DWTS

The surprising Semi-Finals of Dancing with the Stars included Gilles Marini, Shawn Johnson, Melissa Rycroft, and Ty Murray after the shocking elimination of Lil’ Kim. The DWTS Finals won’t be including Ty Murray who lasted through ten weeks of competition.

Even with decent scores from the judges, the rodeo king couldn’t overcome the strong performances of the other contestants like Gilles and Cheryl who posted six perfect scores. Is it only a coincidence that “Gilles” has 6 letters and “Cheryl” has 6 letters, and they got 6 perfect scores?

Here is what double perfection looks like.

Going back to Ty for a bit. His high scores during the Semi-Finals really surprised me. Yeah, he did good, but compared to the rest of the dancers, he doesn’t seem to be at the same level at this point in the competition. So why the high scores? Aha! It’s a variation of the old reverse psychology technique used by Len Goodman. In previous weeks when Len gave low scores, the fans rallied to keep Ty. Give Ty decent scores, and the fans aren’t incited to call in their votes, and bye goes Ty. Mr. Goodman is truly a master of gnosis.

What’s that? Ty Murray wasn’t eliminated as expected on Dancing with the Stars? The judges said it was time to go. Even Ty and partner Chelsie seemed to know it was time to go, but the fans… Obviously, the fans thought otherwise, voting to save Ty and Chelsie at the shocking expense of eliminating Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough.

Yes, the Bionic Bootie was booted on Week 9 of DWTS leaving Ty, Melissa Rycroft, Shawn Johson, and Gilles Marini to duke it out on the dance floor. These upsets have happened before, but usually not so close to the finals.

Oh yeah, here’s the sensual rumba Ty performed that must have been his saving grace.

Can the rodeo star bring down another DWTS bull next week?

So by now, you probably heard Melissa Rycroft exclaim her boob came out after her perfect performance. Of course, there was nothing to be seen on national television, but if you want to see for yourself, here’s the video. Fast forward to about the 1:40 mark when things start to unravel.

After several recent wardrobe malfunctions, I’m thinking the DWTS wardrobe crew are a bunch of practical jokers!

“My boob came out,” exclaims Melissa Rycroft after finishing her perfect samba. Dancing with the Stars host and witness Tom Bergeron hackles like a school boy in reply.

Ah, now I get it! It’s so obvious, but I missed the big picture of Cheryl Burke’s Dancing with the Stars strategery. In Week 6 of DWTS, I took a look at each couple’s strategy of winning the competition. Basically, I thought Cheryl Burke’s strategy for Gilles Marini was showcasing only this Frenchman’s dancing skills. But let’s take a look at the past weeks shall we?

In Weeks 1-4, Cheryl and Gilles indeed focused on the dancing artform. Then in Week 5 came Gilles’ “pecs-o doble” where he started the routine shirtless.

Week 6’s jive featured Gilles and Cheryl in form fitting black leather outfits.

Cheryl and Gilles danced the Viennese Waltz in Week 7, but in preparation, Cheryl had Gilles practice his fluidity with a synchronized swimming instructor which yielded this.

And most recently in Week 8, Gilles flashed the fans his beans and frank via the old moose knuckle.

You see the trend here? It’s not just Gilles’ superb dancing on display. Oh no, Cheryl’s strategy of showcasing the wares of her man candy is in full effect and might lead her to yet another championship. Very, very clever Miss Burke.

Normally, I post only my favorite Dancing with the Stars performance in my weekly recap. This week though, there were several solid performances, so I had to add bonus material.

Here’s Mark Ballas and Shawn Johnson doing a cha cha cha to Michael Jackson’s PYT.

Later on, I’ll post Melissa and Tony’s intricate Argentine Tango. As promised, here is “Maneater” Melissa with an almost perfect routine.

With the great talent on Season 8 of Dancing with the Stars, average scores simply ain’t good enough. Even scores of 8 are grounds for elimination. Week 7 of DWTS showcased some serious talent and routines. Let’s begin!

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani started the show with a bar raising Argentine Tango. After a score of 29, I thought the rest of the competition would falter, but not so. LT’s waltz, though okay, was much better than his previous outings.

Yeah, Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough were too conservative this week and need to heed Bruno’s advice of bringing the raunch back.

My favorite performance for this week goes to Chuck Wicks and Julianne Hough. Not just because Chuck copped a feel on national television, but because he actually had a dancing breakthrough with a score of 27.

At about the 0:12 mark, check out the squeezy squeezy action.

Even though Ty Murray made a ballroom comeback, I think his appeal is running its course. He scored higher than LT, but I’m thinking Ty’s getting sacked first.

A close favorite is Shawn Johnson’s cha cha cha to Michael Jackson’s PYT. She was definitely in her element with this performance.

Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke closed out the individual dances, but I didn’t care too much for their Viennese Waltz.

So there you have it, another great week of Dancing with the Stars.

Week 6 of Dancing with the Stars showcased the strategery of the dancing pros. With eight couples remaining, the competition is ratcheting up, and the separation of the contenders begins. So while there are still a fair share of competitors, you can see the pros taking their partners into new territories to distinguish themselves. The strategery winner this week is Derek Hough and Lil’ Kim.

Their jive was indeed a show with massive kudos to the DWTS wardrobe staff for keeping Lil’ Kim in check. The high octane number was a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen! But Lil’ Kim’s cop uniform held, and the fans were energized. Carrie Ann and Bruno praised the performance with only dancing purist Len Goodman calling Derek and Kim on their over-the-top dance. But now, Derek and Lil’ Kim have to be viewed as serious contenders for the mirror ball trophy.

http://www.youtube.com/v/GdrigVdm1No&hl=en&fs=1

Cheryl Burke wanted to show off her man candy aka Gilles Marini and his serious dancing abilities with a frenetic jive. Yeah, I doubt any other of the celebrity dancers could come close to doing this routine, but it was too hectic. Cheryl’s strategy of highlighting Gilles’ skills didn’t pay off this week.

Tony Dovolani and Melissa Rycroft seem to be plateauing a little bit. They’re still in the top tier of dancers, but their performances feel the same. Mark Ballas and Shawn Johnson are hanging tough, but this week was a challenge with Shawn’s young age of 17. Doing a sensual rumba with a teenager on national television would have backfired so Mark chose a conservative strategy and did an “age appropriate” rumba.

Did Steve-O get a 4 from Len Goodman? Ty Murray may be the one to go though. Seemingly, there are more Jackass fans then bull riding fans. LT, you got bailed out by Warren Sapp. Chuck Wicks, you’re a lucky man.

Update: Apparently, there was a minor wardrobe malfunction for Lil’ Kim at the conclusion of her jive. Those on the live East Coast viewing of DWTS got some exposure before the segment was edited for the West Coast. What did Lil’ Kim have to say about the malfunction?

I don’t know why this happens a lot of the time, but … the girls were tryin’ to come out.