Dancing with the Stars
‘Strictly come Dancing’, the British TV series distributed by BBC Worldwide, is the format extended to “Dancing with the Stars”, the reality show airing on ABC that has now been licensed to more than 30 countries worldwide. Television Business International rated this show as the world’s most popular TV series in 2006 and 2007 across all genres, in no less than 17 countries.
Dancing with the Stars features pairs of celebrities with professional dancers who compete each by performing dances. Elimination on the show is by scores determined by a panel of judges and viewers who vote in within a particular time frame. Each week a couple with the lowest combined score gets eliminated and the contest progresses to the next round. The winner is chosen in the same manner.
The show is a high octane performance complete with glitter, glam, glistening bodies and music. The audience is able to relate to the performers easily as they are from a cross section of actors, singers, athletes, musicians, television personalities, astronauts, race car drivers, etc. who start out literally with two left fee and slowly transform into graceful dancers.
Audience poll is conducted by ABC via a toll-free number, its own website and through text messages. However, there has been some contradiction and controversies that voting has created and while the producers admit that this is not the case, many doubts still remain.
Tom Bergeron, the award winning host, has presented the show since its debut. His co-hostesses have however changed over the seasons. In the current season, model Brooke Burke is the co-hostess.
The show’s prize money has also generated curiosity and interest. First eliminated celebrities and the top three contestants on the show receive base prize of $200,000 with the winner getting an additional $100,000. Second and third placed celebrities get further payouts of $50,000 and $25,000 respectively.
Another facet of the show that has invited criticism is the fact that the contestants leave themselves open to injury and accidents. Fainting away, fractures, stomach cramps, ruptured muscles and tendons are fairly common as contestants try to put their bodies through exacting grinds and match steps with the others.
Season 10, the final show of Dancing with the Stars was a hugely watched event with millions of
viewers tuned in to watch the competition come to a close. The competition was really tough and exciting all the way; the judges had repeatedly throughout said that this was the best season ever. The extravaganza featured three deserving finalists, pop star and singer Nicole Scherzinger, ESPN reporter Erin Andrews and Olympic Skating Champion Evan Lysacek. Through the weeks leading to the final episode, the two-hour competition episodes on Monday nights clocked 21.6 million viewers, more than the estimated number that watched American Idol which was aired Tuesdays creating a new weekly competition for reality shows.
In a scintillating three hour finale that was the crowning glory of all episodes of this highest rated season of the show ever, Nicole Scherziner and partner on the show Derek Hough, now two-time winner of the show, were declared winners of the season. Not surprising, because Scherziner and Hough had been receiving consistently high scores through the past month before the finale and had been dominant throughout the season. But there had been earlier seasons when high-scoring performers hadn't been able to grab top spot and some wondered if this would be one of those. Evan Lysacek and his partner Anna Trebunskaya were placed second and the Andrews-Chmerkovskiy pair came third. Scherzinger and Evan were running very close leading to the final. However, Scherzinger received an all perfect score that gave her the edge on the day that mattered and she and partner walked away with the Mirror ball Trophy.
Scherzinger chose "Proud Mary" a fast paced jive that she literally threw herself into, jumping and flailing and setting the floor on fire. At the end of her performance, the three judges unanimously raised the No.10 paddles and there was never any doubt after that.
The finale was marked by rave performances by past contestants on the show, some of them big names in entertainment and fashion. Jake Pavelka, Chad Ochocinco, Pamela Anderson and Kate Gosselin brought as much glamour and glitz to the show as the contestants themselves.
The win has come at an opportune time for Scherzinger, who is regrouping The Pussycat Dolls with new members, and working on a new album for release soon. She has also been in the focus for her on and off romance with star McLaren Formula One racer Lewis Hamilton. Erin Andrews, who had also been receiving unflattering attention over the past year commented, “I just wanted to be myself again, get my life together and my smile back".
The show plans to reopen in the fall with a new line up of big names.
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