Reality Show Round-up: The X Factor and Dancing with the Stars All Stars Edition

It was a good week and a bad week for my weekly reality show roundup. I guess I would like to start with the bad and end on a good note.

The bad was The X Factor eliminations. Paige Thomas going home: not entirely surprising. Vino Alan going home: criminal. The category this week was number one hits, and several of the contestants had a solid week. My theory is that Paige went home because despite the fact that she had her strongest week ever vocally, it was too little too late. I actually loved her version of Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley. It was so beautifully her style, and if that's the artist that Paige wants to be, I would buy her record. Vino sang You've Lost That Loving Feeling, which nothing against the greatness of that song, but that wasn't the right song for Vino. He needed to be singing something that was more a combination of soul and rock.

My three favorite performances of the week were:
Tate Stevens singing Somebody Like You by Keith Urban-- It was great to see Tate finally have some fun on stage.
Paige Thomas singing Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley-- Simon said it all when he said, you looked and sounded like a legit pop star. I'm sorry to see her go.
Fifth Harmony singing Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You) by Kelly Clarkson-- The girl group grows and improves each passing week, Simon has true diamonds in the rough in his hands.

Now for the good news! Dancing with the Stars All Stars had an amazing finale; it was an all girl finale. Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough, Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy, and Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani squared off in the finals this week. After 14 seasons, Tony walked away with his first mirror ball, a well deserved one as he and Melissa, the only non champion in the group, won. Kelly came in third place; she gave tons of credit to Val saying that he made someone who can barely stand on her feet, dance. Shawn and Derek were the runners up in what is supposed to be Derek's final season. I love how Tom Bergeron announced the winner, and now they've won....... and the question was two or too? It was too. I've never seen a couple want it more and lead from start to finish. Melissa worked her tail off this season, and her amazing abs, and Tony's choreography was nothing short of impressive. It was perhaps his best choreography ever. The celebration was huge, Tony looked like a young boy celebrating on Christmas and Melissa was all smiles as well. What was even better was when the two appeared on Jimmy Kimmel. For a laugh, check out the video below.

Dancing with the Stars All Stars Season 15 Week 2

Week two for me was difficult to watch. There was no dance that was particularly great, well, maybe Gilles and Peta's Jive. What I will say is that I don't quite understand what the judges are looking for. The scores were odd, it seemed like everyone was 7.5.

Twelve couples danced and I am going to separate them into thirds based on who I felt was best.

Top third

Gilles and Peta danced a Jive-- Even injured, Gilles knows how to pull off a performance. Len said Gilles' Jive had attack, dynamic, and that it was fast and fabulous. Carrie Ann thought he had the best kicks of the night. Bruno commented, "let the good times roll".
Score: 8.5, 8.5, 8.5 = 25.5

Melissa and Tony danced a Jive-- Although they danced first, their score and the quality of their dance held up. It was beautiful. Len felt Melissa set the bar high, and that she had good energy, and the dance was full of technique. Bruno said it was one of the best Jives he's seen, but said there were a few missteps. Carrie Ann said she was made to Jive and told Tony his choreography was great.
Score: 8, 8, 7.5 = 23.5

Apolo and Karina danced a Quickstep-- The best Quickstep of the night and Apolo had the best footwork of the night. His feet were so tight and so precise, as Len said, he was gold medal worthy and had speed and control. Bruno thought his determination, focus, and hard work paid off; he also commented about his amazing footwork. Carrie Ann said he put his competition pants on.
Score: 8.5, 8, 8 = 24.5

tie:

Sabrina and Louie danced a Jive-- I thought this was a bit over-scored in comparison to the other couples in this top third. She did have fantastic lines as Carrie Ann mentioned. Bruno said the variations were incredible. This is the highest scoring dance so far.
Score: 9, 8.5, 8.5 = 26

and

Shawn and Derek danced a Jive-- Len said there was just enough Jive, content, and technique. Bruno called it exhilarating, eye popping, and lots of synchronicity. Carrie Ann agreed with Bruno and dubbed them "All Star" sweethearts. I personally loved the quickness of this, and loved that Shawn took risks and went out there and did something daring.
Score: 8.5, 8, 8.5 = 25

Middle third
 
Helio and Chelsie danced a Jive-- This was an improvement over last week; however, there were still some parts where he and Chelsie weren't in sync. Len said he provided style, joy, fun, and entertainment.
Score: 8, 7.5, 7.5 = 23

Kelly and Val danced a Quickstep-- Bruno thought it was extremely elegant and very pretty. Carrie Ann urged Kelly to extend all the way through her lines because she is so small; she needs to be sure to dance big. Len liked when she was out of hold as well as her spins , and called it a good job well done. She was a little bit underscored.
Score: 7.5, 7.5, 7.5 = 22 

Joey and Kym danced a Quickstep-- It was a fantastic performance Carrie Ann said, but it went out of sync in some areas. Len enjoyed the dance despite his bad posture and sloppy footwork. You do entertainment, Bruno exclaimed, you're fun, big, and bold. I agree with Bruno, Joey can dance, but he needs to stop making the little mistakes. I am going to say it again though, he was underscored.
Score: 7.5, 7.5, 7.5 = 22.5

Bottom third

Emmitt and Cheryl danced a Quickstep-- This was a disappointment from last week. The reason being, and Len said it, the technicalities lacked, but the style didn't. So the danced looked good, but it wasn't executed correctly. Bruno though his chemistry with Cheryl was red hot. Carrie Ann said the race car driver and the speed skater were better than him tonight.
Score: 7.5, 7.5, 7.5 = 22.5

Drew and Anna danced a Jive-- It was powerful like Bruno said, but I feel like the old Drew isn't quite back yet. Len warned him to walk on the balls of his feet, and  and felt that he was wouldn't be in the bottom two.
Score: 7.5, 7.5, 7.5 = 22.5

Kirstie and Maks danced a Quickstep-- There was indeed a big improvement from last week. Bruno felt it was played beautifully, and Len found it to be neat, precise, and chock full of jive.
Score: 7, 7, 7 = 21

Bristol and Mark danced a Quickstep-- Bristol has so much more confidence than she had last time she was on the show. Bruno said it was different, but the frame was not good. She needs to work full force on technique.

Score: 6, 6, 6 = 18


My bottom three: Bristol and Mark, Kirstie and Maks, and Drew and Anna