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Access Atlanta > American Idol Buzz > Archives > 2008 > September > 22
Monday, September 22, 2008
9/23: “Dancing With the Stars” first impressions, Brittenum twins on “Maury,”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I know some of you watch “Dancing With the Stars.” I usually catch the first week or two, usually to see the comic relief (e.g. Jerry Springer, Adam Corolla) and catch it on occasion afterwards. Then I get bored. Tonight was actually fairly entertaining. This is a fun crew.
Here are my initial impressions from the 13 couples tonight, from best to worst in terms of judge’s scores. Surprises: Warren Sapp was nible on his feet and Cloris Leachman held her own. Jeffrey Ross is almost certain to go home with Rocco Dispirito needing a great performance tomorrow to save himself.
—Hot model and former “Rock Star” hostess Brooke Burke has four kids. Who would have thunk it? She has memory problems, she noted in the pre-dance interview. It wasn’t a terribly complex routine but she’s hot and did a perfectly fine job. Judges were really into it and gave her a solid 23.
-‘N Sync singer Lance Bass hooks up with Lacey Schwimmer, who was a competitor on rival network Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance.” Figures ABC doesn’t bother mentioning that in the mini-bio on the show. Bass’s group mate Joey Fatone came in second a couple seasons back. Can Bass do as well? I think he acquitted himself well for a first shot. Very clean, very energetic. Traditionalist Len didn’t like the cha-cha choreography while Carrie Ann said, “Hot! Hot! Hot!” Score: 22 (Len’s 6 dragged his score down.)
—Former Atlantan Toni Braxton does a song and dance routine at the Flamingo in Vegas so she has the skills. The judges knew it, giving her a solid first-week total of 22. She’s going to be around at least halfway through, I’d fathom.
-Volleyball Olympic medal winner Misty May-Treanor harped on her muscles and lack of “girly-ness” but she shone on the dance floor. She got a well deserved 21.
-Proving yet again that NFL stars can dance, Tampa Bay Buccaneer Warren Sapp lit up the stage with charisma and style and got a 21, too.
-Bootylicious reality TV star Kim Kardashian will probably last awhile simply because she’s Kim Kardashian. Why that matters we’re still trying to figure out but she is a pretty gal. She did better than I expected. “There was no chemistry between you two,” Len said. Bruno said she has to sell herself better. She gets a respectable 19.
—“Hannah Montana” star Cody Linley, the youngest competitor, was paired with country star and two-time DWTS winner Julianne Hough. He has energy and a great smile and got a decent 18. He could last awhile.
—Olympic track star Maurice Green was passable, great stage presence. Judges didn’t like the fact the “fox trot” part was stiff. He got an 18, which is a good, not great, score. He’s not terribly well known so that might hurt him in the voting.
-TV star Ted McGinley (“Love Boat,” “Married… With Children”) was a bit spotty but had his moments. He gets the average score of the night of 18. He’ll be around awhile.
-Holy moly! Oscar/Emmy winner Cloris Leachman is by far the oldest contestant to compete and we hope she doesn’t break anything. She looks great. While she’s not moving very quickly, she’s very elegant. You know she’ll be around awhile because how can you not root for her? (And vote for her!) She gives Bruno some leg, then stands right in front of Len, who is so distracted, he says, “Mind your cleavage!” Yes, that’s 82-year-old cleavage! “I always wanted to be a boy toy,” he joked. Cloris then sat on Carrie Ann’s lap. Hilarious! She only got a 16 and she cursed, which was bleeped. Even more hilarious! Keep her around, America!
-Soap star Susan Lucci looked graceful but was a bit cautious in the performance. The judges pinged her with a 15.
—Chef Rocco Dispirito was a bit stiff and off beat but not bad. Len gave him only a 4 and the other two gave him 5’s so he only had a 14. There’s definitely room for improvement if he sticks around but it’s unknown if the public in general will flood the phone lines with votes for him.
-Standup comic Jeffrey Ross was picked to be the comic relief, obviously. Let’s hope he lasts at least two weeks. But face it: he’s a horrible dancer. It was a fairly amusing routine. I’m sure the scratched cornea he suffered earlier in the day didn’t help. He got a deserved 12. He’s a goner.
I caught the Brittenum twins at the Atlanta auditions at the Georgia Dome for season seven in August 2007.
Remember Atlanta’s Brittenum twins? I liked those guys during season five in early 2006. They were nixed during the Hollywood round after media reports they had stolen a car via ID theft and had ended up in jail. If you want to revisit the details, check this smoking gun story.
They are appearing today on “Maury” on WATL-TV in a special episode featuring talented twins. Winner in the voting gets $10,000. So vote at http://talented.mauryshow.com/ and give the twins some love. You can watch their performance (taped last month) here of “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg.”
I spoke with Derrell last week. They have been struggling to make a living as singers but are seeking regular jobs to pay the bills. He hopes they can eventually move to Los Angeles and try their hand at a career there.
I caught them last year outside the Georgia Dome competing for season seven. They made it past the first round but before Hollywood, they were told they were too old. Derrell said they knew they were too old but tried to bend the rules. That didn’t work. I wondered what happened to them and that makes sense.
-CMT spoke with Kellie Pickler more recently than I did.
She confirmed co-hosting “DIck Clark’s Rockin’ New Year’s Eve with Ryan Seacrest. She also has a boyfriend, a songwriter named Kyle Jacobs:
“He’s really a great guy, but no sound of wedding bells.” she laughed. “We wrote two songs for my self-titled album coming out Sept. 30. I co-wrote five of the songs. This album is so me. I was involved totally — start to finish. My first album was done in such a hurry after American Idol, but we took time with this one.” Her new producer is Chris Lindsey.
-I checked a couple of Kelly Clarkson fan sites and there’s no real solid info on the upcoming album, which is due out in November. It’s been really oddly quiet. She’s currently touring, but no dates in Atlanta. (Closest is Birmingham November 14.)
