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'DWTS' RECAP: Crowded at the Top

Semifinal night on Dancing With the Stars was a reminder that hype aside, this really has been a strong season. No one will really “deserve” to leave Tuesday, but there’s no way around it. And since the scores were practically even – everyone scored between 59 and 56 – viewer votes are going to be even more significant than usual.

An important factor in wrangling those votes will be the personal stories related by the final four prior to their second dance. To put it mildly, some of the stars have a better tale to tell here.

William Levy’s family got on a rickety craft from Cuba, and his parents struggled until their son’s potential as a model was discovered.

Maria Menounos was raised by Greek immigrants who worked round the clock to build a better life for their family.

Donald Driver grew up in poverty and spent some time homeless, until he found his place in the world of athletics.

Katherine Jenkins broke up with her boyfriend.

Yeah, one of these things is not like the others. And while Donald’s admission that he sold drugs while growing up in Houston may have raised some eyebrows and cost him some votes, Katherine is likely to be the dancer in the most trouble. She seems perfectly sweet, but it’s questionable that she’s made an emotional connection with the audience.

Ironically, Katherine might have made strides in that department at the end of her second dance, when an apparent back spasm caused her to flub the final move. She was in obvious pain and had to be assisted offstage by Mark Ballas, with her status going forward currently unknown. She wasn’t punished much by the judges (three scores of 9), but some sympathy votes may come her way.

The other major development Monday was the continuing improvement of the Maria/Derek Hough pairing, which may now pose a real threat to the William vs. Donald showdown that’s seemed inevitable for over a month. The judges may be responding to their obvious chemistry, since their jive was admittedly not exactly by the book.

William’s samba with Cheryl Burke was the crowd-pleaser everyone had been waiting for … though is it my imagination, or is the studio audience not quite as obsessed with him as it used to be? Have we gotten accustomed to his face already?

Donald has to be the best dancer to never get a 30 on this show – blame Len Goodman, who has stubbornly resisted giving him a perfect score. His samba with Peta Murgatroyd was as good a dance as we’ve seen all season. He might have gotten a boost from his Packer colleagues in the audience – never hurts to remind folks why you’re there.

Katherine is the tentative pick to leave this week, but I don’t know that anything would come as a total surprise.

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