Look who’s taking the lead
The next champion of “Dancing With the Stars” will not be an American, by the look of it. How the nation will react to such tumult is unknown. But judging by the way people have been voting, it appears they are ready for a bit of international influence.
The show has had a lot of “All American” contestants this season, including Mr. Las Vegas, Wayne Newton, and lifelong entertainer and collectible-doll maven Marie Osmond. Tuesday night, speaking of dolls, the closest thing to a real-life Ken, soap star Cameron Mathison, was voted off. Cameron made a few of the ladies swoon with his amazing pectorals, tall build, chiseled looks and good-guy persona, but his dancing just wasn’t good enough for the semifinals.
That leaves Jennie Garth, who typified the teen queen in the early 1990s, and Osmond to battle Spice Girl Melanie Brown and race-car driver Helio Castroneves in an attempt to keep the mirror ball in the United States. But it seems that Briton Brown and Brazilian Castroneves are more likely to win the trophy. Castroneves has been pulling ahead in recent weeks, perhaps thanks to confident partner Julianne Hough, who won last season with Apolo Anton Ohno.
Brown and her partner, the hunktorious Ukrainian Maksim Chmerkovskiy, have dominated the competition -- they’re charming not just because of their skills (Brown may have an unfair advantage because of her dancing experience in the Spice Girls) but also for their good looks and fun, spunky relationship.
However, Cheetah girl Sabrina Bryant also had a similar bio, and she was eliminated surprisingly early in the competition.
The show hasn’t had a female winner since its U.S. debut, so there is a 75% chance of a woman being the champ. Garth represents the dark horse with self-esteem problems, Osmond the lady of a certain age who isn’t going to give up, darn it, and Brown and Castroneves, another example of those foreigners coming in and taking everything away from us Americans.
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