Dancing With The Stars, Reality Show | featured news

War veteran/soap opera actor J.R. Martinez’s stint on “Dancing With the Stars” started out strong, and it ended on a less impressive note with injuries and some sub-par performances — no matter. He was crowned the winner of season 13 on Tuesday night’s finale.

One day after Nancy Grace sacrificed a perfectly good news cycle full of hootin’ and hollerin’ about the Conrad Murray guilty verdict so she could practice for “Dancing With the Stars,” she was rewarded for her efforts by being officially eliminated from the competition, one week shy of the semi-finals.

Strange things happen on Halloween. All of a sudden there’s a spooky vibe in the air. Ghosts and goblins go looking for sweet treats. And somehow, even a “Dancing” dud can deliver a decent dance.

Having a big voting bloc certainly helps when a celebrity competes on “Dancing With the Stars,” but that will only get you so far if you lack dancing skill.

The competition lost more than its most vibrant contestant of the season on Tuesday night, it also lost its most entertaining. TV personality Carson Kressley became the season’s fifth casualty as viewers went back to voting off the lesser dancers after two straight weeks of unexpected cuts. His ouster wasn’t a total shocker. This was the former "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" star's second straight week at the bottom of the leaderboard, and the judges have for weeks complained about his lack of technique despite their love for his performances. As head grump judge Len Goodman had noted previously, it’s the worst dancers this season who are the most entertaining.

In the ballroom, all it takes is one off night to crush all hope of attaining the coveted mirror ball trophy. It was a lesson that Chynna Phillips learned the hard way after being eliminated on Tuesday night during week four of the competition. The singer from the popular '90s group Wilson Phillips had been riding high near the top of the leaderboard since season 13 kicked off, but after forgetting her routine on Monday’s performance show, it was lights out for her chances at ballroom glory.

The construct of ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” has been turned on its head, with the dancing professionals often exuding more star power than their celebrity partners.

"Dancing with the Stars" viewers didn't give Metta World Peace a chance. The basketball star formerly known as Ron Artest was the first celebrity ejected Tuesday from the 13th edition of the ABC dancing competition. The show's judges gave World Peace the lowest score on Monday's premiere: 14 out of a possible 30.

The author and activist showed off some fancy footwork in the ballroom and received praise from the judges. But as is often the case on "DWTS," the paddles told a different story.

Oprah Winfrey has made it clear that she doesn’t want to see her friends taking part in "Dancing With The Stars" -- even famously telling The Duchess Of York, Sarah Ferguson, "I better not see you on [the show]" But is Oprah trying to sabotage the ratings powerhouse or simply looking after those she loves?