This week, Jennifer Osornio (@OsornioJennifer on Twitter) joined us to discuss the Semifinals of season 24 of Dancing With the Stars!
With only three couples left in the competition now, everything can be close. However, that’s not exactly the case anymore with the fantasy draft! With more about this week’s show and additional comments on Monday’s episode, here is dwtsdreams, Julia Delbel, and Paul Bentley with this week’s From the Skybox blog post!
Scores From the Semifinals
Dancing With the Stars Week 9 Leaderboard
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Couple
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Dance Style
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The Judges’ Scores
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Overall Scores
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Simone and Sasha (Eliminated)
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Jive
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10, 10, 10, 10
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40/40
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80/80
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Rumba
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10, 10, 10, 10
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40/40
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Rashad and Emma
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Rumba
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9, 9, 10, 10
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38/40
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77/80
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Quickstep
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10, 9, 10, 10
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39/40
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Normani and Val
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Viennese Waltz
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9, 9, 9, 9
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36/40
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76/80
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Jazz
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10, 10, 10, 10
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40/40
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David and Lindsay
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Foxtrot
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9, 8, 9, 8
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34/40
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70/80
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Tango
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9, 9, 9, 9
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36/40
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Fantasy Team Scores
TEAM DREAMS
Normani & Val: 36 Round 1 score points + 40 Round 2 score points + 20 safety points = 96 points
David & Lindsay: 34 Round 1 score points + 36 Round 2 score points + 20 safety points = 90 points
WEEK 9 TOTAL: 186 POINTS
OVERALL TOTAL: 1567 POINTS
TEAM BENTLEY
Rashad & Emma: 38 Round 1 score points + 39 Round 2 score points + 20 safety points = 97 points
WEEK 9 TOTAL: 97 POINTS
OVERALL TOTAL: 1368 POINTS
TEAM JULIA
Simone & Sasha: 40 Round 1 score points + 40 Round 2 score points + 0 safety points = 80 points
WEEK 9 TOTAL: 80 POINTS
FINAL TOTAL: 1205 POINTS
Overall Comments on the Semifinals
@dwtsdreams: I was not surprised that Simone got eliminated. Unfortunately the show is so much more than being smiley or having dance ability. She was great at obtaining choreography but was often very stiff. I loved her on the show but I didn't think she was going to be in the finale. It is very surprising that David is in the finale but he does have a huge fan base so yet again I'm I surprised?
@juliadelbel: I wasn’t surprised that SImone got eliminated either, and I have to roll my eyes at everyone who was that shocked. If you’ve been watching the show for awhile, you’ll have seen someone deserving get knocked out of the Finals several times. In fact, it seems to happen more often than it doesn’t. I talked a lot about Simone on Wednesday because I feel like a lot of viewers weren’t very fair to her but I do want to touch on some of the criticism I’ve seen of Sasha, which mostly consisted of people saying he cost her the win. We all knew Simone wasn’t going to win this season before it even started. As soon as Laurie was announced for last season, in fact. People like variety, and back-to-back gymnasts from the same Olympic team don’t really create that. (Variety is also a likely factor in why David, the first MLB player on the show, has made it this far.) But anyway, for people to suddenly throw the blame on Sasha for that is ridiculous, especially those obsessing over what Val did with Laurie last season. Most of these people are criticizing Sasha for things they were praising Val for last season, like playing up the “sweet and fun” factor. I think both pros could have done things a bit differently, but Simone had more working against her from the get-go (and would have regardless of pro partner). I really don’t understand most of the criticism Sasha is getting for this season. I know a lot of people just don’t like him, but it’s possible to not connect with someone without dragging their abilities at doing their job.
@TheBentleyNinja: Good points. I just really thought that Simone had a lot more votes coming her way this season. Especially with her recent relevance and the overwhelming support I saw for Sasha last season and the season before. I also thought that her infectious positivity was another thing that the audience would have been more drawn to, but I guess David beat her out in that category!
@TheBentleyNinja: While I did find myself really enjoying Normani’s Jazz this week, it made me realize that I pretty much only like Jazz routines when they implement other Jazz-like dance styles. I, like many other Dancing With the Stars fans, have given my two cents about my lack of interest of Jazz when it is compared to Ballroom styles, but even with enjoyable Jazz dances, I still find myself thinking how much of a waste that style is. At least Contemporary has its own technique and style to it. Jazz is just a reinforcement of early twentieth century American rhythm, unless it is more modern, which turns out to be like a Hip Hop routine anyway. I don’t hate Jazz, but when it comes to this show, I want to see as much ballroom technique as possible. I would like it if the show did something like making a night dedicated to only styles like Jazz, Hip-Hop, Urban, etc. Although if they don’t want to do that, I wouldn’t mind if Jazz were to be replaced by Hip-Hop altogether on the show since so many songs could work for it, and Hip-Hop is just different enough with its own unique style different from the others on the show.
@juliadelbel: I would also rather see Hip-Hop as a regular DWTS style than Jazz, since it’s unique enough from the others and actually has real criteria for the contestants to be judged on. The only thing is I don’t think a lot of the pros are well-versed in that style, so they might not be able to teach it very well.
@dwtsdreams: I agree with Julia. Real jazz is never performed on the show and is often masked with Broadway or character. It is very frustrating because I love Jazz, and it is not displayed fully.
MVP (Most Valuable Pro) Picks
@dwtsdreams: My MVP is Lindsay Arnold. I'm so impressed with how she performs every season. For the past couple seasons she has turned a non-dancer into a finalist.
@juliadelbel: I was having trouble deciding this week, so I asked my Twitter followers to choose, and they picked Lindsay Arnold! I thought she did an especially great job choreographing the Foxtrot to suit David’s strengths and hide his weaknesses. I am also amazed that since returning as a pro she has taken three out of four of her partners to the top 3. That’s very rare, especially with the skill level of most of her partners.
@TheBentleyNinja: I saw things that stood out with all of the pros this week, but I have to agree with Lindsay Arnold as this week’s Most Valuable Pro! Both of the routines she choreographed for David on Monday were classic without all of the hubba bubba that we often see this far in the competition. And the fact that David has made as tremendous of a progression this season as he did in the past two months (which I didn’t really expect), I have to give her props for that!
Who Do We Want to Win This Season?
@dwtsdreams I would love for Normani or Rashad!
@juliadelbel: I know people who are going to be mad if David wins. I know people who are going to be mad if Normani wins. But let’s be real, is anyone honestly going to be mad if Rashad wins? (Okay, other than the Harmonizers, but most of them aren’t regular viewers.) In order to keep everyone relatively happy, I’m supporting Rashad for the win. It’s kind of sad that this is such a big part of my reasoning, but above all else I want to have fun watching the show with everyone and for people to be happy! Of course, I also love Rashad’s partnership with Emma and all the dances they’ve done together and think they deserve it!
@TheBentleyNinja: I really love all of the celebrity finalists as people this season, especially with how humble and inspiring each of them are in their own special ways, but Rashad has stood out to me the most since week one. Rashad has that special oomph to his dancing that makes it seem to natural and fun to watch. However, there was a point in the season where I thought that I might want Normani to win the most because of her indestructible performance quality, but in the long run, Rashad is the full package with all of the ways he has presented himself to the audience. And as for David, he has one of the personalities of the season, but sometimes his dances look a bit similar and repetitive, despite his phenomenal transition as a dancer this season. So my pick is for Rashad to win, but a Normani win would be great, too. I wouldn’t mind a David win, either, but I believe that Rashad and Normani have clearly out-danced him throughout this season.
Links and More
Blog Links
Wednesday’s Blog on the Semifinals http://dwts2016.blogspot.com/2017/05/dancing-with-stars-season-24-week-9.html
From the Skybox Post from the Quarterfinals http://dwts2016.blogspot.com/2017/05/from-skybox-week-8-love-and-hate.html
Blogger Twitter Links
dwtsdreams: @dwtsdreams
Julia Delbel: @juliadelbel
Paul Bentley: @TheBentleyNinja
Miscellaneous Links
Normani Kordei’s Ankle Injury https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMO7JLYTfEI
Next Week. . .
It all comes down to this! Next week is the final week of the season, featuring the two-night premiere on ABC, with an hour-long show on Monday (8:00-9:01 PM EST) and a two and a half hour-long episode on Tuesday (8:30-11:00PM EST)!
During night one of the finale, the final three couples (Rashad & Emma, Normani & Val, and David & Lindsay) will perform yet another two rounds of dances, as according to the DWTS press release for this week. During round one, the couples will perform in the Redemption Dance round, where each couple will perform a dance to a dance style they have already done before in hopes of improving from last time.
Here is the list of the round one performances:
- Rashad Jennings and Emma Slater will dance a Viennese Waltz to Dark Times by The Weeknd featuring Ed Sheeran
- Normani Kordei and Valentin Chmerkovskiy will dance a Quickstep to Check It Out by Oh the Larceny
- David Ross and Lindsay Arnold will dance a Viennese Waltz to Let’s Hurt Tonight by OneRepublic
For the second round of dances, the couples will perform the long-awaited Freestyle dances, where each couple has complete creative control of what to do for their routines.
Here’s the list for the second round of dances:
- Rashad Jennings and Emma Slater will dance a Freestyle to a medley of Let’s Go by Drumline, and Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars
- Normani Kordei and Valentin Chmerkovskiy will dance a Freestyle to What the World Needs Now is Love by Andra Day
- David Ross and Lindsay Arnold will dance a Freestyle to a medley of It Takes Two by Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock, and Take Me Out to the Ballgame by Ronnie Neuman
On Monday, there will not be an elimination, but on Tuesday night, the winning couple will be determined, winning them the coveted Mirror Ball Trophy! And for the final round of dances of the season, the final three will compete in the 24-Hour Fusion Dance Challenge, where they will have less than a day to rehearse and then perform a routine that combines two different dance styles that they have already previously performed!
Plus, as announced this week, season 25 of Dancing With the Stars will premiere this Fall, and season 26 will air in 2018! Also, next Spring will be the premiere of an all new DWTS spinoff show called Dancing With the Stars Junior, featuring child stars and children of celebrities competing to win with children professional dancers!
What did you think of the Semifinals on Dancing With the Stars? Which Judges’ Challenge dance do you think was the best fit for the performing couple? Which dance do you think outshined the rest in the second round of performances? Which celebrity have you had the best connection with this season? What did you think of Simone and Sasha’s elimination? What do you think will happen during the Finale?
Next week for the two night DWTS Finale, the couples will perform a repeated dance style, a Freestyle, and a Fusion dance! And the final three will be put into their final placings, which will determine this season’s winning couple!
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