no such luck for kathy

A third star is kicked off Dancing with the Stars tonight and fingers crossed its Tom Delay!

The results show was full of performances including one from cutie Selena Gomez of Wizards of Waverly Place and annoying-as-heck Joss Stone.

Blah, blah, blah…the third star to be kicked off DWTS is…

...Kathy Ireland.

Bummer! That means another week of Tom Delay. I hope he’s not this season’s Cloris Leachman.

a big game of would you rather

My fingers are crossed that this is not a bad week for the contestants on Biggest Loser.

Before the contestants entered the gym, they were given an ultimatum by Alison – they could either choose to keep the trainers for the week or get a 2-pound advantage at weigh-in. Only one team would get an advantage while the others kept their trainers. Tracey ended up taking the 2 pounds so that no one else would get a higher advantage. However, she did not consult her partner on this and that did not win her any points with Coach Mo, the other contestants, or Bob and Jillian. Especially Bob and Jillian!

Okay, I think Tracey is crazy! She is cra-zy! Bob and Jillian were not happy at all with this choice! They decided to pull the Purple Team aside to figure out what was going on in her head to guide her to make this choice.

Abby found out that she had micro-stress fracture and I gotta say that her determination and drive is amazing! For anyone else, they probably would have been a disaster but I have complete faith that he will work everything out.

Alison presented the contestants with another Would You Rather game and their first temptation. She asked them if they would rather control their diet or control the game. During elimination this week, only one person from each team would weigh-in and the winner of this temptation challenge would choose which person that would be. When the contestants lifted their silver dishes, they found mini-cupcakes worth 100 calories. In order to win the challenge, you had to eat the most cupcakes in 10 minutes to get control of the game.

Antoine decided to eat a cupcake and I that pushed Tracey over the edge and she kept eating and eating! Sean was very surprised to find out that his partner, Antoine, ate some cupcakes. Antoine ate 2 cupcakes and Tracey ate 4, so she ended up winning. And she hated herself for it in the end. Uh, duh! Why would you eat cupcakes on The Biggest Loser?! And when Coach Mo asked her what she was thinking, she just had a look of disbelief on her face like she couldn’t believe that he would ask her such a thing! It’s official – she is definitely crazy!

Oh, Bob and Jillian were pissed! Jillian couldn’t even handle it and she didn’t know what to say to her. And she’s right – why waste the trainers’ time?!

Now that the teams know that Tracey has this power, they are all worried about who will be the chosen person to weigh-in for their team.

For their challenge, the contestants were faced with a massive incline and the chance at immunity. Each team would need to get 500 pounds to the top of the incline in order to raise their team’s flag. They could either carry two-5 lb. weights from a shorter distance or 25 lb. from a longer distance. Since Abby and Tracey are still injured, Allen and Coach Mo only had to compete solo and get just 250 lb. to the top, along with Julio who had no partner.

It’s neck and neck between the Pink Team and the Green Team. I would be happy with either team winning but by Allen winning, he secured the win for him and Abby!

During the last chance workout, Bob latched on to Amanda and made her work really hard because she has struggled the most at weigh-in. And Jillian pushed Dina just as hard.

At the weigh-in, Jillian laid into Tracey once again and I completely agree with every word she said! Coach Mo needs to know it’s okay to be angry at Tracey for her decisions and Tracey needs to know that she made two of the worst decisions ever in the game.

Here is how the weigh-in played out and which player’s weight counted:

• Green Team – both players: -9 lbs
• Black Team - Julio: -7 lbs; 1.87%
• Brown Team – Liz: -4 lbs; 1.62%
• Blue Team – Rudy: -12 lbs; 3.00%
• Pink Team – Amanda: -5 lbs; 2.08%
• Red Team – Sean: -6 lbs; 1.46%
• Orange Team – Shay: -6 lbs; 1.35%
• Purple Team – Tracey: -11 lbs; 5.26%
  

Even though Tracey lost the highest percentage of weight out of everyone, not a single person cheered for her. Not even Bob or Jillian. Tracey’s choices put the Red Team and the Orange Team below the yellow line. And it looks like an entire team will be going home instead of just an individual person.

Everyone knew that Shay couldn’t go home and the Red Team decided to sacrifice themselves so that she could stay. I wish so much that Tracey could have gone home because she made such horrible decisions this week. And she seemed to have no remorse for it or understand that she was behaving just so vile.

All of the teams honored the wishes of the Red Team and voted them off. Even though everyone knew it was coming, it was still the saddest elimination ever! Sean & Antoine did not deserve to go home but I think their determination and sacrifice will help them when they get home.

the show must go on

It’s time for the stars to go head-to-head on Dancing with the Stars.

Filling in for Len this week is Moulin Rouge director Baz Lurhman, who also directed the spectacular Strictly Ballroom.

First up and dancing the Jive was Joanna & Derek. She is doing all of the moves but she doesn’t look as smooth as I think she should. Granted, it is only Week 2, but I think she has a lot of pressure on her because of her performance last week. She ended up with a 20/30 which is definitely lower than last week.

Natalie & Alec took the stage this week with the dreaded Quick Step. Apparently, Natalie has a breathing problem because she is used to holding her breath for so long while swimming. She definitely seemed calmer this week and she definitely showed a lot of potential. Natalie received a 21/30 which is pretty respectable for Week 2.

One of my faves, Chuck & Anna, got the Tango and I think he will do really well since the Tango. Ooh, and they danced to Seven Nation Army! Well, personally, I enjoyed it and I think I have a little school girl crush on Chuck! They ended up with a 19/30 which is a big improvement for them from last week.

Oh, yay! Melissa & Mark are taking on the Jive! I bet this is going to be really cute...at least I hope! Oh, and it was! Super adorable and I think she actually did a pretty good job. She also ended up with a 19/30 and it seems like the scores are going to stay around this area.

Michael & Anna decided to push themselves really hard with the Quick Step this week. I really feel like Anna is getting a little overwhelmed by being a pro on this show so I hope she does better this week with the choreography. But Michael was surprisingly light on his feet during this dance and Anna did much better with adding content. They scored a 20/30 for this week falling right into the middle of the pack.

The most volatile couple of the season, Debi & Maks, performed the Tango and this surely seemed like the best performance for them. However, they chose to perform to the Moulin Rouge version of Roxanne which is pretty risky considering the man that created that original and amazing performance is now judging them! I think they did the best they could and it was really steamy. You can still see her nervousness and I hope that she eventually gets more confident because she is really good. They received a 21/30 putting them at the top of the leader board along with Natalie & Alec.

Cutie couple of the season, Louie & Chelsie, had the Jive and they are so cute and young it just has to be good. Ahh, I just can’t get over how cute they are!! I love them to pieces. The judges were a little harsh on him, but he really is good and I think that America will keep him in with votes. They scored a 19/30 which still keeps them with the rest of the pack.

Aaron & Karina performed next and they had a drum intro from Animal from Sesame Street. They had this cute little vaudeville routine going on during their Quick Step. He is doing really well and I think they will now take the leader board. The judges totally loved it and they gave him a 27/30! They just blew everyone out of the water!

Another fave couple, Kelly & Louis, danced the Tango this week and I hope she keeps her momentum from last week. I think she did well but I think that the pressure she was feeling from last week got to her. I hope that this week is the only week where she loses confidence. She ended up with a 19/30 which is still at the bottom of the bunch but I think others may do worse.

Performing another Quick Step was Kathy & Tony and they had a cute Cinderella theme going on. She is definitely graceful, but a little boring to watch. She scored an 18/30 which is the lowest score so far.

My final fave couple, Mark & Lacey, took on the Quick Step and I hope they do well. Aw, I thought it was cute and they did pretty good. I agree that his footwork was not the greatest but he covered well. Wow, Mark scored a 21/30 which puts him up there in the leader boards.

Mýa & Dimtry danced a Jive and I think she will do well. She looks über cute too in a complete 20’s style look. Their song was really risky but the dance was really good! It was like near perfection! The duo scored the second 27/30 of the night!

Tom & Cheryl took the stage next and I really hope they don’t do well so they can be kicked off already! They danced a Tango and needless to say, it was not sexy at all. Tom ended up with a slight stress fracture in his foot and I think it ended up hurting him in the end because he almost dropped Cheryl in the final hold and I think he may have hurt himself. He ended up with 18/30 leaving him at the bottom with Kathy.

Rounding out the night was Donnie & Kym doing another Jive. He actually did really well in this dance and I think he had just the right amount of theatricality and dance skills. Wow, Donnie eked out a 25/30 with a 9 from Baz! So he bridged the gap between the leaders and the rest of the pack.

My predictions for tomorrow: either Kathy or Tom will go home but I hope that it’s Tom.

and they're off!

While dance crews battled for the top prize, contestants embarked on the first leg of The Amazing Race.

The teams this year range from teammates from The Globetrotters, a former Miss USA, plenty of couples in varying ranges of their relationships, and some family ties.

Wow! The teams found out that one team would be eliminated during the first challenge and wouldn’t even get to leave the starting point. The first clue had the teams searching hundreds of license plates for only 11 plates with the correct Japanese symbol to get them to Japan.

Eric and Lisa, the married yoga teacher couple, came in last place and didn’t even make it on a plane to Tokyo.

Maria & Tiffany, professional poker players, decide that they are going to tell people that they work with a homeless organization in LA because they think people won’t help them if they know that they make a lot of money playing poker.

Nashville couple Mika & Canaan got to the Tokyo Tower first and found themselves on a Japanese game show!!! Haha, oh how stereotypically Japanese!

HAHAHA and they had to play a game called Sushi Roulette! The game required one player from each team to sit at a table and eat whatever dish of sushi was in front of them. But, some of the teams got a Wasabi Bomb which is basically just a roll of wasabi!!! And they needed to eat it in just 2 minutes. Once they ate a Wasabi Bomb, they get to leave the show and move-on. But they have to keep playing until they eat the Wasabi Bomb. Once the teams finished the game show, they had to take the flag in front of them and lead 20 Japanese audience members through Tokyo’s busiest city crossing.

Surprisingly, most of the teams did well with their Wasabi Bombs except for Maria. She failed during her first attempt, just barely missing the 2 minute time limit. The other teams were frustrated with her because she was taking away the chance for them to win. The Yellow team also had some trouble getting the Wasabi Bomb down.

San Diego couple Meghan & Cheyne were Team #1 on this leg! Aww, and all the Japanese women from the audience were loving the Globetrotters, especially Big Easy. He was just so big. But at the same time, they were having some trouble getting their team to the pit stop. In fact, so did some other teams who had been leading their teams much longer.

Mika & Canaan were the 10th couple to arrive and they were missing one of their audience members. Luckily, she was just around the corner. Maria & Tiffany also were missing two of their audience members and decided to check-in without them. Lucky for them it was a non-elimination leg so they just incurred a 2-hour penalty and they must perform a speed bump in their next leg.

For the next leg, the teams needed to go to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The teams seemed to be divided on their approaches to getting flights. Some chose to go to the hotel first to buy tickets online or go to the airport. Turns out there was no advantage to either way because all teams got on the same flight.

While at the airport, the other teams found out that Maria & Tiffany are poker players because someone else in the airport recognized them.

Once the teams landed in Vietnam, they had to get on a bus to Cai Be. There were two buses and the teams on the second bus paid extra for their bus to leave early and catch up with the first bus. Regardless of when they left, both buses missed the dock time so they had to wait until morning. Looks like those teams on the second bus paid extra money for nothing!

During their next challenge, the teams needed to gather mud to fertilize a tree on a fruit farm. Maria & Tiffany had to perform their Speed Bump of creating the traditional dish of Pho. They succeeded on their first try and then made their way to the mud. All of the teams were having trouble with the mud because it was so thick.

Meghan & Cheyne finished first and made their way to the Cai Be field for their next challenge. When Justin & Zev finished with their tree, Justin fell into the river and possibly lost his clue. This error made it possible for Maria & Tiffany to catch up.

During the Road Block, one member from each team needed to move a group of 100 ducks over a bridge and back in just 10 minutes. But if they didn’t make it during the time limit, they had to relinquish their space and wait for another team to finish first.

Brothers Sam & Dan, finished the duck challenge first and headed toward Masaac III, the boat that would be their next pit stop. Father-Son team, Gary & Matt, were Team #1 on this leg.

Jessica & Garrett came in last place on this leg. I think this couple has a lot of problems and I’m not so sure that this helped them in their quest to determine whether or not they are marriage material.

and the winner of abdc is...

We are finally at the finale of America’s Best Dance Crew and it’s down to Afroboriké and We are Heroes.


This is another results show that I can’t stand because I just want the results. So, fast forward through group performances from all of the nine crews and we get to a combined performance from the final two crews.

Fast forward again and now we are at the results.

The winner of Season 4 of ABDC is…

WE ARE HEROES!!!

Finally, a female crew wins the show! See you for Season 5 in January!

boston can dance

So You Think You Can Dance hit the streets of Boston for the first time.

Yay, Tyce Diorio is joining Mary and Nigel for judging!

Teddy Todholm took the stage first and it was such a cute performance. It was so unique and you get a feeling that it was completely him to the core. AND he performed to the same song that Jeanine & Jason danced to for Travis Wall’s piece! He’s such an awkward little kid and he’s making his way to Vegas.

Jean Lloret started a little slow in the beginning but slowly got Mary screaming for his crazy B-boy skills. Without even listening to him or interviewing him, he was sent straight to Vegas. And after a bunch of boys proved their worth, Channing Cooke made it to choreography and started off some momentum for the girls.

After a married ballroom couple made it straight to Vegas, creeper Gene Bersten hoped he could do the same with a solo Latin ballroom performance. He’s clearly talented and knows what he is doing, but he is trying too hard. And he is just way too conceited.

At this point, I am ready for Vegas week already!! Hurry up!

the chefs work up some magic

Some magic is brewing in the kitchen of Top Chef.

Kinda lame…Michael Isabella decided that everyone should wear red scarves to honor Mattin. Um, he was not as good as you think. But Padma got a laugh out of it…mostly because she was surprised by how many scarves Mattin had packed!

Michelle Bernstein greeted the chefs and gave them their challenge. They needed to create a duo dish that represented their struggles as a chef to fulfill the devils and angels on their shoulders.

Many of the chefs were surprised to find out that Robin’s simple dish won the Quick Fire. I think perhaps they all underestimate her simplicity as a chef. Being simple can be a really good thing sometimes but it can also be bad and I think the other chefs are resentful of that.

The chefs then got another surprise when Penn & Teller met them in the kitchen. They presented the chefs with their Elimination Challenge, which is to deconstruct a classic dish. Some of the chefs felt really good about the challenge, but others, like Jennifer are really struggling with the deconstructed part of the challenge.

While serving the dishes, it appeared that a lot of the chefs misinterpreted deconstruction with reinvention.

Kevin, Ashley, Michael V., and Jennifer were called out to judges table as the winning dishes! Jennifer’s surprise at being up there was a little insulting. She kept thinking that it was not up to her standards but maybe she just doesn’t fully understand how deconstructed is supposed to be. I’m glad she didn’t actually win for that. Instead, Kevin won! I’m glad that Ashley was up there, too, because I want her to keep getting better and better.

On the flip side, Ron, Ash, and Laurine were in the bottom. Ash really tried to convince the judges that he deserved to stay despite his poor dish. Laurine may have saved herself by knowing the problem of her dish was overcooked fish since the judges tend to feel for the chefs who know what their problems were. Ron’s inability to deconstruct his dish at all should send him home but I think they may send Ash home. Oh, surprising! They actually sent Ron home and I’m happy with their decision.

designers take over hollywood

The designers on Project Runway head to la la land.

For their challenge this week, the designers met Tim Gunn and Collier Strong at a Hollywood sound stage. They each drew a film genre and were asked to create a character to fit in that genre and creating an outfit. The genres were: Action/Adventure, Film Noir, Period Piece, Western, and Sci-Fi.

Irina, Louise, and Althea all chose Film Noir, Nicolas and Ra’mon took Sci-Fi, Christopher and Gordana went with Period Piece, Carol Hannah and Logan chose Action/Adventure, and Shirin and Epperson got stuck with Western.
Ra’mon’s outfit is reminding me too much of a green Mystique and not in a good way. Epperson is doing well with the Western. I think Gordana is in major trouble.

The judges this week were John Varvatos, Zoe Glassner from Marie Claire, and Arianne Phillips who was nominated for an Oscar for her costume work on Walk the Line.

The designers left on the runway were Gordana was once again criticized for being too boring and safe with her design. Her own vision is not coming through in her work and she is just making herself out to be a seamstress rather than a designer. Nicolas’s concept and outfit was fantastic. It was a dress made for Tilda Swinton and it was a cross between Narnia and Fifth Element. Louise completely missed the mark in her Film Noir genre. In fact, all of the Film Noir outfits were horrible. Christopher’s outfit was perfection and I completely fell in love with his vampire concept!! Ra’mon failed with his concept and design – it ended up even worse than his jumpsuit! For having the hardest genre of them all, Epperson completely surprised everyone with his thoughtfulness to the period and the character he created. The dress was fantastic and beautiful.

Hmm, surprisingly, Nicolas won this challenge! I’m not upset about it but I thought that Christopher should have won. The bottom two fell to Ra’mon and Louise. Again, surprisingly, Ra’mon was sent home.

no big surprises on the dance floor

Potential ballroom dancing dreams are cut short for two stars on DWTS.

Ugh, it’s the return of dreaded results shows that I cannot stand. Kelly & Louis reprised their beautiful Viennese Waltz at the top of the show on the request of the judges.

Blah, blah, blah we got a recap on the performance. Fast forward through Sean Kingston’s performance.

Ashley Hamilton was the first star booted off the show and I feel bad for his partner, Edyta. She never seems to get good partners.

Skipping over Miley Cyrus’s newest music video, I actually enjoyed the next part which was a performance from the case of The Lion King.

Then came the really sad part…a wonderful tribute to Patrick Swayze.

Back to the results and it was revealed that Macy Gray would be leaving for the women. Can’t say I was surprised, but I was surprised that Kelly & Louis were in the bottom three!

two humble exits from the kitchen

It’s time to return to Hell on Hell’s Kitchen!

Now that Suzanne has moved over to the Blue Team, Kevin basically told her that they don’t trust her or want her on the team. And the women confronted Sabrina about her weak services.

Chef Ramsay had a video message for the remaining chefs from the Araxi restaurant in Whistler, British Columbia. He had a challenge for them that would really determine who could head this restaurant. They had 15 fresh ingredients from the Whistler region and they needed to create three dishes using all of the ingredients but not repeating them.

Sabrina was being stupid and didn’t tell her teammates that the protein they were using was actually venison not lamb. Stupid, petty games will not win you a prize!

Sasha Cohen and Johnny Moseley, two major Olympians, helped Chef Ramsay to judge the dishes. For the first round, the Blue Team won wish their Salmon dish. Tennille messed herself up by introducing the dish as lamb instead of venison. Despite her mistake, the Red Team won that dish. The blue dish just barely eked out the competition. But neither teams did all that well with the ingredients.

For their punishment, the women on the Red Team had to clean up at a farm while the Blue Team met Mark Peele at his restaurant Campanile.

During dinner service, the teams got to create their own menus. They got to create three appetizers, three entrees, and three desserts. The Blue Team was really happy with their menu but the Red Team was struggling. Van continued to mess up on his scallop dish and Ariel kept undercooking her pork ravioli.

Oh no! David hurt his left hand again and I really hope that this doesn’t send him home. He is one of the best chefs on this show.

Everyone seems to be messing up all over the place and I can’t believe that this is happening with only 7 chefs left. It doesn’t leave much confidence for any of them to be a head chef at a first rate restaurant. Because of the problems both teams had on the halibut, both kitchens were shut down early. Each team had to give nominate one person for elimination.

The Red Team nominated Sabrina and the Blue Team nominated Van. Chef Ramsay sent Sabrina home and for her I think it was only a matter of time. I did like her but I agree with his decision. Before they left, Chef told them that they would be facing their toughest challenge to date in the morning.

Now that they are into the final six, the Black Coats came out and now they were all one team. The chefs were challenged to recreate dishes simply from seeing and tasting a dish. They were paired in twos: Dave & Suzanne, Tennille & Kevin, and Ariel & Van. This is something I could never do – I would be horrible at figuring out what ingredients were in a dish and then recreating it!

The teams were really close with their dishes. It was pretty impressive on how they managed to do this and especially that all of them were really close. Dave & Suzanne ended up winning because they correctly guessed that the sauce had passion fruit in it. Suzanne was stupid and bragged about her win to the other chefs and Dave was smart enough to shush her!

While the other chefs prepped for dinner service and the special couple’s night, Dave and Suzanne visited Chef Ramsay’s LA restaurant and a meal prepped by Season 4 winner, Christina.

Kevin was designated to cook tableside during dinner service. Suzanne screwed up on her hot appetizers section which caused delay for Kevin while he was on tableside service. Van started sweating so much that it was dripping in the scallops he was preparing. Suzanne and Van kept messing up on the appetizers and slowing down the entrées. Tennille stepped up to the plate and ran the entrée station. Chef Ramsay just got so frustrated with Van’s inability to cook the halibut. Then Ariel burned her garnish and that seemed to be the last straw for Chef. He ended up leaving the kitchen and the restaurant in general with Sous Chef Scott. Not a good sign with the top six!

The chefs in the kitchen stepped up and Tennille took control of the entrée station again. Surprisingly enough, the chefs continued and did well. Except for Suzanne who refused to do anything else. She was afraid to “put her name” on any of the dishes without the approval of Chef Ramsay or Sous Chef Scott. That doesn’t sound like a head chef to me!

Chef Ramsay came back into the kitchen with Sous Chef Scott and immediately sent Ariel, Suzanne, and Van out of the kitchen. Van is going insane over this and it’s a little scary! Meanwhile, Dave, Kevin, and Tennille finished service.

Chef Ramsay named Tennille, Kevin, and Dave as the best chefs and they had to collectively decide which two chefs needed to be nominated to leave. They all agreed on Suzanne and Ariel. But when it came time to nominate, Tennille said she thought Van should be up there instead of Ariel. I think that’s what Chef Ramsay wanted to see, as well, and he called all three up. Van ended up leaving and he was actually quite humble with his exit.

models walking tall

It’s a walk-off on Top Model!

I wonder if that’s the real reason why Courtney was sent home early…because she wouldn’t have been able to walk.

The girls met Miss J and 9-Yea old Diva Davana who is a Miss J in the making! She is über fierce and her name suits her to a tee! Anyway, back to the contestants. They got their runway teach and their outfits had them matched in twos. I am betting that they are going to be walking against each other!

Ashley has been complaining about each and every person in the house! I can understand her talking about Bianca because she should have gone home. But Ashley isn’t doing good enough to be putting down girls who are being called first and second at panel!

The ladies got to walk in a fashion show in Malibu wearing Kevan Hall designs. And they would have to walk next to models who are closer to 5’10”!! And whoever won would get to be in an editorial for Seventeen magazine. Some of the models really succeeded, like Kara and Brittany, while others like Ashley and Lulu failed. Brittany won so take that Ashley and Lulu who thought she needed to change her look! Brittany chose Laura and Kara to be in the advertorial with her.

Okay, though I am still not a huge fan of Bianca because I think she needs to learn how to be professional if she wants to make modeling her profession, I am keeping my fingers crossed that Ashley goes home.

For their photo shoot, the girls’ challenge was to make their proportions seem as long as possible. Poor Brittany struggled with the other girls watching her. A few other girls stood out, like Kara, Erin, and Rae. Thankfully, Lulu bombed as well but Ashley started doing well. Bummer.

Jaime Rishar, another petite model, served as the guest judge on this week’s panel. Erin killed this shoot and I am starting to see her potential now. Bianca did not do as poorly this week, so she will be safe, I’m sure. Brittany completely bombed and I sincerely hope she doesn’t go home. Sundai greatly improved, as did Laura and Jennifer. Nicole blew it out of the water and she was fantastic. Lulu also did poorly and I’m secretly glad. Kara did really well. Rae also did just okay and Ashley didn’t do quite as well as I thought she did.

Yay, Kara got best picture! I’m glad that she is starting to pull forward. Oh no, the bottom two is Lulu and Brittany. I really hope that the judges don’t make another mistake and send Brittany home. Oh thank goodness, they chose to keep Brittany!

girls just want to have fun

Now it’s time for the ladies to hit the floor on DWTS!!

Debi Mazar, who reminds me of a 50’s Barbie doll, took the stage first with hottie Maks! They took on the Salsa as their first dance and she seems pretty fiery so maybe she will do pretty well. She was having so much fun with it but she was little bit all over the place. But I liked her a lot and I think she’ll stay. The judges ended up giving her a 16/30 and I think they were really harsh!

Melissa Joan Hart and two-time champion Mark Ballas hit the floor with a Viennese Waltz. I am totally rooting for this pair!! Ahh, it was like watching Sabrina dancing at the prom or something, but instead of dancing with Harvey she was dancing with Mark! It seemed to be mixed results from the judges but they gave her 18/30 which is not too bad.

After falling off the music radar, Mya re-emerged on the dance floor with partner, Dmitry Chaplin. I think she will do well since she has danced before. And she definitely did well and the choreography was really well done. Len did not like the choreography and Bruno went crazy because he was loving it! She ended up with a 21/30 and she would have scored higher if not for Len’s low score. Definitely a contender, this one!

Supermodel and now business mogul, Kathy Ireland performed next. They danced the Salsa and she was a little stiff with it. I think she could get better eventually if she stayed a few weeks. She ended up with a 16/30 and she is now tied for the bottom. That’s okay, Kathy. I’m pretty sure that Macy Gray will be much worse!

Natalie Coughlin of Olympic swimming fame also took on the Salsa with Season 1 winner Alec Mazo. Wow, she is good! She’s like a natural dancer. She still needs to work on her concentration face because she definitely would forget to smile. But she is really good! Natalie scored a 19/30 and I think that’s not too bad.

Oh no, it’s time for Macy Gray. This is going to be a little rough and she is doing a Viennese Waltz. Plus, she was on tour during the entire training period. Perhaps this is mean to say, but it was like someone doing the Waltz while being high! She was enjoying it in her own head and on a completely differently level than everyone else. But at least she seemed to be having fun and she finished! Okay, so she got a 15/30 and she is definitely at the bottom of the pool.

Joanna Krupa paired with Derek Hough. She’s going to be a good dancer, I can tell. And she’s definitely sexy, being named the sexiest swimsuit model, so her Salsa should be good. She was cute to watch! She seemed like she was so excited to be out there but also nervous about her performance. Wow, and she got a 24/30 which is the highest score so far!

My next fave pair that I am rooting performed the last solo dance of the night. And that pair would be Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel. Aww, she was graceful and ladylike! And she seemed so elated to be out there, it was adorable! And her parents were in the audience and they were just in tears. Len even said it was the best Waltz of the night! She got a 23/30 and she has the second highest score of the show!

Now onto the relay dances! The first dance up was the Foxtrot and it featured Debi & Maks, Kathy & Tony, Natalie & Alec, and Joanna & Derek. Hmm, it’s hard to say how they will end up. I think they all did really well. I think the judges will give Joanna the highest score though I think it should go to Natalie. Kathy & Tony came in last, followed by Debi & Maks, Natalie & Alec came in second, and Joanna & Derek pulled off the 10 points.

The Cha Cha relay ended the night with Melissa & Mark, Mya & Dmitry, Macy & Jonathan, and Kelly & Louis. Mya and Kelly were clearly the best and Kelly did way better than I expected! Macy, sadly, did the worst, but that was to be expected. I’m not sure if the 10 points will go to Kelly or Mya, but I am pulling for Kelly. Naturally, Macy & Jonathan came in last, followed by Melissa & Mark, Kelly & Louie captured the second place, and Mya & Dmitry walked away with the 10 points.

Stay tuned for the results!

losing is a team effort

Week Two at the ranch proves difficult for some of the contestants on Biggest Loser.

The contestants were told that they had the chance to keep everyone above the yellow line. BUT in order for that to happen, the fifteen remaining contestants needed to lose a combined total of more than 150 pounds. That is more than 10 pounds each and everyone knows that Week Two on the ranch is the hardest week. And if they didn’t achieve this goal, then two players would be going home.

Bob and Jillian did not like this 150 pound challenge because they feel it was just and impossible feat. And they know more than anyone the terrors of Week Two.

Mo went to the hospital to visit his partner, Tracey, to see how she was doing. She seemed to be doing so much better from when we last saw her and she was glad to see that Mo was her partner. Meanwhile, Shay started to get fed up with Julio for not pulling his weight and working out. She finally decided to confront him about it because she didn’t want to be sent home.

Tracey finally entered the ranch and officially joined the game! She seemed so positive about being there and she was thankful for everyone. She had a 1:1 with Bob to learn about her nutrition since she couldn’t do the same workouts that everyone else.

Then the contestants met with celebrity chef Curtis Stone to learn about healthy food options. After their lesson, Alison would quiz them and if they got 5 questions right, they would get a 15 point advantage at the weigh in. Now that’s a big deal! The contestants were having trouble remembering everything he said and the stress of their 150 pound challenge was weighing on all of them.

In the quiz, the Purple Team got the first question about portion size correct and the Orange Team followed suit by getting the cooking without oil questions right. Sadly, the Brown Team got their question right and we found out that a traditional Caesar Salad from a restaurant has 1010 calories! On a roll, the Pink Team got the pasta question right. Darn, and the Green Team got their question about soda calories wrong. The Red Team also got their question about desserts wrong. Thankfully, the Blue Team pulled through and got the protein in snacks question right so the group won the 15 point advantage!

For the challenge, the contestants needed to walk from raft to raft via balance beams. Each balance beam would get smaller as they went to the next raft and they needed each team member to get to the designated raft before they could move on to the next. The first raft awarded 5 extra pounds towards their goal, as did the second raft. The third raft would get them phone calls from home, and the last raft got them 10 more pounds. But if any single person fell into the water, then the challenge was over.

They all made it to the first raft and received an extra 5 pounds. On the second leg, Abby struggled in the middle but made her way to the raft safely. Everyone else made it, too, and they got another 5 pounds. The biggest challenge was making it to the third raft so that everyone could get phone calls from home. Everyone’s desire for this prize really brought the team together and it was quite touching. The last beam was only 6” wide and it got the contestants really nervous. Shay’s nerves almost got the better of her, but they all completed the last leg and got another 10 pounds!

Ugh, those phone calls home were so heart wrenching!! Tears all over.

Going into the Last Chance Workout, the contestants’ spirits were a little lighter knowing that they only had 115 pounds to lose instead of 150! But then Bob and Jillian burst their bubble because, to them, 115 pounds, is still a lot to lose for Week Two. They know that if they push the contestants this week, then they are going to suffer next week with low numbers and possible gains.

My fingers are crossed for the weigh-in! Here is the breakdown of the weigh-in:
· Pink Team: -10 pounds; 105 left to lose
· Purple Team: -19 pounds; 86 left to lose
· Red Team: -19 pounds; 67 left to lose
· Green Team: -21 pounds; 46 left to lose
· Brown Team: -22 pounds; 24 left to lose
· Blue Team: -22 pounds; 2 left to lose
· Black Team: -19 pounds; GOAL MET!
· Orange Team: -23 pounds; ORIGINAL GOAL OF 150 LBS. MET!!!

Here’s hoping that Week Three isn’t the new Week Two…

let's hear it for the boys

It’s Day One of the newest season of Dancing with the Stars!

Tonight, all of the men will take the stage and it all started with a performance from the male pros to a rousing The Boys are Back in Town. I’m so excited for Louis Van Amstel this season after his work on SYTYCD and of course I still love Mark Ballas!

Oh, and Samantha’s horrible hosting skills started from the beginning! I love to make fun of her.

This season, I am rooting for MMA Fighter Chick Liddell, Melissa Joan Hart of Sabrina the Teenage Witch fame, Kelly Osbourne, the most decorated female Olympian Natalie Coughlin, and Iron Chef “chairman” Mark Dacascos.

Aaron Carter was the first to dance and he looks soooo different from the little Carter brother I remember from years ago. He and pro partner, Karina Smirnoff, did a Cha Cha for their first dance. And, wow! He is really good! He is going to be a major threat this season because he can clearly dance. Aww, and all of the Backstreet Boys were in the audience to cheer him on!!! How cute! He scored a 22/30 which is admirable for the first performance.

From the cage to the dance floor, Chuck Liddell danced second with partner Anna Trebunskaya. They had to tackle a Foxtrot and from the first look, Chuck “The Iceman” Liddell is anything but elegant! Aw, and he was concentrating so hard! The judges just melted for him though they know he still has a long way to go. He scored a 16/30 which really isn’t great but I bet he’ll be safe.

My favorite Japanese food host, Mark Damascos, paired with Lacey Schwimmer for a Cha Cha. And they did a Japanese them!! Love it!!! And what do you know, he is good! Well, that is not surprising to me but I’m glad for it! And Gilles from last season seemed to love it because he was on his feet afterwards! He came in at a 21/30 just under Aaron Carter.

George Hamilton was in the audience to support his son Ashley Hamilton. Now, I would hardly consider him a star because I don’t know who he is and I’m semi-obsessed with celebrities. He was paired with Edyta Sliwinska, who also danced with Ashley’s dad in Season 2. He’s pretty rough but finding out that he was in a wheelchair not too long ago from a brain surgery makes up for it. And he’s pretty endearing. He’s not a typical celebutante like I thought he would be like. He ended with a 15/30 but I bet he outdoes Tom Delay!

Donnie Osmond partnered with Kym Johnson and being his sweet Mormon self, he kept getting embarrassed during the intimate parts! The two danced a Foxtrot and he did pretty well. The only reason I am not rooting for Donnie because I expect him to be really good and I want to see someone else win. Though, I dearly love Kym and I want her to win finally! The judges gave him 20/30 leaving Aaron still in the lead.

Chelsie Hightower paired with shortie Louie Vito, a pro snowboarder who is a favorite for the 2010 Olympics. They are both so little so they look like a little high school couple! It’s the perfect mixture of adorable and awkward. They also took on a Foxtrot and they were so cute. That is all I will ever be able to say about this pair because it’s true! Bruno is right…he’s a dancing hobbit!! The judges left him with a 19/30.

Michael Irvin from the Dallas Cowboys took the stage next and he was paired with the newest pro, Anna Demidova. Aw, and his motivation was to beat Jerry Rice! He is so lovable and such a football player, I love it. The air sizzled with their Cha Cha and he was such a joy to watch. The judges slammed the performance and I think Anna’s choreography brought them down. Even I noticed that it was a little too simple. Wow, he got a 13/30! Fingers crossed that Tom Delay does worse.

Okay, this is perhaps really mean to say, but I am kind of glad that Cheryl Burke got paired with Tom Delay. Perhaps she can learn not to be so cocky when she doesn’t have a sexy partner like Gilles or a champion like Drew or Emmitt. I’m surprised he’s even on the show but he had way more personality than I ever expected. The judges awarded him a 16/30 and I’m shocked that he’s not the lowest.

Now that all of the men have danced, they each took a second turn on the dance floor during a relay dance. They would be ranked from 1st to 4th within their group. First was the Salsa Relay and it was between Ashley & Edyta, Chuck & Anna, Donnie & Kym, and Louie & Chelsie. I think Donnie did the best by far and Ashley was the worst. Chuck and Louie both did surprisingly well. Donnie & Kym got 10 points, Louie & Chelsie got 8, Chuck & Anna got 6, and Ashley & Edyta for 4 points.

The Viennese Waltz Relay ended the night with Tom & Cheryl, Mark & Lacey, Michael & Anna, and Aaron & Karina. This seemed a little harder to judge on who did better since it seemed more difficult. I think either Aaron or Mark will get first. Samantha is horrible at killing time! It’s just way too awkward. Tom & Cheryl placed last, Michael & Anna got 6 points, Mark & Lacey got 8, and Aaron & Karina maintained their lead with 10 points.

So, predictions on who goes home…either Ashley or Tom. We’ll see after the ladies take the stage tomorrow.

the heroes of the dance floor

It’s down to the final three on ABDC! Can both crews featuring females make it to the top??

Well, maybe! Afroboriké toppled over usual B-Boy faves, Massive Monkees, and the locking girls, We are Heroes. The challenge for this week required the crews to dance through decades of dance and 5 dance legends that included James Brown, Rock Steady Crew, Paula Abdul, Usher, and Lady Gaga.

Afroboriké’s first performance was not too bad. They did really well with Lady Gaga and pretty good in the Paula Abdul section. The b-boy pats were a little rough, but that was to be expected. A lot of their transitions were super slow but it was not the greatest. They did much better last week so they are lucky to be guaranteed into the finals!

Now Massive Monkees and We are Heroes battle it out for the final position in the finale. The boys took the stage first. Naturally, they just killed the b-boy section! And they surprisingly did well with Lady Gaga. But the Usher part was way rough and their goal of hitting the Paula Abdul section didn’t go as well as they had hoped. It was like they lost steam by the end. They didn’t disappoint, but they definitely left the door open for the ladies.

We are Heroes just killed it! They knew exactly what they had to do with this challenge and they did it. There was nothing wrong with that performance! They weren’t too intimidated by the challenge and they took each section for what it was. I would be so surprised if they lost out to Massive Monkees.

Did the judges put the ladies through to the finale ensuring that a crew with girls would actually win the show? Or did they go with the typical B-Boy styling and cop out? Yes, they did!! We are Heroes has made it to the finals which means no more B-Boy champions! But I do still like Massive Monkees and I’m glad they were so humble with their loss.

The Last Chance Challenge had Afroboriké and We are Heroes constructing their own song and performance to get America to vote for them.

Afroboriké performed first and they went tribal. I thought it was good but I was missing the sexiness that they usually put out. I was expecting more Salsa and latino-style dancing and this seemed more like African dancing and Maori tribal moves.

Once again, We are Heroes killed it! That was probably one of the best performances ever on this show! They literally lit the stage on fire! But the fire effect definitely wasn’t needed because these girls outdanced everyone and themselves a million times over. They will for sure win. They have to!

If only I voted on Reality Shows, I would be clogging up the phone lines with votes for We are Heroes. But we will see if everyone feels the same way I do!