Last week, Wanyá Morris and Lindsay Arnold were eliminated in the Dancing With the Stars Season 22 Semi-Finals. There was no official announcement of whether they took fourth or fifth place, but based on the average scores for the season I am saying they came in fourth place.
I had predicted someone from the cast of FOX's Grease: Live! would be on this season of Dancing With the Stars (even though it wasn't an ABC production, a few people associated with DWTS were in the cast) and it made sense that it would be a member of the group Boyz II Men, since I'm pretty sure they were the only major boy-band of the 90's that had not yet been represented on the show.
As soon as I saw clips of Wanyá and interacting on social media, I knew the audience was going to fall in love with this couple. They seemed focused on having fun and enjoying their time together than lasering in on the Mirrorball Trophy. This also showed in their dances, which radiated joy and love!
However, it should be noted that even though this team's focus seemed to be enjoying the experience, they also worked very hard in rehearsals. Wanyá seemed to be very interested in learning how to do each dance in a way most celebrities that have appeared on this show have not. And even though he had many other commitments, he made sure to keep DWTS a top priority throughout his time on the show.
From Week 1, I was sure this couple would be in the Finals, as I was sure they would deliver top-notch performances all season long and that the audience would fall in love with their partnership. But a few weeks into the season, I noticed that they weren't getting as much media coverage or internet buzz as several other couples, and sadly, when the judges started being noticeably harder on them than some other couples and then Wanyá slipped on the bandana in the Quarter-Finals, their votes were not enough to help them recover from the accident and they were eliminated in the Semi-Finals.
To be honest, I'm still baffled as to why they seemingly weren't able to get as much of the audience on their side as some of the other teams. There was no drama between them, and the performance and technical level they brought to their routines was top-notch for the most part. I've seen some people compare Wanyá and Lindsay to Alfonso and Witney in Season 19, so maybe it was "too soon" for a somewhat similar team to win the trophy? That doesn't make a lot of sense to me, seeing as it's been well over a year since their win, but I saw it thrown out there. It could have also been because DWTS didn't seen to promote them as much as other pairs on social media or even the show itself.
Whatever the reason for their elimination, i think it was an absolute shame they did not make it to the Finals. I think they would have given us some fantastic routines on the last two nights, but even though they didn't get to in the end, I think they made a big impact on the season that I hope people will remember them for.
To end this thing off, here is my favorite dance of the season from Wanyá and Lindsay!
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