Q&A with 'DWTS' champ Shawn Johnson

There’s hardly been a moment’s rest for Shawn Johnson since Tuesday night, when the Olympic gold medalist bounced past Gilles Marini to nab Season 8’s “Dancing With the Stars” title. We got to chat with the gymnast while she was in New York on her media tour, and the 17-year-old from Iowa couldn’t have been nicer. Here’s what the youngest “DWTS” champ had to say about the nail-biting finale, her close bond with partner Mark Ballas and where the shiny Mirrorball trophy will fit next to all of her other hardware.

How’s it going? I’m sure everyone wants a piece of you.
It’s been a pretty crazy few days.

Have you been able to get any sleep or rest at all?
Uh, not really, but it’s OK. I’ll just live off of caffeine for a while.

Take us through the moment on the dance floor right before host Tom Bergeron called your name. What was going through your mind at that point?
A lot. Before I went out, Mark gave me a few last words to say, "I’m really proud of you, and you did great, you’ve totally grown as a person, and you’re already a winner." … And when we got up there, and we were just standing and we were both so nervous. But we’d accepted the fact that, you know, first, second or third, we were all winners, and we all made the finals and done great, but we just were standing there and so nervous. And I was [pretending to hear] Tom Bergeron say, Gilles Marini! Or … Shawn Johnson, and it kept on going back and forth in my mind. And all of a sudden he said "Shawn," and my jaw was on the floor. I’ve never imagined being the winner of “Dancing With the Stars.” I’m so excited. It still doesn’t register to me.

Are you still trying to process the whole thing?
Yeah. It’s still totally just a whirlwind and a dream.

But deep down, you wanted to win, right?
Oh, definitely. You don’t sign onto things like this to say, "Oh, I want to make it to Week 2," but I mean, everybody wants to go for that trophy. That’s what you’re there for. Except you’re also trying to dance and have a fun time, a great time, and entertain America. I mean, there’s a lot to it, more than just winning. But that’s definitely icing on the cake.

Did you feel bad for Gilles at all? He was such a strong competitor.

Big night of TV on Tuesday. Here's your ratings quick fix:

The Adam Lambert-Kris Allen final performance episode of "American Idol" delivered 23 million overall viewers and a night-leading 18-49 rating (8.3/24). Tally is down slightly from last year's 27 million for the penultimate episode.

On ABC, the two-hour finale of "Dancing with the Stars," which saw Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson take the crown, averaged 20 million overall, building 15% in its second half (peaking at 21.6 in the 10 p.m. hour). That's on par with the audience who watched last season's November ender (20.6 million).

Up against "Dancing" at 9, the premiere of Fox's "Glee" hung on to a little less than half of its "Idol" lead-in, averaging 10.7 million total (4.3/11 in 18-49). Less encouraging: The show experienced a 28% fall-off in its second half-hour.

A rep for Fox said the network is happy with the numbers; Fox considers Tuesday's "Glee" airing "a sneak preview" of the show's official fall launch.

News was better for CBS' season finales of "NCIS," which scored 16.1 million (3.3/10) against "Idol" at 8, and "The Mentalist," with 16.8 million (3.7/10) against "Dancing" at 9.

The season finale of The CW's "90210" drew 2.1 million (1.1/3) at 9.

Fox won the night in total viewers and adults 18-49.

-- Denise Martin

In what was the closest competition in series history, Olympic gold medalist and all-around athlete adorable Shawn Johnson narrowly edged out sexy Frenchman Gilles Marini for the title of Season 8 “DWTS” champion.

The 17-year-old gymnast from West Des Moines, Iowa, grew in leaps and bounds as the competition progressed, and with the nurturing, twirly guidance of partner Johnny Castle Mark Ballas, was remade a ballroom dance superstar. Though she was tied with Gilles coming into Tuesday night’s finale, the voters ultimately gave spry Shawn the advantage: Maybe it was because of her perfect-30 freestyle routine the night before. Or as a reward for how far she’s come out of her shell. Or maybe it was a vote for America. Whatever the reason, that 18-inch globe of glittery goodness, the coveted Mirrorball trophy — the highest honor in reality TV about ballroom dancing — is hers. (A special shout-out to those of you who joined in our live chat on Tuesday: We totally called it!)

Shawn not only is the youngest competitor ever to  win this much-esteemed honor, but she also made good on Apolo Anton Ohno’s bold claim that no Olympian who had made the finals had ever not won their season (maybe it should be dubbed the golden medal rule). Shoot, as an Olympian, maybe she thrived on that pressure. And yay to Mark Ballas as well for winning his second “DWTS” title with his second “DWTS” Olympian and joining Cheryl Burke and Julianne Hough as repeat pro winners. Do you think this’ll make buddy and bandmate Derek Hough that much hungrier to win the following cycle?

Who will take home the trophy? Discuss at noon PDT!

Ten weeks of competition and we’re down to the final three, ballroom fans! And as Tom and Samantha have not-so-subtly burned into our brains, this is one of the tightest competitions ever. Now that we've made it to the finals, the Mirrorball trophy has been taken out of its high-security vault and perched in front of the judges’ desk for all to see. It's all so tantalizingly within reach. (Though did it always say “Dancing With the Stars” on the mirror ball itself? It's so very “Scarface.” Were they afraid that the trophy would be mistaken for another award?)

On this first night of the two-night finale, each couple performed two dances — a paso doble set to the same song (Pink’s “So What”), and a crowd favorite: the anything-goes freestyle. And this, truly, is when the wheat is separated from the chaff, folks. What all these weeks of training, injury and competition come down to. Who has what it takes to win it all? (Don’t forget to join us for the live chat today at noon PDT / 3 p.m. EDT, for any of those who want to share their thoughts about this oh-so-exciting eighth season!)

After Monday night’s dances, the race toward sparkledom is neck and neck:

There’s a tie for first place. First up: Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke. Total: 58/60. You knew Gilles meant business coming into these finals. Coming down the grand ballroom stairs, even. His hair was slicked back. His chest was bared. And instead of just wearing a rosary T-shirt in rehearsals, he wore an actual rosary around his neck for the performance. And there was no way that Gilles could have done any wrong during his paso. I mean, the man was coached by head judge Len “DNCMSTR” Goodman himself! I loved when they practiced mirror arm moves and worked on intensity during rehearsals (heck, it even caused Len to break a sweat — that's hot). And Gilles and Cheryl’s paso did not disappoint. It was precise and well-executed, turning down the hectic and turning up the flair and heat. Their score: 30.

After 10 weeks and numerous close calls, the aw-shucks cowboy Ty Murray couldn’t wrangle up another save and instead was sent to ride off into the sunset. And while he didn’t call out tee times on a Miami golf course a la Lawrence Taylor, both Ty and his stalwart partner Chelsie Hightower seemed more than prepared for that result. So where was Jewel? You'd think the injured songbird (and ostensibly the reason why Ty was on the show in the first place), who sat faithfully in the front row for every episode of this competition, would be up and ready to welcome her overachieving hubby back into her arms. But she was curiously absent. Did I miss her? Was she one of the gems encrusted into her husband’s bedazzled shirt?

During this results hour, Raphael Saadiq performed single “100 Yard Dash,” replete with horns, dancers with short shorts and fringed tops and enough fun and frenzy to get the audience up and hopping. Shawn & Mark did an encore of their perfect-30 scoring Argentine tango. And then we got the Macy’s Stars of Dance “Design-a-Dance” extravaganza, where viewers could vote to choose which style, song, costume designer, and dancers they want to appear. So we got a quickstep set to “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing” performed by Julianne Hough, Lacey Schwimmer, Derek Hough and Mark Ballas. It’s interesting that the viewers chose all younger dancers for this classically high-energy romp. And the black and white costumes were designed by Rebecca Farmer, and had a fun component where the girls' long skirts detached into short fringy things with a fun little flowy chiffon sash attached.

It’s the final four, ballroom fans! After all the leader changes and last week’s shocking elimination, it has never been more crucial for the stars to be at the top of their game and deliver two perfect performances. And Monday's dances were a real treat. So considering all this excitement leading to next week’s finale, wasn’t it a little surprising to see all that filler between the stellar pro dance and the actual competition itself? The couples' DVD-commentary-esque critiques of their breakthrough dances were  likable enough, but did they have to come at the beginning of the program? Actually, did they  even have to come at all? It seemed like this show could easily have been shortened to an hour and a half, rather than be stretched into two (gone so soon, “Surviving Suburbia”?).

And the segments where the contestants’ friends and family were interviewed were sweet, if repetitive. I mean, wouldn’t all the contestants have to be driven and competitive to make it to this point? Though it did drive home the fact that winning the Mirrorball trophy is no small feat. Shawn Johnson practically equated it to the Olympic gold medal, Melissa’s mom was quoted as saying it was “coveted” (I’m sure the producers didn’t feed her that line), and Gilles actually said this award was “the biggest trophy on national TV in America.” Wow. (Sorry, Oscars. Maybe next year.) 

And while we're on this tangent, allow me take a break in our regularly scheduled programming to say what, in the name of all that is good and shiny, was up with Samantha’s dress? Was it supposed to be snakeskin? Fish scales? Some sort of metallic interpretation of a Native American print? A manhole mosaic? The Chrysler building? It was utterly mesmerizing, whatever it was. I couldn’t stop staring at it. The unsettling thing was that, at times I also felt like it was looking back at me.

But I digress. This week, we witnessed chiseled, sparkly perfection. And I’m not just talking about Maks, who was sitting in the audience. No, I’m talking about…

Maybe the world wasn't ready for all that jelly. Or maybe they, too, were sick of the needless abuse of the term “bionic booty.” But in one of the more shocking eliminations of the season, queen bee and rump-shaker Lil’ Kim was sent home this week. To take a catchphrase from last Thursday's “30 Rock”: (gasp) Twist!!

As mentioned in Tuesday’s post, something freakish needed to happen with the voting if someone other than the low-scoring Ty Murray was sent home this week. And apparently, it did. Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough had a good six-point advantage over Ty and Chelsie coming into Tuesday's elimination, so it had to have been the throngs of voters who came out in full support for our resident bull rider and saved him. Which goes to show that America loves its cowboys. Who love their wives. And whose wives stick by them and hang out in the front row. And while this fierce competitor has wrangled himself free of many a close call, let's take a moment to consider how crazy it is that Ty Murray has made it to the final four of this competition!

Lil’ Kim will definitely be missed, however. Not only was she an effusive face for ballroom dancing, but as I said before, she really did seem to care about her fellow competitors. Plus, she always wore the best slogan tees during rehearsals. Her squeals of delight were genuine and infectious. And her “Jailhouse Rock” jive with Derek has got to be one of my favorite dances, ever. Just thinking about it brings shivers of delight.

But before we get to all that, let's not forget the filler. Melissa and Tony’s perfect 30 samba was selected as the week’s encore performance. And while I thought they did a better job Monday night, it struck me how Tony had experienced a 180-degree turn of emotions in just the span of seven days. Last week, he was one sad sack of droopiness. Now he’s spry and spray-tanned and smiles all around, just raring for that finish line. The agony and the ecstasy that come with ballroom dancing, ladies and gentlemen!

Now that we’re in the quarterfinals and that elusive Mirrorball trophy (“television’s shiniest honor,” according to Tom) is almost within reach, the pressure has been ramped up yet another notch: Not one, but two dances for each contestant! AND each star had to perform a 15-second solo!

But let me say first that I liked how they started the show off with a medley of the different featured dances from our pros. It gave the show a ballroom kick of fresh air and was a fun tutorial on how these dances are supposed to look. We love our celebrities, but we wouldn’t be here if we also didn’t love the dancing and love to watch it done right, right? Which brings us to the competition dances themselves — and I was pleased as punch that we got to see rehearsal footage for both dances, rather than just the first (something I didn't remember seeing from previous seasons). And we emerged with yet another lead change on this ever-revolving board. This week, it was…

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, rocketing up from last week’s hairline-fracture non-entry and regaining the lead with a total of 58 out of 60. And their sultry samba won them just the second perfect-30 score of the competition! First, let me say how glad I was to see Melissa coming down the steps in the initial lineup. It would have been a little bit of a letdown had her treatments not worked after last week’s save. But I still wasn’t convinced how they were going to perform. She’s still in pain. And her Viennese waltz get-up looked like Loretta Lynn collided with the aforementioned mirror ball. Melissa herself seemed a little tentative and stiff with the first dance. They got a 27 for their routine, though Len said he wasn’t loving her feet, and Carrie Ann said there was no sense of torque in the upper body (not sure what that meant, but it sounded serious).

Luckily, they really ended things on a high note with their samba. And Melissa looked like she was fresh from Carnivale and was having a blast from beginning to end. The routine totally reminded me of Stacy Keibler’s Season 2 samba, with the shoulder shimmies and the booty shake. And, funny enough, Tony exclaimed he hadn’t had scores like that since ... Season 2 with Stacy Keibler. I thought the dance lost some steam at the end, but the judges could find no fault with it — or with the fact that Melissa suffered a wardrobe malfunction after the routine. “My boob popped out!” she gasped. Bosoms aside, Carrie Ann deemed it “flawless,” and their score sent a spiky-haired Tony (who really seemed to be mugging for the camera, didn’t he?) into a perfect-30 reverie.

“I think the team dance did us in,” acknowledged Chuck Wicks upon discovering that he was the eighth contestant eliminated this season. Despite earning praise for his ballroom dances and steadily making his way up the leader board, voters spoke up in favor of saving the low-scoring Melissa Rycroft, putting the satin pajama-wearing country singer out to pasture instead. This also marks the swan song for partner and real-life girlfriend Julianne Hough, who has said she won’t be returning to "DWTS" next season.

Though was it the team dance that did him in? The producers sure did want to make the distinction that all the members of Team Tango -- chosen as the encore performance for the week -- were deemed safe before any of Team Mambo. And while I loved that that saved Ty & Chelsie from having to endure another whole hour before discovering they were in the clear, I’m not sure I believe that it was just the team dance scores that resigned the contestants to a certain fate. It's not like the mambo was that bad -- I thought it was an absolute hoot. But it certainly doesn't deserve to be treated like a bastard stepchild.

Before finding out the elimination, however, there was the requisite silly filler: a segment where the judges talked about creating the perfect celebrity dancer, and a music video about putting one’s celebrity aside and becoming a celebrity dancer, in which an earnest singer crooned lines like “Where did all my street cred gooo?” and “Mirror ball trophy -- I thought it would be nicer!” Oh, and also featured Gilles in a beret holding a baguette while the French flag waved behind him. The whole thing seemed ridiculous and over the top, which is to say, I kind of liked it. Though why the segment was called “Ballroom Dancers of Genius” was beyond me.

'American Idol' dominates, but is down; 'Glee' loses more than half of 'Idol' audience; CBS and 'Dancing With the Stars' finale solid

Big night of TV on Tuesday. Here's your ratings quick fix:

The Adam Lambert-Kris Allen final performance episode of "American Idol" delivered 23 million overall viewers and a night-leading 18-49 rating (8.3/24). Tally is down slightly from last year's 27 million for the penultimate episode.

On ABC, the two-hour finale of "Dancing with the Stars," which saw Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson take the crown, averaged 20 million overall, building 15% in its second half (peaking at 21.6 in the 10 p.m. hour). That's on par with the audience who watched last season's November ender (20.6 million).

Up against "Dancing" at 9, the premiere of Fox's "Glee" hung on to a little less than half of its "Idol" lead-in, averaging 10.7 million total (4.3/11 in 18-49). Less encouraging: The show experienced a 28% fall-off in its second half-hour.

A rep for Fox said the network is happy with the numbers; Fox considers Tuesday's "Glee" airing "a sneak preview" of the show's official fall launch.

News was better for CBS' season finales of "NCIS," which scored 16.1 million (3.3/10) against "Idol" at 8, and "The Mentalist," with 16.8 million (3.7/10) against "Dancing" at 9.

The season finale of The CW's "90210" drew 2.1 million (1.1/3) at 9.

Fox won the night in total viewers and adults 18-49.

-- Denise Martin

In what was the closest competition in series history, Olympic gold medalist and all-around athlete adorable Shawn Johnson narrowly edged out sexy Frenchman Gilles Marini for the title of Season 8 “DWTS” champion.

The 17-year-old gymnast from West Des Moines, Iowa, grew in leaps and bounds as the competition progressed, and with the nurturing, twirly guidance of partner Johnny Castle Mark Ballas, was remade a ballroom dance superstar. Though she was tied with Gilles coming into Tuesday night’s finale, the voters ultimately gave spry Shawn the advantage: Maybe it was because of her perfect-30 freestyle routine the night before. Or as a reward for how far she’s come out of her shell. Or maybe it was a vote for America. Whatever the reason, that 18-inch globe of glittery goodness, the coveted Mirrorball trophy — the highest honor in reality TV about ballroom dancing — is hers. (A special shout-out to those of you who joined in our live chat on Tuesday: We totally called it!)

Shawn not only is the youngest competitor ever to  win this much-esteemed honor, but she also made good on Apolo Anton Ohno’s bold claim that no Olympian who had made the finals had ever not won their season (maybe it should be dubbed the golden medal rule). Shoot, as an Olympian, maybe she thrived on that pressure. And yay to Mark Ballas as well for winning his second “DWTS” title with his second “DWTS” Olympian and joining Cheryl Burke and Julianne Hough as repeat pro winners. Do you think this’ll make buddy and bandmate Derek Hough that much hungrier to win the following cycle?

Who will take home the trophy? Discuss at noon PDT!

Ten weeks of competition and we’re down to the final three, ballroom fans! And as Tom and Samantha have not-so-subtly burned into our brains, this is one of the tightest competitions ever. Now that we've made it to the finals, the Mirrorball trophy has been taken out of its high-security vault and perched in front of the judges’ desk for all to see. It's all so tantalizingly within reach. (Though did it always say “Dancing With the Stars” on the mirror ball itself? It's so very “Scarface.” Were they afraid that the trophy would be mistaken for another award?)

On this first night of the two-night finale, each couple performed two dances — a paso doble set to the same song (Pink’s “So What”), and a crowd favorite: the anything-goes freestyle. And this, truly, is when the wheat is separated from the chaff, folks. What all these weeks of training, injury and competition come down to. Who has what it takes to win it all? (Don’t forget to join us for the live chat today at noon PDT / 3 p.m. EDT, for any of those who want to share their thoughts about this oh-so-exciting eighth season!)

After Monday night’s dances, the race toward sparkledom is neck and neck:

There’s a tie for first place. First up: Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke. Total: 58/60. You knew Gilles meant business coming into these finals. Coming down the grand ballroom stairs, even. His hair was slicked back. His chest was bared. And instead of just wearing a rosary T-shirt in rehearsals, he wore an actual rosary around his neck for the performance. And there was no way that Gilles could have done any wrong during his paso. I mean, the man was coached by head judge Len “DNCMSTR” Goodman himself! I loved when they practiced mirror arm moves and worked on intensity during rehearsals (heck, it even caused Len to break a sweat — that's hot). And Gilles and Cheryl’s paso did not disappoint. It was precise and well-executed, turning down the hectic and turning up the flair and heat. Their score: 30.

After 10 weeks and numerous close calls, the aw-shucks cowboy Ty Murray couldn’t wrangle up another save and instead was sent to ride off into the sunset. And while he didn’t call out tee times on a Miami golf course a la Lawrence Taylor, both Ty and his stalwart partner Chelsie Hightower seemed more than prepared for that result. So where was Jewel? You'd think the injured songbird (and ostensibly the reason why Ty was on the show in the first place), who sat faithfully in the front row for every episode of this competition, would be up and ready to welcome her overachieving hubby back into her arms. But she was curiously absent. Did I miss her? Was she one of the gems encrusted into her husband’s bedazzled shirt?

During this results hour, Raphael Saadiq performed single “100 Yard Dash,” replete with horns, dancers with short shorts and fringed tops and enough fun and frenzy to get the audience up and hopping. Shawn & Mark did an encore of their perfect-30 scoring Argentine tango. And then we got the Macy’s Stars of Dance “Design-a-Dance” extravaganza, where viewers could vote to choose which style, song, costume designer, and dancers they want to appear. So we got a quickstep set to “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing” performed by Julianne Hough, Lacey Schwimmer, Derek Hough and Mark Ballas. It’s interesting that the viewers chose all younger dancers for this classically high-energy romp. And the black and white costumes were designed by Rebecca Farmer, and had a fun component where the girls' long skirts detached into short fringy things with a fun little flowy chiffon sash attached.

It’s the final four, ballroom fans! After all the leader changes and last week’s shocking elimination, it has never been more crucial for the stars to be at the top of their game and deliver two perfect performances. And Monday's dances were a real treat. So considering all this excitement leading to next week’s finale, wasn’t it a little surprising to see all that filler between the stellar pro dance and the actual competition itself? The couples' DVD-commentary-esque critiques of their breakthrough dances were  likable enough, but did they have to come at the beginning of the program? Actually, did they  even have to come at all? It seemed like this show could easily have been shortened to an hour and a half, rather than be stretched into two (gone so soon, “Surviving Suburbia”?).

And the segments where the contestants’ friends and family were interviewed were sweet, if repetitive. I mean, wouldn’t all the contestants have to be driven and competitive to make it to this point? Though it did drive home the fact that winning the Mirrorball trophy is no small feat. Shawn Johnson practically equated it to the Olympic gold medal, Melissa’s mom was quoted as saying it was “coveted” (I’m sure the producers didn’t feed her that line), and Gilles actually said this award was “the biggest trophy on national TV in America.” Wow. (Sorry, Oscars. Maybe next year.) 

And while we're on this tangent, allow me take a break in our regularly scheduled programming to say what, in the name of all that is good and shiny, was up with Samantha’s dress? Was it supposed to be snakeskin? Fish scales? Some sort of metallic interpretation of a Native American print? A manhole mosaic? The Chrysler building? It was utterly mesmerizing, whatever it was. I couldn’t stop staring at it. The unsettling thing was that, at times I also felt like it was looking back at me.

But I digress. This week, we witnessed chiseled, sparkly perfection. And I’m not just talking about Maks, who was sitting in the audience. No, I’m talking about…

Maybe the world wasn't ready for all that jelly. Or maybe they, too, were sick of the needless abuse of the term “bionic booty.” But in one of the more shocking eliminations of the season, queen bee and rump-shaker Lil’ Kim was sent home this week. To take a catchphrase from last Thursday's “30 Rock”: (gasp) Twist!!

As mentioned in Tuesday’s post, something freakish needed to happen with the voting if someone other than the low-scoring Ty Murray was sent home this week. And apparently, it did. Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough had a good six-point advantage over Ty and Chelsie coming into Tuesday's elimination, so it had to have been the throngs of voters who came out in full support for our resident bull rider and saved him. Which goes to show that America loves its cowboys. Who love their wives. And whose wives stick by them and hang out in the front row. And while this fierce competitor has wrangled himself free of many a close call, let's take a moment to consider how crazy it is that Ty Murray has made it to the final four of this competition!

Lil’ Kim will definitely be missed, however. Not only was she an effusive face for ballroom dancing, but as I said before, she really did seem to care about her fellow competitors. Plus, she always wore the best slogan tees during rehearsals. Her squeals of delight were genuine and infectious. And her “Jailhouse Rock” jive with Derek has got to be one of my favorite dances, ever. Just thinking about it brings shivers of delight.

But before we get to all that, let's not forget the filler. Melissa and Tony’s perfect 30 samba was selected as the week’s encore performance. And while I thought they did a better job Monday night, it struck me how Tony had experienced a 180-degree turn of emotions in just the span of seven days. Last week, he was one sad sack of droopiness. Now he’s spry and spray-tanned and smiles all around, just raring for that finish line. The agony and the ecstasy that come with ballroom dancing, ladies and gentlemen!

Now that we’re in the quarterfinals and that elusive Mirrorball trophy (“television’s shiniest honor,” according to Tom) is almost within reach, the pressure has been ramped up yet another notch: Not one, but two dances for each contestant! AND each star had to perform a 15-second solo!

But let me say first that I liked how they started the show off with a medley of the different featured dances from our pros. It gave the show a ballroom kick of fresh air and was a fun tutorial on how these dances are supposed to look. We love our celebrities, but we wouldn’t be here if we also didn’t love the dancing and love to watch it done right, right? Which brings us to the competition dances themselves — and I was pleased as punch that we got to see rehearsal footage for both dances, rather than just the first (something I didn't remember seeing from previous seasons). And we emerged with yet another lead change on this ever-revolving board. This week, it was…

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, rocketing up from last week’s hairline-fracture non-entry and regaining the lead with a total of 58 out of 60. And their sultry samba won them just the second perfect-30 score of the competition! First, let me say how glad I was to see Melissa coming down the steps in the initial lineup. It would have been a little bit of a letdown had her treatments not worked after last week’s save. But I still wasn’t convinced how they were going to perform. She’s still in pain. And her Viennese waltz get-up looked like Loretta Lynn collided with the aforementioned mirror ball. Melissa herself seemed a little tentative and stiff with the first dance. They got a 27 for their routine, though Len said he wasn’t loving her feet, and Carrie Ann said there was no sense of torque in the upper body (not sure what that meant, but it sounded serious).

Luckily, they really ended things on a high note with their samba. And Melissa looked like she was fresh from Carnivale and was having a blast from beginning to end. The routine totally reminded me of Stacy Keibler’s Season 2 samba, with the shoulder shimmies and the booty shake. And, funny enough, Tony exclaimed he hadn’t had scores like that since ... Season 2 with Stacy Keibler. I thought the dance lost some steam at the end, but the judges could find no fault with it — or with the fact that Melissa suffered a wardrobe malfunction after the routine. “My boob popped out!” she gasped. Bosoms aside, Carrie Ann deemed it “flawless,” and their score sent a spiky-haired Tony (who really seemed to be mugging for the camera, didn’t he?) into a perfect-30 reverie.

“I think the team dance did us in,” acknowledged Chuck Wicks upon discovering that he was the eighth contestant eliminated this season. Despite earning praise for his ballroom dances and steadily making his way up the leader board, voters spoke up in favor of saving the low-scoring Melissa Rycroft, putting the satin pajama-wearing country singer out to pasture instead. This also marks the swan song for partner and real-life girlfriend Julianne Hough, who has said she won’t be returning to "DWTS" next season.

Though was it the team dance that did him in? The producers sure did want to make the distinction that all the members of Team Tango -- chosen as the encore performance for the week -- were deemed safe before any of Team Mambo. And while I loved that that saved Ty & Chelsie from having to endure another whole hour before discovering they were in the clear, I’m not sure I believe that it was just the team dance scores that resigned the contestants to a certain fate. It's not like the mambo was that bad -- I thought it was an absolute hoot. But it certainly doesn't deserve to be treated like a bastard stepchild.

Before finding out the elimination, however, there was the requisite silly filler: a segment where the judges talked about creating the perfect celebrity dancer, and a music video about putting one’s celebrity aside and becoming a celebrity dancer, in which an earnest singer crooned lines like “Where did all my street cred gooo?” and “Mirror ball trophy -- I thought it would be nicer!” Oh, and also featured Gilles in a beret holding a baguette while the French flag waved behind him. The whole thing seemed ridiculous and over the top, which is to say, I kind of liked it. Though why the segment was called “Ballroom Dancers of Genius” was beyond me.

'Dancing With the Stars' results: And the winner is...

In what was the closest competition in series history, Olympic gold medalist and all-around athlete adorable Shawn Johnson narrowly edged out sexy Frenchman Gilles Marini for the title of Season 8 “DWTS” champion.

The 17-year-old gymnast from West Des Moines, Iowa, grew in leaps and bounds as the competition progressed, and with the nurturing, twirly guidance of partner Johnny Castle Mark Ballas, was remade a ballroom dance superstar. Though she was tied with Gilles coming into Tuesday night’s finale, the voters ultimately gave spry Shawn the advantage: Maybe it was because of her perfect-30 freestyle routine the night before. Or as a reward for how far she’s come out of her shell. Or maybe it was a vote for America. Whatever the reason, that 18-inch globe of glittery goodness, the coveted Mirrorball trophy — the highest honor in reality TV about ballroom dancing — is hers. (A special shout-out to those of you who joined in our live chat on Tuesday: We totally called it!)

Shawn not only is the youngest competitor ever to  win this much-esteemed honor, but she also made good on Apolo Anton Ohno’s bold claim that no Olympian who had made the finals had ever not won their season (maybe it should be dubbed the golden medal rule). Shoot, as an Olympian, maybe she thrived on that pressure. And yay to Mark Ballas as well for winning his second “DWTS” title with his second “DWTS” Olympian and joining Cheryl Burke and Julianne Hough as repeat pro winners. Do you think this’ll make buddy and bandmate Derek Hough that much hungrier to win the following cycle?

Who will take home the trophy? Discuss at noon PDT!

Ten weeks of competition and we’re down to the final three, ballroom fans! And as Tom and Samantha have not-so-subtly burned into our brains, this is one of the tightest competitions ever. Now that we've made it to the finals, the Mirrorball trophy has been taken out of its high-security vault and perched in front of the judges’ desk for all to see. It's all so tantalizingly within reach. (Though did it always say “Dancing With the Stars” on the mirror ball itself? It's so very “Scarface.” Were they afraid that the trophy would be mistaken for another award?)

On this first night of the two-night finale, each couple performed two dances — a paso doble set to the same song (Pink’s “So What”), and a crowd favorite: the anything-goes freestyle. And this, truly, is when the wheat is separated from the chaff, folks. What all these weeks of training, injury and competition come down to. Who has what it takes to win it all? (Don’t forget to join us for the live chat today at noon PDT / 3 p.m. EDT, for any of those who want to share their thoughts about this oh-so-exciting eighth season!)

After Monday night’s dances, the race toward sparkledom is neck and neck:

There’s a tie for first place. First up: Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke. Total: 58/60. You knew Gilles meant business coming into these finals. Coming down the grand ballroom stairs, even. His hair was slicked back. His chest was bared. And instead of just wearing a rosary T-shirt in rehearsals, he wore an actual rosary around his neck for the performance. And there was no way that Gilles could have done any wrong during his paso. I mean, the man was coached by head judge Len “DNCMSTR” Goodman himself! I loved when they practiced mirror arm moves and worked on intensity during rehearsals (heck, it even caused Len to break a sweat — that's hot). And Gilles and Cheryl’s paso did not disappoint. It was precise and well-executed, turning down the hectic and turning up the flair and heat. Their score: 30.

After 10 weeks and numerous close calls, the aw-shucks cowboy Ty Murray couldn’t wrangle up another save and instead was sent to ride off into the sunset. And while he didn’t call out tee times on a Miami golf course a la Lawrence Taylor, both Ty and his stalwart partner Chelsie Hightower seemed more than prepared for that result. So where was Jewel? You'd think the injured songbird (and ostensibly the reason why Ty was on the show in the first place), who sat faithfully in the front row for every episode of this competition, would be up and ready to welcome her overachieving hubby back into her arms. But she was curiously absent. Did I miss her? Was she one of the gems encrusted into her husband’s bedazzled shirt?

During this results hour, Raphael Saadiq performed single “100 Yard Dash,” replete with horns, dancers with short shorts and fringed tops and enough fun and frenzy to get the audience up and hopping. Shawn & Mark did an encore of their perfect-30 scoring Argentine tango. And then we got the Macy’s Stars of Dance “Design-a-Dance” extravaganza, where viewers could vote to choose which style, song, costume designer, and dancers they want to appear. So we got a quickstep set to “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing” performed by Julianne Hough, Lacey Schwimmer, Derek Hough and Mark Ballas. It’s interesting that the viewers chose all younger dancers for this classically high-energy romp. And the black and white costumes were designed by Rebecca Farmer, and had a fun component where the girls' long skirts detached into short fringy things with a fun little flowy chiffon sash attached.

It’s the final four, ballroom fans! After all the leader changes and last week’s shocking elimination, it has never been more crucial for the stars to be at the top of their game and deliver two perfect performances. And Monday's dances were a real treat. So considering all this excitement leading to next week’s finale, wasn’t it a little surprising to see all that filler between the stellar pro dance and the actual competition itself? The couples' DVD-commentary-esque critiques of their breakthrough dances were  likable enough, but did they have to come at the beginning of the program? Actually, did they  even have to come at all? It seemed like this show could easily have been shortened to an hour and a half, rather than be stretched into two (gone so soon, “Surviving Suburbia”?).

And the segments where the contestants’ friends and family were interviewed were sweet, if repetitive. I mean, wouldn’t all the contestants have to be driven and competitive to make it to this point? Though it did drive home the fact that winning the Mirrorball trophy is no small feat. Shawn Johnson practically equated it to the Olympic gold medal, Melissa’s mom was quoted as saying it was “coveted” (I’m sure the producers didn’t feed her that line), and Gilles actually said this award was “the biggest trophy on national TV in America.” Wow. (Sorry, Oscars. Maybe next year.) 

And while we're on this tangent, allow me take a break in our regularly scheduled programming to say what, in the name of all that is good and shiny, was up with Samantha’s dress? Was it supposed to be snakeskin? Fish scales? Some sort of metallic interpretation of a Native American print? A manhole mosaic? The Chrysler building? It was utterly mesmerizing, whatever it was. I couldn’t stop staring at it. The unsettling thing was that, at times I also felt like it was looking back at me.

But I digress. This week, we witnessed chiseled, sparkly perfection. And I’m not just talking about Maks, who was sitting in the audience. No, I’m talking about…

Maybe the world wasn't ready for all that jelly. Or maybe they, too, were sick of the needless abuse of the term “bionic booty.” But in one of the more shocking eliminations of the season, queen bee and rump-shaker Lil’ Kim was sent home this week. To take a catchphrase from last Thursday's “30 Rock”: (gasp) Twist!!

As mentioned in Tuesday’s post, something freakish needed to happen with the voting if someone other than the low-scoring Ty Murray was sent home this week. And apparently, it did. Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough had a good six-point advantage over Ty and Chelsie coming into Tuesday's elimination, so it had to have been the throngs of voters who came out in full support for our resident bull rider and saved him. Which goes to show that America loves its cowboys. Who love their wives. And whose wives stick by them and hang out in the front row. And while this fierce competitor has wrangled himself free of many a close call, let's take a moment to consider how crazy it is that Ty Murray has made it to the final four of this competition!

Lil’ Kim will definitely be missed, however. Not only was she an effusive face for ballroom dancing, but as I said before, she really did seem to care about her fellow competitors. Plus, she always wore the best slogan tees during rehearsals. Her squeals of delight were genuine and infectious. And her “Jailhouse Rock” jive with Derek has got to be one of my favorite dances, ever. Just thinking about it brings shivers of delight.

But before we get to all that, let's not forget the filler. Melissa and Tony’s perfect 30 samba was selected as the week’s encore performance. And while I thought they did a better job Monday night, it struck me how Tony had experienced a 180-degree turn of emotions in just the span of seven days. Last week, he was one sad sack of droopiness. Now he’s spry and spray-tanned and smiles all around, just raring for that finish line. The agony and the ecstasy that come with ballroom dancing, ladies and gentlemen!

Now that we’re in the quarterfinals and that elusive Mirrorball trophy (“television’s shiniest honor,” according to Tom) is almost within reach, the pressure has been ramped up yet another notch: Not one, but two dances for each contestant! AND each star had to perform a 15-second solo!

But let me say first that I liked how they started the show off with a medley of the different featured dances from our pros. It gave the show a ballroom kick of fresh air and was a fun tutorial on how these dances are supposed to look. We love our celebrities, but we wouldn’t be here if we also didn’t love the dancing and love to watch it done right, right? Which brings us to the competition dances themselves — and I was pleased as punch that we got to see rehearsal footage for both dances, rather than just the first (something I didn't remember seeing from previous seasons). And we emerged with yet another lead change on this ever-revolving board. This week, it was…

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, rocketing up from last week’s hairline-fracture non-entry and regaining the lead with a total of 58 out of 60. And their sultry samba won them just the second perfect-30 score of the competition! First, let me say how glad I was to see Melissa coming down the steps in the initial lineup. It would have been a little bit of a letdown had her treatments not worked after last week’s save. But I still wasn’t convinced how they were going to perform. She’s still in pain. And her Viennese waltz get-up looked like Loretta Lynn collided with the aforementioned mirror ball. Melissa herself seemed a little tentative and stiff with the first dance. They got a 27 for their routine, though Len said he wasn’t loving her feet, and Carrie Ann said there was no sense of torque in the upper body (not sure what that meant, but it sounded serious).

Luckily, they really ended things on a high note with their samba. And Melissa looked like she was fresh from Carnivale and was having a blast from beginning to end. The routine totally reminded me of Stacy Keibler’s Season 2 samba, with the shoulder shimmies and the booty shake. And, funny enough, Tony exclaimed he hadn’t had scores like that since ... Season 2 with Stacy Keibler. I thought the dance lost some steam at the end, but the judges could find no fault with it — or with the fact that Melissa suffered a wardrobe malfunction after the routine. “My boob popped out!” she gasped. Bosoms aside, Carrie Ann deemed it “flawless,” and their score sent a spiky-haired Tony (who really seemed to be mugging for the camera, didn’t he?) into a perfect-30 reverie.

“I think the team dance did us in,” acknowledged Chuck Wicks upon discovering that he was the eighth contestant eliminated this season. Despite earning praise for his ballroom dances and steadily making his way up the leader board, voters spoke up in favor of saving the low-scoring Melissa Rycroft, putting the satin pajama-wearing country singer out to pasture instead. This also marks the swan song for partner and real-life girlfriend Julianne Hough, who has said she won’t be returning to "DWTS" next season.

Though was it the team dance that did him in? The producers sure did want to make the distinction that all the members of Team Tango -- chosen as the encore performance for the week -- were deemed safe before any of Team Mambo. And while I loved that that saved Ty & Chelsie from having to endure another whole hour before discovering they were in the clear, I’m not sure I believe that it was just the team dance scores that resigned the contestants to a certain fate. It's not like the mambo was that bad -- I thought it was an absolute hoot. But it certainly doesn't deserve to be treated like a bastard stepchild.

Before finding out the elimination, however, there was the requisite silly filler: a segment where the judges talked about creating the perfect celebrity dancer, and a music video about putting one’s celebrity aside and becoming a celebrity dancer, in which an earnest singer crooned lines like “Where did all my street cred gooo?” and “Mirror ball trophy -- I thought it would be nicer!” Oh, and also featured Gilles in a beret holding a baguette while the French flag waved behind him. The whole thing seemed ridiculous and over the top, which is to say, I kind of liked it. Though why the segment was called “Ballroom Dancers of Genius” was beyond me.

'Dancing With the Stars' chat

Who will take home the trophy? Discuss at noon PDT!

Ten weeks of competition and we’re down to the final three, ballroom fans! And as Tom and Samantha have not-so-subtly burned into our brains, this is one of the tightest competitions ever. Now that we've made it to the finals, the Mirrorball trophy has been taken out of its high-security vault and perched in front of the judges’ desk for all to see. It's all so tantalizingly within reach. (Though did it always say “Dancing With the Stars” on the mirror ball itself? It's so very “Scarface.” Were they afraid that the trophy would be mistaken for another award?)

On this first night of the two-night finale, each couple performed two dances — a paso doble set to the same song (Pink’s “So What”), and a crowd favorite: the anything-goes freestyle. And this, truly, is when the wheat is separated from the chaff, folks. What all these weeks of training, injury and competition come down to. Who has what it takes to win it all? (Don’t forget to join us for the live chat today at noon PDT / 3 p.m. EDT, for any of those who want to share their thoughts about this oh-so-exciting eighth season!)

After Monday night’s dances, the race toward sparkledom is neck and neck:

There’s a tie for first place. First up: Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke. Total: 58/60. You knew Gilles meant business coming into these finals. Coming down the grand ballroom stairs, even. His hair was slicked back. His chest was bared. And instead of just wearing a rosary T-shirt in rehearsals, he wore an actual rosary around his neck for the performance. And there was no way that Gilles could have done any wrong during his paso. I mean, the man was coached by head judge Len “DNCMSTR” Goodman himself! I loved when they practiced mirror arm moves and worked on intensity during rehearsals (heck, it even caused Len to break a sweat — that's hot). And Gilles and Cheryl’s paso did not disappoint. It was precise and well-executed, turning down the hectic and turning up the flair and heat. Their score: 30.

After 10 weeks and numerous close calls, the aw-shucks cowboy Ty Murray couldn’t wrangle up another save and instead was sent to ride off into the sunset. And while he didn’t call out tee times on a Miami golf course a la Lawrence Taylor, both Ty and his stalwart partner Chelsie Hightower seemed more than prepared for that result. So where was Jewel? You'd think the injured songbird (and ostensibly the reason why Ty was on the show in the first place), who sat faithfully in the front row for every episode of this competition, would be up and ready to welcome her overachieving hubby back into her arms. But she was curiously absent. Did I miss her? Was she one of the gems encrusted into her husband’s bedazzled shirt?

During this results hour, Raphael Saadiq performed single “100 Yard Dash,” replete with horns, dancers with short shorts and fringed tops and enough fun and frenzy to get the audience up and hopping. Shawn & Mark did an encore of their perfect-30 scoring Argentine tango. And then we got the Macy’s Stars of Dance “Design-a-Dance” extravaganza, where viewers could vote to choose which style, song, costume designer, and dancers they want to appear. So we got a quickstep set to “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing” performed by Julianne Hough, Lacey Schwimmer, Derek Hough and Mark Ballas. It’s interesting that the viewers chose all younger dancers for this classically high-energy romp. And the black and white costumes were designed by Rebecca Farmer, and had a fun component where the girls' long skirts detached into short fringy things with a fun little flowy chiffon sash attached.

It’s the final four, ballroom fans! After all the leader changes and last week’s shocking elimination, it has never been more crucial for the stars to be at the top of their game and deliver two perfect performances. And Monday's dances were a real treat. So considering all this excitement leading to next week’s finale, wasn’t it a little surprising to see all that filler between the stellar pro dance and the actual competition itself? The couples' DVD-commentary-esque critiques of their breakthrough dances were  likable enough, but did they have to come at the beginning of the program? Actually, did they  even have to come at all? It seemed like this show could easily have been shortened to an hour and a half, rather than be stretched into two (gone so soon, “Surviving Suburbia”?).

And the segments where the contestants’ friends and family were interviewed were sweet, if repetitive. I mean, wouldn’t all the contestants have to be driven and competitive to make it to this point? Though it did drive home the fact that winning the Mirrorball trophy is no small feat. Shawn Johnson practically equated it to the Olympic gold medal, Melissa’s mom was quoted as saying it was “coveted” (I’m sure the producers didn’t feed her that line), and Gilles actually said this award was “the biggest trophy on national TV in America.” Wow. (Sorry, Oscars. Maybe next year.) 

And while we're on this tangent, allow me take a break in our regularly scheduled programming to say what, in the name of all that is good and shiny, was up with Samantha’s dress? Was it supposed to be snakeskin? Fish scales? Some sort of metallic interpretation of a Native American print? A manhole mosaic? The Chrysler building? It was utterly mesmerizing, whatever it was. I couldn’t stop staring at it. The unsettling thing was that, at times I also felt like it was looking back at me.

But I digress. This week, we witnessed chiseled, sparkly perfection. And I’m not just talking about Maks, who was sitting in the audience. No, I’m talking about…

Maybe the world wasn't ready for all that jelly. Or maybe they, too, were sick of the needless abuse of the term “bionic booty.” But in one of the more shocking eliminations of the season, queen bee and rump-shaker Lil’ Kim was sent home this week. To take a catchphrase from last Thursday's “30 Rock”: (gasp) Twist!!

As mentioned in Tuesday’s post, something freakish needed to happen with the voting if someone other than the low-scoring Ty Murray was sent home this week. And apparently, it did. Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough had a good six-point advantage over Ty and Chelsie coming into Tuesday's elimination, so it had to have been the throngs of voters who came out in full support for our resident bull rider and saved him. Which goes to show that America loves its cowboys. Who love their wives. And whose wives stick by them and hang out in the front row. And while this fierce competitor has wrangled himself free of many a close call, let's take a moment to consider how crazy it is that Ty Murray has made it to the final four of this competition!

Lil’ Kim will definitely be missed, however. Not only was she an effusive face for ballroom dancing, but as I said before, she really did seem to care about her fellow competitors. Plus, she always wore the best slogan tees during rehearsals. Her squeals of delight were genuine and infectious. And her “Jailhouse Rock” jive with Derek has got to be one of my favorite dances, ever. Just thinking about it brings shivers of delight.

But before we get to all that, let's not forget the filler. Melissa and Tony’s perfect 30 samba was selected as the week’s encore performance. And while I thought they did a better job Monday night, it struck me how Tony had experienced a 180-degree turn of emotions in just the span of seven days. Last week, he was one sad sack of droopiness. Now he’s spry and spray-tanned and smiles all around, just raring for that finish line. The agony and the ecstasy that come with ballroom dancing, ladies and gentlemen!

Now that we’re in the quarterfinals and that elusive Mirrorball trophy (“television’s shiniest honor,” according to Tom) is almost within reach, the pressure has been ramped up yet another notch: Not one, but two dances for each contestant! AND each star had to perform a 15-second solo!

But let me say first that I liked how they started the show off with a medley of the different featured dances from our pros. It gave the show a ballroom kick of fresh air and was a fun tutorial on how these dances are supposed to look. We love our celebrities, but we wouldn’t be here if we also didn’t love the dancing and love to watch it done right, right? Which brings us to the competition dances themselves — and I was pleased as punch that we got to see rehearsal footage for both dances, rather than just the first (something I didn't remember seeing from previous seasons). And we emerged with yet another lead change on this ever-revolving board. This week, it was…

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, rocketing up from last week’s hairline-fracture non-entry and regaining the lead with a total of 58 out of 60. And their sultry samba won them just the second perfect-30 score of the competition! First, let me say how glad I was to see Melissa coming down the steps in the initial lineup. It would have been a little bit of a letdown had her treatments not worked after last week’s save. But I still wasn’t convinced how they were going to perform. She’s still in pain. And her Viennese waltz get-up looked like Loretta Lynn collided with the aforementioned mirror ball. Melissa herself seemed a little tentative and stiff with the first dance. They got a 27 for their routine, though Len said he wasn’t loving her feet, and Carrie Ann said there was no sense of torque in the upper body (not sure what that meant, but it sounded serious).

Luckily, they really ended things on a high note with their samba. And Melissa looked like she was fresh from Carnivale and was having a blast from beginning to end. The routine totally reminded me of Stacy Keibler’s Season 2 samba, with the shoulder shimmies and the booty shake. And, funny enough, Tony exclaimed he hadn’t had scores like that since ... Season 2 with Stacy Keibler. I thought the dance lost some steam at the end, but the judges could find no fault with it — or with the fact that Melissa suffered a wardrobe malfunction after the routine. “My boob popped out!” she gasped. Bosoms aside, Carrie Ann deemed it “flawless,” and their score sent a spiky-haired Tony (who really seemed to be mugging for the camera, didn’t he?) into a perfect-30 reverie.

“I think the team dance did us in,” acknowledged Chuck Wicks upon discovering that he was the eighth contestant eliminated this season. Despite earning praise for his ballroom dances and steadily making his way up the leader board, voters spoke up in favor of saving the low-scoring Melissa Rycroft, putting the satin pajama-wearing country singer out to pasture instead. This also marks the swan song for partner and real-life girlfriend Julianne Hough, who has said she won’t be returning to "DWTS" next season.

Though was it the team dance that did him in? The producers sure did want to make the distinction that all the members of Team Tango -- chosen as the encore performance for the week -- were deemed safe before any of Team Mambo. And while I loved that that saved Ty & Chelsie from having to endure another whole hour before discovering they were in the clear, I’m not sure I believe that it was just the team dance scores that resigned the contestants to a certain fate. It's not like the mambo was that bad -- I thought it was an absolute hoot. But it certainly doesn't deserve to be treated like a bastard stepchild.

Before finding out the elimination, however, there was the requisite silly filler: a segment where the judges talked about creating the perfect celebrity dancer, and a music video about putting one’s celebrity aside and becoming a celebrity dancer, in which an earnest singer crooned lines like “Where did all my street cred gooo?” and “Mirror ball trophy -- I thought it would be nicer!” Oh, and also featured Gilles in a beret holding a baguette while the French flag waved behind him. The whole thing seemed ridiculous and over the top, which is to say, I kind of liked it. Though why the segment was called “Ballroom Dancers of Genius” was beyond me.

'Dancing With the Stars': The final countdown

Ten weeks of competition and we’re down to the final three, ballroom fans! And as Tom and Samantha have not-so-subtly burned into our brains, this is one of the tightest competitions ever. Now that we've made it to the finals, the Mirrorball trophy has been taken out of its high-security vault and perched in front of the judges’ desk for all to see. It's all so tantalizingly within reach. (Though did it always say “Dancing With the Stars” on the mirror ball itself? It's so very “Scarface.” Were they afraid that the trophy would be mistaken for another award?)

On this first night of the two-night finale, each couple performed two dances — a paso doble set to the same song (Pink’s “So What”), and a crowd favorite: the anything-goes freestyle. And this, truly, is when the wheat is separated from the chaff, folks. What all these weeks of training, injury and competition come down to. Who has what it takes to win it all? (Don’t forget to join us for the live chat today at noon PDT / 3 p.m. EDT, for any of those who want to share their thoughts about this oh-so-exciting eighth season!)

After Monday night’s dances, the race toward sparkledom is neck and neck:

There’s a tie for first place. First up: Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke. Total: 58/60. You knew Gilles meant business coming into these finals. Coming down the grand ballroom stairs, even. His hair was slicked back. His chest was bared. And instead of just wearing a rosary T-shirt in rehearsals, he wore an actual rosary around his neck for the performance. And there was no way that Gilles could have done any wrong during his paso. I mean, the man was coached by head judge Len “DNCMSTR” Goodman himself! I loved when they practiced mirror arm moves and worked on intensity during rehearsals (heck, it even caused Len to break a sweat — that's hot). And Gilles and Cheryl’s paso did not disappoint. It was precise and well-executed, turning down the hectic and turning up the flair and heat. Their score: 30.

After 10 weeks and numerous close calls, the aw-shucks cowboy Ty Murray couldn’t wrangle up another save and instead was sent to ride off into the sunset. And while he didn’t call out tee times on a Miami golf course a la Lawrence Taylor, both Ty and his stalwart partner Chelsie Hightower seemed more than prepared for that result. So where was Jewel? You'd think the injured songbird (and ostensibly the reason why Ty was on the show in the first place), who sat faithfully in the front row for every episode of this competition, would be up and ready to welcome her overachieving hubby back into her arms. But she was curiously absent. Did I miss her? Was she one of the gems encrusted into her husband’s bedazzled shirt?

During this results hour, Raphael Saadiq performed single “100 Yard Dash,” replete with horns, dancers with short shorts and fringed tops and enough fun and frenzy to get the audience up and hopping. Shawn & Mark did an encore of their perfect-30 scoring Argentine tango. And then we got the Macy’s Stars of Dance “Design-a-Dance” extravaganza, where viewers could vote to choose which style, song, costume designer, and dancers they want to appear. So we got a quickstep set to “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing” performed by Julianne Hough, Lacey Schwimmer, Derek Hough and Mark Ballas. It’s interesting that the viewers chose all younger dancers for this classically high-energy romp. And the black and white costumes were designed by Rebecca Farmer, and had a fun component where the girls' long skirts detached into short fringy things with a fun little flowy chiffon sash attached.

It’s the final four, ballroom fans! After all the leader changes and last week’s shocking elimination, it has never been more crucial for the stars to be at the top of their game and deliver two perfect performances. And Monday's dances were a real treat. So considering all this excitement leading to next week’s finale, wasn’t it a little surprising to see all that filler between the stellar pro dance and the actual competition itself? The couples' DVD-commentary-esque critiques of their breakthrough dances were  likable enough, but did they have to come at the beginning of the program? Actually, did they  even have to come at all? It seemed like this show could easily have been shortened to an hour and a half, rather than be stretched into two (gone so soon, “Surviving Suburbia”?).

And the segments where the contestants’ friends and family were interviewed were sweet, if repetitive. I mean, wouldn’t all the contestants have to be driven and competitive to make it to this point? Though it did drive home the fact that winning the Mirrorball trophy is no small feat. Shawn Johnson practically equated it to the Olympic gold medal, Melissa’s mom was quoted as saying it was “coveted” (I’m sure the producers didn’t feed her that line), and Gilles actually said this award was “the biggest trophy on national TV in America.” Wow. (Sorry, Oscars. Maybe next year.) 

And while we're on this tangent, allow me take a break in our regularly scheduled programming to say what, in the name of all that is good and shiny, was up with Samantha’s dress? Was it supposed to be snakeskin? Fish scales? Some sort of metallic interpretation of a Native American print? A manhole mosaic? The Chrysler building? It was utterly mesmerizing, whatever it was. I couldn’t stop staring at it. The unsettling thing was that, at times I also felt like it was looking back at me.

But I digress. This week, we witnessed chiseled, sparkly perfection. And I’m not just talking about Maks, who was sitting in the audience. No, I’m talking about…

Maybe the world wasn't ready for all that jelly. Or maybe they, too, were sick of the needless abuse of the term “bionic booty.” But in one of the more shocking eliminations of the season, queen bee and rump-shaker Lil’ Kim was sent home this week. To take a catchphrase from last Thursday's “30 Rock”: (gasp) Twist!!

As mentioned in Tuesday’s post, something freakish needed to happen with the voting if someone other than the low-scoring Ty Murray was sent home this week. And apparently, it did. Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough had a good six-point advantage over Ty and Chelsie coming into Tuesday's elimination, so it had to have been the throngs of voters who came out in full support for our resident bull rider and saved him. Which goes to show that America loves its cowboys. Who love their wives. And whose wives stick by them and hang out in the front row. And while this fierce competitor has wrangled himself free of many a close call, let's take a moment to consider how crazy it is that Ty Murray has made it to the final four of this competition!

Lil’ Kim will definitely be missed, however. Not only was she an effusive face for ballroom dancing, but as I said before, she really did seem to care about her fellow competitors. Plus, she always wore the best slogan tees during rehearsals. Her squeals of delight were genuine and infectious. And her “Jailhouse Rock” jive with Derek has got to be one of my favorite dances, ever. Just thinking about it brings shivers of delight.

But before we get to all that, let's not forget the filler. Melissa and Tony’s perfect 30 samba was selected as the week’s encore performance. And while I thought they did a better job Monday night, it struck me how Tony had experienced a 180-degree turn of emotions in just the span of seven days. Last week, he was one sad sack of droopiness. Now he’s spry and spray-tanned and smiles all around, just raring for that finish line. The agony and the ecstasy that come with ballroom dancing, ladies and gentlemen!

Now that we’re in the quarterfinals and that elusive Mirrorball trophy (“television’s shiniest honor,” according to Tom) is almost within reach, the pressure has been ramped up yet another notch: Not one, but two dances for each contestant! AND each star had to perform a 15-second solo!

But let me say first that I liked how they started the show off with a medley of the different featured dances from our pros. It gave the show a ballroom kick of fresh air and was a fun tutorial on how these dances are supposed to look. We love our celebrities, but we wouldn’t be here if we also didn’t love the dancing and love to watch it done right, right? Which brings us to the competition dances themselves — and I was pleased as punch that we got to see rehearsal footage for both dances, rather than just the first (something I didn't remember seeing from previous seasons). And we emerged with yet another lead change on this ever-revolving board. This week, it was…

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, rocketing up from last week’s hairline-fracture non-entry and regaining the lead with a total of 58 out of 60. And their sultry samba won them just the second perfect-30 score of the competition! First, let me say how glad I was to see Melissa coming down the steps in the initial lineup. It would have been a little bit of a letdown had her treatments not worked after last week’s save. But I still wasn’t convinced how they were going to perform. She’s still in pain. And her Viennese waltz get-up looked like Loretta Lynn collided with the aforementioned mirror ball. Melissa herself seemed a little tentative and stiff with the first dance. They got a 27 for their routine, though Len said he wasn’t loving her feet, and Carrie Ann said there was no sense of torque in the upper body (not sure what that meant, but it sounded serious).

Luckily, they really ended things on a high note with their samba. And Melissa looked like she was fresh from Carnivale and was having a blast from beginning to end. The routine totally reminded me of Stacy Keibler’s Season 2 samba, with the shoulder shimmies and the booty shake. And, funny enough, Tony exclaimed he hadn’t had scores like that since ... Season 2 with Stacy Keibler. I thought the dance lost some steam at the end, but the judges could find no fault with it — or with the fact that Melissa suffered a wardrobe malfunction after the routine. “My boob popped out!” she gasped. Bosoms aside, Carrie Ann deemed it “flawless,” and their score sent a spiky-haired Tony (who really seemed to be mugging for the camera, didn’t he?) into a perfect-30 reverie.

“I think the team dance did us in,” acknowledged Chuck Wicks upon discovering that he was the eighth contestant eliminated this season. Despite earning praise for his ballroom dances and steadily making his way up the leader board, voters spoke up in favor of saving the low-scoring Melissa Rycroft, putting the satin pajama-wearing country singer out to pasture instead. This also marks the swan song for partner and real-life girlfriend Julianne Hough, who has said she won’t be returning to "DWTS" next season.

Though was it the team dance that did him in? The producers sure did want to make the distinction that all the members of Team Tango -- chosen as the encore performance for the week -- were deemed safe before any of Team Mambo. And while I loved that that saved Ty & Chelsie from having to endure another whole hour before discovering they were in the clear, I’m not sure I believe that it was just the team dance scores that resigned the contestants to a certain fate. It's not like the mambo was that bad -- I thought it was an absolute hoot. But it certainly doesn't deserve to be treated like a bastard stepchild.

Before finding out the elimination, however, there was the requisite silly filler: a segment where the judges talked about creating the perfect celebrity dancer, and a music video about putting one’s celebrity aside and becoming a celebrity dancer, in which an earnest singer crooned lines like “Where did all my street cred gooo?” and “Mirror ball trophy -- I thought it would be nicer!” Oh, and also featured Gilles in a beret holding a baguette while the French flag waved behind him. The whole thing seemed ridiculous and over the top, which is to say, I kind of liked it. Though why the segment was called “Ballroom Dancers of Genius” was beyond me.

'Dancing With the Stars' results: Happy trails

After 10 weeks and numerous close calls, the aw-shucks cowboy Ty Murray couldn’t wrangle up another save and instead was sent to ride off into the sunset. And while he didn’t call out tee times on a Miami golf course a la Lawrence Taylor, both Ty and his stalwart partner Chelsie Hightower seemed more than prepared for that result. So where was Jewel? You'd think the injured songbird (and ostensibly the reason why Ty was on the show in the first place), who sat faithfully in the front row for every episode of this competition, would be up and ready to welcome her overachieving hubby back into her arms. But she was curiously absent. Did I miss her? Was she one of the gems encrusted into her husband’s bedazzled shirt?

During this results hour, Raphael Saadiq performed single “100 Yard Dash,” replete with horns, dancers with short shorts and fringed tops and enough fun and frenzy to get the audience up and hopping. Shawn & Mark did an encore of their perfect-30 scoring Argentine tango. And then we got the Macy’s Stars of Dance “Design-a-Dance” extravaganza, where viewers could vote to choose which style, song, costume designer, and dancers they want to appear. So we got a quickstep set to “It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing” performed by Julianne Hough, Lacey Schwimmer, Derek Hough and Mark Ballas. It’s interesting that the viewers chose all younger dancers for this classically high-energy romp. And the black and white costumes were designed by Rebecca Farmer, and had a fun component where the girls' long skirts detached into short fringy things with a fun little flowy chiffon sash attached.

It’s the final four, ballroom fans! After all the leader changes and last week’s shocking elimination, it has never been more crucial for the stars to be at the top of their game and deliver two perfect performances. And Monday's dances were a real treat. So considering all this excitement leading to next week’s finale, wasn’t it a little surprising to see all that filler between the stellar pro dance and the actual competition itself? The couples' DVD-commentary-esque critiques of their breakthrough dances were  likable enough, but did they have to come at the beginning of the program? Actually, did they  even have to come at all? It seemed like this show could easily have been shortened to an hour and a half, rather than be stretched into two (gone so soon, “Surviving Suburbia”?).

And the segments where the contestants’ friends and family were interviewed were sweet, if repetitive. I mean, wouldn’t all the contestants have to be driven and competitive to make it to this point? Though it did drive home the fact that winning the Mirrorball trophy is no small feat. Shawn Johnson practically equated it to the Olympic gold medal, Melissa’s mom was quoted as saying it was “coveted” (I’m sure the producers didn’t feed her that line), and Gilles actually said this award was “the biggest trophy on national TV in America.” Wow. (Sorry, Oscars. Maybe next year.) 

And while we're on this tangent, allow me take a break in our regularly scheduled programming to say what, in the name of all that is good and shiny, was up with Samantha’s dress? Was it supposed to be snakeskin? Fish scales? Some sort of metallic interpretation of a Native American print? A manhole mosaic? The Chrysler building? It was utterly mesmerizing, whatever it was. I couldn’t stop staring at it. The unsettling thing was that, at times I also felt like it was looking back at me.

But I digress. This week, we witnessed chiseled, sparkly perfection. And I’m not just talking about Maks, who was sitting in the audience. No, I’m talking about…

Maybe the world wasn't ready for all that jelly. Or maybe they, too, were sick of the needless abuse of the term “bionic booty.” But in one of the more shocking eliminations of the season, queen bee and rump-shaker Lil’ Kim was sent home this week. To take a catchphrase from last Thursday's “30 Rock”: (gasp) Twist!!

As mentioned in Tuesday’s post, something freakish needed to happen with the voting if someone other than the low-scoring Ty Murray was sent home this week. And apparently, it did. Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough had a good six-point advantage over Ty and Chelsie coming into Tuesday's elimination, so it had to have been the throngs of voters who came out in full support for our resident bull rider and saved him. Which goes to show that America loves its cowboys. Who love their wives. And whose wives stick by them and hang out in the front row. And while this fierce competitor has wrangled himself free of many a close call, let's take a moment to consider how crazy it is that Ty Murray has made it to the final four of this competition!

Lil’ Kim will definitely be missed, however. Not only was she an effusive face for ballroom dancing, but as I said before, she really did seem to care about her fellow competitors. Plus, she always wore the best slogan tees during rehearsals. Her squeals of delight were genuine and infectious. And her “Jailhouse Rock” jive with Derek has got to be one of my favorite dances, ever. Just thinking about it brings shivers of delight.

But before we get to all that, let's not forget the filler. Melissa and Tony’s perfect 30 samba was selected as the week’s encore performance. And while I thought they did a better job Monday night, it struck me how Tony had experienced a 180-degree turn of emotions in just the span of seven days. Last week, he was one sad sack of droopiness. Now he’s spry and spray-tanned and smiles all around, just raring for that finish line. The agony and the ecstasy that come with ballroom dancing, ladies and gentlemen!

Now that we’re in the quarterfinals and that elusive Mirrorball trophy (“television’s shiniest honor,” according to Tom) is almost within reach, the pressure has been ramped up yet another notch: Not one, but two dances for each contestant! AND each star had to perform a 15-second solo!

But let me say first that I liked how they started the show off with a medley of the different featured dances from our pros. It gave the show a ballroom kick of fresh air and was a fun tutorial on how these dances are supposed to look. We love our celebrities, but we wouldn’t be here if we also didn’t love the dancing and love to watch it done right, right? Which brings us to the competition dances themselves — and I was pleased as punch that we got to see rehearsal footage for both dances, rather than just the first (something I didn't remember seeing from previous seasons). And we emerged with yet another lead change on this ever-revolving board. This week, it was…

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, rocketing up from last week’s hairline-fracture non-entry and regaining the lead with a total of 58 out of 60. And their sultry samba won them just the second perfect-30 score of the competition! First, let me say how glad I was to see Melissa coming down the steps in the initial lineup. It would have been a little bit of a letdown had her treatments not worked after last week’s save. But I still wasn’t convinced how they were going to perform. She’s still in pain. And her Viennese waltz get-up looked like Loretta Lynn collided with the aforementioned mirror ball. Melissa herself seemed a little tentative and stiff with the first dance. They got a 27 for their routine, though Len said he wasn’t loving her feet, and Carrie Ann said there was no sense of torque in the upper body (not sure what that meant, but it sounded serious).

Luckily, they really ended things on a high note with their samba. And Melissa looked like she was fresh from Carnivale and was having a blast from beginning to end. The routine totally reminded me of Stacy Keibler’s Season 2 samba, with the shoulder shimmies and the booty shake. And, funny enough, Tony exclaimed he hadn’t had scores like that since ... Season 2 with Stacy Keibler. I thought the dance lost some steam at the end, but the judges could find no fault with it — or with the fact that Melissa suffered a wardrobe malfunction after the routine. “My boob popped out!” she gasped. Bosoms aside, Carrie Ann deemed it “flawless,” and their score sent a spiky-haired Tony (who really seemed to be mugging for the camera, didn’t he?) into a perfect-30 reverie.

“I think the team dance did us in,” acknowledged Chuck Wicks upon discovering that he was the eighth contestant eliminated this season. Despite earning praise for his ballroom dances and steadily making his way up the leader board, voters spoke up in favor of saving the low-scoring Melissa Rycroft, putting the satin pajama-wearing country singer out to pasture instead. This also marks the swan song for partner and real-life girlfriend Julianne Hough, who has said she won’t be returning to "DWTS" next season.

Though was it the team dance that did him in? The producers sure did want to make the distinction that all the members of Team Tango -- chosen as the encore performance for the week -- were deemed safe before any of Team Mambo. And while I loved that that saved Ty & Chelsie from having to endure another whole hour before discovering they were in the clear, I’m not sure I believe that it was just the team dance scores that resigned the contestants to a certain fate. It's not like the mambo was that bad -- I thought it was an absolute hoot. But it certainly doesn't deserve to be treated like a bastard stepchild.

Before finding out the elimination, however, there was the requisite silly filler: a segment where the judges talked about creating the perfect celebrity dancer, and a music video about putting one’s celebrity aside and becoming a celebrity dancer, in which an earnest singer crooned lines like “Where did all my street cred gooo?” and “Mirror ball trophy -- I thought it would be nicer!” Oh, and also featured Gilles in a beret holding a baguette while the French flag waved behind him. The whole thing seemed ridiculous and over the top, which is to say, I kind of liked it. Though why the segment was called “Ballroom Dancers of Genius” was beyond me.

'Dancing With the Stars': The final four

It’s the final four, ballroom fans! After all the leader changes and last week’s shocking elimination, it has never been more crucial for the stars to be at the top of their game and deliver two perfect performances. And Monday's dances were a real treat. So considering all this excitement leading to next week’s finale, wasn’t it a little surprising to see all that filler between the stellar pro dance and the actual competition itself? The couples' DVD-commentary-esque critiques of their breakthrough dances were  likable enough, but did they have to come at the beginning of the program? Actually, did they  even have to come at all? It seemed like this show could easily have been shortened to an hour and a half, rather than be stretched into two (gone so soon, “Surviving Suburbia”?).

And the segments where the contestants’ friends and family were interviewed were sweet, if repetitive. I mean, wouldn’t all the contestants have to be driven and competitive to make it to this point? Though it did drive home the fact that winning the Mirrorball trophy is no small feat. Shawn Johnson practically equated it to the Olympic gold medal, Melissa’s mom was quoted as saying it was “coveted” (I’m sure the producers didn’t feed her that line), and Gilles actually said this award was “the biggest trophy on national TV in America.” Wow. (Sorry, Oscars. Maybe next year.) 

And while we're on this tangent, allow me take a break in our regularly scheduled programming to say what, in the name of all that is good and shiny, was up with Samantha’s dress? Was it supposed to be snakeskin? Fish scales? Some sort of metallic interpretation of a Native American print? A manhole mosaic? The Chrysler building? It was utterly mesmerizing, whatever it was. I couldn’t stop staring at it. The unsettling thing was that, at times I also felt like it was looking back at me.

But I digress. This week, we witnessed chiseled, sparkly perfection. And I’m not just talking about Maks, who was sitting in the audience. No, I’m talking about…

Maybe the world wasn't ready for all that jelly. Or maybe they, too, were sick of the needless abuse of the term “bionic booty.” But in one of the more shocking eliminations of the season, queen bee and rump-shaker Lil’ Kim was sent home this week. To take a catchphrase from last Thursday's “30 Rock”: (gasp) Twist!!

As mentioned in Tuesday’s post, something freakish needed to happen with the voting if someone other than the low-scoring Ty Murray was sent home this week. And apparently, it did. Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough had a good six-point advantage over Ty and Chelsie coming into Tuesday's elimination, so it had to have been the throngs of voters who came out in full support for our resident bull rider and saved him. Which goes to show that America loves its cowboys. Who love their wives. And whose wives stick by them and hang out in the front row. And while this fierce competitor has wrangled himself free of many a close call, let's take a moment to consider how crazy it is that Ty Murray has made it to the final four of this competition!

Lil’ Kim will definitely be missed, however. Not only was she an effusive face for ballroom dancing, but as I said before, she really did seem to care about her fellow competitors. Plus, she always wore the best slogan tees during rehearsals. Her squeals of delight were genuine and infectious. And her “Jailhouse Rock” jive with Derek has got to be one of my favorite dances, ever. Just thinking about it brings shivers of delight.

But before we get to all that, let's not forget the filler. Melissa and Tony’s perfect 30 samba was selected as the week’s encore performance. And while I thought they did a better job Monday night, it struck me how Tony had experienced a 180-degree turn of emotions in just the span of seven days. Last week, he was one sad sack of droopiness. Now he’s spry and spray-tanned and smiles all around, just raring for that finish line. The agony and the ecstasy that come with ballroom dancing, ladies and gentlemen!

Now that we’re in the quarterfinals and that elusive Mirrorball trophy (“television’s shiniest honor,” according to Tom) is almost within reach, the pressure has been ramped up yet another notch: Not one, but two dances for each contestant! AND each star had to perform a 15-second solo!

But let me say first that I liked how they started the show off with a medley of the different featured dances from our pros. It gave the show a ballroom kick of fresh air and was a fun tutorial on how these dances are supposed to look. We love our celebrities, but we wouldn’t be here if we also didn’t love the dancing and love to watch it done right, right? Which brings us to the competition dances themselves — and I was pleased as punch that we got to see rehearsal footage for both dances, rather than just the first (something I didn't remember seeing from previous seasons). And we emerged with yet another lead change on this ever-revolving board. This week, it was…

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, rocketing up from last week’s hairline-fracture non-entry and regaining the lead with a total of 58 out of 60. And their sultry samba won them just the second perfect-30 score of the competition! First, let me say how glad I was to see Melissa coming down the steps in the initial lineup. It would have been a little bit of a letdown had her treatments not worked after last week’s save. But I still wasn’t convinced how they were going to perform. She’s still in pain. And her Viennese waltz get-up looked like Loretta Lynn collided with the aforementioned mirror ball. Melissa herself seemed a little tentative and stiff with the first dance. They got a 27 for their routine, though Len said he wasn’t loving her feet, and Carrie Ann said there was no sense of torque in the upper body (not sure what that meant, but it sounded serious).

Luckily, they really ended things on a high note with their samba. And Melissa looked like she was fresh from Carnivale and was having a blast from beginning to end. The routine totally reminded me of Stacy Keibler’s Season 2 samba, with the shoulder shimmies and the booty shake. And, funny enough, Tony exclaimed he hadn’t had scores like that since ... Season 2 with Stacy Keibler. I thought the dance lost some steam at the end, but the judges could find no fault with it — or with the fact that Melissa suffered a wardrobe malfunction after the routine. “My boob popped out!” she gasped. Bosoms aside, Carrie Ann deemed it “flawless,” and their score sent a spiky-haired Tony (who really seemed to be mugging for the camera, didn’t he?) into a perfect-30 reverie.

“I think the team dance did us in,” acknowledged Chuck Wicks upon discovering that he was the eighth contestant eliminated this season. Despite earning praise for his ballroom dances and steadily making his way up the leader board, voters spoke up in favor of saving the low-scoring Melissa Rycroft, putting the satin pajama-wearing country singer out to pasture instead. This also marks the swan song for partner and real-life girlfriend Julianne Hough, who has said she won’t be returning to "DWTS" next season.

Though was it the team dance that did him in? The producers sure did want to make the distinction that all the members of Team Tango -- chosen as the encore performance for the week -- were deemed safe before any of Team Mambo. And while I loved that that saved Ty & Chelsie from having to endure another whole hour before discovering they were in the clear, I’m not sure I believe that it was just the team dance scores that resigned the contestants to a certain fate. It's not like the mambo was that bad -- I thought it was an absolute hoot. But it certainly doesn't deserve to be treated like a bastard stepchild.

Before finding out the elimination, however, there was the requisite silly filler: a segment where the judges talked about creating the perfect celebrity dancer, and a music video about putting one’s celebrity aside and becoming a celebrity dancer, in which an earnest singer crooned lines like “Where did all my street cred gooo?” and “Mirror ball trophy -- I thought it would be nicer!” Oh, and also featured Gilles in a beret holding a baguette while the French flag waved behind him. The whole thing seemed ridiculous and over the top, which is to say, I kind of liked it. Though why the segment was called “Ballroom Dancers of Genius” was beyond me.

'Dancing With the Stars' results: No butts about it

Maybe the world wasn't ready for all that jelly. Or maybe they, too, were sick of the needless abuse of the term “bionic booty.” But in one of the more shocking eliminations of the season, queen bee and rump-shaker Lil’ Kim was sent home this week. To take a catchphrase from last Thursday's “30 Rock”: (gasp) Twist!!

As mentioned in Tuesday’s post, something freakish needed to happen with the voting if someone other than the low-scoring Ty Murray was sent home this week. And apparently, it did. Lil’ Kim and Derek Hough had a good six-point advantage over Ty and Chelsie coming into Tuesday's elimination, so it had to have been the throngs of voters who came out in full support for our resident bull rider and saved him. Which goes to show that America loves its cowboys. Who love their wives. And whose wives stick by them and hang out in the front row. And while this fierce competitor has wrangled himself free of many a close call, let's take a moment to consider how crazy it is that Ty Murray has made it to the final four of this competition!

Lil’ Kim will definitely be missed, however. Not only was she an effusive face for ballroom dancing, but as I said before, she really did seem to care about her fellow competitors. Plus, she always wore the best slogan tees during rehearsals. Her squeals of delight were genuine and infectious. And her “Jailhouse Rock” jive with Derek has got to be one of my favorite dances, ever. Just thinking about it brings shivers of delight.

But before we get to all that, let's not forget the filler. Melissa and Tony’s perfect 30 samba was selected as the week’s encore performance. And while I thought they did a better job Monday night, it struck me how Tony had experienced a 180-degree turn of emotions in just the span of seven days. Last week, he was one sad sack of droopiness. Now he’s spry and spray-tanned and smiles all around, just raring for that finish line. The agony and the ecstasy that come with ballroom dancing, ladies and gentlemen!

Now that we’re in the quarterfinals and that elusive Mirrorball trophy (“television’s shiniest honor,” according to Tom) is almost within reach, the pressure has been ramped up yet another notch: Not one, but two dances for each contestant! AND each star had to perform a 15-second solo!

But let me say first that I liked how they started the show off with a medley of the different featured dances from our pros. It gave the show a ballroom kick of fresh air and was a fun tutorial on how these dances are supposed to look. We love our celebrities, but we wouldn’t be here if we also didn’t love the dancing and love to watch it done right, right? Which brings us to the competition dances themselves — and I was pleased as punch that we got to see rehearsal footage for both dances, rather than just the first (something I didn't remember seeing from previous seasons). And we emerged with yet another lead change on this ever-revolving board. This week, it was…

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, rocketing up from last week’s hairline-fracture non-entry and regaining the lead with a total of 58 out of 60. And their sultry samba won them just the second perfect-30 score of the competition! First, let me say how glad I was to see Melissa coming down the steps in the initial lineup. It would have been a little bit of a letdown had her treatments not worked after last week’s save. But I still wasn’t convinced how they were going to perform. She’s still in pain. And her Viennese waltz get-up looked like Loretta Lynn collided with the aforementioned mirror ball. Melissa herself seemed a little tentative and stiff with the first dance. They got a 27 for their routine, though Len said he wasn’t loving her feet, and Carrie Ann said there was no sense of torque in the upper body (not sure what that meant, but it sounded serious).

Luckily, they really ended things on a high note with their samba. And Melissa looked like she was fresh from Carnivale and was having a blast from beginning to end. The routine totally reminded me of Stacy Keibler’s Season 2 samba, with the shoulder shimmies and the booty shake. And, funny enough, Tony exclaimed he hadn’t had scores like that since ... Season 2 with Stacy Keibler. I thought the dance lost some steam at the end, but the judges could find no fault with it — or with the fact that Melissa suffered a wardrobe malfunction after the routine. “My boob popped out!” she gasped. Bosoms aside, Carrie Ann deemed it “flawless,” and their score sent a spiky-haired Tony (who really seemed to be mugging for the camera, didn’t he?) into a perfect-30 reverie.

“I think the team dance did us in,” acknowledged Chuck Wicks upon discovering that he was the eighth contestant eliminated this season. Despite earning praise for his ballroom dances and steadily making his way up the leader board, voters spoke up in favor of saving the low-scoring Melissa Rycroft, putting the satin pajama-wearing country singer out to pasture instead. This also marks the swan song for partner and real-life girlfriend Julianne Hough, who has said she won’t be returning to "DWTS" next season.

Though was it the team dance that did him in? The producers sure did want to make the distinction that all the members of Team Tango -- chosen as the encore performance for the week -- were deemed safe before any of Team Mambo. And while I loved that that saved Ty & Chelsie from having to endure another whole hour before discovering they were in the clear, I’m not sure I believe that it was just the team dance scores that resigned the contestants to a certain fate. It's not like the mambo was that bad -- I thought it was an absolute hoot. But it certainly doesn't deserve to be treated like a bastard stepchild.

Before finding out the elimination, however, there was the requisite silly filler: a segment where the judges talked about creating the perfect celebrity dancer, and a music video about putting one’s celebrity aside and becoming a celebrity dancer, in which an earnest singer crooned lines like “Where did all my street cred gooo?” and “Mirror ball trophy -- I thought it would be nicer!” Oh, and also featured Gilles in a beret holding a baguette while the French flag waved behind him. The whole thing seemed ridiculous and over the top, which is to say, I kind of liked it. Though why the segment was called “Ballroom Dancers of Genius” was beyond me.

'Dancing With the Stars': Double the dancing, double the fun

Now that we’re in the quarterfinals and that elusive Mirrorball trophy (“television’s shiniest honor,” according to Tom) is almost within reach, the pressure has been ramped up yet another notch: Not one, but two dances for each contestant! AND each star had to perform a 15-second solo!

But let me say first that I liked how they started the show off with a medley of the different featured dances from our pros. It gave the show a ballroom kick of fresh air and was a fun tutorial on how these dances are supposed to look. We love our celebrities, but we wouldn’t be here if we also didn’t love the dancing and love to watch it done right, right? Which brings us to the competition dances themselves — and I was pleased as punch that we got to see rehearsal footage for both dances, rather than just the first (something I didn't remember seeing from previous seasons). And we emerged with yet another lead change on this ever-revolving board. This week, it was…

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani, rocketing up from last week’s hairline-fracture non-entry and regaining the lead with a total of 58 out of 60. And their sultry samba won them just the second perfect-30 score of the competition! First, let me say how glad I was to see Melissa coming down the steps in the initial lineup. It would have been a little bit of a letdown had her treatments not worked after last week’s save. But I still wasn’t convinced how they were going to perform. She’s still in pain. And her Viennese waltz get-up looked like Loretta Lynn collided with the aforementioned mirror ball. Melissa herself seemed a little tentative and stiff with the first dance. They got a 27 for their routine, though Len said he wasn’t loving her feet, and Carrie Ann said there was no sense of torque in the upper body (not sure what that meant, but it sounded serious).

Luckily, they really ended things on a high note with their samba. And Melissa looked like she was fresh from Carnivale and was having a blast from beginning to end. The routine totally reminded me of Stacy Keibler’s Season 2 samba, with the shoulder shimmies and the booty shake. And, funny enough, Tony exclaimed he hadn’t had scores like that since ... Season 2 with Stacy Keibler. I thought the dance lost some steam at the end, but the judges could find no fault with it — or with the fact that Melissa suffered a wardrobe malfunction after the routine. “My boob popped out!” she gasped. Bosoms aside, Carrie Ann deemed it “flawless,” and their score sent a spiky-haired Tony (who really seemed to be mugging for the camera, didn’t he?) into a perfect-30 reverie.

“I think the team dance did us in,” acknowledged Chuck Wicks upon discovering that he was the eighth contestant eliminated this season. Despite earning praise for his ballroom dances and steadily making his way up the leader board, voters spoke up in favor of saving the low-scoring Melissa Rycroft, putting the satin pajama-wearing country singer out to pasture instead. This also marks the swan song for partner and real-life girlfriend Julianne Hough, who has said she won’t be returning to "DWTS" next season.

Though was it the team dance that did him in? The producers sure did want to make the distinction that all the members of Team Tango -- chosen as the encore performance for the week -- were deemed safe before any of Team Mambo. And while I loved that that saved Ty & Chelsie from having to endure another whole hour before discovering they were in the clear, I’m not sure I believe that it was just the team dance scores that resigned the contestants to a certain fate. It's not like the mambo was that bad -- I thought it was an absolute hoot. But it certainly doesn't deserve to be treated like a bastard stepchild.

Before finding out the elimination, however, there was the requisite silly filler: a segment where the judges talked about creating the perfect celebrity dancer, and a music video about putting one’s celebrity aside and becoming a celebrity dancer, in which an earnest singer crooned lines like “Where did all my street cred gooo?” and “Mirror ball trophy -- I thought it would be nicer!” Oh, and also featured Gilles in a beret holding a baguette while the French flag waved behind him. The whole thing seemed ridiculous and over the top, which is to say, I kind of liked it. Though why the segment was called “Ballroom Dancers of Genius” was beyond me.

'Dancing With the Stars' results: And then there were five

“I think the team dance did us in,” acknowledged Chuck Wicks upon discovering that he was the eighth contestant eliminated this season. Despite earning praise for his ballroom dances and steadily making his way up the leader board, voters spoke up in favor of saving the low-scoring Melissa Rycroft, putting the satin pajama-wearing country singer out to pasture instead. This also marks the swan song for partner and real-life girlfriend Julianne Hough, who has said she won’t be returning to "DWTS" next season.

Though was it the team dance that did him in? The producers sure did want to make the distinction that all the members of Team Tango -- chosen as the encore performance for the week -- were deemed safe before any of Team Mambo. And while I loved that that saved Ty & Chelsie from having to endure another whole hour before discovering they were in the clear, I’m not sure I believe that it was just the team dance scores that resigned the contestants to a certain fate. It's not like the mambo was that bad -- I thought it was an absolute hoot. But it certainly doesn't deserve to be treated like a bastard stepchild.

Before finding out the elimination, however, there was the requisite silly filler: a segment where the judges talked about creating the perfect celebrity dancer, and a music video about putting one’s celebrity aside and becoming a celebrity dancer, in which an earnest singer crooned lines like “Where did all my street cred gooo?” and “Mirror ball trophy -- I thought it would be nicer!” Oh, and also featured Gilles in a beret holding a baguette while the French flag waved behind him. The whole thing seemed ridiculous and over the top, which is to say, I kind of liked it. Though why the segment was called “Ballroom Dancers of Genius” was beyond me.