Double the fun, three times the dancers - DWTS Week 8 Live Scores

Each couple dances twice. Their second dance being with a third dancer of their choice. Then two go home tomorrow! It's going to be hectic!

To the scores:

Donald and Peta - Tango - 27 - very professional as always from Donald. "Ding Dong Donald" said Len. Apparently that was good. Bruno liked it too. Carrie Ann said he was focused, but needed more drama.

Maria and Derek - Viennese Waltz - 28 - very polished and technically excellent but it was, and I know it sounds silly, boring. Bruno said it was amazing. Len thought they could have done more dancing in hold (I agree). Len gave an 8, the others 10.

Melissa and Maks - Foxtrot - 24 - very nice. They may not be as good as the other couples but I really enjoy their performances! Lots of emotion after the dance - even though he's a bad boy she really does like Maks.

Katherine and Mark - Viennese Waltz - 26 - lovely dance, very strange spin at the end - he seemed to throw her a bit hard. Len liked it apart from the spin - just like me! Bruno loves her technique. Carrie Ann got booed (not sure why, the audience doesn't seem to like anything negative!)

Roshon and Chelsie - Foxtrot - 29 - a jaunty little foxtrot. Bruno was very pleased "a young Mickey Rooney". "Two little dancing munchkins" said Len. Carrie Ann liked it too. The score was a little high I felt but only by one or two points.

William and Cheryl - Foxtrot - 30 - an even better foxtrot! And to "Stray Cat Strut"! (One of my faves!) The judges liked it too!

And now to the Trio round!

Donald, Peta and Karina Smirnoff - Jive - 28 - the audience loved it. The judges loved it. I thought it was a little awkward, but good nevertheless.

Maria, Derek and Henry V - Samba - 25 - Bollywood-style! Derek does like to experiment! Enjoyable, a little awkward again. (They had an abs contest and Maria seemed to win btw). Bruno was impressed by the number. Len didn't think it was a samba - he gave it a seven.

Melissa, Maks and Val - Samba - 27 - four Chmerkovskiy buttocks! A little hesitant to start but it was very enjoyable. The judges said it was her best performance.

Katherine, Mark and Tristan - Cha Cha Cha - 29 - Katherine got her pants leg stuck around her ankle, she dealt with it well. A good performance.

Roshon, Chelsie and Sasha Farbar. Paso Doble - 27 - great performance, although Sasha didn't seem to be in it much. The judges felt he made a couple of mistakes but Len enjoyed the buttocks. Seriously.

William, Cheryl and Tony Dovolani - Paso Doble - 27 - ooh, William in a mask. He was the Zorro to Tony's bad guy. The audience loved it. The judges liked it too.

So here are the overall scores:

1. William/Cheryl - 30 & 27 = 57
2. Roshon/Chelsie - 29 & 27 = 56
3. Katherine/Mark - 26 & 29 = 55
4. Donald/Peta - 27 & 28 = 55
5. Maria/Derek - 28 & 25 = 53
6. Melissa/Maks - 24 & 27 = 51

Seven Reasons I Don't Like The Dancing With The Stars Dance Duel

Courtesy ABC

The Dance Duel has been run twice with, one could argue, the "correct" couple being eliminated both times.  Jaleel beat out Gavin last week and Roshon won over Gladys this week.

The reasons for the Dance Duel are many - the most important being to ensure good dancers are kept safe from the vagaries of the viewers.

So we have taken a system of professional judges scoring dances that have been developed for weeks, millions of viewers voting via phone/text/web, pundits and ordinary viewers putting forth their views on who will go, and added 30 seconds of frenetic dancing that was put together that morning.

I don't like it and here are some reasons why:

1. I keep calling it a "dance off" by mistake
2. The split screen makes me feel slightly nauseous
3. It seems very rushed at the end of the show, particularly as the dance is so short and Tom keeps nagging people to hurry along
4. If someone trips then thats it, no matter how much better they may be than the other couple
5. It's hard to watch the judges make up nice things to say
6. The announcement of the couple going home is an anticlimax, with either Len "deciding" (if he agrees with Carrie-Ann) or Bruno choosing who is staying and Tom having to clarify who is going home
7. It's an anagram of "can delude"

Having said all that, anything that makes the Results Show more interesting is worth considering!

What do you think?  Are you a Dance Duel fan?

Vegas Odds for DWTS 14

From vegasoddson.com here are the latest odds on the celebrities in season 14:

• William Levy    4/1
• Jaleel White    9/2
• Donald Driver    5/1
• Maria Menounos    5/1
• Roshon Fegan    9/1
• Gladys Knight    10/1
• Katherine Jenkins    10/1
• Sherri Shepherd    12/1
• Melissa Gilbert    12/1
• Jack Wagner    15/1
• Gavin DeGraw    20/1
• Martina Navratilova    20/1

As always with this sort of thing you know at least 2 if not more of those odds are way out.  I tend to agree with the favorites but think Roshon has a much better chance than Gladys and that you should never count out Martina.

Maria Menounos goes to the top of my DWTS list

Hey, anyone who has a Bichon has my vote!  (Yep, I have one too.)



Maria Menounos on WhoSay

Gavin DeGraw 'To Join Dancing With The Stars'

Contactmusic is reporting that a friend of rockstar Gavin DeGraw heard that he was appearing in Dancing with the Stars. OneRepublic singer Ryan Tedder told The Hollywood Reporter that "Gavin DeGraw is doing Dancing With The Stars, I heard. He's amazing. He's one of my favourite male singers alive".

Gavin's main claim to popular fame is that his song "I Don't Want To Be" is the theme song for One Tree Hill.


Dancing With The Stars | Degraw 'To Join Dancing With The Stars' | Contactmusic

Vince Young on DWTS?

NFL Quarterback Vince Young - currently with the Philadelphia Eagles - tweeted this to his followers:

Twitter fam I have been invited to b on Dancing with the Stars what do y'all think about that lol.........
— Vince Young (@VinceYoung) February 2, 2012

There have been a number of football players on the show and Vince would probably be quite good.

Dancing with the Stars Cast Announced February 28

The cast of season 14 of DWTS will be announced February 28 on Good Morning America.  Robin says it's the biggest cast yet, and you have to trust Robin!

NFL Star Kerry Rhodes Says He's Been Asked to do DWTS

Arizona Cardinals player Kerry Rhodes asked his Twitter followers if he should do Dancing with the Stars:

should i do dancing with stars?? i have been asked. wat u think?
— Kerry Rhodes (@kerryrhodes) January 4, 2012

I'm not saying he's lying but is he really that big of a star to be asked on the show?  Is there a Kurt Warner link here?  If he has been asked then good for him but I suspect it's tongue-in-cheek.