DWTS

I haven’t been watching Dancing with the Stars: All Stars, but I saw a headline that Sabrina Bryan got pwned once again. In 2007, even with strong performances, Sabrina was surprisingly eliminated. Same story this week as this front runner is not advancing in the competition.

Dancing with the Stars, Season 14, is giving you and me, the viewers, everything we want. Want more skin? Jaleel opens up shirt, Derek Hough takes off his shirt, and William Levy is well, William Levy. For the ladies, Peta’s dress was hardly there and Katherine Jenkins’ legs in that dress – wow.

And you know if the judges get what they want, it’ll benefit us. What do I mean? With the addition of the dance off for the bottom two, the judges can “save” the better dancers. This means that unless two heavyweights are in the bottom, we are going to get the ultimate Finals. That would be repeat champions Derek Hough (Seasons 7, 10, 11), Cheryl Burke (Seasons 2 & 3), and Mark Ballas (Seasons 6 & 8 ) going against each other for Mirrorball bragging rights. That would be an unforgettable mix of choreography, skill, and performance! Don’t forget about two-time champion Kym Johnson who has a chance with Urkel, and Donald Driver’s championship drive that could find him a spot in the Finals.

My favorites from Week 5. It used to be favorite (singular), but with all the great performances, I now have weekly favorites (plural).

Derek and Maria definitely did kiss in their sexy salsa.

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba said Katherine Jenkins has the best legs. See for yourself.

Cheryl Burke knows how to strategize William’s image to a victory.

Rock Week was a little off with some dancing slip-ups, but again overall, the DWTS cast in Season 14 is a talented group.  I thought Roshon Fegan had a breakthrough with his Viennese Waltz.

Donald Driver’s crazed paso doble with Peta Murgatroyd received the highest marks from the judges this week. I can’t tell if Donald’s supposed to be a rock star or a flamboyant pirate. And his partner, Petra Murgatroyd? She has the best name.

Updated my DWTS Season 14, Week 3 post with some videos. Heck, since the performances were THAT good, I’ll also post them here. I might have to include Cheryl Burke and William Levy’s performance as well. Can you see this season’s DWTS championships featuring these three previous Mirrorball winners (Hough, Ballas, and Burke)? Now, THAT would be good!

Are you kidding me? Are you freakishly kidding me? Season 14 of Dancing with the Stars is it. Only on Week 3, and the performances and scores are at such a high caliber. Even the weaker performers are solid, able to shine in their own right.  Picking a favorite performance each week is simply unfair.

Week 3 featured so many tears as each star told stories of personal successes and tragedies. I lost count how many times the stars and even judges broke down and could not speak. I thought Derek Hough and Maria Menounos made a bold statement with their rendition of Madonna’s Material Girl. The lighting, the music, the choreography – D Hough at his finest!

But what shone even greater than Derek and Maria was Mark Ballas and Katherine Jenkins. Her tribute to her late father – just mesmerizing.

And lastly, you can’t talk DWTS without a mention of William Levy. Judge Bruno is going to have an aneurysm watching a bare chested William shake it on the dance floor.

Amidst the attention of March Madness, the Game of Thrones, and Draw Something, I’ve almost forgotten about the fourteenth season of Dancing with the Stars. And what a start to the DWTS season!

It seems like every new season of a reality competition is the “best ever.” With Dancing with the Stars, Season 14 may really be the best ever. Typically, you’ll see a mix of dancing abilities, but this group features solid performers already at this early stage. The weak links are few, and none of them are shown below.

Jaleel White

That is not Urkel.

Katherine Jenkins

She of the big voice.

William Levy

People will vote strictly for his hotness.

Donald Driver

Skinny legs mean fast, sharp dance moves.

Can it be? Did 3-time mirrorball trophy winner and master choreographer Derek Hough get outchoreographed in the Dancing with the Stars Finals of Season 13? Derek is the creator of the futuristic paso doble, the psycho tango, the acoustic Argentine tango, the paso doble from the 50’s, the too erotic samba, and is the lambada gribbler. But still, it was two-time winner Cheryl Burke who had the better freestyle strategy for peaking Rob Kardashian. That slow to fast freestyle transition was more original than the hip hop freestyles we’ve seen in the recent DWTS Finals.

I thought Derek and Ricki were a shoo-in to win Season 13, but after the first night of the Finals, the lead belongs to Boy Kardashian. And don’t necessarily count JR out yet. His fierce freestyle brought him and Karina back into contention. Closest DWTS Finals I can remember.

After tonight, my nod is to Rob and Cheryl.

I have a confession. This Dancing with the Stars junkie had not watched a single episode from Season 13. I barely even know who the contestants are. Heck, other than Ron Artest, I don’t know who’s been eliminated already.

So there I was in Week 4, watching my very first show, and I admit most of the stars were okay. The dances were serviceable, and the judges scores were forgiving. Then came the masterful mancrush known as Derek Hough with partner Ricki Lake. They danced a difficult tango set to the challenging theme music from Psycho.

From this performance, I remembered what attracted me to this show. From the setup to the dancing to the conclusion, this was all “wow!” And two scores of 10 this early in the season validates the excellence of this performance. The DWTS producers must be thankful Derek Hough is back on the ballroom floor. Now, only if he can endure his recent shoulder injury…