Dancing With The Stars: The Semi-Finals

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Dancing With The Stars comes at us this week with the seventh week of the competition, the semi-finals in which we have our four remaining couples going for the three spots on next week's finale. This week's competition got even tougher for our remaining dancers. Not only had they had to learn one, but this time around they had to learn two dances. The second performed solo just like the first, not in a group like the previous two weeks. The dancers know that time is now growing short, so they must put their best foot forward if they want to succeed. Let's talk about this week's performances.

Stacy Keibler opened this week's show with a Quickstep. She is definitely on top of her game, and she has been the favorite to win this competition with two perfect scores the last two weeks. Her Quickstep was good, but it also earned her lowest scores in recent weeks. She's come under scrutiny the past week or two because it has come to light that she has extensive dance training in her background. Some are wondering if this is fair to her competitors. The only other competitor with some dance background is Drew Lachey, a former bandmember of the boyband 98 degrees. Stacy's second performance of the night, the Cha Cha Cha, earned her a higher score, but we didn't see a perfect thirty again this week. Has Stacy peaked too soon?

Next up, we had Jerry Rice. Now he may not be the best dancer left in this competition, but he certainly does put effort into it. He is fun to watch, and you can tell he has fun out there. I think the judges were a bit harsh to him this week. He knows he isn't the best compared to the other three, but he is having fun out there. That said, I think it is time for Jerry to go home. No, he isn't the best left, but I commend him for his effort. I've truly enjoyed watching him. Tonight, Jerry performed the tango and Rumba, and he didn't do all that well, but he still had the audience applauding him. In the beginning, I actually wondered about him and how he would do, and I was truly surprised by how well he did do.

Lisa and Louie came up next, and I agree with the judges when they say she is the most improved of the dancers. She is a joy to watch. I've actually met Lisa in the past, and she has the greatest personality. I'd love to see her win this thing, and I think it is possible she could. Tonight, she performed the FoxTrot and Cha Cha Cha with her partner, and they came in third with the scores. However, she is only two points behind our two leaders. She definitely has a shot to pull it off. You can see she has put a lot of herself into this competition, and I hope she makes it through to the finals. Last week kind of scared me when she was in the bottom two. That was a shock to see. Let's hope she is able to stick around for the finals.

The last performance of the night was by Drew Lachey. He also scored the highest score of the night with his Rumba. He was a bit concerned about it, but he did well. he is the best male dancer of the competition, and I wouldn't be too shocked if he won this week. His FoxTrot received one of his lowest scores in recent weeks, but his Rumba put him in a tie with Stacy.

This competition is really anyone's game at this point. Stacy, Drew and Lisa all have a shot of winning the final next week. That is if all three are there next week. We know the viewer vote can change everything? Are the viewers that behind Jerry Rice to keep him in the competition for the finals? I truly hope not. As much as I love him, the top three I've mentioned truly belong in next week's grand finale. Check back tomorrow night on the results show to see who America sends home.

Combined Scores:

Stacy Keibler - 55
Jerry Rice - 41
Lisa Rinna - 53
Drew Lachey - 55