. And I know that has nothing to do with her dancing abilities. 

[vdw84]

10 hours ago, Best grandma said:

She is beautiful and a great dancer. However, I couldn’t understand the lyrics of her so g that she danced to, so I looked it up. 

I realize I live under a rock, but that was vulgar filth. If she wrote that, there is someyvety ugly in her soul. Hip hop doesn’t have to be vulgar. 

I wouldn’t vote for her on a bet after seeing her lyrics. And I know that has nothing to do with her dancing abilities. 

I think they had to take alot out so it can be song on dwts, so that is why u may not have understood it but TInashe has written alot beautiful songs, its not all explicit. Madonna in her prime was known for writing vulgar stuff and she was pop sensation, so its no big deal.

[MsJamieDornan]

1 hour ago, vdw84 said:

Madonna in her prime was known for writing vulgar stuff and she was pop sensation, so its no big deal.

I'm not sure what that has to do with anything?

[vdw84]

4 minutes ago, MsJamieDornan said:

I'm not sure what that has to do with anything?

I guess, im just saying dont judge someone by the lyrics of their songs. Its so many layers to person craft and art and it shouldnt be measured by one song.

[PTVjones]

On 10/9/2018 at 11:25 PM, McManda said:

Have there been any, outside of Keo? IMO he's not winning for reasons other than his race, but mmv. From what we've seen I think Brandon is a better teaching pro than Keo (though to be fair, Brandon has had no challenges), but again, mmv.

Are we counting Cheryl? Everyone else is either eastern European or Mormon so, yeah, that takes out basically all the pros.

There's a black pro over on Strictly Come Dancing, I think she's Keo's former partner, who quite frankly, I think is a better dancer than Keo lol. She has a very popular partnership i think about a year ago and I thought to myself, oh! I hope they bring her over the the US version! Here's one of her dances.

 

[vdw84]

37 minutes ago, PTVjones said:

There's a black pro over on Strictly Come Dancing, I think she's Keo's former partner, who quite frankly, I think is a better dancer than Keo lol. She has a very popular partnership i think about a year ago and I thought to myself, oh! I hope they bring her over the the US version! Here's one of her dances.

 

Nah, she will never get the respect on here in USA. I don't think black dancers are appreciated at like they should be on dwts esp. women.

[gohawks]

58 minutes ago, PTVjones said:

There's a black pro over on Strictly Come Dancing, I think she's Keo's former partner, who quite frankly, I think is a better dancer than Keo lol. She has a very popular partnership i think about a year ago and I thought to myself, oh! I hope they bring her over the the US version! Here's one of her dances.

 

 

Oti is awesome! She is an amazing dancer and teacher. I think this is the highest scoring Samba ever on SCD.

DWTS does not deserve her.

Edited October 19, 2018 by gohawks

[boyznkatz]

Hot damn! She is good. The guy was good as well. I've seen some Strictly dances on You Tube and it seems to be a better show. Even Len isn't a such a dick on that show.

Maybe that's why they get good ratings and dwts keeps tanking.

Edited October 19, 2018 by boyznkatz

[PTVjones]

1 hour ago, boyznkatz said:

Hot damn! She is good. The guy was good as well. I've seen some Strictly dances on You Tube and it seems to be a better show. Even Len isn't a such a dick on that show.

Maybe that's why they get good ratings and dwts keeps tanking.

One of the things I love about this dance is that the partner has clearly let go of like stiffness that I often see in people who are dancing African styles. Even pros in the US (looking at your Derek) who have done African themed dances on the show are always so... upright. 

 

2 hours ago, vdw84 said:

Nah, she will never get the respect on here in USA. I don't think black dancers are appreciated at like they should be on dwts esp. women.

I mean... Len already knows who she is since she's from Strictly so she has that advantage. Also someone's gotta blaze a trail for a black female pro on the show. This isn't the civil rights movement but someone's gotta lay the groundwork or it's always gonna be girl from Utah or the former Soviet Union lol

[DanceRise]

On 10/9/2018 at 6:13 PM, spanana said:

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.

I have to say that tinashe and brandon were brillant together. I loved seeing black excellence on tv. They had the same kinda energy and style and they genuinely seemed happy with each other. Such a waste of talent gone, it was so much more I know they had to show and its all gone now. 

[doLLish]

On 10/19/2018 at 6:09 PM, PTVjones said:

One of the things I love about this dance is that the partner has clearly let go of like stiffness that I often see in people who are dancing African styles. Even pros in the US (looking at your Derek) who have done African themed dances on the show are always so... upright. 

 

I mean... Len already knows who she is since she's from Strictly so she has that advantage. Also someone's gotta blaze a trail for a black female pro on the show. This isn't the civil rights movement but someone's gotta lay the groundwork or it's always gonna be girl from Utah or the former Soviet Union lol

I’m long past wanting a black female pro on this show. I was really hoping for Brittany for awhile but no. They don’t need to be subjected to what’s gonna come their way to prove any points. Leave the DWTS audience with what they want and what they deserve.

[vdw84]

Before the bring a black female on as pro, they need to do a better job with promoting and introducing the troupe members. Brandon did not get an introduction. They use to introduce the new dancers of the show back in the day and promote them. He was doing good on dwts jr but that show is not live and its now just on. So noone got a chance to get to know Brandon. If they bring britt on, she will have the same issue as her being a black female, I fear she may go through it even harder. I think hayley will be next female they introduce to pro lineup. I think the show wants get black female pro but I do fear how they will do with the demo. I mean seeing how great Brandon was this season with tinashe and he was a dude and sent packing in week 4 makes feel that someone like Britt want stand a chance.