And we’re here! We made it! So I recap blogged during Nick’s run and I plan to do the same with AJ’s as you can see…well, read too I suppose. Y’all should see my notebook, I took an insane amount of notes as I watched. Now I’m focusing more on the highlights because otherwise this blog would be miles and miles long. Trust me. I’m going to make sure I include the score at the bottom as well of where everyone landed. Next week’s recap will be a bit late because DWTS decided next week’s episode is on a Tuesday and of course I wrote my schedule to make sure I’m off Mondays. I’m literally going to be voting for AJ on my phone from work. Ugh.
But let’s get into tonight’s episode, shall we?
The intro to the episode felt very lonely and a reminder that 2020 has taken a lot from us. Every pro was dancing alone and it had an emptiness to it that Nick’s season opening did not. It was essentially a reminder that this year isn’t normal. It was pretty though, admittedly. They had to redo the entire stage area too to cover for the fact a live audience just isn’t possible. I appreciate all the safety measures they’re taking in all this too, the last thing I want is a Backstreet Boy with Covid. I’d cry.
AJ looked so excited to be up, it’s freaking precious.
AJ and Cheryl. I told you guys they were going to be partnered up. She’s a taskmaster and a great pro so we got lucky in that department. Seriously. They’re actually adorable, though Cheryl is an NSYNC fan. We forgive you, but don’t worry we’re sure AJ will convert you by the end of the season. I also love seeing AJ go on about the insane legacy Backstreet Boys have. They are legends. Not to mention showing him at home with his girls is something we’ll never get sick of. They’re not only the first dance of the season, they’re the only Jive of the night. Now the Jive as we remember is a ridiculously hard dance. Especially for week one! Not sure why AJ got thrown that so fast but the good news is, he’s doing it while there’s easier people to vote off.
By the way, their new team name? It’s #TeamPrettyMessedUp.
Leave it to AJ to change their name at the last minute. Ha.
AJ literally JUMPS into it. The landing was a little loose, admittedly. But overall the Jive was pretty solid for a week one dance. Maybe better than Nick’s first (not second) Jive. Then again Nick fell and AJ’s landing was bumpy. What is it with BSB and Jives? Starting to wonder… anyway, it was high energy and AJ knows how to make a dance work. And he does. I also think the landing shook him a bit when it came to the dance. I know AJ will continue to grow. Because that’s what this show loves to see, is people growing and developing their skills. So this will definitely help.
Now for the judging. I was wondering how Derek would be as a judge, he’s critical but not insanely unfair. They all seem pretty complimentary so far though they point out he needs to tighten up the Jive. But again this is week one. Come on. Tyra already compared him to Nick.
So, the score.
6, 6, 6
An overall score of 18.
Now before you freak out like I did. (And man did I yell…) The scoring this season is more critical than Nick’s. No one got anything higher than a seven. In context this is a pretty decent score. But because he was first? A lot of us freaked out on Twitter. Oops. In fact let me show you my reaction because it was pretty angry until I saw other scores and realized everyone was lower.
But don’t worry, I’m solid now. Oh! By the way! AJ and Cheryl are doing a podcast! Yay! More BSB content. Save us from 2020! The link is here and it debuts at midnight.
Okay, back to the show. So who else is worth mentioning?
Little Skai, and holy cow is she tiny! She’s the youngest star on the show this season and paired up with Alan. She’s going to be one to watch. She was in my opinion the only one to deserve 7s and rightfully got the top score of 21 that night. Not to mention she’s super cute and bubbly. I see her going really far if people agree with me. Essentially she’s the Bindi of this season. She did a freaking fantastic Tango.
I mean, you can’t even be mad about it.
Who else caught my eye?
Well let’s talk about the other ringers.
Kaitlyn and Artem weren’t bad but they also had a Cha-Cha which is far easier than a Tango or a Jive. I saw a mistep or two, and I think Carrie Ann did too since she was the only one to give a 6. Bruno and Derek gave her 7s, which ended up giving her a 20. But they also got kinder in the second hour scoring wise too, which made me side eye the show a bit. Nev (from Catfish) got that score as well for admittedly a smooth waltz though he had bad posture, his booty was out the entire time.
I have to pause a moment and mention our girl, Sharna. Any other season she’d be the pro I’m rooting for. Sorry, Sharna. But Jesse actually mentioned all the chemistry she and Nick had on their season. Literally shouted him out. I can’t blame him either. Sharna and Nick? They were fire. But I love that Nick keeps getting brought up. That’s what happens when you’re an icon.
Okay, moving on.
So let’s talk about Johnny Weir. I love ice skating and ice skaters do well on this show but he has a brand new pro, Britt so new pros tend to be shaky on their first season. Their dance was another Cha-Cha, which again is easier. But the intro to their dance was really long and oddly Johnny while very pretty in his movements (as expected) seemed uncomfortable. Not what I expected. He ended up with the same score as AJ. I feel like he should have had at least one 5 but he was one of those in hour two.
Now I have no idea who Justina is, but that happens when this show has so many contestants. I’m talking about her though cause she was the only other one to get a 21. I think she got overscored as it wasn’t as good as Skai but it was high energy and charismatic so I think she sold the dance to cover for the occasional flub. Her and Sasha looked like they were having fun. She’s other one to watch.
Finally I want to talk about the Tiger in the room. Yup, Carole “Fucking” Baskin. I can’t believe she’s even on the show, honestly. We’re using the term star pretty loosely these days between her and Monica, the one from the cheerleading show. Now a commercial aired from Carole’s husband’s family asking people for information about what happened to him and offering a huge reward for it. I’m going to include the tweet that went viral talking about it. This aired DURING the show.
Bold, awkward and honestly what Carole deserves. In any event she’s the shock value cast member and I can’t see her going far. She was terrible. She was the bottom scorer of the night, with two 4s and a 3. Ouch.
In the end, AJ ended up more in the middle than anything. Technically he’s tied for fourth with three others. It could be worse. So he’s at the top of the middle with his eighteen since only three points separate him from the top but we can’t get complacent, period. Next week is when voting begins. You can only vote DURING the show. I’m talking 5pm – 7pm PST and 8pm – 10pm EST. That’s it. You can vote by going to abc.com, on the DWTS website or by texting AJ to 21523. Voting is EVERYTHING okay. We won’t know till next week if the judge’s save is a thing this year or not. If it is, I don’t want to rely on it. Neither do you. So be prepared!
Final Scores
Skai & Alan — 21
Justina & Sasha — 21
Kaitlyn & Artem — 20
Nev & Jenna — 20
Monica & Val — 19
Anne & Keo — 18
Jeannie & Brandon — 18
AJ & Cheryl — 18
Jesse & Sharna — 18
Johnny & Britt — 18
Vernon & Peta — 17
Nelly & Daniella — 16
Chrishell & Gleb — 13
Charles & Emma — 12
Carole & Pasha — 11
And of course, here’s AJ’s Jive for your repeated viewing pleasure. I’m adding all the dances to archive as well in case the channel deletes the dances. That’s what happened during Nick’s season. Enjoy! And make sure to vote. Because voting is how we’re going to help AJ get to the end! We’re a team y’all.
We got this!
The Dark Side 