Dancing With The Country Stars

With only five couple left on Dancing With The Stars, the competition for the finals is getting tighter. Nicole & Derek have been front-runners all season, but last week Evan & Anna nipped at their heels by grabbing the first perfect 30 of the season by way of the first 10 from Len. Chad & Cheryl have been stepping up their game the past couple of weeks, as have Niecy & Louie. Perhaps Niecy has been holding back to prepare for a sprint to the end with her jiggly parts? And then there’s Erin & Maks’ shocking drop to the bottom two last week, despite the season’s favorably judged dancing.

After last night’s double-dances, anything can happen with tonight’s results, as often does on this popularly rated TV show. As an example of how just anything can happen, it’s fun to read that two-time champion Julianne Hough will return to the show this fall for Season 11. She’s taken the last couple of seasons off to pursue movies and music, and she says that she’s not giving up either. As a matter of fact, Julianne just wrapped up her sophomore album saying, “I’m so excited we just finished it. It’s in the mixing and mastering stages right now. I’m so so proud of it. I co-wrote a lot of the songs so to me, this is like the real coming out party for Julianne. This is what I’ve wanted to do since the beginning.”

No release date has been announced for the album, but sometime during the period when she’s in front of one of the largest TV audiences each week would probably be a safe guess. Perhaps we’ll see another country hunk dancing with Julianne next season? You’re right. Too predictable. Julianne should be put with any one of next season’s yet-to-be-announced celebrities. But they should still bring on a country hunk and place him with one of the other female professionals in order to make for some interesting competition! Any suggestions who you’d like to see?

Oh, and one other TV Note. Luke Bryan will be making his first appearance on The Tonight Show tonight to sing "Rain Is A Good Thing." "I have watched The Tonight Show since I was a kid growing up in Leesburg, Ga.," Luke said. "I can't believe I have been invited to perform on one of television's most iconic shows."