Gladys Knight & Tristan MacManus
Dance: Rumba
Song: My Girl
Judges' Scores: 21 (trip 7's)
The Temptations are back already and I almost forgot that Gladys and Tristan would be dancing. Once I got past them singing and Tristan's all purple sweater suit and thick rimmed glasses the dance was almost over. Gladys was doing her best and it was great seeing her loving Motown Week but it was a rather boring rumba. The judges, I think, were trying to express what I feel, that she's not the best dancer but you just love watching her try. It did seem they were pushing everyone at home to vote for her though, so even if she's not their favorite in scores she's a favorite in other ways.
Maria Menounos & Derek Hough
Dance: Foxtrot
Song: Jimmy Mack
Judges' Scores: 26 (9's from Bruno & Len, an 8 from CA)
Martha Reeves is back singing for Maria and Derek's foxtrot. Once again she has a relatively nice ballroom frame which I wish she had stayed in for more of the dance. Most of the side by side work was a bit awkward and got off time in a few places. She had some left shoulder problems in the second half of the dance which I found a bit uncharacteristic but that just shows I've come to expect a nice frame from her. This wasn't my favorite dance of hers which is unfortunate because I much prefer her standard.
Roshon Fegan & Chelsie Hightower
Dance: Rumba
Song: Cruisin
Judges' Scores: 23 (8's from Bruno & Len, a 7 from CA)
Roshon and Chelsie have to dance to Smokey Robinson, which must be distracting, I'd want to just stop and watch. Roshon was trying so hard to be sensual I didn't really feel the rumba character. At the end, I started to believe it but then it ended before I really got there. I would have liked to see him focus a bit more on technique because I do think he can handle it. Not my favorite of his (hope this isn't a Motown Week pattern) but not bad. Relative to the other couples, I think the judges underscored this one.
Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas
Dance: Samba
Song: I Can't Get Next to You
Judges' Scores: 29 (10's from Bruno & CA, a 9 from Len)
Oh, if only they could have done a samba with a stronger samba beat and less Motown groove. There were lots of samba steps executed well but some of the more exciting steps just lacked some punch because of the music. This one is a hard one to judge for me because I would really like to replay it with a different soundtrack.
Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd
Dance: Foxtrot
Song: The Way You Do the Thinks You Do
Judges' Scores: 27 (trip 9's)
There is just something so enjoyable about their dancing together it makes me miss their errors. It could have been a bit cleaner and more fluid in places but I just plain liked it.
Melissa Gilbert & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dance: Viennese Waltz
Song: Ooo Baby Baby
Judges' Scores: 24 (trip 8's)
The rehearsal footage was tough this week with both M's getting frustrated. Despite that, this was the most comfortable I've seen her. She still hangs on for dear life in frame a bit but it was less obvious this week. Her face even relaxed some of the time. Her frame still has issues with her shoulders constantly popping up but definitely better.
Jaleel White & Kym Johnson
Dance: Cha Cha
Song: Ain't Too Proud to Beg
Judges' Scores: 29 (10's from Bruno & CA, a 9 from Len)
Jaleel does seem to be really pushing himself. I don't think cha cha is really his dance but he did well. He really did perform the best he could even if the lock steps weren't as crisp as I would have liked. I think the judges went a little crazy with the scores but what else is new.
William Levy & Cheryl Burke
Dance: Rumba
Song: Being With You
Judges' Scores: 27 (a 9 from CA, an 8 from Len, & a 10 from Bruno)
I wish Cheryl would let him dance more already. We know he can do sexy and when he's given the chance he has nice Cuban motion. He could use straighter legs to create more dynamic but who knows how good he could really be. Yes, I find Cheryl's dancing distracting most of the time but it is even more distracting that her choreography doesn't let him dance!
Tied for top scoring dance of the night
To end the show was the Motown Dance Marathon. Each of the couples had a spotlight for their cha cha (which must be a few too many cha chas for Jaleel at this point). Gladys & Tristan are the first out and Maria & Derek are eliminated just as I was thinking they looked a bit tired and a little off their game. Roshon & Chelsie are third to go and Melissa & Maks are fourth. Now the floor is opened up for the four remaining couples to go where they please. Donald & Peta were next even though I was enjoying their cha cha. Jaleel & Kym, who must never want to cha cha again, were 6th. William & Cheryl were the 7th eliminated making Katherine & Mark the Marathon winners. Hard to say whether this was the best choice since I felt they didn't get much camera time.
Top Scoring Performance after including the Marathon
Now for the moment I've been dreading: the leader board. To penalize or not to penalize Katherine for not the best music or William for not the best choreography or even Maria for not living up to my expectations. And, of course, what to do with this dance marathon? Basically I ignored the Dance Marathon but I've included the judges' scores before and after for comparison.
Judges' Rankings Pre-Marathon
| Place | Couple | Points |
| 1 | Katherine & Mark | 29 |
| 1 | Jaleel & Kym | 29 |
| 3 | William & Cheryl | 27 |
| 3 | Donald & Peta | 27 |
| 5 | Maria & Derek | 26 |
| 6 | Melissa & Maks | 24 |
| 7 | Roshon & Chelsie | 23 |
| 8 | Gladys & Tristan | 21 |
Judges' Rankings Post-Marathon My Rankings
| Place | Couple | Points | Place | Couple |
| 1 | Katherine & Mark | 39 | 1 | Katherine & Mark |
| 2 | Jaleel & Kym | 37 | 2 | Jaleel & Kym |
| 3 | William & Cheryl | 36 | 3 | Donald & Peta |
| 4 | Donald & Peta | 34 | 4 | William & Cheryl |
| 5 | Maria & Derek | 30 | 5 | Maria & Derek |
| 5 | Melissa & Maks | 30 | 6 | Roshon & Chelsie |
| 7 | Roshon & Chelsie | 28 | 7 | Melissa & Maks |
| 8 | Gladys & Tristan | 24 | 8 | Gladys & Tristan |
And who goes home? My guess would be Gladys but her fans have kept her so far. We'll see soon!
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