Now that Dancing with the Stars has crowned a new queen and king, the question becomes: How do Kristi and Mark rank among previous winners? Does their landslide victory earn them greater regard, or does it speak to a lack of formidable competition?As a refresher, all those who have laid claim to the mirrored-ball trophy:Season 1: Kelly Monaco and Alec MazoSeason 2: Drew Lachey and Cheryl BurkeSeason 3: Emmitt Smith and Cheryl BurkeSeason 4: Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne HoughSeason 5: Helio Castroneves and Julianne Hough Season 6: Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark BallasWho is your all-time favorite? Who truly showed growth and a never-tapped-into aptitude for ballroom dancing, then groomed it to flourish? Cast your vote here! And elaborate on your vote in comments.
read more
Dancing with the Stars by Michael Desmond/ABC
How's this for a good time: Try sitting in the audience for the Dancing with the Stars finale next to designer Rami Kashou, runner-up on this season's Project Runway. "Love that," says Kashou, catching sight of redheaded pro Anna Trebunskaya as she arrives on stage to dance with Steve Guttenberg in a dazzling, fire-engine red gown. "That color is great for her." There is a note-worthy connection between the two hit reality shows: Kit Pistol, another recent Runway contestant, is the stylist for Dancing cohost Samantha Harris. That means for the last ten weeks, Pistol has been scouring Los Angeles to find roughly one hundred gowns for Harris to try on, twenty of which made the final cut. Tonight, however, as Harris stands with host Tom Bergeron, Kashou is underwhelmed. "It's a little too stiff," he says of the pale lilac gown. "And the color needs to be a little stronger."A fashion show, a dance show and a championship, all rolled into one. And Kristi Yamaguchi taking the cro...
read more
Well kids, this is it! It's been just over two months since this crazy season started and now it's all coming to an end. Who would be taking home the crown and who would go home in utter defeat? More importantly, who is being booted right away and settling for third place? I'm anticipating an interesting (yet long!) night ahead, so let's dive into it one last time!After a short interview with our finalists, Usher entered the ballroom and I shouted with glee. He's sexy and talented and he really hasn't had a song I haven't liked. Despite having a headset, I definitely think he wasn't singing his new hit song "Love in This Club" but that's really fine with me. It's a dancing show and if singing live would have made it hard for him to break it down at the end then he shouldn't have sang. I also think every performer on this show has lip-synched so this isn't abnormal. We've had some pretty great performances this year. Which was your favorite? Then the first big moment of the night arr...
read more
The following contains spoiler information about Dancing with the Stars' finale show.After a season of quicksteps, jives, cha chas — not to mention drama — Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas have become the new reigning champs of Dancing with the Stars! Although some may have predicted Tuesday's outcome, the competition was tight and the winning spot was up for grabs (OK, sort of up for grabs. Any other Kristi fans?). If we forgot what the couples were up against, though, tonight we got the rundown of the entire season and all its competitors — plus a little love up in this club from Usher. Yes, Monica and Jonathan, Kym and Penn, Steve and Ana — they were all there for the proverbial "last dance" of the season, no matter where their original scores landed them. It was a great retrospective, but of course, the glory only goes to one couple. Did you think it was the right one? Now that it's all said and done, time to hash it out!Related:• Get recaps for the ent...
read more
Last night, the final three contestants (Kristi, Jason and Cristián) faced off with a Cha-Cha and Freestyle round. Needless to say, the part where Kristi kissed an open-mouthed Bruno as part her routine was a top highlight of the night. But the former figure skater's freestyle number where she rips off her jammies and kills it on the dance floor had to be our favorite moment. If this girl doesn't take home the gold on this one, there is something seriously flawed in the voting system! — Gina DiNunno
read more
Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas by Michael Desmond/ABC
The only thing more dangerous than Kristi Yamaguchi in ballroom heels is Kristi Yamaguchi in rhinestone-studded tennis shoes. "I had happy feet all week," says Yamaguchi, whose greatest concern going into this marathon known as Dancing with the Stars was her self-described "weak" ankles. "It was awesome to rehearse in tennis shoes," she says, finally done with the make-or-break freestyle and looking the happiest she's been in 10 weeks. With perfect scores – again – for the cha cha and freestyle, she and pro partner Mark Ballas seem unstoppable. But here's the thing: They don't feel unstoppable, and have danced from the beginning as if large dogs (mostly in the form of Jason Taylor and Cristian de la Fuente) have been nipping at their heels. "We really felt the pressure this week because the guys are looking so good," says Yamaguchi. "We knew we had to step it up." Don't forget, Ballas had a brilliant partner last season, Sabrina Bryan, who was sent packing week five. And ...
read more
Finale Night is finally here! Well the first hour of a three hour send-off is anyway. Can you believe another season is almost over? It seems like just yesterday that Penn and Monica were stinking up the place! I am very excited to see what the final three have in store for us tonight. I also heard there is going to be a twist so I am eager to see how it all unfolds. Now as much as I enjoy being Public Enemy #1 around here, let's put all the drama from last week aside and sit down for one last D-List meal together. Sound good? Well, like your mama said, you can't leave the table until your finished so pull up a chair and feast on tonight's show!The Cha-Cha Face OffSo the twist tonight was that all three finalists danced to the same song: "Dancing on the Ceiling" by Lionel Richie. When I heard about a group dance earlier this afternoon, I thought they would all be on the floor at the same time like they do in official ballroom competitions. I haven't seen a lot of ballroom competitio...
read more
Kristi Yamaguchi, Dancing with the Stars
Kristi Yamaguchi goes up against the boys this week on Dancing with the Stars' sixth season finale as she faces off against NFL star Jason Taylor and Latino actor Cristián de la Fuente. In what promises to be a fantastic night of cha cha chas and freestyle dances, Kristi and her partner Mark Ballas could be the ones to end the mens' streak — there hasn't been a female winner since Season 1's Kelly Monaco. But this Olympic gold medalist says she's too busy having fun to think about that.
TV Guide.com: You've been a favorite from the start, and it's been a while since a woman has won Dancing with the Stars. Are you feeling any extra pressure?Kristi Yamaguchi: No, I'm not looking at it as extra pressure. I think there's been pressure throughout the competition. I'm really proud and thankful for the
read more
As this week's cover of TV Guide asks: "Can anyone beat Kristi?"Yamaguchi and pro partner Mark Ballas are waltzing into the final week of competition with 62.8 percent of the TVGuide.com reader vote, having rebounded soundly from last week's "slide." Still, as many have noted in the blogs, upsets have been known to happen, especially if Kristi's fans assume she is safe, or should Team YamaBallas stumble big-time.Jason and Edyta, meanwhile, are shedding votes at the worst possible time, dipping this week to 14.7 percent on the TVGuide.com poll.As a result, the upset potential is in the hands of Cristian and Cheryl, who with 22.5 percent enjoyed only a small gain in the wake of Marissa's exit.Is the outcome a foregone conclusion? Or do some of you believe that Cristian could miraculously skate past Kristi in the finals?
read more
The following contains spoiler information about Dancing with the Stars' latest results show.Is this the week that all of the long-running underdogs get sent home? The same night that American Idol's Syesha — who has almost always placed last in those Power Rankings, yet each time eludes elimination — appeared to cement her own fate, Marissa Jaret Winokur and partner Tony Dovolani officially were ousted from Dancing with the Stars. To which remaining pair will their smattering of the TVGuide.com reader vote go? It could close the gap between Cristian and Jason, or give surging Cristian and Cheryl an extra push closer to the seemingly unstoppable Kristi and Mark.Cast your vote now for the couple you think will be crowned champion in just a couple of weeks!More Dancing with the Stars news and views:• Backstage Report: Dancing Battles a "Nice" Problem
read more
