2008 Woodie Awards
Illini Media
WPGU
buzz
Illio
TechnographCan a woman win 'Dancing With the Stars' crown?
By Sandy Cohen, The Associated Press
Posted: 5/21/08 Section: Diversions
LOS ANGELES - Kristi Yamaguchi is clearly the most talented contestant on "Dancing With the Stars." But the question still looms heading into Tuesday's finale: Can a woman win the celebrity dance-off?
Men have won the mirrorball trophy during the show's past four seasons. The only woman to take the "Dancing" crown was Kelly Monaco in season one. With a viewership that's 75 percent women, plus brazen displays of bare skin and sex appeal from current male finalists Jason Taylor and Cristian de la Fuente, the hit ABC show still has plenty of suspense for the final episode.
And it drew plenty of viewers to Monday's broadcast - 19.2 million, according to Nielsen. It was the most-watched program of the night by far, with the largest audience for a Monday edition of "Dancing" in six weeks.
"You obviously have to get the technique, but (also) compete with the personalities that all the boys have," Yamaguchi told The Associated Press after Monday's performances. "I think their smiles and their personalities melt hearts across the country."
Figure-skating champ Yamaguchi got a perfect score of 60 on Monday's show, and has regularly topped the judges' scoreboard throughout the sixth season of the ABC dance-off. But viewer votes count just as much, and the combination is what determines the winner.
Spice Girl Melanie Brown learned that fact the hard way last season, when the inferior dancer, race-car driver Helio Castroneves, collected more votes and took the title.
"I don't know if it's that women don't vote for women," Brown said Monday. "It's a very strange situation ... But at the end of the day, (Yamaguchi) is a brilliant dancer and so is (her partner), so I think if she doesn't win, that would be really sad."
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba acknowledged Monday that men have fared better on the show.
"The men are more easy," she said while judging one of Yamaguchi's dances. "They have a natural tendency to be more crowd-pleasers. And it's very difficult to keep up with that. But not tonight, girl!"
Men have won the mirrorball trophy during the show's past four seasons. The only woman to take the "Dancing" crown was Kelly Monaco in season one. With a viewership that's 75 percent women, plus brazen displays of bare skin and sex appeal from current male finalists Jason Taylor and Cristian de la Fuente, the hit ABC show still has plenty of suspense for the final episode.
And it drew plenty of viewers to Monday's broadcast - 19.2 million, according to Nielsen. It was the most-watched program of the night by far, with the largest audience for a Monday edition of "Dancing" in six weeks.
"You obviously have to get the technique, but (also) compete with the personalities that all the boys have," Yamaguchi told The Associated Press after Monday's performances. "I think their smiles and their personalities melt hearts across the country."
Figure-skating champ Yamaguchi got a perfect score of 60 on Monday's show, and has regularly topped the judges' scoreboard throughout the sixth season of the ABC dance-off. But viewer votes count just as much, and the combination is what determines the winner.
Spice Girl Melanie Brown learned that fact the hard way last season, when the inferior dancer, race-car driver Helio Castroneves, collected more votes and took the title.
"I don't know if it's that women don't vote for women," Brown said Monday. "It's a very strange situation ... But at the end of the day, (Yamaguchi) is a brilliant dancer and so is (her partner), so I think if she doesn't win, that would be really sad."
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba acknowledged Monday that men have fared better on the show.
"The men are more easy," she said while judging one of Yamaguchi's dances. "They have a natural tendency to be more crowd-pleasers. And it's very difficult to keep up with that. But not tonight, girl!"
The Daily Illini encourages on-topic discussion through article commenting on its articles and blogs. It is our policy not to delete any comments based upon political or ideological point of view. However, we reserve the right to remove comments that are abusive, off-topic or use excessive foul language.
The posting of copyrighted material, including any and all content for which you are not the author, is illegal under Federal intellectual property laws. Such activity will not be tolerated. Comments containing copyrighted material will be removed, and continued violation of copyright law is grounds for being banned completely from commenting on DailyIllini.com.
If you feel any post meets these conditions or merits review, please e-mail our editors at meonline@dailyillini.com.
Be the first to comment on this story