Dancing with the Stars
Gossip (Page 6)

A week after Melissa Rycroft made a triumphant, perfect return from a rib injury, the final four tandems on Dancing with the Stars proved they each belonged in the semifinals.

Well, except for Ty Murray and Chelsie Hightower.

Here's a rundown of each couple's routines and scores:

Rycroft and Tony Dovolani followed up last week's flawless Samba with a pair of solid, albeit unspectacular, routines.

First up, a safe Quickstep. Len Goodman referred to it as a "delight," but Bruno lamented the last of exhilaration for a semifinal dance.
Score: 28.

After reviewing Melissa's Bachelor break-up (again!), it was on to the Cha Cha for this duo. Lame music selection with the Drifters' "Save the Last Dance for Me," but Bruno rescued the routine by mentioning its "full-on thrust." Well, okay then.
Score: 27. 

Gilles Marini and Cheyl Burke were up next, and they Waltzed to a perfect 30. Goodman told the pair he was "giving [them] a sitting-down standing ovation." That's high, oxymoronic praise!
Score: 30.

Marini then went all Lil Kim on viewers. Clad in purple, he shook his booty like it was on fire. Goodman said he wished he could give the star an 11 for this Salsa, while Bruno raved: "Lil' Kim is alive and well and she's hiding in your pants!"
Score: 30.

Continue Reading...

Rib injury, shmib injury!

Melissa Rycroft showed no signs of being in pain last week, returning to Dancing with the Stars and earning a perfect score of 30 for her Samba. Before taking the floor again tonight, the contestant says her fans needn't worry.

"[The injury's] definitely been manageable," Rycroft told TV Guide. "We're going on week three now, so it's definitely getting better. It's only going to get better. The patch [with medication] is working, so I'm not concerned at all."

Melissa Rycroft's outfit? Questionable. Her Samba? Flawless.

What else did former Bachelor beauty have to say about her routine?

Watch an interview she and partner Tony Dovolani gave, following last week's performance, by following this article's jump.

Continue Reading...

Who knew there were so many rodeo fans out there?!?

A night after Ty Murray clearly put on the worst Dancing with the Stars performance, the cowboy husband of Jewel managed to stave off elimination. Instead, that dishonor fell to rapping ex-con Lil' Kim and her partner, Derek Hough.

While Hough referred to her as an "amazing soul [and] amazing spirit" soon after the show, he also admitted that his initial reaction to being paired with Kim was nothing short of sheer terror.

"I was like, I think I'm going to get shanked in the middle of a dance. I'm serious. But the second she walked in there she was like a beam of energy, so sweet and so nice. As the weeks went by, I just love her more and more and more and I'm really excited to spend some time with her without teaching her and drilling her."

As for the Lil' one, she took the surprise elimination well.

"I think this is one of the greatest experiences I've ever experienced in my life," she said.

Relive Kim and Derek's time on the show above. Click on each picture for a larger version.

Rib injury, schmib injury!

Melissa Rycroft didn't simply return to Dancing with the Stars last night, following a week on the sidelines with a fractured rib; she came back with a perfect score!

During an evening that saw each remaining tandem perform a pair of routines, Rycroft and partner Tony Dovolani earned a solid 27 points for their Viennese Waltz.

But they followed that up with the best Samba of the season. It featured a 15-second solo by Rycroft, highlighted by a shake here, a shimmy there and overflowing praise from the judges. Carrie Ann Inaba said it was "flawless," while Bruno Tonioli gushed:

"The Samba should make you happy to be alive. Your Samba makes me happy to be here watching it."

Here's a rundown of the overall scores from the night:

• Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: 57 (including one perfect 30!)
• Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke: 56
• Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas: 56
• Lil' Kim and Derek Hough: 52
• Ty Murray and Chelsie Hughtower: 46

FOLLOW THIS ARTICLE'S JUMP TO WATCH MELISSA AND TONY'S SEXY SAMBA.

Continue Reading...

Jewel may want her gone, but it doesn't sound as though Melissa Rycroft will be leaving Dancing with the Stars any time soon.

Viewers will need to wait until tonight to see if Rycroft is well enough recovered from her rib injury to perform, but the Bachelor beauty talked about fighting through the pain in an interview with Entertainment Tonight.

"They're little hairline fractures that will mend together on their own," said Rycroft, who said she's waring a numbing patch to ease the pain during rehearsal. "It makes it tolerable. [Partner Tony Dovolani] has made the routine so that we'll be able to do everything. It's more mentally exhausting than anything else... You just grit your teeth and move on."

Melissa, of course, knows all about moving on from a painful experience, as she has left Jason Mesnick in the rear view in favor of Tye Strickland.

But getting back to her dancing dreams, Rycroft says the injury has simply helped her focus. She's thankful that the viewers did not vote her off last week.

"I was in tears... The fans saved us. What happened last Monday put everything into perspective... How bad you want it."

Sorry, haters. But Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani remain a threat on Dancing with the Stars.

Despite comments earlier this week that made it seem like she had an issue with Melissa Rycroft, Jewel wants to make one thing clear:

She hates a certain rule on Dancing with the Stars, not the lovely, former cheerleading brunette.

On Thursday, Jewel posted on husband Ty Murray's MySpace blog that she has an issue with the DWTS rule that says an injured contestant isn't instantly disqualified; but rather judged on his/her rehearsal footage.

"I like Melissa and think she's gifted (and a real Texas sweetheart), and I adore Steve-O," Jewel wrote yesterday, citing the two competitors that have benefited from this edict on season eight. "My comment had nothing to do with either of them. My comment was on a sports website about a rule I have never seen in any type of competition before."

Jewel added: "Name another sport where if you can’t compete, they use your score from practice. Can you imagine an Olympic diver who can’t compete for any reason, and so they let them use their practice dives from that day? Or a chess match, for that matter.

"This isn't a catty girl versus girl thing [the media] are trying to make it into. Neither I nor Melissa are like that."

Jewel was originally scheduled to compete on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars. However, she was forced to the sideline with a knee injury.

Now, as husband Ty Murray remains in the competition, the singer doesn't understand why Melissa Rycroft is allowed to recover from her recent injury.

"I think the rule about 'judging a rehearsal if the person is too injured to perform' was weird both times they have used it," Jewel wrote on her Murray's MySpace page.

She's referring to the fact a contestant too injured to perform on the live broadcast will be judged on his/her rehearsal footage. This is what happened on Monday, as a fractured rib made impossible for Rycroft to dance.

"As bad as I felt for Melissa, who I hope feels better and comes back, I'm used to our cowboy athletes that live by the rule: 'Ride hurt or don’t get a score,'" Jewel added. "It may seem harsh, but it seems like the only way to keep things honest."

The claws have come out. Now you must choose a side: Team Jewel or Team Rycroft?

Julianne Hough is taking her beauty - and, likely, millions of male viewers - away from Dancing with the Stars next season.

“I’m not doing next season,” Hough told Access Hollywood, following her and Chuck Wicks' elimination this week. “I’m gonna take one off."

Click on the pics above to relive Julianne Hough and Chuck Wicks getting their dance on this season.

The decision is not based on any complaints about the show (Hough even said she and her real-life boyfriend "went further than anticipated"), but rather on a burgeoning country music career.

The aspiring singer has booked tour dates throughout the summer. She'll next perform in Hidalgo, Texas on May 9.

In related news, the entire staff of The Hollywood Gossip has just booked hotel rooms in Hidalgo, Texas for May 9.

Julianne Hough is one of the World's Most Beautiful People. This is not surprising news.

The bad news for Chuck Wicks: he was sent home on Dancing with the Stars last night.

The good news for Chuck Wicks: he gets to spend that time at home with former partner and current gorgeous girlfriend Julianne Hough.

Sorry if we aren't shedding any tears for you, C-Wick.

Following his ousting, Wicks seemed a tad bitter over the fact that he was eliminated instead of Melissa Rycroft, whose fractured rib forced her to sit out of Monday night's performance show.

"This has been fantastic. I've had a great time," Wicks said. "In the last three weeks we've gotten standing ovations from the crowd, and that's really what matters. It shows you how many fans Melissa has - for her to be five points down and still in this competition is incredible. So hats off to you, Melissa."

Chill, Chuck. You have seen your girlfriend, right?

Relive Chuck Wicks' time on Dancing with the Stars by clicking on the photos above.

Due to a fractured rib, Melissa Rycroft did not participate on Dancing with the Stars last night.

While viewers were crushed to find this out when they tuned to ABC at 8 p.m., no one was more distraught over the injury than Rycroft's partner, Tony Dovolani.

"Up until a half hour before the show, she was still trying to dance for me and she was in complete pain," Dovolani told Us Weekly after the performance show. "She has a high threshold for pain - and she still came onstage and tried to dance for me and that says a lot about her."

Minus Melissa Rycroft, last night's edition of Dancing with the Stars was less beautiful than usual.

Approximately 15 seconds into their Jive, Dovolani said: "She couldn't breathe. So I picked her up, as I would pick up my own daughter. I brought her backstage and tried to calm her down and help her rest.

"I have to tell you. I don't think any other celebrity would have done that - she still tried to dance. That says a lot about a person."

It sure does. Send in your best wishes for Melissa right now. Let her know fans are hoping for a fast, full recovery!