DWTS Week 10

This is it! The Top 4 have been announced for next week's finale and we are ready to talk about what happened last night. We tried to get Tristan MacManus on this week, but his rehearsal schedule is going to prevent him from appearing. Sasha Farber was also in the mix, but he's heading to New Jersey today to rehearse with Snooki. This is the first day many of the eliminated pros are being reunited with their celebs for the finale, so it was a challenge nailing them down.

However, we do have a return guest who kicked off our season, Julz Tocker! He's here in the U.S. this week and I thought we had to take advantage of that…and to all of the people who were tweeting me to get him on--I heard you!

So get those questions in for Julz who was at the show last night (And sitting behind Carrie Ann, did you see him?)
I'm open to taking questions for Anna, too. (And see at how amazing our Mama-to-be looks in Us Weekly.)

The whole crew will be back in studio this week and for the finale next week. It will be a great way to wrap up the season.

Get your questions in the comments section below. See you tonight on AfterBuzz TV at 8 p.m. PT!

NOTE: Next week's show will be at a special time due to the 2-night finale. Finale show is on Wednesday, Nov. 27 at 2 p.m. PT.

Dance Chat: DWTS Judging

Let's chat about Dancing With the Stars voting. I'm frustrated and I know I'm not the only one. For some reason, Len has decided to take his TV antics to another level. We talked about it on last week's AfterBuzz show, but some of you think we are only bringing it up because it involves Derek Hough. That's actually not the case. It's not fair when it's done to any pro whether it was Maks or Val or Anna, who talked about her own experience in our Week 6 episode. In fact, I personally think Karina was the pro most battered in scoring by the inconsistent judging last week.

I don't even want to single out Len on this because Carrie Ann is also guilty of inconsistent scoring when it comes to lifts. It's all or nothing...you have to judge all pros the same. With the direction these two are going, the dance is becoming solely about the pro and not about the celeb.

I have no problem with the pros being judged on their choreography since I believe their creativity and talent can bring out the best in their celeb. If the pro has an off-week in the studio, the celeb usually does. Look at the difference with someone like Leah in Week 5 versus Week 6. A better choreographed routine makes a world of difference no matter how strong the celeb is as a dancer. With that said, the celeb also needs constructive feedback each week to know how they can improve. The judges need to find a balance somehow. Right now, Bruno is looking like the only rational one on the panel. How is that even possible?

Since I'm not the only one who has been frustrated by the judging panel this season, I was brainstorming about how to fix this mess outside of the obvious thought of getting new judges for the show.

1. If you want to stick to ballroom rules, then require the pro to follow certain guidelines with each dance. The list of elements would also be disclosed to the judges and the viewers. This would cut down on the inconsistent scoring since the judges and the pros would know what to follow.  I also think this is a boring choice.

2. Have DWTS finally admit that the dances are a freestyle version of ballroom and other forms of dance. Allow the pros to imagine a dance to its full potential instead of worrying about Carrie Ann calling out a lift or Len arguing over repetitive movement. This idea makes me more excited about what all of the pros could come up with. You want to get nominated for an Emmy? This is a direction that has limitless potential.

While neither of these options will ever be executed, a girl can dream.

As for this week's surprise announcement, I'm going for a guest judge. Maks would probably be a good guess. (And he is in LA right now...hmmm, wonder why?)  It would also balance out the Julianne/Mark/Derek factor with the Dance With Me Studio crew.

Let me know your thoughts on the judging issues on DWTS...how would you fix the show?

See you all on Tuesday on AfterBuzz TV!

DWTS: It's Time To End The Zendaya Debate

Enough with Zendaya.

She's not a ringer, she's a girl who has had Hip Hop classes. I might take this debate more seriously if she were a trained ballet dancer or ballroom dancer, but it's time to stop.  Here are my reasons for ending the Zendaya discussion on DWTS:

1. It's a TV show: Having great dancers and bad dancers all lumped into one variety show is fun. I cheered on Andy Dick as much as I have cheered Zendaya and Kellie Pickler this season.  I did make fun of Sean Lowe's dancing a bit, but it made for some interesting topics of discussion on our AfterBuzz TV show.
    And guess what? By constantly debating that "Zendaya is a ringer" and "Kellie is being underscored"(Although the "7" from Len was ridiculous, it also made for good TV.) topics, you are playing into exactly what ABC wants...controversy.  It makes for good television and it gets us all watching each week.
    One other argument is that ABC wants to promote its own network stars. If you look at the statistics, this is a bad argument.  Let's look at the ABC stars who have won DWTS:  Season 1 Kelly Monaco, General Hospital. That's it, kids.  You could argue Melissa Rycroft from Season 15 as she is a former ABC employee with The Bachelor franchise/former GMA & Bachelor Pad host, but ABC has not used her in that capacity since April 2012. If there were a series of ABC winners, I would agree with you. 1 winner out of 15 does not make for an ABC push for a winner.
 
Supplemental reading: Carrie Ann Inaba talks Kellie Pickler 

2.  Zendaya Hears You:  If you think this 16-year-old doesn't hear your criticism, she does...and she takes it personally.  If you read her Access Hollywood blog, she knows exactly what is going on in the forums.  I feel badly for her because I remember being 16 and we don't need to help anyone's teen insecurities along.

Supplemental reading: Zendaya's blog

Even with dance training, Zendaya doesn't have lines like Kellie does. Beautiful!

3.  Twitter followers:  Yep, Zendaya has more followers than anyone, but she's also of a generation that is more tuned into social media than say...Wynonna's fans.  Different generations, different demographics, different use of social media.
      I know many of you are upset that Zendaya got Hip Hop this week. She asked for it, the fans gave it to her. Aly asked for Afro-Jazz, Kellie asked for Flamenco, everyone got the exact dance they wanted. While Flamenco might be harder for Kellie than Hip Hop is for Zendaya, it is Derek who wanted this dance. He has something in mind choreographically just the same way Mark wanted to try Afro-Jazz on Aly.  They know their partner's strengths.
      Also, ABC is trying to keep up with the times and keep this show as interactive as possible for all of the fans.  Twitter is social media site that keeps growing while Facebook's growth has stagnated over the last two years, that's why they are using it for voting.  While not every experiment on DWTS works, I like that they are trying to keep current and relevant.

Supplemental reading: Carrie Ann Inaba names best DWTS dancer ever

Honestly, I would rather talk about the great dancing we are seeing from Zendaya and Kellie this season and how much I've enjoyed watching them each week.  Val and Derek have both stepped up their game choreographically and it's been a treat for the viewers.  With two weeks left, let's end the debate and see who's going to come out on top.  Remember last year, we all thought Shawn Johnson was going to win.

Let's end the debate. You are missing some good dancing.

Okay, your turn to comment. Please post in the comments below...

UPDATE:  Thanks for all of your responses so far. While some of you agree with me, I want to address those that don't agree with me...of course, I respect your opinion. However, hurling insults my way weakens your case. Instead, why don't you comment below and give me some facts to back up your argument.  I am totally up for rational discussions. It's refreshing to hear a different perspective when it's done with respect.  

The other thing you must remember is that I compliment both Zendaya and Kellie in this post. I like them both. I haven't chosen sides.  

I also want to disclose I have interviewed Zendaya many times, so I was very familiar with her work pre-DWTS. If you want to see some of that coverage, go here and here. 

Anyway, thanks for all of your feedback. I appreciate it!