Dancing with the Stars power rankings: Country Night chaos
Never mind the surfeit of high scores on Dancing with the Stars’ Country Night. We’re here to talk about the eliminations in particular.
Country music has enjoyed a special status on Dancing with the Stars since early seasons — Drew Lachey and Cheryl Burke’s famous freestyle comes to mind — but whether or not it needs an entire night is still up for debate, at least for this writer.
All the same, some couples really embraced the theme more than others in styling and even in dances. Meanwhile, others tried, but didn’t really get there. That’s before we get to the team dances, which were certainly a thing (to put it mildly).
Moreover, ahead of the semifinals, there was a double elimination which should have fans up in arms.
Eliminated: John Schneider and Emma Slater: 25
Okay, John literally commented that a jazz routine set to John Denver might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” This was a lot more of an old-school country song and an old-school jazz routine. Don’t think we didn’t spot those jazz hands, Emma!
But there was comedy to it, and he performed the hell out of the song, too. It was, without a doubt in this writer’s mind, a great number.
“That’s the way to open a show,” Len praised. “It was really custom-made to make you shine,” Bruno said, before praising Emma in particular for putting the routine together.
Look, throughout these power rankings, John and Emma have never really made it past the middle tier, but considering who stayed and who didn’t, this still seems unfair.
DeMarcus Ware and Lindsay Arnold: 27
DeMarcus, as he noted, has some seriously country roots, and it’s not just because he played for the Dallas Cowboys. However, he didn’t need the energy so much as the charm that Bruno alluded to in his comments for this Viennese waltz. Did his frame occasionally seem a bit out of whack? Sure, and there seemed to be a lack of hold at points. But as a performance? This was absolutely his best dance. There was a grace to it, and he matched the song well.
“It was so dynamic and so poetic,” Carrie Ann said, and then Len basically asked for more Viennese waltz in the Viennese waltz. “You really dance like a true gentleman,” Bruno added. Although the judges dubbed his Halloween dance the turning point, this one absolutely showed much more progress in this viewer’s eyes.
This writer would like to file a protest with the relevant Dancing with the Stars authorities about this one. (I also wanted to file one when Tinashe got eliminated, but now we’re just beyond belief.)