‘Dancing with the Stars 16’ review: Jacoby Jones, Ingo Rademacher step it up
“Dancing with the Stars” is heating up and the guys are finally rising to the occasion. Do we feel confident that Ingo Rademacher or Jacoby Jones is really going to be hoisting the Mirror-ball trophy next week? It still seems unlikely, but they both made major strides towards being there compared to where they were even just a couple of weeks ago.
There is an interesting change to this season in that four dancers will be there in the finale rather than three, which is not something that we are entirely sure that we like. It takes the “look at me” feeling away from being a finalist, and it also gives them all less time to shine. Of course, you could also read this as ABC’s way of guaranteeing that a guy manages to make it in.
Round One – The battle of the perfects. What happened here? Despite Karina Smirnoff suffering from a scary injury yesterday, for whatever reason Jacoby and her pulled off what was a strong (but possibly over-scored) dance. Meanwhile, Len Goodman got himself over his grumpy showing against Kellie Pickler, and he also dished out all tens to an intense dance featuring Aly Raisman and Mark Ballas. The only shocker? That Ingo was scored only a tick below Zendaya, with the latter really stumbling with the timing of the quickstep.
We don’t know how to properly describe it, but there was something in this round that almost makes us feel like the Disney Channel star could end up on the chopping block. She is the one with what we believe to have the smallest fan-base out of anyone, and she can’t afford many mistakes at all.
Round Two – While the first round was really all about familiar styles, this round really pushed the stars out of their comfort zones (and even some of the pros). While Kellie & Derek Hough (28) did a pretty good job with the flamenco, Ingo & Kym Johnson totally received the perfect routine in the Charleston, since it allowed him to really have a ball and use his acting chops. Thus, he got his highest score of the show in 27. Aly did a tremendous job with an Afro-jazz routine (29), but with our tinfoil conspiracy hat firmly on, we spent this whole time thinking that he was suddenly going to hand out a 30 to Zendaya after a weak first outing to level the playing field to a certain degree.
This Lindy hop routine from Jacoby & Karina was what they actually were doing when she suffered an injury, but they worked through it with a dance that was actually better than the first one (though the score may have been lower).
Do you think the guys picked up steam, and who do you figure is now the favorite to win? Right now, Jacoby and Aly are #1 and Ingo is still at the bottom, but the votes are close enough that it’s anybody’s game.
Also, be sure to check out where we ranked these singers before the show.
Photo: ABC