For the past eight weeks, America has grown to love 13 celebrities ballroom dancing every Tuesday night. Today, only five of those couples remain with only two episodes left– the semifinals and the finale. Who is going to take home the mirrorball trophy?
The 5 stars remaining are; Joey Graziedi, Ilona Maher, Danny Almendola, Stephen Nedorocisk, and Chandler Kinney. Through the past eight weeks, these five couples have showcased a variety of ballroom styles and charmed viewers.Â
Chandler Kinney is currently leading in judge’s scores, with a total score of 264; Joey isn’t too far behind, following Chandler with a total score of 260. Ilona comes in last, scoring a total of 228. Throughout the show, Joey and Chandler have led the leaderboard consistently. Between their fan bases and dance abilities, I believe they will make it to the finale.
Danny, on the other hand, spent most of his time on the show in the middle of the pack. However, between Dedication Night and Disney Night, Danny has had some viral moments on TikTok, like the leg lift dance challenge. Since then, Danny has been a front runner on the show. Through his scores and viral moments on TikTok, I believe he will be dancing in the finale.
This then leaves Stephen and Ilona. As a Stephen fanatic, I would love to see Stephen dance in the finale; however, I believe this match up could go either way. In my opinion, Stephen is the stronger dancer and has had the larger improvement. Although he has had timing and technical issues in the past, his past dances have shown major improvement. His partner, Rylee Arnold, is also on the up and coming. This only being her second season on the show, Rylee has 1 million followers on Instagram and is incredibly popular on Tikok
Ilona, on the other hand, is the weaker of the two dancers. Her judges scores are consistently lower than Stephens, however her online presence is much stronger. With 4.3 million Instagram followers, Ilona leads the pack when it comes to online presence. To understand the gravity of her fan base, the second highest count is Joey, with 903K followers on Instagram. Ilona and her partner Alan are avid posters on TikTok, using the algorithm to their advantage via trends. Her videos consistently reach about 1 million views, carrying in a large audience. Although she has stuck at the middle of the pack throughout this season, her online presence may push her to the finals. For these reasons (as much as I love Stephen and this pains me to say), I believe Ilona will dance in the finale and Stephen will be sent home.
With only two episodes left and a mirrorball trophy at stake, pressures are high for the five remaining contestants. The stars must execute their dances and charm viewers like never before to make it to the finale. Who do you think is taking home the mirrorball?