Cops Corral Overzealous Cher Fan
He didn’t get you, babe. And that’s a good thing.
An apparently drunken fan who harassed Cher at a famed Nashville honky-tonk was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and public intoxication early this morning, authorities confirm to News.
Nashville police said 36-year-old Calvin Hutton Houghland approached the “Believe” songstress at Tootsies Orchid Lounge, believing he might strike up a conversation with her. But Houghland got the brush-off as club management asked him to leave the nightspot.
Seemingly undeterred, he returned a short while later, according to police, sneaking into the VIP section of the lounge, where he saddled up to Cher and grabbed her by the waist.
Bouncers gave Houghland the heave-ho, only to have him attempt to get back into the club. After being blocked a second time, Houghland called the cops complaining that he had been assaulted.
Officers arrived and quickly deduced that Houghland was the one who needed tending to. He promptly flubbed a field sobriety test, police said.
The incident could have ended there because Cher declined to press charges. But her would-be dance partner asked to be taken into custody, and Nashville’s Finest obliged.
Houghland was jailed overnight and bail was set at $3,000.
Tootsies is considered a landmark nightclub in the downtown area of Nashville, best known for hosting performances by such country music legends as Waylon Jennings, Patsy Cline and Mel Tillis.
So You Think You Can Dance: Top 18 Revealed
I’m not going to be so quick as some of the commenters to say that this crop of dancers isn’t up to the level of talent we saw last season. You have to remember that this is the first week for these partnerships so many of these dancers have only begun to find their rhythm and the necessary chemistry with their partner to pull of some of these difficult routines. I am so glad to see that the choreographers are keeping things tough, and was more than impressed that there were at least five routines that I was absolutely impressed with.
Two of them genuinely moved me emotionally, which is a testament to choreographer and dancers alike. I’ll agree with my Dance partner, Kristin that Katee and Joshua pretty well stole the show with their hip-hop routine, and will second Nigel’s enthusiasm for the inclusion of Tabitha & Napoleon to the ranks of show choreographers. I will, however, also agree that their first number wasn’t nearly as good. The other outstanding piece for me was Mia Michaels “Tim Burton wedding” as danced beautifully by Chelsea H. and Mark. And I think the overwhelming wedding dress fit the quirkiness of the choreography just wonderfully. It worked so well that she was practically lost in it, but when you could see her limbs her linework was exquisite.
Going into the show tonight, my bottom three routines of the night were Courtney G. & Gev, Rayven & Jamie (ironic isn’t it) and Comfort & Chris. I know Comfort oozes personality, but her footwork and body posturing throughout that jive was a mess. I don’t figure she’ll be in the bottom three, but if we were to judge based solely on the dancing I saw, I’d put her there and then save her based on her inevitably amazing solo.
Top 20 Group Number - Wade Robson, Choreographer (”Cobrastyle,” Robyn)
The show opened with an incredibly fun number. I loved how Robson incorporated elements from the show itself, and specifically judge and executive producer Nigel Lythgoe into the choreography, even if he was only trussed up on a rolling chair throughout. As for the dancing, it was tight and fierce. I honestly expected a twenty dancer routine to be a bit of a nightmare, but if there were any weak points, the whole thing was just too much fun to even notice it. That said, it seemed more designed for the television, as there was also some tricky camera work as an integral part of the storytelling, than for a live theater, but what the hell. This is a television program, after all.
Guest Performances
Popping Pete and something incomprehensible that might be ’Shonee’ followed by Cat biting her tongue came out and did a popping routine to “I Can Make You Dance” by Zapp. I thought there were some really dry spots during it, and would have liked the choreography to incorporate the pair together better. But I’ll give them props for being part of the group that originated the style. And as they were the innovators, as with many things, others have come along and done more dynamic things with their creation.
Later, The Pussycat Dolls performed “When I Grow Up.” Let’s face it, this group is about how hot Nicole Scherzinger is and about the rest of the girls being half naked but still not quite as hot. For a group founded by a choreographer (Robin Antin) that started as a dance troupe performing on a dance show, I would have liked to see much better choreography out of them. Or if not that, some good singing, maybe? But I’ll give credit to Scherzinger for finding a black acrylic paint to plaster on her body where most people wear pants.
Building Your Bottom Three Couples
In the end, it came down to Matt & Kourtni L, which I have to say wasn’t a surprise because Matt was clearly out of his element. Rayven & Jamie did a fun hip-hop number that didn’t really pop in any way, or resonate with enough voters. Or did it offend them?
And then we got to the final two couples. Jessica & Will were declared the team to beat last night, while Courtney G & Gev just weren’t that good. So what happened and how did Jessica & Will wind up in the bottom three? Point blank: America got it wrong.
Solo Performances
- Kourtni L (”I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” The Side Project) - I thought Kourtni showed a lot of graceful, fluid motions and emotion in her solo.
- Matt (”Baby’s Romance,” Chris Garneau) - Matt also did everything technically we could have asked for but I would have liked a bit more energy and passion in his movement.
- Rayven (”As I Am (Intro),” Alicia Keys) - Ballet is really hard to sell in a solo to non-professionals, and even though I saw some really nice footwork and ballet movements from her, it all seemed a bit safe and simple. The dance style offers a lot more to showcase her abilities than a developpé, a few jumps and walking around as if on point, but not on point shoes, around the stage.
- Jamie (”Mas Que Nada,” Sergio Mendes feat. The Black Eyed Peas) - Ballroom is also difficult to do in solo format, but Jamie made the best of it and gave us a lot of fancy footwork and really showed what a ballroom male should be.
- Jessica (”Misery Business,” Paramore) - Jessica gave the most acrobatic performance; but there may not have been enough actual dancing.
- Will (”More Than Anyone (Stripped Version),” Gavin DeGraw) - What I want out of a contemporary dancer is what Will gave us: passion, emotion and powerful movements across the stage.
Before the reveal, I was ready to send Rayven and Matt home. But it wasn’t up to me, though as it turned out they agreed with me on Rayven. And because I know you’re going to ask, her farewell music was Kate Voegele’s “It’s Only Life.” They then saved Matt, though barely and sent Jamie home instead. And his farewell music was Graham Colton’s “Best Days,” which was also used during the final audition episode on American Idol. Somebody at 19 Entertainment likes that song.
As Kristin said in her review last night, I’ll be reviewing the performance episodes starting next week, with her covering these results escapades. So if you loved her there, I’m sorry but you’ll still get to love her in this slot starting next week. As for me, I’ll see you guys Wednesday for the Top 18 performances. I think we’re off to a great start on what should be an outstanding season.
Mandy: “Miley Is Totally Single”
Miley Cyrus is “totally single.” That’s what Miley’s BFF and dance partner Mandy Jiroux told Ryan Seacrest today.
Mandy appeared on Ryan’s KIIS-FM show this morning to promote the M&M Cru’s latest YouTube dance video (which just so happens to feature Seacrest) and dispel rumors that 15-year-old Miley got mom Tish in a tizzy by dating a 22-year-old backup dancer.
“I don’t know where they would get that,” Mandy says. “She’s not dating a backup dancer or a 22-year-old. She’s totally single.”
That doesn’t mean Miley isn’t drowning in attention from male dancers (not to mention David Blaine, Joey Fatone, Carson Daly and Chris Kattan). M&M’s latest video steps up the dance battle between them and Jon Chu and Adam Sevani, proving that it’s an awfully friendly competition.
So You Think You Can Dance: Let's Talk Top 20!
Here. We. Go.
The Top 20 of So You Think You Can Dance’s season four have been chosen. I got to meet them a little early, and here’s the dish on the some of the dancers and the season to come:
• According to lyrical-contemporary cutie Marquis Cunningham, “They have forewarned us that there’s going to be several new genres in the hat that they haven’t shown the past three seasons.” Mmmm…Polka? Bhangra? Quadrille? What do you suspect is going to be hiding in that hat?
• A little birdie told me that the top 20’s first group dance will be choreographed by legend-in-the-making Wade Robson. That’s good news for many of these kids, several whom who confided that Wade is the So You Think choreographer with whom they’d most like to work.
• Jamie Bayard is a scion of the Schwimmer dance dynasty. He’s not biologically related, but he was Lacey Schwimmer’s dance partner for four years, and they won two U.S. Swing dance championships together, and you know it’s all in the family.
• It’s a small world, and the dance world is even smaller than that: Chelsie Hightower went to high school with season two star Allison Holker; Katee Shean grew up in the same town as season one finalists Nick Lazzarini and Melody Lacayanga; and Matt Dorame and Chris Jarosz study at the same studio.
• Three of the top 10 girls are former NBA cheerleaders: Susie Garcia danced for the Miami Heat for six years; Courtney Galliano (she’s the one who came to audition with her grandparents in tow) dances for the New York Knicks; and Chelsea Traille is a self-professed “class junkie” who decided to try out the Dallas Mavericks’ brand of “commercial hip-hop” when she learned the gig came with free dance lessons.
• While I was chatting up the season-four kids, I found out that a season-two standout—who I thought was perhaps the lady of her season least likely to get knocked up—has just had a baby with her fiancé. They grow up so fast! Any theories on the identity of the new mom? Post your guesses in the comments.
Now, do you have any early faves from amongst the chosen ones? Share your picks!