The 5th Judge of 'Dancing With the Stars': Finale Perfection May Not Be Enough

A quick reminder about me: I spent nearly a decade of my life sweating and bleeding to the music as a dancer, all for this moment: armchair judging a dance competition. From a young boy learning a shuffle-ball-change to performing with the St. Louis Ballet Company, I experienced the ups and downs of one of the most difficult physically demanding sports on the planet.

Tonight, each couple will perform a redemption dance and a freestyle performance for their last chance to score votes from America. They'll have one more dance in Tuesday night's season finale, where the Mirrorball Trophy will be awarded. Fair warning, since I'm safe at home, I'm probably going to be a little harsher than my colleagues Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Julianne Hough and Bruno Tolioni. But I might be nicer, too. Maybe.

Former Cubs catcher David Ross & Lindsay Arnold tried to redeem his earlier performance in the Viennese Waltz as part of the week's theme, and they barely did. Yes, David has improved tremendously since Week 4, but that doesn't mean he performed this well, or that he deserves to be here. He was still stiff, running around with way too much bounce and inconsistent footwork, and his butt remains a problem, poking out when it should be tucked under. He shoulders were pulled tight, as if he was struggling with nerves worse than he has in a few weeks.

“Let's Hurt Tonight,” OneRepublic

Judges Scores: 8, 8, 9, 8

My Score: 6

David & Lindsay threw out the rulebook for a freestyle routine to try and showcase how much he's grown as a dancer in his time on the show. It had a baseball element to honor his past and the goal was sheer entertainment over technical perfection. The more hip-hop inspired moves are his wheelhouse, and while he remained a little too stiff throughout, Lindsay did a great job of creating a fun piece that showcased his strengths as a dance, and a few moments for each of them to shine.

“It Takes Two,” Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock / “Take Me Out to the Ball Game,” Ronnie Neuman

Judges Scores: 10, 10, 10, 10

My Score: 8

Fifth Harmony member Normani Kordei & Valentin Chmerkovskiy didn't have much to redeem, but the quickstep is always a problem and Week 1 was her most unpolished performance, so why not make her do it again? The package showed an ankle injury, and it helped explain some of her heaviness in the intro portion of the dance. The actual quickstep was nicely performed, but there were a few places again where her feet just didn't quite have what they needed to keep up with Val. He pulled her across the stage in a few places, but as a redemption it was a much-improved performance.

“Check It Out,” Oh the Larceny

Judges Scores: 10, 9, 9, 10

My Score: 9

Normani & Valentin went for a more emotional connection with their freestyle performance. It was flowing and beautiful, and they even incorporated a couple of kids in there to represent the legacy Normani hopes to leave behind. Normani has given us some of the most emotional performances on the entire season, and she poured every bit of that side of her performance abilities into this dance. Was it special enough to grab viewers and get votes? I'm not so sure. It was executed beautifully, but I don't think it's going to inspire any more phone calls than she would get. Normani may be the best technical dancer left in the show, but I think she might be in trouble.

“What the World Needs Now Is Love,” Andra Day

Judges Scores: 10, 10, 10, 10

My Score: 10

NFL running back Rashad Jennings & Emma Slater also tackled a Viennese Waltz, seeking redemption for his Week 2 performance that was somewhat less than stellar. It's almost unfair to David that Rashad had the same style, because wow did he perform this beautifully. He was so smooth across the dance floor, and yet such a strong partner for Emma. This was an emotionally powerful piece, and what lovely arm and legwork he gave us. He danced with such confidence and Emma gave him such wonderful choreography to showcase how tremendously he has improved in eight weeks.

“Dark Times,” The Weeknd f. Ed Sheeran

Judges Scores: 10, 10, 10, 10

My Score: 10

Rashad & Emma offered up something a little different as Rashad contributed to the choreography for this freestyle piece. He was trying to offer the energy and excitement of a Super Bowl Halftime Show. The partnering segment with Emma was perhaps the clunkiest, but only marginally so. The series of lifts had a few very minor hiccups as they worked their way through it, but it only stood out because the rest of the number was just so much high energy and fun. Rashad poured his heart and soul into a piece that was so much fun and yet emotional as well. He may have just scored himself a victory.

“Uptown Funk,” Mark Ronson f. Bruno Mars / “Let's Go,” Trick Daddy f. Deuce Poppi, Tre )+ 6 & Unda Presha

Judges Scores: 10, 10, 10, 10

My Score: 9.5 (I cheated one last time, yes)

PREDICTION

Well, this is probably the scariest part of the season for me, because America bases their vote so much on who they like. I do think David's judges' scores might have finally been low enough to at least keep him out of first place. I love the guy as much as everyone else, but I don't want to see him representing the show as supposedly one of its best celebrity performers. Rashad is on a hot streak and America loves an underdog, which may hurt Normani.

I'm going to predict Rashad in first, followed by David and then Normani. She deserves better, and I hope she gets better, but America seems to love David even more than they love baseball. While Normani and Rashad both had stellar evenings, Rashad did more to capture the love of America and I really think he did what he needed to do.

The 'Dancing With the Stars' season finale airs Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.