After the final performances of Dancing with the Stars season 9, it looks like a two-person race for the Mirror Ball Trophy. Mya and Donny Osmond finished the night separated by just two points while Kelly Osbourne, the sentimental favorite, was more than 10 points behind the leader. If she wins, it will certainly be a radical shock.
That leaves Mya and Donny. While Mya and Dmitry Chaplin have been excellent all season long, Donny has faltered, failed and been the most inconsistent dancer, bobbing up and down the leader board like Joanna Krupa’s head in Derek Hough’s hands. In week 5 he led the pack, but in the last two weeks he’s been at the bottom.
More DWTS Finale Coverage:
Finale Performance Recap
Best and Worst Dances from the Finale
Who Will Win Season 9?
The Best Dances of Season 9
My biggest complaint against Donny Osmond is something Carrie Ann Inaba said after his Freestyle. She claimed that he was the most consistent performer of the season. That could not be less true.
While he certainly proved early on that he can take on many different personas, he recently proved a total lack of performing skills. In week 8 he got the flu and folded like a cheap card table. And last week he literally fell apart at the seams when Kym Johnson‘s dress ripped during their Tango. For that dance he scored a 21, one of the lowest scores in the history of the Dancing with the Stars semi-finals.
For me, being a great, consistent performer means that you never lose your composure and that you don’t quit at the first sign of trouble. Donny freely admitted that as soon as Kym’s dress ripped, he lost his cool and messed up the entire dance. Compare that to Kelly Osbourne, who had the season’s most horrific fall during her Freestyle last night. Did she get discouraged and give up?
No. She got up with a smile on her face and continued to dance with energy and enthusiasm. The song was “I Will Survive,” and that’s just what she did. Perhaps the show biz legend could take a few points from the girl half his age.
All of this would be perfectly acceptable, however, if Donny Osmond proved he was a complete dancer. While Mya excelled in everything from slow and romantic dances to fast and flirtatious ones, Donny spent the entire season cooped up in his overacting cage. In the finale, both of his solo dances were the standard hammy, cheesy Donny we’ve come to know.
Outside of his stellar Argentine Tango, Donny has shown no diversity. He does one thing and that’s it. Instead of using his ability to entertain as a supplement to his dancing, he decided to focus entirely on the entertainment. It’s not about the emotional struggle to improve like with Kelly, and it’s not about achieving technical perfection like Mya.
Donny just wanted to put on a good show, and while I can appreciate that, I don’t think it deserves a victory. The truth is that, based on dancing, Donny should’ve been eliminated last week or two weeks ago. The only reason he wasn’t is that Donny Osmond is more famous than a Backstreet Boy’s little brother and a random Polish model.
The two-hour finale of Dancing with the Stars will have a lot of fun and excitement, but the one thing I hope it doesn’t include is a win from Donny Osmond. I freely admit this is my first season watching Dancing with the Stars, but I’ve become hooked and deeply invested in the outcome of this celebrity dance competition. If the show wants me to watch again, I hope it does the right thing and gives the Mirror Ball Trophy to the best dancer, Mya.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
