DWTS 14 Week 9: Maria Menounos and William Levy are 1, 2 in the semi-finals

Monday night (14 May 2012) on “Dancing with the Stars,” had a few surprises and 14 tens. At the top of the leader board by one point was TV hostess Maria Menounos and Derek Hough with 59 points out of 60 for two dances. William Levy and his partner Cheryl Burke received 58 points.

Although one expected that head judge Len Goodman would be the deciding factor, he gave only one ten to Menounos and Hough for their Argentine tango to  ”La Yumba” by Osvaldo Pugliese, but not for their jive routine to “Tightrope” by  Janelle Monae.

Goodman also gave one ten to the second-placed couple, Levy and Burke. He awarded them a nine for their tango to  ”Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by The Eurythmics and a 10 for their samba to  ”Magalenha” by Sergio Mendes. But Carrie Ann Inaba gave Levy and Burke a nine and that scored landed them in second place.

Football player Donald Driver and his partner Peta Murgatroyd received three tens to Jenkins and Ballas’ two. It was Bruno Tonioli who was the deciding score between third and fourth. For their waltz to “Kissing You” by Des’ree, Driver received a 10 from Tonioli. For the samba to “Mr. Big Stuff“  by  Jean Knight, Carrie Ann Inaba and Tonioli both gave tens.

Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas did a flirty 1930s Chicago gangster inspired quickstep to “The Dirty Boogie” by The Brian Setzer Orchestra. Inaba and Tonioli loved it, but Goodman noted a misstep early in the performance. For their salsa, Jenkins didn’t have the kind of heat to get a ten and had some trouble at the end with her back, so Jenkins and Ballas received straight nines for her performance to “Bananza (Belly Dancer)” by  Akon. Jenkins belly dance performance was more perky and cutesy instead of sensuous.

1. Maria Menounos and Derek Hough: 30 (10,10,10) +29 (10,9,10) = 59/60
2. William Levy and Cheryl Burke: 28 (9, 9, 10) + 30 (10,10,10)  = 58/60
3. Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd: 28 (9, 9, 10) +29 (10,9,10) = 57/60
4. Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas: 29 (10,9,10) + 27 (9,9,9) = 56/60

With the teams to closely matched, the votes of the viewers will really count. What do we know about the DWTS audience? Over 13 seasons, six women and seven men have won the mirror ball trophy.

Women: six

• Kelly Monaco (1)
• Kristi Yamaguchi (6)
• Brooke Burke (7)
• Shawn Johnson (8)
• Nicole Scherzinger (10)
• Jennifer Grey (11)

Men: seven

• Drew Lachey (2)
• Emmitt Smith (3)
• Apolo Anton Ohno (4)
• Helio Castroneves (5)
• Donny Osmond (9)
• Hines Ward (12)
• J.R. Martinez (13)

That’s nearly an even split. Maria Menounos might be the long shot because only one winner has been a TV hostess (Brooke Burke). Three actors have won (Monaco, Grey and Martinez) and three singers (Scherzinger, Lachey and Osmond).

Only one non-American has won (Castroneves who is Brazilian). Castroneves won over British singer Mel B. French man Gilles Marini placed second behind American Johnson. Other foreign nationals who have made the finals were: Brit Kelly Osbourne (season 9) and Chilean Cristian de la Fuentes (both finished third). Katherine Jenkins and William Levy would be at a disadvantage here.

The largest group of winners have been sports figures: Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson, Olympic medal speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, racer Helio Castroneves and football players Emmitt Smith and Hines Ward. That would give Donald Driver an advantage.

Individual dances

Over this season, not all of the four semi-final teams performed all the dances seven of the dances (Argentine tango, jive, quickstep, salsa, samba, tango and waltz) as you can see below.

Maria Menounos and Derek Hough are the high score for three dances: Argentine tango, jive and samba. Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas are the top score for quickstep and waltz. William Levy and Cheryl Burke are the top score for tango and salsa.

Yet to be fair, Jenkins and Ballas performed their quickstep this week while the other remaining teams performed that dance during week 2.

Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd do not hold the top score in any of the dances performed tonight, but they have yet to perform salsa. Jenkins and Ballas have not performed the tango while Maria Menounos and Derek Hough and  William Levy and Cheryl Burke have not yet performed the waltz.

Argentine tango

1. Maria Menounos and Derek Hough: 30 (10,10,10) Week 9
2. William Levy and Cheryl Burke: 29 (10, 9, 10) Week 5
3. Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas: 29 (10,9,10) Week 5
4. Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd: 27 (10, 8, 9) Week 5

Jive

1. Maria Menounos and Derek Hough:29 (10,9,10) Week 9
2. Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd: 28 (10, 9, 9) Week 8
3. Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas: 26 (9, 8, 9) Week 2
4. William Levy and Cheryl Burke: 22 (7, 7, 8) Week 4

Quickstep

1. Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas: 29 (10, 9, 10) Week 9
2. Maria Menounos and Derek Hough: 25 (8, 8, 9) Week 2
3. William Levy and Cheryl Burke: 25 (9, 7, 9) Week 2
4. Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd: 24 (8, 8, 8) Week 2

Samba

1. William Levy and Cheryl Burke: 30 (10,10,10) Week 9
2. Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd: 29 (10,9,10) Week 9
3. Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas: 29 (10,9,10) Week 6
4. Maria Menounos and Derek Hough: 25 (9, 7, 9) Week 8

Salsa

1. William Levy and Cheryl Burke: 28 (9, 9, 10) Week 3
2. Maria Menounos and Derek Hough: 27 (9, 9, 9) Week 5
3. Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas:  27 (9,9,9) Week 9
4. Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd: N/A

Tango

1. William Levy and Cheryl Burke: 28 (9, 9, 10) Week 9
2. Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd: 27 (9, 9, 9) Week 8
3. Maria Menounos and Derek Hough: 26 (9, 8, 9) Week 4
4. Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas: N/A

Waltz

1. Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas: 29 (10, 9, 10) Week 3
2. Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd: 28 (9, 9, 10) Week 9
3. Maria Menounos and Derek Hough: N/A
4. William Levy and Cheryl Burke: N/A

 For all the dances performed during season 14, here are the top scoring teams.

Argentine tango: Maria Menounos and Derek Hough (30)

Cha cha cha:

• Jaleel White and Kym Johnson (29);
• Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas (29)

Foxtrot: William Levy and Cheryl Burke (30)

Jive: Maria Menounos and Derek Hough (29)

Paso doble: Maria Menounos and Derek Hough (30)

Quickstep: Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas (29)

Rumba:

• William Levy and Cheryl Burke,
• Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas,
• Maria Menounos and Derek Hough (27)

Salsa: William Levy and Cheryl Burke (28)

Samba: William Levy and Cheryl Burke (30)

Viennese waltz: Maria Menounos and Derek Hough (28)

Waltz: Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas (29)

As of tonight, the average score of the remaining teams for 12 30-point dances (excluding Motown Marathon scores) is as follows:

1. Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas: 27.3
2. Maria Menounos and Derek Hough: 26.8
3. William Levy and Cheryl Burke: 26.9
4. Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd: 26.4

Although Donald Driver and Peta Murgatroyd were in third place on the leader board at the end of Monday night (14 May 2012), they have the overall lowest average score. Katherine Jenkins and Mark Ballas who placed at the bottom of the leader board have the highest average score of the season.

Who deserves to stay in the finals? Obviously the two top scoring teams of Maria Menounos and Derek Hough and William Levy and Cheryl Burke, but between the other two teams of Jenkins and Ballas and Driver and Murgatroyd, it’s a touch call that will be determined by the viewers.

During the live shows, the judges will give each couple a score based on several factors, including technical execution. But the judges’ scores alone do not decide a couple’s fate.

• Vote online

Phone lines, text votes (AT&T customers only) and online voting will open at the top of each performance show so that viewers can vote for their favorites. Phone and text lines will stay open until 60 minutes after the end of the show in your local time zone. Online voting will remain open until 11AM (Eastern Time)/ 8AM (Pacific Time) the following day.

TEAMS:

Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd

• 800-868-3403
• 800-VOTE4-03
• Text-in Code: 3403 

Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas

• 800-868-3410
• 800-VOTE4-10
• Text-in Code: 3410

Maria Menounos & Derek Hough

• 800-868-3401
• 800-VOTE4-01
• Text-in Code: 3401

William Levy & Cheryl Burke

• 800-868-3408
• 800-VOTE4-08
• Text-in Code: 3408

Vote online. 

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