Roshon Fegan & Chelsie Hightower
Dance: Quickstep
Song: Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
Judges' Scores: 26 (9's for Bruno & CA, an 8 from Len)
Roshon and Chelsie kicked off the show with a quickstep and I for one wasn't sure how this kid ingrained with hip hop (self-proclaimed) was going to handle it. All in all, not bad. The choreography was pretty hard and he still managed with minimal slip ups. His frame is definitely a little weird and I wish they had taken more time to fix that and eased up a little bit; the dance felt a little rushed. Len commended him for taking heel leads, I wouldn't go that far but his footwork wasn't horrible; he was definitely trying. And my oh my were the judges' scores inflated. I have to wonder what this means for the rest of the episode.
Sherri Shepherd & Valentin Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Jive
Song: Proud Mary
Judges' Scores: 23 (8's for Bruno & CA, a 7 from Len)
Sherri was next up and once again she wasn't lacking for entertainment. She came out ready to embody Tina Turner and she worked it, mouthing the words, the whole song. They definitely made one mistake in the routine, missing what appears to me should have been an under the leg pass. Sherri played it off though and hardly missed a beat. I have to admit her enthusiasm is a little bit distracting, you hardly even notice she's not dancing that much she's having so much fun. The judges noted the mistake but said they didn't care they just loved it. Len said he wished there was more jive content but he just loves watching her. Probably spot on, Len, well done. I hope all her enthusiasm and confidence on the dance floor doesn't become too campy or prevent her from really learning to dance, but for now I'm on board. I, of course, have to say I wish Val got to do the jive a little later in the season; didn't get to see much of his amazing dancing in this routine.
Melissa Gilbert & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Quickstep
Song: Dancing with Myself
Judges' Scores: 20 (7's for Bruno & CA, a 6 from Len)
Well this quickstep was really just plagued with awkward. An awkward frame, including a sagging right arm and that dreaded left shoulder scrunch we've all seen before. An awkward facial expression from Melissa, who just seemed to be thinking and trying too hard throughout. The choreography wasn't easy and I'm sure this contributed to her difficulties but I just couldn't get past the palpable apprehension. Credit where credit is due, there was a fairly nice (and once again not easy) death drop at the end, if only she could approach the rest of her dancing with that little fear we might be in business. I agree with the judges' comments on this one (if not always their scores).
Jack Wagner & Anna Trebunskaya
Dance: Jive
Song: Gimme Some Lovin
Judges' Scores: 21 (trip 7's)
I hardly mention costumes in here (so much to say so little time) but I have to quickly comment on Jack's. I think it is a little cruel to make non-pro wear brown in the first couple of weeks, just not something they can really pull off. Now on to the dancing. The dance contained some difficult choreography but even with it you could tell there had been an emphasis on technique. Even if he doesn't always get it, you can tell there is a concentration on taking the right sized steps in the jive basics and I appreciate it. He made a few mistakes but it wasn't really surprising considering how hard he was dancing; he went all out! Carrie Anne called him out for over-dancing which would be fair if they didn't usually reward that sort of thing. Len mentioned their dancing was of an acceptable standard to take them through to next week. I hope to see them next week as I think they're on the better end of things than just acceptable.
Gladys Knight & Tristan MacManus
Dance: Quickstep
Song: Sir Duke
Judges' Scores: 19 (7's for Bruno & CA, a 5 from Len)
Oh dear! I don't have much to say about this one. The dance was completely unmemorable. There was nothing really clean about the routine or the technique. To be fair, the song didn't help them, it just was not the right upbeat feeling for the quickstep. The dance felt almost slow motion. I was still waiting for something to happen when the number ended abruptly (along with any chance of redemption for this quickstep). The judges certainly gave it no love and I'd reluctantly have to agree with them up, until the scores that is. Bruno and Carrie Anne both gave the same scores they gave for Jack & Anna. Inexplicable.
Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas
Dance: Jive
Song: Ain't Nothing Wrong With That
Judges' Scores: 26 (9's for Bruno & CA, an 8 from Len)
After expressing her fear of being sexy in the rehearsal footage, I was afraid we were in for a timid jive but I was pleasantly surprised. She really tried to sell the number throughout, facial expressions and sexy moves and all. If I'm being critical she could use better arm extension; not tensing up her upper body to make up for the speed and looseness required below. Of course, same as everyone, she could also close her feet a bit more in the basic steps. But I was entertained and mostly impressed.
Jaleel White & Kym Johnson
Dance: Jive
Song: Marry You
Judges' Scores: 22 (7's for Len & CA, an 8 from Bruno)
Jaleel was one of the standouts of last week and I don't think the expectations helped him here. His natural movement was of course evident and helped him achieve pretty clean basics. However, it also made him appear to not be trying hard enough. The dance had plenty of theme, complete with diner outfits and a fake food, but could have been more upbeat with a little more pep in the steps. Technically, I think he could have a good jive down the road with a little more energy and a little more flexibility in his hips. I had to agree with Len, the dance could have used more attack. But more surprisingly I even agreed with Carrie Anne, that it was a little flat footed.
Maria Menounos & Derek Hough
Dance: Quickstep
Song: Sexy Sexy
Judges' Scores: 25 (8's for Len & CA, a 9 from Bruno)
Now after last week I have to say I wasn't expecting much out of this pair but I was happily surprised. I could have done without the Bonnie & Clyde theme or at least would have preferred better costumes for it. The masks and hats didn't exactly go with the ballgown but I digress. There were actually some parts with very good frame. Obviously working on maintaining that frame consistently should be a goal for them but seeing it in only the second week makes me thing there could be a dancer in this girl yet. There were a few missteps in the routine, that the judges harped on, but I think mistakes should be expected and its more about how you handle it. Overall I enjoyed this week and was impressed by the turn around from last week. I still would have liked to see some more basic steps but the routine was much better than the cha-cha-less Cha of last week!
Martina Navratilova & Tony Dovolani
Dance: Jive
Song: Tell Her About It
Judges' Scores: 17 (6's for Bruno & CA, a 5 from Len)
And here comes another massive "Oh dear"! Much like with Gladys' routine, I just don't even know what to say. She missed the entire beginning section of the routine, a kick & flick grouping along, along with other parts throughout. Her footwork was sloppy and there was basically no speed or energy in the number. Her confused costume didn't help her but I'm not sure anything would have really helped. She is unfortunately the worst dancer on the show without a doubt. She is definitely trying her best and really wants to learn which is admirable but I have doubts right now about how much she could improve.
Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd
Dance: Quickstep
Song: Stay the Night
Judges' Scores: 24 (trip 8's)
I loved Donald last week and this week was no different. He is just so enjoyable to watch and his enthusiasm is just contagious. The technical ability in this routine wasn't fantastic, his frame was just okay and the footwork could have been better controlled (and in some cases was outright sloppy) but I still really liked the number. Even with its faults it was still one of the better quicksteps of the night. Probably more shocking than any of that though was Len apologizing for undermarking their Cha Cha from last week (he gave them a 7). After rewatching the tape, Len said he should have given them a higher score and I have to agree!
Gavin DeGraw & Karina Smirnoff
Dance: Jive
Song: Wild One
Judges' Scores: 21 (trip 7's)
The jive was definitely better than Gavin's foxtrot last week. He was trying really hard and was selling it as best he could. Of course, it was not great technically and his kicks were pretty bad, but overall it was enjoyable to watch. I just don't see him making a real run for it but it seems like he has enough fans to pull him through to next week.
William Levy & Cheryl Burke
Dance: Quickstep
Song: Nice Work If You Can Get It
Judges' Scores: 25 (9's from Bruno & CA, a 7 from Len)
After over-inflated marks for their Cha Cha last week, I was not looking forward to them closing the show this week. However, this week at least one judge resisted the urge to mark based on looks alone. For sure, William won the costume lottery this week; wearing a tuxedo fronted suit made him look the part and that dapper look definitely helped the overall success of the number. His frame wasn't bad in the sense that his arms were generally in a decent place but he tips forward from the waist leaning his head way in and over Cheryl. Likewise, his footwork was just okay. So I guess now you know which judge I agreed with; Len all the way with "good not great".
Second week on top of the leader board, early favorites?
Now tomorrow night someone goes home after combining the judges' scores and viewer votes from the past two weeks. So where does the leader board stand? Once again I'm going to try and break the ties and correct for some crazy judging. It's not an easy task, but here goes nothing!
This week's scores:
Judges' Rankings My Rankings
Judges' Rankings My Rankings
| Place | Couple | Points | Place | Couple |
| 1 | Katherine & Mark | 26 | 1 | Katherine & Mark |
| 1 | Roshon & Chelsie | 26 | 2 | Maria & Derek |
| 3 | Maria & Derek | 25 | 3 | Roshon & Chelsea |
| 3 | William & Cheryl | 25 | 4 | Donald & Peta |
| 5 | Donald & Peta | 24 | 5 | William & Cheryl |
| 6 | Sherri & Val | 23 | 6 | Jaleel & Kym |
| 7 | Jaleel & Kym | 22 | 7 | Jack & Anna |
| 8 | Jack & Anna | 21 | 8 | Sherri & Val |
| 8 | Gavin & Karina | 21 | 9 | Gavin & Karina |
| 10 | Melissa & Maks | 20 | 10 | Melissa & Maks |
| 11 | Gladys & Tristan | 19 | 11 | Gladys & Tristan |
| 12 | Martina & Tony | 17 | 12 | Martina & Tony |
Combined scores from the first two weeks (this was really tough):
Judges' Rankings My Rankings
Judges' Rankings My Rankings
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That about does it! Who comes back next week? Now there is a tough question! If it was based only on dancing we'd surely be saying bye to Martina and Tony, but none of us are crazy enough to think its just about dancing! If it weren't for Maks' popularity I would say Melissa would definitely be a goner but his fans could just keep her in it for awhile. I'm hoping a middle of the pack couple like Jack and Anna doesn't suffer but I guess we'll find out soon enough!
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