DWTS Season 17: Week 1 Preview

We are just days away from the kickoff episode of Season 17 of Dancing With the Stars. It's been a long summer without you, but a big "thanks" to those who joined me and Jake for Season 10 of SYTYCD. We had a blast with some amazing guests. We are hoping to keep that tradition going with this season of DWTS.

The entire crew is back on Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. PT this season: me, Suri Serano, Jake DuPree, Anna Trebunskaya...and one small addition: Baby Bump Trebunskaya! We are so excited for our co-host and her exciting new adventure.

Our first guest is locked and ready to go, so get those questions in for Julian Tocker, one of Season 16's troupe members. Questions go in the comments section below.

You can watch the show live here on Tuesday at 8 p.m. PT on AfterBuzz TV.

Our guest list is published here so you can mark your calendars for your DWTS favorites.

DWTS Season 17: The End of the Ringer Debate

Don't ever count out athletes like Keyshawn Johnson in this competition.

Since we are only eight days away from the Season 17 launch of Dancing With the Stars. I'd like this to the last time we talk about ringers this season. Last season was filled with talk about the lovely Zendaya and her "ringer" status. It's just a waste of time talking about this since the alleged ringer doesn't always win. Let's talk about dance and choreography and personality--things that matter to the show. There will always be some producer manipulation behind the scenes, but arguing about it is just exhausting.

Yep, that's Snooki during her gymnastic and cheerleading days.

Here's a sample of a few of the contestants who have had dance or movement training prior to joining the cast.

Start by watching the incredible Valerie Harper in this production number. It isn't available for embedding, but it's definitely worth watching.

Elizabeth Berkley:


Amber Riley:


Christina Milian:


Bill Nye, The Science Guy:


Corbin Bleu:


DWTS on AfterBuzz TV premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 17 with me, Anna Trebunskaya, Suri Serano and Jake DuPree at 8 p.m. PT. Watch here. 

SYTYCD on AfterBuzz TV Top 20: Anna Trebunskaya

I am so excited for this season of SYTYCD. Last season was boring and it felt like it would never end. This season feels like the show got a nice boost of energy. I don't know why it feels different, but it does.

We were so lucky to have Anna Trebunskaya join us for our first guested episode. She gave us some great insight on Serge Onik who was eliminated during the Green Mile. We also talked about Armen Way who didn't make it to the Top 33. Both are very strong male ballroom dancers, perhaps stronger than the two finalists Paul Karmiryan and Alan Bersten.

See our weekly SYTYCD on AfterBuzz TV Vine video >>

Also, I was the only one who disagreed about BluPrint. I love his work, but he leaves me emotionally empty. He strikes me as this season's Alexa Anderson, but everyone thinks he will be a finalist. Let's see what happens.

If you missed the episode, you can watch it below or download the podcast here.

AfterBuzz TV SYTYCD: Top 20 Preview

It's time for guests on SYTYCD on AfterBuzz TV. The live Hollywood shows begin this week along with the Top 20 announcement, so we are ready to announce our first guest on the after show. For my DWTS fans, it's going to be a very familiar face. She missed the last week of our show, but she promised to come back for SYTYCD this summer and she's holding true to her promise.

It's Anna Trebunskaya!

With the ballroom dancers having such a strong showing last year and so far in the audition rounds, they are going to be a big part of this season...Jenna Johnson, anyone?  So, Anna is the perfect guest to kick off the season.

Just like DWTS, you can ask questions for Anna in the comment section below. We will be focusing on SYTYCD, so most likely, DWTS questions will not get asked/answered.

See you on Wednesday at 9pm PT LIVE on AfterBuzz TV!  Watch here.

AfterBuzz TV SYTYCD: Boston Auditions

The whole gang is back together this week as we talk about the Boston auditions. It's my hometown and the dance scene is fierce in that town. It's a city that really supports the arts and it shows! I think it's the best set of auditions we have seen in awhile on SYTYCD.

Many of you have asked when our guests will be coming on. We will start with guests once we hit the Top 20. It makes the most sense since we want our guests to be talking about the true contenders for the title. From everything I am hearing, there is only going to be one winner this season. I am happy with that change from the two winner-result last season.

We have had a ton of requests for specific guests. I keep hearing Witney Carson and Lindsay Arnold requested over and over. We will try our best to get both of them, but one caveat: Lindsay is not living in LA this summer. I will try and coordinate with her schedule if she happens to be in town, but that is where we stand with her situation. Finally, Anna Trebunskaya promised to come in. As many of you know, she was a great addition to our DWTS show.

If you missed the show, you can view it below or listen to the podcast. Thanks for making it the #10 most downloaded show on AfterBuzz TV last week!

And a big thanks to Kaitlyn for calling in to discuss the Boston auditions!

AfterBuzz TV's DWTS: Henry Byalikov

This was such a fun show. I'm so glad we had Henry Byalikov back on this season for a second time so he was able to give us the inside scoop on his work with Baz Lurhmann on Gatsby.  He's always a great guest and we all know his fans are legendary.

Catch our pre-show Vine video here.

It was our last show with Anna Trebunskaya and we are going to miss her next week. She's been a great addition to the show this season on AfterBuzz TV. However, we do have two pros currently confirmed for next week's show. Be sure to come back here on Tuesday to find out who it is. I am really excited to end the season in a big way. It will be an awesome finish to a fascinating season.

I wanted to list everyone's Top 4 predictions for next week. I think our answers shocked a few of you and none of us had the same answer. Do you agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments below. See you all next week!

Predictions:

Suri                        Anna
1st: Jacoby              1st/2nd: Kellie/Jacoby (She couldn't decide.)
2nd:  Kellie              3rd: Aly
3rd: Zendaya           4th: Zendaya
4th: Aly

Henry                     Jake:
1st: Kellie                1st: Kellie
2nd: Jacoby            2nd: Zendaya
3rd:  Aly                  3rd: Jacoby
4th: Zendaya           4th: Aly

Kristyn
1st: Kellie
2nd: Jacoby
3rd: Zendaya
4th: Aly

If you missed the show, you can watch below.

AfterBuzz TV DWTS: Week 9 Preview

We are welcoming back a return guest for us this week on AfterBuzz TV, in honor of the release of the Baz Luhrmann's Gatsby, it's Henry Byalikov. We will have the opportunity to ask him about the film and what it was like working with stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan, so get those questions in now!  Remember, add them to the comments below.

You can find the AfterBuzz TV DWTS show here, Wednesday at 9pm PT.

Suri, Jake and I are definitely back this week. We are waiting for confirmation from Anna. UPDATE: Anna will be joining us. Hooray!

It's semifinals week and you KNOW we have a lot to say!

Preview: AfterBuzz TV DWTS, Week 8

Okay, I know a lot of you have been asking who are guests are this week. My answer...I don't know yet. Jake is working hard on it back in LA, so hopefully we will have a guest this week. If not, you all know we have plenty to talk about with Len's "7", Sean's elimination, and Kellie and Derek were in jeopardy-ish this week.

UPDATE:  Our guests tomorrow night are Sasha Farber and Emma Slater...get those questions in!

DOUBLE UPDATE: Tristan MacManus is coming, too! #PartyTime

TRIPLE UPDATE:  No Anna tonight. She's performing in Vancouver.

So...if you have been following my tweets, I am not in LA. I am working in Houston this week.  In addition, Suri is not in LA this week either. She's starting the ProGym Challenge in Pennsylvania. It will air on ESPN2 in two weeks.  We will both be joining the discussion via the phone while Jake and Anna hold down the fort in LA.

I will be LIVE tweeting tomorrow night again like I did back in March when I was out of town for work.  Remember to use the official hashtag to talk with me and Suri:  #ABTVDance.

I am still collecting questions for Anna here on my site, so make sure to leave all of your comments and questions below.  Can you believe we only have 2 weeks left?

If you are a fan of SYTYCD, I will be starting the AfterBuzz show next week with my co-host AJ Gibson. I will have more details on time and date soon.

AfterBuzz TV Dancing With the Stars, Week 7 Preview

We did let one of our guest's names slip on last week's show. We had her on last year and she provided a tremendous amount of insight, commentary, and opinions on Season 15. It's going to be great to hear what she has to say about Season 16.

Wednesday night's guest is...Shirley Ballas!  Joining her will be professional dancer Yegor Novikov who has had incredible success in competition.  Of course, Anna will also be in the house, so start sending in your questions. Post them in the comments below.

Don't forget to watch the show on AfterBuzz TV at 9pm PT. Link is here.

AfterBuzz TV DWTS, Week 6 Preview

This is when it gets tougher and tougher to book guests because the rehearsals become more demanding with group dances and the competition gets even stiffer. Everyone wants to win.

We had two great guests for you, but they had to pull out late last night due to rehearsal. We are hoping to have them on later in the season.

However, we still have the amazing Anna Trebunskaya with us this week and she choreographed two numbers while Stevie Wonder sang live.  I have to admit, I am pretty jealous because it was an incredible opportunity for the pros and celebs to work with a living legend.

So, here's the week to ask Anna your questions about choreography, about how the show is run, how the contestants feel at this stage of the game, etc.  Ask away! Use the comments section below to ask your questions. The comments section will be the ONLY place I will take questions for tonight's show.

A couple of things I want to note:
   1. Voting:  We talked a lot about it this week on Twitter. Some of you are having issues, but this is probably not a topic we will address on AfterBuzz since there are so many dance topics to discuss. Technology is not perfect, so there are often glitches in the online voting system. As @DWTSGossip pointed out, voting is NOT run by ABC. It is run by an outside firm to adhere to broadcast standards and practices.  If you have complaints about the system, contact ABC here. There is also a People magazine article about it here. (If there is time, we will try to address Twitter voting tonight. That topic makes more sense for this week's team dances/results.)

2.  Autograph Requests:  Thanks for watching the show and supporting us, we really appreciate it. Many of you have asked for photos/autographs from the AfterBuzz crew. We are happy to do it, but here's the process:

A. Print up a photo of your choice at this Pinterest page.
B. Send a Self-Addressed, Stamped Envelope and Photo to:
   Kristyn Burtt
   c/o M4PR
   11684 Ventura Blvd.
   Suite 213
   Studio City, CA 91604
   USA

Let me know if you have any questions. You can always find the contact information here, too. 

See you tonight at 9pm PT on AfterBuzz TV! Watch here.

AfterBuzz TV's DWTS, Week 5: Witney Carson

I personally had more fun on this show versus any other episode we have done so far. Anna and our awesome guest, Witney Carson, did a great job of giving us more inside information than we have ever seen. From learning about Anna's time spent with Zendaya to get her ready for the Tango to Aly's mindset after hearing about the tragic Boston events earlier in the day, Witney and Anna both delivered.

The other thing that has been fun guessing is where Witney will turn up this summer. Most of you seem to think she will be a SYTYCD All-Star on Fox. It's a great guess and it makes a lot of sense.

Finally, we addressed the Zendaya "ringer" comment that has been coming up so much. We discussed it at length. You are welcome to add your thoughts in the comments below and I will definitely respond if you have more to add to the discussion.  Otherwise, I think we have exhausted the topic on the show, but let me know if you think we missed something during our debate.

Thank you all for your fan questions. We are trying to incorporate them as much as possible into the show whether it is on the red carpet, via a phone call, or from my blog, I think you all have added so much to our show.  It's really amazing!

If you missed the show, you can download it here on iTunes or watch it below.

See you next week!

AfterBuzz TV's DWTS Week 5 Preview

I know you have all been waiting for the announcement of the guests for tonight's Dancing with the Stars show on AfterBuzz TV.  This week was such a busy week for all of the dancers, so we had to wait a bit to hear back from their contact person. However, I think this is going to be a fun ladies' night. (Jake DuPree is going to be surrounded by lots of girls tonight!)

Since we will be talking about Len's Side by Side Challenge, we will have our resident expert, Anna Trebunskaya, who performed three numbers this week plus...

New troupe member Witney Carson, fresh off of last season's So You Think You Can Dance....

She's going to try and bring another familiar face with her...new pro, Victor Ortiz's partner, and fellow SYTYCD contestant, Lindsay Arnold. (Witney is confirmed, Lindsay will appear if her schedule allows.)

So don't forget to watch tonight at 9pm PT LIVE on AfterBuzz TV. Link is here.

If you have questions for Anna, Witney, or Lindsay, post them in the comments below.  This is the official place to submit questions.  

AfterBuzz TV DWTS: Victor Ortiz

I'm dramatically talking about Ingo and Kym's Viennese Waltz.

Okay, what a week it was!  We started off the night with a bit of a disappointment that Sean Lowe and Peta Murgatroyd were tied up (again!) at another taping and they couldn't make it to our set. However, Victor Ortiz was in the house and he couldn't have been a better guest. We really appreciated the fact that he showed up because he came from a long day at the gym and rehearsal to join our show.

As you can see, he was a fun and lively guest who gave us some inside scoop on the personalities of the guests:  Sean is a good guy who obeys the rules, Jacoby is a jokester, and DL is serious on set.  I also appreciated Victor's honesty about his developing friendship with his pro partner Lindsay Arnold. He also dispels the dating rumor about the two. 

Oh...and how about the caller, Patty, who talked about wanting more new pros versus old pros?  I thought Anna was going to faint right there in the studio. 

Also, this is my favorite Jake DuPree moment (above) last night when he was talking about Sean's solo. Don't miss this moment.

I also posed the question at the end of the show about DWTS being about talent or improvement.  It was brought up in an article by Rebecca Martin of Wetpaint, so I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. Read the article here and then post your thoughts in the comments below.

I don't have any guests to announce for next week...yet. Stay tuned on that topic.

If you want to see our group shot with Victor, head on over to my Facebook page.

Watch this week's AfterBuzz TV show for DWTS below:

AfterBuzz TV Week 4 DWTS Preview

What did you guys think of last night's DWTS show?  The competition is definitely stepping it up! Suri and I appreciate all of your comments, so we made a fun little video addressing some of your feedback from Week 3. If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it below:



There is one thing I want to address that was not in the video...placement of the guests in the studio.  We have added to our panel and Jake DuPree and Anna Trebunskaya have done a tremendous job with their thoughts and opinions. It is nice to have an uncensored pro who tells it like it is and who can explain why certain things happened they way they did.  With four of us on the panel, that means our guests are on the couch.  It is set up like Howard Stern's show. Click here to see an example.

It is not a slight, it is designed to give the guests maximum exposure while we interview them and it creates a clean camera angle for the crew to shoot them.  Please understand that while we are the faces of the AfterBuzz TV show, there are many who work tirelessly behind the camera to make this show happen.  We want to make it the best show possible for all of you. If you have feedback that I cannot address or you want to take it to the executive producer level, email here: info@afterbuzztv.com

If you missed last week's show, watch it here.
California DWTS fans, click here to read about a DWTS ticket opportunity.


We will see you on Wednesday at 9pm PT on AfterBuzzTV.com
with Anna Trebunskaya, Sean Lowe, Peta Murgatroyd, and Victor Ortiz. (Reminder: Schedules announced guests are subject to change.)

Don't forget to put your questions for Peta, Sean, and Victor in the comments below. We might read your question on the air!

Dancing with the Stars Show: Tristan MacManus, Henry Byalikov

Whoa! What a show, right? It was a cast of thousands in the studio last night with Tristan MacManus, Henry Byalikov, and Anna Trebunskaya at AfterBuzz TV. Thank you so much for all of your questions and to Grant for calling in.  You will see how much fun we had because we could not stop laughing throughout the show. What you didn't see was that Maria Menounos was with us before the show started. So, the photo up top proves she was in the building last night!

Me and Henry

We will be back next week with even more exciting guests...are you ready to hear who will be in our studio?

Guests: Peta Murgatroyd, Sean Lowe, and Victor Ortiz....and yes, Anna Trebunskaya will be back!

As always, put the questions and comments below for next week and spread the word about next week's show!

Thank you for your support!  We love you guys. xoxo

If you want to download the podcast, go here.

Me, Tristan, and Suri

Media Mondays

What a week it was! I hope everyone is recovering from chocolate bunny gluttony and surviving the pranks of April Fool's Day today. I have one long-standing April Fool's joke with an old friend that involves the number 967-5309.  We used to send that number each year on our pagers. Yes, I said pagers.

Last week was a big, busy media week for me from LA to New York. Here's where you can find all of my media appearances from last week:

Big Morning Buzz with Carrie Keagan:  The highlight of my New York trip was appearing on the panel for the VH1 show. You know how much I love talking about entertainment hot topics, so this was an ideal day for me. We talked about poor Kim Kardashian and her pregnancy fashion choices and more. For more photos from the day, check out my Facebook page.

TV Shows - Full Episode Video - Reality TV Shows

Hyundai with Tom Colicchio:  As a fan of food and Top Chef, this was a winning combination for me last week at the New York Auto Show. I hosted the live stream for Hyundai again and I had the opportunity to interview the famed chef.  All of the scoop is here.

Tom Barnard Podcast:  We talk about Jay Leno being a jerk, James Franco is boob obsessed and we were desperately looking for Louie Anderson from ABC's Splash. It was a funny show. Listen here.

Driving with Gass: I didn't know he was archiving the show! Yay!  Here's the scoop on the ShamWow guy having the worst selling movie of the week. Yes, the ShamWow guys directs.  Listen here.

Dancing with the Stars:  We had on Anna Trebunskaya! It is turning out to be a great season, much better than the All-Star season. If you missed our show, I posted it here last week.

The Radio Dish:  I join in at the 18:00 mark. We dish about the Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton's fun marriage, Dionne Warwick's bankruptcy, and Independence Day sequels.

SheKnows:
My Rozzi Crane video interview is finally up--Watch it here, she's a superstar.
Snooki offers delivery fashion advice to Kim Kardashian--Hell has frozen over.
Matt Lauer apologizes to a former TODAY show intern--Lauer had a really bad week.

It's Monday, so you have two opportunities to catch me on the air today:
1:30pm PT Metro News Hotline with Dave Weekley
7:35pm PT Driving with Gass on KWSS.org

AfterBuzz TV, Dancing with the Stars: Week 2 with Anna Trebunskaya

My notes, gossip, and Twitter page ready for last night's show.

I want to thank everyone for joining us last night on AfterBuzz TV for Dancing with the Stars. I had a blast tweeting live with many of you at our official hashtag:  #ABTVDance.  It was interesting to see the show from a different perspective since I joined via phone from New York.

One thing I want to address is our current time slot. Many of you on the East Coast have asked about the time of our show.  This season, we are locked into a 9pm PT time slot.  This will remain a fixed time for Season 16.  I know this is late for most you on the East Coast (I know firsthand, since I was up until after 1am ET chatting with you!) We will definitely take this into consideration for next season, but I want to let you know why we are on so late:

1.  AfterBuzz TV is a full working studio with many shows scheduled before and after us.  Since Season 16 of DWTS falls mid-season, we have to take the available studio slots.

2.  The times that were available were not always convenient for our DWTS guests, so we took the best slot that would make our show more attractive for the pros and celebs to come on our show. If we schedule it too early, we cut into rehearsal time. If we schedule it on a broadcast day, we won't get anyone.

3. AfterBuzz TV actually moved around the schedule to accommodate our 9pm PT slot. Originally, it was going to be at 10pm PT...which is even worse for you East Coasters.  So, the crew and I are very grateful that they made this happen.

So, don't worry, we hear you!  We will take your comments and suggestions and use them for Season 17. In the meantime, please enjoy last night's broadcast below or download the podcast in iTunes here.

AfterBuzz TV: DWTS Week 2 Show Updates

I know I have been chatting with a lot of you on Twitter, so some of you know I am working in New York this week.  I will still be participating in the show though. (And what a week it was! Wow! I wouldn't miss it.)

As of right now, this is how the show will run:

Suri will be leading the show and joining her in studio: Jake DuPree,whom some of you may know from AfterBuzz TV's Vanderpump Rules show. Also in studio, Anna Trebunskaya, last seen in Season 15 of DWTS: All-Stars with Drew Lachey.

I will be joining the show live on the phone from New York.

As for Peta (See, I got her name right!) Murgatroyd and Sean Lowe, they are still up in the air. Their schedule keeps changing, so it's been a "yes" and now it's a "maybe."  The rehearsal schedule is brutal and everyone wants to compete and win.  We have to be patient, but we will get as many guests for you as possible this season.

If this news changes, I will try and update it here and on Twitter.

Thanks for all of your comments and support. I have tried to answer as many of your comments as possible this week. Let me know if I have missed you somehow.

See you tonight on AfterBuzz TV!

Watch the show here live at 9pm PT/Midnight ET.

If you missed any of my DWTS coverage from last week, you can find it here.