Marylander Caity Lynn Fisher and partner Will Snyder won CMT's Can You Duet competition on Friday night. Congrats! (Part of the deal is a recording contract. It seems like reality-TV country crooners seem to find a bit of success in the "real world" -- I just heard Josh Gracin of American Idol on the radio. I'm rooting for these two.)
Just got word that Caitlin Lynn of Glen Burnie (and half of the duo Eighty1 South) is a finalist on CMT's reality competition Can You Duet.
I haven't been watching this one, but you can read Caitlin's blog about the show here.
Also, check out the video above to see the final 8 duos. Caitlin and her partner Will Snynder perform starting around the 3:50 mark.
The show airs Friday nights at 8 on CMT. Have you been watching? What do you think of it so far?
At long, long last, here we are: The final performance show of this season of Dancing With the Stars.
Tonight the final three will do a "cha-cha faceoff" as well as each perform a freestyle dance.
The cha-cha faceoff is first, with all three couples dancing back-to-back during the song "Dancing on the Ceiling."
Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke are the first couple on the floor, and they have a lot of hip-shaking and bare-chest action (his). Then, Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska come out, and they've got all sorts of tricksy moves and body rolls. Lastly, Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas hit the floor, and their routine has a boatload of spins and an amazing amount of energy. The routine ends with Jason and Cristian lifting Kristi up over their heads, which is pretty impressive since they are so tall.
Len Goodman says at his age, it takes a lot to get him excited, but this did it. He says Cristian has great hips and rhythm, and that Jason has a grace about him and style, but he doesn't think Latin is his big thing. He says Kristi was the "complete package." Bruno Tonioli says Cristian "banged like the best" and that he's shown so much improvement. He says Jason's timing was a tad off, but he was still great and athletic. But then he adds that Kristi was in a master class all her own. Carrie Ann Inaba says it was really interesting watching them back to back. She says she thought Cristian was fantastic but that his injury seems to be messing up his posture a bit. She agrees that she feels bad that Jason had this dance since it's his weakest dance, but he still did a good job. She closes saying that Kristi won that, "hands down."
Cristian and Cheryl's scores: 8-9-9, for a 26/30.
Jason and Edyta's scores: 8-8-8, for a 24/30.
Kristi and Mark's scores: 10-10-10, for a 30/30.
Kristi and Mark prepare for the freestyle. When they come out on stage, Kristi is wearing PJs and Mark has on this bizarre bathrobe and fake-abs T-shirt. They rip off these clothes to reveal pinstriped sequined outfits and Converse sneakers. They are all over the place in terms of styles and choreography and have a ton of energy. They pull off a bunch of lifts, and Kristi even boosts Mark for a backflip. It's a little manic, but a blast to watch. Bruno says it was an inspiring match of mambo and hip-hop and that it was "worthy of the championship." Carrie Ann says she was the big crowd-pleaser. "Loved it!" Len says he isn't a lover of hip-hop when it's in a Latin dance, but this held his attention from start to finish, and that he absolutely loved it. Scores: 10-10-10, for a(nother) 30/30 and a total 60/60.
Jason and Edyta aim to have a ton of tricks in their routine, but during practice, Edyta gets dropped a lot. They perform to "Welcome to Miami" (of course). Edyta starts in a pretty sundress and hat, but Jason rips off her dress to reveal a tiny outfit. Their performance is pretty much straight hip-hop with lots of tricks. It's fun, but doesn't nearly have the finesse or range of Kristi and Mark's. And to keep the percentage of people who have their clothes ripped off during the freestyle round at 100 percent, Edyta removes Jason's tank top as the final flourish of their dance. Carrie Ann tells Edyta she's so glad to see her in the finals. She says, "Who knew, Jason Taylor can get funky!" Len says he loved the humor and the lifts and that he could see them together at the beach, Jason in his Speedo, "me in my thong!" Bruno speaks for all viewers when he says, "I'm not going to have dinner tonight!" Bruno says it was like "watching centerfolds, and the dance wasn't bad, either." Scores: 9-9-9, for a 27/30 and a total 51/60.
Cristian and Cheryl are last, with a Latin-themed performance featuring a lot of hip-shaking and an amazing number of one-armed lifts and tricks. But no clothes were ripped off in the making of this performance. Len says he loved the Latin flavor and that he has to take into consideration that the other two had amazing lifts and some of theirs weren't up to par (which he of course has to mention, regardless of the injury since everyone is being judged by the same standards). Bruno says he hasn't seen so much shaking in L.A. since the Northridge earthquake. (Incidentally, this seems like a bad time to make earthquake jokes, but maybe that's just me.) He calls Cristian a Latin stallion. Carrie Ann says that this is all about seeing who leaves it all on the floor and that while they might not have compared to Kristi's performance, Crisitian is a winner in so many ways. Scores: 9-8-9, for a 26/30 and 52/60.
So I think it's unanimous that Kristi took that -- finally a 60/60, and both performances were a total blast.
Who do you think deserves to win? And who do you think will win?
We've got two hours of Dancing With the Stars tonight so the show can celebrate its 100th episode (and host Tom Bergeron's birthday, as I learned on Entertainment Tonight a little while ago. Please don't judge me).
The first hour features the judges' favorite dances from the first five seasons. No. 10 is Kelly Monaco's freestyle from the season one's week six. No. 9 is Sabrina Bryan's paso doble from season five. No. 8 is Emmitt Smith's cha-cha-cha from season three. No. 7 is Apolo Anton Ohno's seaon four quickstep. No. 6 is Joey Fatone's season four jive. No. 5 is Helio Castroneves' season five quickstep (in the giant yellow suit). No. 4 is Drew Lachey's freestyle from season two's finale. No. 3 is Stacy Keibler's season two samba. No. 2 is Mel B's paso doble from season five. No. 1 is Mario Lopez's tango from season three.
I didn't watch the first season, but I learned from this clip show that the standards are a lot higher now. During that Kelly Monaco dance, there were a bunch of parts where they paused to make sure they started the next part together, and she was looking at her partner's feet a bunch. Interesting.
Let's get on with the results show, shall we?
* They kick things off with a big group dance from the pros to "Hard to Handle."
* Montage from last night.
* Backstage, Samantha Harris talks to the five remaining stars, all of whom feel at risk, glad to be there and hope to still be around next week.
* Rascal Flatts performs, and Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough dance along with them. (They rock, by the way.)
* Tom Bergeron talks to a bunch of past cast members, who are in the audience. Stacy Keibler says she emailed George Hamilton to see if he would be around. Lisa Rinna says she is doing lots of cardio ballroom. Jerry Springer says his hip still hurts. Vivica A. Fox says she's retired her stilettos. Joey Fatone says he's still bitter, and Kenny Mayne says he's tired of being Tom's punchline, and Sabrina just gets to say "thank you" after Tom says Kenny used all her time.
* Mario Lopez and the cast of Broadway's A Chorus Line hit the stage to perform.
* Rascal Flatts returns, and Mel B and Maksim Chmerkovskiy dance.
* Kelly Monaco tells Samantha she's for Kristi. Apolo says he's for the athletes, but probably Kristi because he's partial to skaters. Drew says his money is on Cristian.
* Results, finally: Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani are safe, as are Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas. After a break, more results: Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke are safe, which leaves Mario and Jason Taylor as the last two stars standing. Leaving are Mario and Karina Smirnoff, meaning Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska are safe.
* Mario says: "I've had a great time performing on this show, I've had a great partner, we've had some great competition. ... Len, thank you for all your comments. Ultimately, you've helped me become a better ballroom dancer. And the comment about me being brave and being an inspiration for young people. I want to say that the real brave ones are the young men and women fighting for our country."
Well, that's a classy exit for our hometown contestant. How do you feel about the results?
On tonight's Dancing With the Stars, the contestants will take on two dances -- and they'll be allowed one lift per dance. Plus, we'll see how Cristian de la Fuente handles his injured arm.
Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas will be doing quickstep and samba this evening. In the intro footage, Kristi really wants to take advantage of the opportunity to do lifts, but Mark isn't so sure. He finally agrees to add one to their quickstep, which is their first dance. It's fun and fast and seems fairly traditional, though the lift in question ends up being, well, kind of lame after all that buildup. Judge Len Goodman says that dance cheered him up to no end and says it had "great light and shade." Bruno Tonioli says Kristi is a supercandidate with a super ticket for the final. Carrie Ann Inaba liked that they danced toward the judges, but she says that at one point, they got a little hair out of sync. Scores: 9-10-10, for a 29/30.
Mario and Karina Smirnoff practice the jive and the Viennese waltz. Their waltz is first, and he's determined to show that he can be an elegant dancer, since Len said last week that was not his strong point. I'm not a ballroom expert, but he looks pretty dapper to me. Bruno calls him "Prince Mario," and says he had "polish and distinction, poise, restraint." Yeah, he liked it. Carrie Ann says his posture was the best thus far and she thought the lift "completely enhanced your routine." Len says, and I quote, "Normally, your ballroom dancing reminds me a bit of Britney Spears getting out of a car: Not very elegant, you sometimes see odd things you'd rather not, but tonight I thought that was the most elegant I've seen you dance. ... Gorgeous, floating movement, good job." Wow, Len, don't mince any words. Backstage, always on point Samantha Harris tells Mario that he got some fantastic comments from the judges. Um. Eventually. Scores: 9-9-9, for a 27/30.
Host Tom Bergeron: "Coming up, more frightening analogies from Len."
Continue reading "'Dancing With the Stars': week eight performances" »
Guest blogger John-John Williams reports:
He said “fierce.” He called one character a “hot tranny mess.” And more important he was mentioned by name at least a half dozen times during last night’s episode of ABC’s hit Ugly Betty.
Christian Siriano indeed made his mark on the dramedy, which takes a satirical look at the fashion magazine industry through the lives of employees at Mode, a fictional magazine based in New York City.
Although his appearance was pretty brief, he packed in his usual outdated catch phrases. (Seriously, who in their right mind still says “fierce” and “work it”?)
Siriano – accompanied by three stunning models wearing designs that I’m pretty sure he designed – played himself on the episode. (I’m also pretty sure that one of the show’s stars Rebecca Romijn was wearing one of his designs.)
Anywho, writers were able to work Siriano into the storyline by having the Mode editors attempt to persuade the Project Runway winner to unveil some of his new designs in an upcoming issue. Siriano was accompanied by Project Runway judge Nina Garcia, who appeared to be acting as his agent during the show. She described him as a “diva” before he made his entrance.
Siriano is the latest guest star to arrive on the Betty set this season. Others include: Victoria Beckham, who has worn Siriano’s designs in the past; Dawson’s Creek alum James Van Der Beek; and Celebrity Apprentice alum Gene Simmons, who flashed his freakishly long tongue. Diva supermodel and frequent flyer Naomi Campbell is scheduled to appear at the end of this season.
Siriano is definitely part of an eclectic mix.
Guest blogger Karlayne Parker reports:
In planning her wedding, bride Christine Johnson of Baltimore let her wedding planner know Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?
On the Style Network show, which aired earlier this week, this DIY bride relinquished little to Vicky Johnson of area event-planning business holy matrimony on the big day at Tagart Memorial Chapel on the campus of McDonogh School,
Who made the wedding cake? Christine did.
Actually, Christine made just about everything: the cake, the invitations, selected the reception hall (with her fiance), the color scheme for the wedding, and she did her own hair and makeup on her wedding day.
She was very decisive, to say the least.
"I’m trying to take things off her plate but she wants to keep them," Johnson told the reality show cameras. "I’m not going to fight with her."
In the end, Johnson managed to put her organizing skills to work for the bride and groom. There were a few glitches, though.
The episode reairs at 11 a.m. tomorrow on the Style Network. Go to mystyle.com for details on each show.
Guest blogger John-John Williams IV reports:
Christian Siriano, the former Annapolis resident/Project Runway winner/walking stereotype, will be making an appearance tonight on my favorite show, Ugly Betty.
Regardless of your personal feelings about the guy, it is undeniable that he is the most recognizable Project Runway winner ever. I can’t remember the last time a contestant on the show had this much buzz.
Name one who was spoofed on Saturday Night Live (see clip above)? I can’t remember one making national headlines for being a judge for the Miss USA competition. Can you remember the last Runway contestant who hosted awards shows? And now Ugly Betty.
What’s next? Hopefully, we’ll see a successful clothing line. After all, isn’t that why he won the competition?
Despite what all the gossip blogs were saying, Cristian de la Fuente, who was injured last night on Dancing With the Stars, is here for tonight's live show.
During the recap from last night, Cheryl Burke interviews that she heard a crack and thought her dress had ripped or something, and then realized the noise had been from Cristian's arm.
Reprisal time: Len Goodman says they want to see Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska's quickstep.
Results: Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas are safe.
In case you ever wondered if they taped some of this stuff, the supposed backstage promo of Def Leppard and the pros who will be dancing with them includes Cheryl Burke and Karina Smirnoff, but then during the transition to commercial, which returns back to the stage, Cheryl and Karina are on stage with their partners. Whoa.
Then, it's "DanceCenter" with Jerry Rice, Kenny Mayne and Len Goodman.
Then DWtS tries to out-hip Idol and succeeds by about two decades with a "performance" of "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard, though it's some of the saddest lip-syncing I've ever seen, since it sounds like they are just playing the CD.
More "DanceCenter."
Results again: Mario and Karina Smirnoff are safe. (Whew, says Baltimore.)
Def Leppard's back for another performance, this one of a song from the band's new album, which came out today. Woo.
Results: Everyone looks really solemn except for Shannon Elizabeth, who is grinning. After the break, Tom and Samathan talk to Cristian. He says he ruptured the tendon of his bicep. Even so, he found out a few minutes ago that his doctor said he can delay the surgery and stay on the show if the voters have agreed to let him stay. Cristian and Cheryl are indeed safe, Tom reveals. In the bottom two: Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani. Safe: Jason and Edyta. Bottom two: Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough.
Going home: Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough. She says the show has been amazing, and she's made friends for life. Derek says she's been a great partner and she's "a big dork, but I love that."
They dance; she cries.
What do you think about the results?
On tonight's Dancing With the Stars, the contestants have to take on two dances -- one Latin and one ballroom.
Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani are doing the tango and the rumba this week. In the intro, Marissa says she is mixing up the two and she's afraid she's going to go out there and "do the rumbango!" The tango is their first performance, and the theatricality of it really suits Marissa. Also, she seems to have grasped the precision of the dance's steps; it's great. Judge Len Goodman says their expectations are still high even though they are doing two dances. He sums up: "Three words: your best dance." Bruno Tonioli says they had "drama, passion and a hint of disdain." Carrie Ann Inaba says something has come out of her and that it was "a wonderful performance" that showed a new side of her. Scores: 9-9-9, for a 27/30.
Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke prepare for the Viennese waltz and the samba. In another weird moment, in the intro, Cheryl says that the Viennese waltz should be like him dancing with his daughter, and then there is footage of him getting a pep talk from his little girl. But for the performance, Cristian and Cheryl dance to "I'll Make Love to You." Um, OK. But back to the dance. It's romantic and flowy (and points to the wardrobe people for Cheryl's dress, which complements their movements). Bruno calls him "South America's Clark Gable" and says they had great movement. Carrie Ann says he's found "new fluidity," but that they lacked just a hair of energy. Len says the dance had a bit of romance, but it lacked content. Scores: 8-8-9, for a 25/30.
Continue reading "'Dancing With the Stars': week seven performances" »
It's time again for eliminations on Dancing With the Stars, and it could be a surprise since so many people stepped up their scores and a couple of others faltered.
Here's the rundown on the evening's activities:
* Reprised dance? The country-and-western group performance, of course.
* Ashlee Simpson sings, and some pros (including Artem from So You Think You Can Dance) accompany her on the dance floor.
* Results: Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough are safe. Marlee Matlin and Fabian Sanchez, however, are in the bottom two.
* Backstage, Shannon and Derek apologize for their heated comments after last night's show about how the critiques were unfair (Shannon) and that the judges were giving 9s and 10s to people doing "heel-leads" and ridiculous arm movements (Derek).
* Then there's a performance by some of the dancers from Riverdance.
* The junior competition continues with the 13 and younger category. Brandon and Brittany dance the cha-cha, and Austin and Liza dance the samba. The judges choose Brandon and Brittany to go forward.
* Montage of what it's like for the judges.
* More results: Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani are safe, and so are Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke (so yay, we are saved from Len showing his bum in the supermarket, which he said he would do if Cristian was in the bottom two).
* After a break, more results: Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas are safe. Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska are also safe, leaving Mario and Karina Smirnoff in the bottom two.
* And ousted from the competition are: Marlee and Fabian.
What do you think of the results? I'm sad for Marlee, though not shocked since she did have a rough couple of weeks. Still, I thought her fan base might pull her through. But I'm glad Mario is still in it -- he's been getting better and better, and of course, he is our hometown contestant.
It's a night of two dances -- first each couple has to take on a dance they haven't tried before, and then there will be a big group country-and-western number.
Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska take on the cha-cha for the first time this season. In their preparations, they focus a lot on judge Len Goodman's comment last week that Jason didn't dance enough -- that too often he was just kind of there while Edyta danced around him. That is not a problem in this performance, which is fun and kicky and has way more hip action than most cha-chas I remember on this show. Len says this week definitely had enough content and that they captured the flavor of the dance, though his heart went out to Jason a couple of times when he could tell Jason was counting, but still, he calls it a "marvelous job." Bruno Tonioli says Jason always seems heroic, but they showed much more personality this week. He does agree that the missteps were a problem. Carrie Ann Inaba says Jason needs to work harder to keep his arms in check and to dance bigger. Scores: 8-8-8, for a 24/30.
Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough prepare to dance the rumba, and Shannon is concerned since she had a rough time last week. Speaking of last week, several of the contestants had trouble with the rumba last Monday, mostly because its slow speed revealed a lot of flaws. I think it largely worked for Shannon tonight and let her really extend her long limbs more gracefully. But let's see what the pros think. Bruno says they had a lot of romantic interplay, but that they had the cardinal sin of the rumba: no hip action. Carrie Ann says she needs to go beyond her potential and that she has "the ability to make great shapes, you just have to sustain them." Len says he loved the start and that they were "all over each other like a rash." Despite the lack of hip action and moments that lacked fluidity, he says they did a good job. Co-host Samantha Harris asks them just how close they have become (referring to the steamy photos of them on the beach that recently surfaced). Derek says they were on the beach practicing and in character and that was all. Scores: 8-8-8, for a 24/30.
Continue reading "'Dancing With the Stars': week six performances" »
Lutherville native Greg Plitt made his debut in the third-season premiere of Work Out last night. (Find a video preview and a link to an interview with him here.)
He admitted in the story that the show is all about the drama (real drama? manufactured drama?), but it was still pretty surprising to see him, as the new guy, in the first episode:
* Taking off his shirt during his first training session with a client
* Butting heads with gym owner (and star of the show) Jackie Warner over the new staff uniforms (which she designed herself).
* Showing up late to a party with coworkers -- and bringing a client as a date.
Off to a good start, dude.
And a little note for reality-TV synergy fans: How weird was it to see Sarah Kozer from Joe Millionaire again? (She was training in the gym.) Like it's not already weird enough to see Rebecca from The Amazing Race on this show!
What did you think of the premiere?
Somebody's going home tonight on Dancing With the Stars, and there are a lot of options after all the leader-board shuffling.
Here's how everything went down:
* The reprised dance of the evening is Kristi and Mark's rumba, which I can't really argue with.
* Ozomatli (I forgot how many people are in that band!) performs, and a whole ton of the pros come out to dance.
* Results: Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas are safe, and Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke are in the bottom two.
* The Dancing With the Stars Junior competition continues with the 10 and younger group.
* Host Tom Bergeron has a TelePrompTer problem and pitches it to results instead of a montage of what show day is like.
* Now it's time for those results: Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska are safe.
* James Blunt performs, accompanied by some pros.
* More results: Mario and Karina Smirnoff are safe, as are Marissa Jaret Winokur and Tony Dovolani. Then a break, then, more results. Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough are safe, as are Marlee Matlin and Fabian Sanchez, leaving Priscilla Presley and Louis van Amstel in the bottom two.
* And the ejected couple is: Priscilla and Louis. Not the biggest surprise after being in the bottom two last week.
What do you think of the results?
Lutherville native Greg Plitt joins the cast of Work Out as the newest trainer in Jackie Warner's gym in L.A. Greg talked to reporter Meredith Cohn for today's story.
Check out a clip from the show above.
It's Latin night on Dancing With the Stars, which means the couples will be taking on the samba and the rumba. (Also, it's the halfway point, woo.)
Mario and Karina Smirnoff are up first, hoping to impress Len Goodman with their samba. In the interview, he says he feels the judges are wanting to see something special from him and he doesn't think he's given it to them yet. In the lead-in footage, Mario visits Stevie Wonder for some inspiration, after which he says, "I've got my swagger back." Th
