Dancing with the Stars Season 11 Cast

Tom and Brooke, the enthusiastic hosts

During a “live press conference” during the Bachelor Pad (don’t get me started on that show), our fave hosts Brooke and Tom revealed the new cast of season 11 of DWTS.  Mr. Feeny and I are both disappointed, and I don’t think I’ll be watching this season.  But here are your stars:

Michael Bolton (Michael Bolton)

Brandy (singer/actress)

Margaret Cho (comedian)

Rick Fox (NBA Star)

Jennifer Grey (actress)

David Hasselhoff (don’t hassle the Hoff)

Florence Henderson (actress, singer, author…doesn’t ring a bell)

Kyle Massey (Disney Channel child star)

Bristol Palin (teenage mother)

Audrina Partridge (actress/MTV Star)

Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino (Jersey Shore MTV Star)

Kurt Warner (NFL Star)

I do harbor a secret old man crush on Kurt Warner, and am kind of dying of curiosity to see if Bristol Palin would be any good, but none of these stars really grab me.  I think Brandy and Jennifer Grey will probably be some of the best dancers, but it’s anybody’s game.

Mirror Ball Awarded

Season 10 of Dancing with the Stars ended last night with the grand finale episode on ABC.  The coveted mirror ball trophy was, after an episode that was twice as long as it needed to be, awarded to Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough.  No surprise there, but Nicole is such a dynamic performer that I was rooting her for most of the season.  Evan Lysacek and his partner Anna got second, while Erin Andrews and Maks got third.

The finale also featured painful performances by the stars [un?]lucky enough to get kicked off before the finals.  Kate Gosselin’s dance was far and away the worst.  1) Was she even trying?  2) Why did she climb the camera platform?

The dance starts at 3:12.

I have to say, the finale was not nearly as exciting as Monday’s show which featured the freestyle section.  Watch Nicole and Derek’s athletic freestyle below.  Talk about daring.  The dance starts at :55.

I loved watching this season, and it’s great to know that amidst American Idol’s slumping numbers, game show/competition/reality/whatever you want to call it television is alive and well.

This season was so amazing on DWTS, who do you think they’ll get next season?

Dancing into the Finals

Tonight we’ll find out who gets eliminated (totally gonna be Ochocinco) just shy of next week’s finale of Dancing with the Stars.  However, last night was a great night of dancing, so I thought I’d share my reactions and some of my favorite dances.

Nicole continues to wow the judges, and her incredibly athletic Argentine Tango earned her a perfect 30.

For her ballroom dance, Nicole put a sassy spin on Prince, another awesome performance.  (Fast forward to 3:00 for the dance.)  She’s an all-around great performer and going to be very difficult to beat.  Bruno Tonioli (my fave part of the show) called Nicole “sexylicious.”

Evan demonstrated to the judges that he can be sexy and connect with the music wowing the judges with his dominant paso doble.  (Fast foward to about 3:20 for the actual dance.)  Consensus among my friends is that the very last part of the dance is the best.  He’s all, ‘oh yah, who’s next?’  (I know some volunteers, Mr. Lysacek.)

Erin also danced a great paso doble that the judges praised highly, but I don’t think anyone’s going to catch up to Nicole.  This is my first time ever watching this show, but boy what a treat this season has been.  It mustn’t be nearly this entertaining when they don’t have people as good as Nicole, Erin, and Evan.

The Perfect Fox Trot

On Dancing with the Stars last night, my friends and I all agreed that Nicole Scherzinger’s first dance was perhaps our favorite one all season.  It told a great story, was totally adorable, and just amazing.

The judges granted her a perfect 30.  Watch the dance below:

The dancers also had to dance a latin dance based on an era.  Nicole and Derek danced a 50s paso doble, which was also fantastic.  They really captured the era.  Watch it below:

Also, yes, I’m totally obsessed with this show.  LOVE IT.

Predictions Confirmed

Pamela Anderson has been voted off of Dancing with the Stars.

Evan Davis owes me a beer.

Just thought you should know.

Nothing to Celebrate anymore

Tangoing back to the top

Evan Lysacek earned this week’s top dance on Dancing with the Stars.  In a delightfully (and surprisingly) sexy dance, Evan proved he isn’t just an ice ballerina.  His dance earned a PERFECT 30 from the judges!  This is the first perfect score this season.

Watch the dance here.

As a sidenote, since I’ve last blogged Kate Gosselin and Jake Pavelka have bid tearful goodbyes to DWTS.  And yes, both of them cried.  Erin Andrews has since proven that she’s a real contender.

Who will be eliminated tonight?  Pamela Anderson is my guess.  And I’m pretty confident.  So confident I’ve bet a beer on this elimination show.

Pretty Woman

Last night, Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger and her pro partner Derek earned 29 out of a possible 30 points on Dancing with the Stars.  Thought you might like to see their impressive dance.  She’s definitely going to win this season.

BTW, since I’ve last posted, Buzz Aldrin and Aiden Turner have been kicked off.  My money is on Kate Gosselin (as much as I love watching her because she’s such a trainwreck) to be kicked off tonight.

Just Thought You Should Know

• That ABC’s Dancing with the Stars was last week’s most-watched show on television, recording 23.9 million viewers.  (Sadly including me.)
• That 90210‘s Shannon Doherty was the first dancer eliminated, despite Buzz Aldrin and Kate Gosselin being much worse than she was.
• That, after watching footage of her with her dance partner, Kate Gosselin is every bit as bitchy as you would think she would be.
• That Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek is totally adorable and every bit as good at dancing as you would think he would be.
• That I, like Bachelor Jake Pavelka, have been bitten by the dancing bug and love watching this show.
• That I kind of adored the glittery bolero jacket with ‘Ochocinco’ embroidered on the back that Chad Ochocinco wore last night to dance the Paso Doble.

Hang up your dancing shoes, Shannon

OK, that’s all.  Just thought you should know.

New Season of Dancing with the Stars Revealed

Ice to the floor

Season 10 ballroom noobs.  Here they are, folks:

Pamela Anderson, “the world’s sexiest woman” [Don't boobs like that get in the way of dancing?]

Chad Ochocinco, “football’s most outrageous” [And this season's token NFL player.]

Aiden Turner, “the soap star” [Who???]

Erin Andrews, “ESPN broadcaster”

Shannen Doherty, “The Beverly Hills bad girl”

Buzz Aldrin, “the original moonwalker” [The moonwalk is not a ballroom dance.  Just FYI.]

Niecy Nash, “Reno 911’s funniest”

Nicole Scherzinger, “the Pussycat Doll”

Evan Lysacek, “the Olympic golden boy” [Wow.  He's an ice skater.  He'll totally win.  Also, I may just watch to see him.]

Kate Gosselin, “reality’s most-watched super-mom” [She's that desperate, really?]

Jake Pavelka “the Bachelor” [Really?  He won't be too busy with fiancee Vienna 'the horse face'?]

Donny Osmond Dances to the Top

As I picked back in August, Donny Osmond was crowned the ninth champion of Dancing with the Stars last night. As much as I like Donny, I never got to watch this season. Too many shows on my list — especially on Monday — to set aside time for a very long reality show. But my mother kept me informed all season long.

Apparently, while other competitors like Mya jumped way ahead and kept wowwing judges week-in and week-out, Donny treated the season as a marathon. Despite his stage background, learning the dance steps came a little harder for him than the pop singer. So he progressively got better each week, with his legions of fans keeping him in it. Truly, he’s just too darn charming to vote off.

But, he really did become a great dancer by the end of it. His first and only perfect score came with his very final dance. What a way to go. And although his final night of performances netted 13 less points than Mya from the judges, that was no problem for the voting public to overcome. Donny’s stint on Dancing with the Stars was long-awaited and I’m glad he didn’t disappoint. I just wish I had had time to see him.

Again, with Hulu, I can’t put videos directly into our post. So see the video player to the right for Donny’s final show-stopping number…or visit this link.