By Anya

DWTS heads into week 7 with only six stars remaining. Who will go home this week?

First, let’s say goodbye to Jake Pavelka. I think most would agree that Jake, with no real performing background, did better than expected. While many predicted ahead of time that it was “his week to go”, I don’t think Jake was really ready to leave. I think it is easy to get invested in one or two of our favorites and forget how much time, energy and emotional commitment is required for a non-pro to come out every week and perform a new dance in front of millions. I give all the stars, but especially people like Kate and Jake, huge kudos for doing the show. When it was over, Jake tweeted:  ”Well guys, I did everything I could. Layed it all out there on the dance floor. I’m pretty bumbed (sp)…”  He also got a little choked up on stage when his name was announced, as Kate had the previous week. As they had the week before with Kate, some bloggers took the opportunity to criticize Jake for being visibly upset. I guess it is all too easy to take potshots at others while sitting on your butt with your laptop plastered to your thighs. Nice.

Speaking of Kate’s exit, there is an excellent interview with charming DWTS host Tom Bergeron in this week’s Entertainment Weekly. You can read the entire article here. Tom has nice things to say about Kate and is empathetic about the tears we witnessed when she left.

Ok, depending on who you talk to, the ratings either basically stayed the same or took a little bit of a dip during the first Kate-free episode of the season last week. In other words, DWTS is still a hugely popular show and that means a big ’ol cash cow for ABC. Think they are going to cut the show down to an hour now that half the stars are gone? Think again! Instead the stars will be required to perform two dances.  Here is a quick guide as to which dance each star is expected to dance in the individual part of the show.

Individual Dances
-Nicole/Derek: Slow Waltz
-Evan/Anna: Argentine Tango
-Chad/Cheryl: Viennese Waltz
-Pam/Damien: Slow Waltz
-Erin/Maks: Quickstep
-Niecy/Louis: Quickstep

I made fun of ABC for milking this and stretching out the show, but the additional dance is, in fact, a staple of DWTS at this juncture of the competition. In what is being billed the “Cha Cha Challenge”, the stars have been separated into two teams to perform the Cha Cha – only one will win and take the extra judges points.

Team Madonna (dancing to “Holiday”)
Evan/Anna
Erin/Maks
Niecy/Louis

Team Gaga (dancing to “Telephone”)
Nicole/Derek
Pam/Damian
Chad/Cheryl

Conventional internet wisdom (ha, I didn’t even mean that as a joke) holds that Niecy, Chad and Pam should be most concerned about going home this week. But, it wouldn’t be reality television if there weren’t at least the possiblity of a shocking exit. The group dance just adds another layer to the puzzle.

Are your favorites still your favorites this week? Any predictions for Monday night? Please share your thoughts before, during and after Monday night’s broadcast.

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