Doll takes over Dancing with the Stars

Guest Contribution by Christine Navarrete

Nicole & Derek: Photo from ABC

From her days with Eden’s Crush to being the lead singer of the Pussy Cat Dolls, the Pilipino-Hawaiian-Russian beauty, Nicole Scherzinger, has come a long way in her singing career. Not only has PCD dominated the billboard charts, sold thousands of records, and rocked the stage, they have been one of the few girl groups to make it in the music industry alongside TLC. 

While the group took a break from the stage, Nicole worked on a solo debut album titled “Her Name is Nicole” in which she dropped 4 singles. Her second single, ‘Baby Love’ scored high in Europe and Brazil. But the talent doesn’t stop there. As an artist she has climbed her way to the top with her voice & PCD signature dance moves but has temporarily put that all aside to be part of a top reality show on ABC!

The singer belongs to an elite group of celebrities to hit the Dancing with the Stars stage. Season 10 has some of America’s favorite celebrities including Pamela Anderson, Bachelor Jake Palveka, the mom of eight Kate Gosselin, and 90210 star Shannon Doherty. However, there were definitely some mixed feelings about Nicole joining the show. Many said she had an advantage because she is a singer & dancer, but Nicole reassured America that the dances were completely out of her element. Week after week we have seen her struggle learning the various dance forms during rehearsals. Her partner, Derek Hough, says, “Nicole can get down on herself sometimes. And I’m partially to blame because I forget to compliment her sometimes and tell her what an amazing job she is doing. I feel like I just expect it from her because she is doing so well.”

And doing well she is indeed! Not only has she survived elimination every week, Nicole & Derek is the top couple to beat in the competition. In the first week, the duo danced the Viennese Waltz, giving the pair two 9s! And in the history of the show, very few celebrities have been able to score a 9 in their first week. In weeks 2, 3 and 4 they stayed in the top three. In week 5, they took back the lead with two 10’s, making it a total score of 29. Last week they scored a 26 with their sexy samba performance - keeping them at the top and away from elimination. 

Last night Nicole and Derek made America fall in love by dancing the waltz. And after her performance, judge Carrie Ann Inaba said, “You are by far the best dancer we’ve ever had on this show!” With that kind of feedback, Nicole tells E! “I was blown away.” However, this wasn’t just any performance for Nicole. Dancing the waltz to “You Light up my life” meant something different to her. She dedicated her performance to her aunt, who has Down syndrome. “She definitely means a lot to me. She lights up my life and my whole family’s life. She’s very special.”

There a still a few more weeks left in the competition, and to keep Nicole at the top, make sure you vote and watch Dancing with the Stars every Monday night at 8pm PST on ABC.