Dancing with the Stars Recap: Week 7

Well, the inevitable finally happened. Mark struggled to adapt to his third partner in a week (more on that later), and Michael's fan support finally ran out. Considering that this week there was another double elimination to get the number of contestants down to five, it's no surprise that neither of those guys were around for the Fab Five. They have gotten better in the past few weeks, but they aren't in the top tier. A surprise was Aaron Carter getting the high score of the week (29) on Monday, yet being voted in the bottom three on Tuesday. Translation: the fans hate him.

Mya and Dmitry Chaplin - After a down week last week, Mya and Dmitry were back at it this week with a very good Foxtrot. Getting two 9s from the judges (and a 7), their 25 wasn't the highest of the week, but it certainly got them headed back in the right direction. I still think these two are headed for the final, and you're gonna have to waterboard me to make me think otherwise. Not that that's an invitation or anything. Just sayin'.

Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff - Aaron killed it this week with a superb jive. But, as I mentioned in the opening paragraph, his act is wearing thin on the viewing audience. He's moody, sometimes he cries, and then he'll deliver a great performance when he's actually focused. Even when he does well, he's melodramatic and doesn't seem to enjoy himself. Look, Joanna's hot, Mya can dance, Donny is the crowd favorite, and Kelly is the underdog that everyone likes rooting for. If you think there's any chance Aaron Carter wins this competition, then I have two words for you: get your head examined.

Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough - Even though I still think Mya is headed to the final, I'm slightly worried about Joanna taking her spot. With a downright lovely rumba this week, Joanna and Derek earned 9s across the board and continued their remarkable consistency. Even when she stumbled dancing with Maks a couple weeks ago, the rest of the dance was so good that she still got a 24. She's very graceful and seems to work hard on her routines. And did I mention she's hot? Ok, just making sure.

Kelly Osbourne and Louis van Amstel - If I had to pick someone to be eliminated next week, it'd be Kelly. I know, I know; I talk about Aaron losing the favor of the crowd all the time. However, I think his talent will keep him around for another week, as long as he puts together a good routine. His best is better than Kelly's best, so when he's on, she's the worst dancer left. She's a great story, has vastly improved since Week 1, and has the potential to surprise me. But for now, I look at her as the ultimate underdog in comparison to the rest of the cast.

Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson - Not bad. I made the mistake of telling Baseball Mom that Donny didn't give his best performance on Monday. She texted back about .2216 seconds later with this response: "you are not an expert, mister". Oh, ok. Love you too. She hasn't spoken to me since then, but I think she still loves me (actually, that's not true; I've spoken to her several times since, but there is some extra tension in her tone. I may need to lay off until the next show, huh?). He danced a quickstep and made a few missteps during his routine. He was fantastic as a member of Team Tango during the team dance (don't ask, it's complicated), so his individual score remained high this week. I still think he's the favorite due to the overwhelming crowd support he gets every show, but he'll need to keep up with Mya and Joanna to make sure.

Note: I'm trying to convince Baseball Mom to do a wrap-up herself since she has a good eye for this sort of thing. However, we're still in contract negotiations, so I'll let you know when we make some headway. Until then, you're stuck with me. Thank you, thank you; I appreciate the support.

~~ Lank