‘Dancing with the Stars 16’ rankings: Kellie Pickler, Aly Raisman fight it out

With every passing week on “Dancing with the Stars,” we start to figure more and more out. For example, this seems to be by and large a ladies’ season (at least for the three left) with the exception of Jacoby Jones, and there are only two guys that we really see as having any shot at all to make it into the top five. Meanwhile, there is at least some parity when it comes to the top contender; while one “star” is beyond a shadow of a doubt, that doesn’t mean she will win when you factor in fan followings.

Just like with the show itself, there’s quite a bit to factor in when it comes to the rankings; if you disagree with us or want to just lend support to your favorite pair, just be share to leave a comment down in the box below.

9. Victor Ortiz & Lindsay Arnold (last week: 7) – He’s not the worst dancer of the bunch, but two appearances in the bottom two have to be held against him to a pretty high degree. This boxer is getting set for a knockout soon unless he really steps up the quality.

8. D.L. Hughley & Cheryl Burke (10) – We have no idea how D.L. has managed to stick around, and never even be in the bottom two, to boot. His following may protect him again after a bad performance, but we are starting to near the point in the competition where weak dancers will start to go home.

7. Andy Dick & Sharna Burgess (9) – This is where Andy sadly comes into play. We’ve liked him this season far more than we expected, but sooner or later we expect his lack of dance ability to overtake his underdog story and some of his entertaining routines. A good comparison here is Carson Kressley, who also struggled in the actual dance department.

6. Ingo Rademacher & Kym Johnson (6) – This may sound bad, but Ingo is one of the few Kym partners has had that we just have not been excited to watch. We know he has a soap opera fanbase, but we don’t know if we see that being any stronger than the people in the top five.

5. Sean Lowe & Peta Murgatroyd (4) – We’re starting to wonder if Sean will be this year’s Bristol Palin: a mediocre dancer kept around thanks to a huge voting block. We’d be a little nervous about that for him, mostly because we don’t want a positive experience like “The Bachelor” be followed up with something rough. He just doesn’t seem natural on the floor, and while that can change, it hasn’t yet.

4. Zendaya & Val Chmerkovskiy (3) – Finally, a woman enters the rankings! We may be hard on her on the site, but it’s mostly because she has to prove herself as something more than Sabrina Bryan 2.0: a Disney star with great moves, but a small fanbase. We’d say that it is probably about even when it comes to the best dancer actually winning the show, so she still has work to do.

3. Jacoby Jones & Karina Smirnoff (2) – Jacoby may be hurt slightly at the moment by the guys left, while the ladies all have larger, more independent blocks. Football fans will surely keep him around for a while, and he is the best out of the men. But is the idea of a wide receiver winning this show starting to feel passe? We don’t really see much enthusiasm for him here online.

2. Aly Raisman & Mark Ballas (5) – Meanwhile, Aly is starting to deliver on that potential we thought was there before the season. She’s got everything she needs to go far or even win: youth, talent, a great partner, and a large fanbase thanks to the Olympics.

1. Kellie Pickler & Derek Hough (1) – Unfortunately for Aly, Kellie has all of that (minus the whole Olympics part) and then some with the country voting block, the show’s best choreographer, and a history in entertainment more so than athletics. With her personality, we think that Kellie is ultimately going to have a hard time losing this thing.

Who do you think is going to win “Dancing with the Stars” at the moment? Be sure to vote in the poll below, and you can read some spoilers for Tuesday’s results show over at the link here.

Photo: ABC