Dancing With the Stars 8: The Finals

Hey y'all! Welcome back to the first part of the finale of Dancing With the Stars 8. We're down to the three best dancers, how will they do tonight in the Paso Face-Off and their Freestyles? The Freestyle has been known to make and break this thing wide open. After tonight's two performances, the viewers will vote. Tomorrow night they get another set of judges scores. Last year I thought there was an elimination before that last dance, but the way that Tom was talking, I'm not sure.

I'm quite excited. I was so looking forward to this Paso face-off. All three couples are capable of some seriously hot dancing. Melissa was in an Edyta-type costume, Shawn looked cute, but I like Cheryl's costume the least. It is white with orange and red flowery pattern, instead of the black/red or black/white combo. This week each judge visited individual competitors to give them tips. Bruno went to work with Shawn, Carrie Ann with Melissa and Len with Gilles. Bruno seemed to give Shawn some really good tips to help her paso pop. Carrie Ann surprised me and really helped Melissa with her aggression. Len also surprised me. He took off his suit coat and got down and dirty with Gilles to pull out the best in him.

They are doing the Paso to So What? I'm Still a Rock Star ... which seems like an odd song, but it seemed to work okay. It was a little distracting at times, though. Each couple takes a turn at a solo part and they come together at the end. Shawn/Mark were up first and they were really good. Shawn left it out there. She's come such a long way. Melissa and Tony were up next and they were good, too. They were much better than last time. Gilles/Cheryl brought up the rear and I think I liked it the least. I think it's because he seemed to me to be stiffer than the two pros. He had the disadvantage of being the only guy and following Tony and Mark. Don't get me wrong, all three Paso's were really good, and they are definitely all deserving of being here. Len told Shawn that this Paso was much better, he noticed one mistake in Melissa's but better than last time, and he told Gilles that this one was not hectic like he complained about last time. Bruno said each one was splendid. I don't know what else he went on about. He really complimented Melissa with her confidence and called Gilles a leading man. Carrie Ann said that all three were incredible dancers. She said that there wasn't as much of an emotional attachment with Shawn, but she did a great job and complimented the other two.

The scores were as follows:
Shawn/Mark - Two 9's and a from Bruno for 28/30
Melissa/Tony - Two 10's and a 9 from Len for 29/30
Gilles/Cheryl - Three 10's for a perfect 30/30

First up in the Freestyle is Shawn/Mark. Shawn said that they were not going to use excessive gymnastics because last time they got marked down. Apolo Anton Ono visited their practice to give her a pep talk. They are dressed in all black leather, including hoods and white sparkly masks and white gloves. I'm not liking the costumes. They soon stripped off the hoodies and pants and Mark revealed what is becoming his trademark look with the too short sparkly pants, bow tie and jacket. They both had on sparkly Chuck Taylors and she had on suspenders and lime green top to match his lime green sparkly jacket. It was such a cute, fun dance! A nice mix of dance and tricks. I loved that. Bruno said that they were going for the gold, and it was an explosive performance. Marvelous. Carrie Ann said it was youthful, energetic. Len loved the fun, speed, precision. He loved it. Scores: Three 10's for 30

Melissa/Tony are up next. Tony was disappointed the last time he was in the finals, and he's determined to leave everything on the dance floor this time. They are both in all black, he in a muscle shirt and she in sparkly bikini type top. Too much awkward looking hip hop and tricks for me and it didn't jive. It looked like she choreographed this instead of him, using her DCC background. A couple of the lifts were neat, but meh ... I was disappointed. Carrie Ann loved her new attitude, but thought the choreography was disjointed. Len said that she showed her versatility, but it was not his cup of tea. They went for the cheerleader/hip hop instead of the ballet, elegant type dance. Bruno also thought it was disjointed, not as perfect. The dance didn't flow from move to move, but from trick to trick. Scores: Three 9's for 27

The final Freestyle belongs to Gilles/Cheryl. They got the pimp spot, but did they do it proud? He had to call in a pain management specialist for his shoulder because of the lifts and tricks. He's very nervous. Another dance starting on a chair, but this one a la Flashdance. She choreographed a seriously sexy dance, one full of lifts. I was actually laughing at parts of it because it was so corny, though. Len said that it was slick, he loved the slow sexy part. Proved he's a real dancer. Bruno said great performance, but he wanted a bit more actual dancing. Carrie Ann found it an odd choice. Flashdance was for showcasing the female. She expected to see a whole lot more. I have to agree. Scores: Two 9's and a 10 from Len for 28.

The final leaderboard looks like this:
Shawn/Mark 28+30 for 58/60
Cheryl/Gilles 30+28 for 58/60
Melissa/Tony 29+27 for 56/60

What did you think of the night? I thought Shawn totally took the night, especially the Freestyle. I loved the Paso from all three couples, but felt really let down for the Freestyles. I felt robbed, especially by Melissa/Tony. I am a big Gilles fan, but based on tonight, Shawn wins it for me. Who will take the Mirror Ball Trophy as the winner of Dancing With the Stars 8? Comment below or drop me a line at ladytex@tvfunspot.com