I am so proud of AJ I can burst.
I just needed to say that before I got started.
So tonight was eighties night which led to some very interesting hair, basically. In terms of the styles, AJ kind of got hosed here. Everyone else except for Johnny had dances they could work some classic eighties moves into and go a bit wild with. Johnny had Contemporary which for a dancer is bread and butter. AJ got a Waltz which mean he needed to be in hold, have clean footwork, and no lifts. It had a sweet prom theme but it was a bit annoying that this was the week he got that while everyone else got to go a bit crazy. That might sound biased since he did get the BSB dance last week. But I’m just saying, the dances need to be memorable and he had a harder time though I think he did great.
I usually talk about the other dances first and I mean, I can. For once, Nev didn’t get the highest scores. His Quickstep was decent but it wasn’t as strong as I expected. The show did mention dance training but it didn’t mention he was studying it in college. I found that on a google search ABC, why can’t you? Nelly shocked the living hell out of me. His samba was good and for the first time all season he looked like he was enjoying himself! Where the hell has this Nelly been? His songs were my jam in high school and I’d looked forward to having him on before the season started. This Nelly was the one I wanted. Glad he finally decided to have some fun. Shockingly Monica wasn’t in the bottom two tonight like she was last week but I suspect that’s due to her scores. Her tango was better than her previous dances, but I wouldn’t say they earned the 9s they got. Especially when compared to Kaitlyn’s tango where you could see the difference.
But hey, I’m no expert here. Just a girl who watched many seasons over the years thanks to my mom wanting me to watch with her. (I fell off of it after she passed.) There’s a lot of competition this season and once again a lot of scores grouped up in the middle or tied. This is why voting matters. NEVER assume anyone is safe or not safe because you just never know. That said, tonight’s elimination wasn’t a huge shock. Jesse was yet again a bottom scorer and really, he was trying but it wasn’t clicking. I’ll really miss Sharna. Literally would’ve been voting for her just because of how great she is, had there not been a Backstreet Boy on this season. We love you Sharna, we know you’re one of us.
Okay, so back to AJ.
First off, in the rehearsal vide, Cheryl has him focusing on his footwork! So happy to see this. Because it’s been one of AJ’s weaker points and something the judges keep calling him out on. It showed immensely tonight. His feet were a lot cleaner and he was definitely in a stronger place technically than he was last week. The judges flat out said theyr’e going to nitpick everyone now too cause we’re halfway through. So this is the time for AJ to really break out. Now that said, his frame dropped a few times. The judges weren’t wrong about that. But I just want y’all to know how proud I am of him. You could see the work put in and the difference. I think this week showed a shift in AJ’s dancing. Going forward I think some things will come easier for him.
He got all 8s and you know what? That’s fine. Because he keeps developing.
Tonight was a HUGE leap forward.
So let me lay out the leaderboard scores!
Johnny and Britt — 29
Kaitlyn and Artem — 27
Monica and Val — 26
Nev and Jenna — 26
AJ and Cheryl — 24
Skai and Alan — 24
Justina and Sasha — 24
Jeannie and Brandon — 24
Nelly and Daniella — 24
Vernon and Peta — 21
Jesse and Sharna — 19 *Eliminated*
Chrishell and Gleb — 19
No set theme next week so we’ll see what’s next for AJ and Cheryl. But what I do know is that he’s doing his part so we’ll be here to support him and do ours. Keep at it AJ! We support you all the way!
The Dark Side 