Dancing With The Stars 2006 Recap

We continue our recap of past seasons of Dancing with the Stars.

In the second season of DWTS (2006) the former boss of WINZ, Christine Rankin and partner David Yeates were first to go. She had the legs, she had the earrings, but she couldn’t win the public vote.


Coast to Coast champion Steve Gurney hoped learning to dance would give him confidence for dating, but it was probably his chest wax, that sealed his fate, seeing Steve and Sharan Phillips the second pair to go home.



David Wikaira-Paul and Rebecca Nicholson showed a lot of promise with energetic routines but went home from the competition early despite entertaining performances.



Another Shortland St actor quickly followed. Christened a Yummy Mummy by host Jason Gunn, Angela Bloomfield showed her flexibility doing the splits in her routine with partner Jonny Williams.



Despite poor rhythm and an inability to master basic Ballroom or Latin dancing steps Rodney Hide continued in the competition by spending most of his time campaigning for votes.


He was nicknamed the dancing potato and dropped his patient partner Krystal Stuart on her head during the now famous spear tackle move but he kept smiling, and went on to continue losing weight after the competition taking up swimming and running.



Swimmer Danyon Loader was paired with Hayley Holt sparking rumours of on-and-off stage chemistry. Labelled a ‘ballroom boy’ by judge Alison Leonard, Danyon finished third in the second season of the show.




Discus champion turned television presenter Beatrice Faumuina partnered with Brian Jones was an early favourite and widely tipped to win the competition. She had superb characterisation of the dances but in the latter stages of the competition, did not achieve the same levels of technical performance.

Brian created fun routines for Beatrice and in the Jive pretended he was about to lift Beatrice, and then got flipped by her!


Lorraine Downes and Aaron Gilmore were crowned the 2006 winners of Dancing with the Stars winning both the judges’ scorecard and the public vote.







Related Stories:
Dancing with the Stars 2005 Recap
2007 Best & Worst of Dancing With The Stars Awards
Click here for the full line up of dancers and celebrities for 2008 Dancing With The Stars

Photos: TVNZ, Scoop

Are Celebs Smarter Than A 10 Year Old? Xmas Special

A whole lot of Kiwi adults proved they just were not smarter than TV2's class of 10-year-olds in game show Are You Smarter Than A 10 Year Old? Will three of NZ's favourite celebrities fare any better in this extra-special Christmas quiz?

Find out this Sunday 23rd December at 7.30PM when Pop’s Ultimate Star contestant and ex Shortland Street actor David Wikaira-Paul, Builder and Celebrity Treasure Island winner John “Cocksy” Cocks and My House My Castle presenter Rob Harte battle to prove they are smarter than a 10 year old.


Photos: TVNZ

Pop's Ultimate Embarrassments, Minties Moments and scandals

Okay, so we know Pop's Ultimate Wannabe Star is over, but some memories live on. After the awards ceremony we looked back over the series and discovered that some of the Minties Moments deserve extra recognition, so today we present Pop's Ultimate Embarrassments - the tragic outfits, the ones they forgot to do up and all the thrills and spills of reality television.


Lip-synching scandal
TVNZ categorically deny any lip-synching or vote rigging. Okay, we accept there was no lip-synching on Pop's Ultimate Star, but we do have a query about Joe's comment in her interview:

I love the fact you do something and you do your very best and still people criticise you and find fault. I have never lip synched in my life. It is always live.

A couple of hundred people who watched TrueBliss perform 'live' at Lynn Mall say otherwise...so did the Western Leader. As for the vote rigging? They jury's still out on that one, so we'll keep you posted on the official investigation.


Word Blunders
Of course, Big Matt Saunoa probably wishes he could have lip-synched his way through the final after blowing it by forgetting the lines of his song. And it’s not the first time... Big Matt made a wowser of a boo-boo in the final when he missed two whole lines of the second verse. But he wasn't the only one.

Ben Lummis also forgot the words to his song in an earlier show and who can forget Ben's use of the word "Jew", instead of "You" during his performance of 'Every Breathe You Take' by The Police?

David Wikaira-Paul and Camillia Temple also struggled with the word "ask," using "aks" instead. Tut tut.


Voting Scandal
As for the voting I have one query...
How did TJ win Virtual Pop Star when he wasn't in the top 10?


The Trippers
Maybe the glass stage and stairs were a bad idea. The contestants seemed to struggle with their balance, and a few of them tripped. Ben's stumble wasn't obvious to everyone but others were more obvious.

Some of the ladies dresses made them a bit unstable and others had hiccups during their performances:

• Keri Harper managed to trip on her jacket
• David Wikaira-Paul's stumble down the stairs
• Ben Lummis tripped twice.
• Emily Williams tripped over gawd knows what (must have been her high-high-high heeled boots) and...
• Matt had a bit of a stumble on the glass stage, but managed to make it look like part of his dance moves.

The Tragic Outfits.
We were really spoilt for choice when looking back over the series fashion shockers. From Camillia's awful 80's get-up, to Steve's Drag Queen ensemble, to Emily's Street Walker look, there were more lows than highs. Although nothing got lower than the neckline on Joe's dresses!

On a bright note, if Mother Goose ever needs another Humpty Dumpty, there's always Matt.


The abuse
Joe Cotton's win wasn't popular with everyone. Matt Saunoa's partner, Lisa-Jane MacKenzie abused the judges on the final night and stormed out of TVNZ's Avalon studio, after Matt received very average feedback from the judges. Heck Lisa-Jane, those guys are big influencers in the music industry. Jordan Luck is looking for new talent to perform songs, somehow we don't expect Matt will be getting a call.

Messageboards were active with allegations of vote fixing and dodgy judging. Some went as far as threatening Joe Cotton after her win, believing she was unworthy of the title. In the end, the abuse was so extreme that TVNZ made the decision to close their messageboard.


The Scandals - Drugs, Sex and Alcohol
Matt gave us some goodies with his infamous night at the Casino, and the Play Station incident. Not to mention the drama that played out on stage between him and Harry over Matt's lack of professionalism.

Speaking of Matt and the Sky City Casino, during the NZ Idol series, the contestants went for a jump off the Sky Tower. Matt was unable to participate because of his size and weight. Ouch!

As for Kim Willoughby, she does have a son with Temuera Morrison, although she is not listed on any celebrity profiles as being the boy's mother. Tem also has full custody of their son. That's pretty unusual. We wonder why...

And how about David Wikaira-Paul's Singing Coach? She coached him straight out of the competition. All credit to David - He did better than anyone predicted, but does anyone know what happened to his promised TV appearance? In Dave's elimination interview, he mentioned that we would see him on another television show a couple of weeks after the end of Pop's Ultimate Star. Did we blink and miss it?

Nik Carlson's ultimate embarrassment is being a mummy's boy, after letting his mother fight his battles for him. His everlovin' mum accused TVNZ of vote rigging. We're still waiting on the results of that enquiry, but given that TVNZ take three months to cough up the money that celebs earned for charity on Dancing with the Stars, we're not holding our breath.

One final question Nik, please answer the question...Are you Gay? We put our questions to him, but he chose to ignore us. Big mistake Nikster. Making up gossip is MUCH more fun! He's never denied it, and various messageboards have talked about his ex-boyfriend, so until we hear otherwise...


Emily's on again off again album news
Emily Williams did her bit with rumours circulating about drug use and alcohol problems. One eye witness claims that Emily frequently drinks alcohol during performances. She certainly seemed vague during her interviews.

Emily signed to Sony in January 2006 and the press release at the time stated that her album would be released during 2006, but her album is yet to be released. Some have speculated that Em's drinking is the holdup. During her interview with NZ Reality TV, Em told us she would be recording her album on her return to Australia. Em's man has been saying there may be an album from Emily and sister Lavina during 2008. There will also be a second album from Emily's band Young Divas in November 2007, with a single from the group in September 2007. We'll keep you posted.

Rachel Says:
June 22nd, 2006 at 10:41 am
The reason why sony is not releasing anything yet, on emily is because she arrived to a showcase for sony looking disorientated and drugged out, maybe emily is taking this opportunity for granted, me and my partner watched her perform in sydney a few months back at a gay bar and we were shocked to see her sculling cups of wine or beer backstage.

We hope she wasn't drinking during P.U.S, since she claimed, on Studio 2, that she only drinks cups of tea before going on stage.

That reminds me. Perhaps Em should have gotten a few more hours sleep after her elimination night. She was looking terribly under the weather when she appeared on Studio 2. In fact, I think she was still drunk from the previous nights efforts. In her elimination interview she admitted to being horribly hung over. Fair enough, but is this a habit with Young Diva Emily?

After she ran the 'Celebrity Gauntlet' on TV's Studio 2, Emily had to drink a shot of Wheat grass, suck an orange wedge, and sing the first line of the New Zealand National Anthem. It took a mighty effort on her part not to vomit. How embarrassing. But according to TVNZ she was a "trooper" and a good sport about the whole adventure.


Immunity Rout
The public spoke out and the public were heard. Full credit to the person responsible for axing that madcap idea. Camillia, Nik, and Ben were given immunity from elimination before it was thrown in the bin. And not before time - what a ripoff, scamming voters out of money, and then awarding immunity. Tsk tsk Touchdown. It's bad enough that you force us to watch mediocre singers being praised by namby pamby judges, but then you force us to watch those singers get caked in your sponsor's products (if only it had been the toothpaste, instead of the mascara - that would be entertaining), and take money from teens under the guise of letting them choose who gets eliminated from the show.


Hide Under A Rock - Zipper Slip!
Resident goddess Rosita Vai, might not have noticed, but Cerise did. Performing on National telly with your zipper down ranks up there with going to school in your pyjamas. Cringe factor 10.
Thanks for the chuckle, Rosita. We especially loved Rosita's elimination interview when you told us WE were the weird ones!


Most Desperate Fan
Thanks to MaryCherry for this little gem...

I reckon Boyband's Rob Arnold deserves an award for Saddest Attempt To Get on TV. He was in the audience a few times holding big sings for Joe, wearing a TrueBliss T-shirt and having insanely bad hair. Surely that deserves something?

We agree.


The Thank You Queen
We know someone brought you up real good Camillia, but the incessant toadying and thank yous were a bit much. We like the real Camillia. The one who tells it like it is in her elimination interview and shows she's got sass. Of course, your manners were a lot better than NZ Idol judge Megan 'Girlfriend' Alatini, who argued with the DWTS judges, but perhaps something in the middle would be a bit more realistic, huh?

Compiled by Cerise, Miss Prozac, a bottomless glass of Chardonnay and a few bottles of beer

Steve Broad no longer single and other gossip

Weird stuff in the gossip department.

Just saw this on Steve Broad's bebo:
"To those who didnt notice..i am now in a relationship and yes, the baby is mine..BEBO-the place where i choose to share my deepest secrets.." (1 day ago)

Miss Prozac thinks he jests. The baby in the photo is his niece Kya! But it does look like he's off the markets gals and guys. Guess a cutie like that wouldn't last long, but as he says he's scared of commitment, you might still be in with a chance.


Oh that Steve he's such a comedian. He reckons he's also scared of Rosie's (Rosita Vai) lava lava. By the way for anyone who is interested in taking a peek at Rosita's man you can view his bebo profile. On his bebo profile he says he's Bic Runga's cousin. Hmmmm

Clearly Steve's mate Dave Wikaira-Paul is also a comedian. He told Steve "you make me..... moist" Yowzer! Miss Prozac feels the need for a shower

Joe Cotton's Threats

Sunday News reports that Joe "Dancing Eyebrows" Cotton has been abused and threatened after winning reality TV singing contest, Pop's Ultimate Star.

"There were people out there threatening to actually stalk me and hurt me because I won," Joe last night told Sunday News.

TVNZ's message board for the show, which included comments such as "I care about Joe destruction" and "warn Joe there may be a stalker on the loose after her", had been closed.

That's crazy. Didn't Miss Dancing Eyebrows win because she was the most popular singer? Lateral Profiles, who were contracted to count the text votes for the contest, reported that Joe received twice as many votes as the next most popular contestant, so what gives? This statement is supported by the TVNZ poll which placed Joe in the lead with 51% of the vote. Nik Carlson scored 26% of the vote, edging out Big Matt who got 23% of the vote.

The judges of Pop's Ultimate Star also came in for criticism, and were abused by the partner of one of the contestants. Wonder who that could be? David Wikaira-Paul and Matt Saunoa are the only contestants with female partners... (to our knowledge)

Last night a publicist for Pop's Ultimate Star confirmed a contestant's partner yelled unsavoury comments at the judges

Related Stories:
Nik Carlson's mum says votes were rigged
Pop's Ultimate Final

Images: TVNZ

David Wikaira-Paul saying goodbye to NZ

How are you feeling this morning?
Pretty gutted. What I’m most disappointed about is not being able to sing songs in my genre.

When did you hire the singing coach?
That was about week four. She’s helped me a lot.

How much time does the show take?
The commitment is only about an hour a week.

NZRealityTV says: Hmmmm we think that gives Matt even less excuse to not turn up at rehearsals, but he seems to be putting in the effort now, so we’ll forgive him.

We’ve been through the format before so it’s sweet. We turn up, they say here’s your song and have a quick talk. Then we’re on our own to practise.

Rehearsals are in Auckland. We practise solos with the band on Thursday and the ensembles on Friday. Then we take it to Wellington on the weekend for the show.

You didn’t seem as upbeat last night – what happened?
I struggled with the song for the whole week. I just didn’t have the confidence to do the song. It’s a well known song and I wasn’t given the option to do my own version, with a reggae beat behind it, make it my own.

The judges told me that it would be fine. They said when I got to the chorus the crowd would really get behind me and the song would take off and so I tried to sing the original version.

What do you do after the show? Any parties? Any goss?
Nothing much happens behind the scenes. We check in. Check out. No one is cracking under the pressure. We’ve all been through the format before. We know what it’s about.

After the show we come back to the hotel and chill out in each other’s rooms. We just chat and hang out.

Do you spend social time with the judges?
Yeah they’re cool. They chat with us, and give us tips.

What happened to your hip hop group Medical Clan?
We’re not doing that any more. One of the guys in the band is in prison now, so we had to stop.

Will we see more of you on TV?
Watch out for me. I will be on Channel 2 in two more shows very soon. I can’t say anything about it just yet but you’ll be seeing me soon.


Did you keep dancing after Dancing With The Stars?
Yes. I kept up dancing for a little while after the show. Then I moved to Sydney for a while and struggled to find a studio. It wasn’t about the dancing, more about fitness. That show is so tough. Really works you.

Self-esteem was knocked out the window after being eliminated from the show.


What about the pink lycra?
Let’s not talk about costumes. A brown boy and pink lycra, and big lights on national television is not a happening thing. That’s probably my most embarrassing television moment.

Any update on your brother Solomon?
The doctors gave us the worst case scenario, never walk again, but he’s doing good. He’s in the pool now. He still can’t walk unaided but he has some use of his left leg. It’s all good.

Are you glad you did the show?
I’m really happy. Look how far I’ve come over the weeks. It’s been good for me.

Future plans?
Going back to Australia with partner Sam and son Rico, about 3 weeks after the end of Pop’s Ultimate Star. There’s nothing definite in Oz but in the future there are more opportunities in Australia. There are whispers about work opportunities. I can’t wait. It really excites me.


You can contact David through his bebo page


Related Stories:
Episode 7: Episode Recap and David's Elimination
P.U.S: Taking It To The Streets our Pop Poll
The REAL Inside Goss on Pop’s Ultimate Star
Episode 6: Pops Ultimate Shocker
Episode 5: PUS Episode Review
Episode 4: Pop's Ultimate Scam
Episode 3: Pop's Ultimate Star Ultimately Confusing
Episode 2: Pop's Ultimate Star not Shining Yet
Episode 1: Pop’s Ultimate Yawn
Images: TVNZ

P.U.S, Half Way There.

In the beginning there were 10.
Tonight, Joe, Emily, Matt, Nik, and David battle it out for a place in the top 4. And what an interesting evening it was.

Dominic Bowden looked ravishing in red. One little tip: Perhaps a Chinese collar on that jacket, or some black cuffs on that jacket might have vamped it up a bit?

Tonight's Cover Girl victim was Nik Carlson. I don't get the whole putting powder foundation over stubble. Sorry. And there was eyeshadow in his brows too. I know. I'm picky. But we expect the best, don't we NZ?

Some of the judges' comments early in the show:
Harry said: I think Emily could be the one to beat.

Peter said: I warn you. We will be tough tonight.

Kim said: This isn't Pops Ultimate Singer. This is Pops Ultimate Star. You've got to come out with both guns blazing.
(My fingers are crossed, Kim.)


David Wikaira-Paul sang Why Does Love Do This To Me? by The Exponents.

Ouch! Finding out you are singing one of the judge's most recognized songs must have hurt. And considering the show had just finished profiling David's new voice coach, Caroline, I don't think this was a good testimonial to her abilities.

David started off really shaky, and he was struggling to hold any of the notes. Half-way through he burst out, but gosh. I've heard better renditions of this song at drunken garage parties.
My favorite cover of this song is by Pepelo Pepelo from the NZ cartoon classic Bro' Town.

Tip: Maybe that vocal coach was a bad choice after all.

5/10

Kim said: A sterling effort, but you didn't quite get there.

Peter said: It was like a tight sweater. Tried to pull it off, but couldn't.

Harry said: I agree. Maybe Jordan sitting here is freaking you out a bit.

(I say: Unfortunately, David was his own worst enemy tonight. It was an unconvincing song, and delivered without the usual theatrics we have come to enjoy.)

Emily Williams, meet Denise Williams, courtesy of Let's Hear It For The Boy.

Scary! I remember bopping away to this while watching Footloose. How embarrassing.

And Em's outfit only reinforced that feeling. The gloves should be burned in a ritual fire of "bad taste" cleansing. The tunic would have looked incredible with a pair of stone-washed Levi 501's though. Good job on the hair. It was nice seeing Em's face, without that terrible fringe getting in the way. And she didn't have to keep brushing it out of her eyes.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but while I thought Em's performance was technically good, there was something missing. It lacked X-factor, and apart from the high notes, it sounded too karaoke. Again.

Tip: Rock out some chords. Be confident in your abilities.

7/10

Jordan said: Impeccable timing. Golden, like your dress.
(I say: Wow. How thought provoking. Not.)

Kim said: You take what you are given and work it with confidence.
(I say: Not this time.)

Peter said: It was custom made for you, that song.
(I say: A bit OTT, Pete.)

Harry said: You made it look effortless.
(I say: Perhaps that's what I felt was wrong about it.)


Nik Carlson sang I Can't Make You Love Me, by Bonnie Raitt.

Another knock-out shirt.
If Nik's wardrobe gets pilfered, don't look at me.

This was straight up karaoke. There was so much potential, but Nik failed to tap into it.

Tip: Do what you do best, Nik. Make it your own.

6/10

Jordan said: That was fantastic. Your best performance in this show.
(I say: You could be right, Jordan.)

Kim said: You made me fall in love with you again.
(I say: Nothing, just chuckle quietly to myself.)

Peter said: Wonderfully crafted, polished performance.
(I say: Not from where I'm sitting.)

Harry said: Maybe a little under on a couple of notes.
(I say: There was more wrong with it than a couple of bunged notes.)


The Boys sang Working My Way Back To You, by Frankie Valli/Four Seasons.

Oh my gosh, Matt sounded HAWT! And David really nailed the baritone in this song, but unfortunately, he lacked his usual oompf.

They looked good, but Matt really needs to shy away from those nappy style pants.

Peter said they were patchy, and he was right. They were as in sync as they could have been.
(As I was typing that, the ad for Scrubs came on, and the music was Bye-Bye by NSYNC. Coincidence?)

Kim commented that the boys were very "Four Tops."
I'm not sure if she was just a bit mixed up between the similarities with the names (Four Tops, Four Seasons), or not, so I got my investigatory noggin into action. This is what I found:

• Two of Four Tops' producers were named Frank Wilson, and Valerie Simpson. Frankie Valli perhaps?
• The Four Tops most recognized songs are "I can't help myself(Sugar pie, Honey bunch)," which also featured on the Forrest Gump soundtrack, and "Reach Out(I'll be there)."
• The Four Four Seasons song, "Working My Way Back To You," could easily pass for the middle brother of the above two songs.

Just a little bit of useless trivia for you.



Joe Cotton sang Not Ready To Make Nice, by The Dixie Chicks.

Green is Joe's color. No doubt. But she really needs to rein in her eye-brow raising, and freaky eye-popping expressions.

Vocally, if Joe made any mistakes, I didn't spot them.

8/10

Tip: Watch the eyes, Joe.

Jordan said: I can't see you coming third anywhere.
(I say: Well said, Jordan.)

Kim said: We chose it because we thought it might move you out of your comfort zone, and into the V.I.P room.
(I say: Comfort zone? How come no-one else has been allowed to lounge around in a comfort zone.)

Peter said: I think you could grace any stage in the world with that performance.
(I say: Another OTT comment.)

Harry said: This song shows another side of you.
(I say: Looking back over the past few weeks, how many sides has she got left?)


Matt Saunoa sang Livin' On A Prayer, by Bon Jovi.

That jacket was so wrong. It was way too short, and even the shirt underneath didn't tuck in. I saw belly!

Matt was able to show off his raunchy voice with this song. At times, he even sounded a little like Jon Bon Jovi. Maybe that's why I'm a little bit biased on this one.

Tip: Please don't jiggle around so much (unless everything is tucked in).

8/10

Jordan said: That's the hardest song to sing in this competition.
(I say: No. Dead wrong.)

Kim said: Those notes in the chorus are blinking high. You are such a spunk.
(I say: He sounds like a spunk, and he has plenty of potential visually.)

Peter said: You absolutely rocked it.
(I say: No arguments from me.)

Harry said: You do dark and moody well.
(I say: You're right, Harry.)


Joe and Emily sang Youthful, by Anika Moa.
The girls looked good, and they complimented each other well. The harmony was beautiful.
Unfortunately, Emily made Joe look like a backing vocalist.

Kim said: I don't think you did that song justice.
(I say: Yip. Maybe Em should have done it on her own.)

Jordan said: I don't think Emily was there.
(I say: Bizarre. I thought Emily saved the song.)

Harry said: Charlie (the backing vocalist) did well.
(I say: Then put her in the competition.)

Peter said: It left me un-moved.
(I say: Agree. Emily was good, but without both singers pulling it out of the bag, it doesn't work.)

End of voting, and the judges said:

Jordan: Nik's was a very good performance.

Peter: David, you didn't pull it off.

Kim: Group songs were flat.
Emily, I enjoyed your performance.

Harry: Plenty of highlights.
David got a bit found out tonight.

Who failed to win the votes?

David and Nik.
This is Nik's 3rd visit to the bottom 2, and David's 1st.

Kim said: I can't believe the world didn't fall in love with that song (Nik).

Some food for thought Kim:

• The world isn't voting.
• Earlier you said this isn't Pop's Ultimate Singer, this is Pop's Ultimate Star. You were right.
• When people aren't basing their votes on the performances that night, the bottom line is that the best on the night can miss out on votes. We at nzrealitytv clicked on to that fact early in the series.

Nik Carlson sang Unreleased, by Mariah Carey.

Nik came out to prove he can do "original" like no-one else.
He looked in the zone, and sang with confidence.
I think he was trying to throw the judges a bit with this song choice.
On his 3rd trip down Bottom 2 lane, will the judges buy it?

Jordan said: I wouldn't have picked that for a single. No.

Kim said: It was all over the place.

Peter said: It was like plucking defeat from the jaws of victory.



David Wikaira-Paul sang Ordinary People, by John Legend.

David was a favorite because he was a performer. Since the lessons began, he has been losing a lot of his stage presence, to his detriment.

Jordan said: Very grand.

Peter said: I take my hat off to you. You're still a contender.

Kim said: What Peter said.

Harry said: I can hear the singing lessons kicking in.

So, who is out?
Looking at the numbers, and the judges comments, you would expect Nik to have been eliminated. But no. In previous weeks they have said the elimination is based on the performance on the night. This time, they decided to base it on the performance over the series, and still David was eliminated.

For the second week in a row, the judges have eliminated someone who has not been in the bottom 2. Worst of all, David lucked out to Nik who has been here 3 times. What is going on?
I really don't know what to say, so until next time...



Related Stories:
P.U.S: Taking It To The Streets our Pop Poll
The REAL Inside Goss on Pop’s Ultimate Star
Episode 6: Pops Ultimate Shocker
Episode 5: PUS Episode Review
Episode 4: Pop's Ultimate Scam
Episode 3: Pop's Ultimate Star Ultimately Confusing
Episode 2: Pop's Ultimate Star not Shining Yet
Episode 1: Pop’s Ultimate Yawn

Images: TVNZ

P.U.S: Taking It To The Streets.

Earlier this week, I borrowed a couple of teenagers, and we hit bebo, MSN, a couple of message boards, and the streets of Henderson, to find out public opinion of Pop's Ultimate Star.

We found 257 people who watch the show, or had previously watched the show:

• 64 people no longer watch the show due to the elimination of Rosita Vai and Ben Lummis
• 36 are considering not watching the show any more, because Ben Lummis was eliminated on Sunday night.

Of the 158 still watching:

• 52 support Emily Williams.
• 26 support Matt Saunoa.
• 15 support Nik Carlson
• 5 support Joe Cotton.

The rest of the viewers choose their favorites on a weekly basis, with Joe being the usual choice.

We also asked about the judges, the clothes, the song choices, sponsorship, and the prizes.


What do you think of the judges?
"Jordan is weird and hard to understand".
"I like Jordan. He's funny".
"Harry doesn't need to be there, all he does is agree with Kim anyway".
"Peter is my favorite". I asked why. "Because he dresses really cool" friend interrupts, "and he tells them(the contestants) when they stink.


Do you know who Kim Willoughby is?
"No, not really", was the most common response.
"She sang that song with Annie Crummer and the lady who sang Echo (Margaret Urlich)". The song was a huge hit in the '80s, Melting Pot, by When The Cat's Away. It was also the surprise challenge song for the first immunity.

"Doesn't she have a kid with Jake The Muss?" Well, I'm not sure there's any truth to that, and after an hour of google searching, all I can confirm is that Temuera Morrison has a son, James, but no mention at all of any involvement with Kim, nor could I find anything suggesting that Kim has a son at all, although I think I saw something about Kim and Tem in an old magazine.

What do you think of their clothes?
The most common response was eye-rolling and groans.
But two gigglers, Hayley and Jazz thought that most of the clothes were "cool", but weren't teamed up together properly.
The guys were in agreement that Joe was usually sexy, and the majority of those questioned preferred the casual look, over the dressy look.

Do you think the song choices are good?
"No".
"They need to be more modern".
"The ballads are usually boring and we've never heard of them".

Who sponsors P.U.S?
Giggling Hayley and Jazz immediately answered "Covergirl". Correct.
David, from Henderson said, "Queen Latifa". Very funny David. Queen Latifa is the lady in the purple dress during the Covergirl commercials.
Other guesses were McDonalds, Ford, and Pizza Hut. Interesting. I'll have to compare Kia pictures to some Ford pictures.

What is the prize?
A lot of people answered "$50,000, and a Kia Rio". Correct again.
Other answers were $50,000 and a car.
Smarty pants David said, "The money and the bag". I think he is after a job in comedy.

So there you have it, an interesting insight to what others think, who they like, and a comedian.


Related Stories:
The REAL Inside Goss on Pop’s Ultimate Star
Episode 6: Pops Ultimate Shocker
Episode 5: PUS Episode Review
Episode 4: Pop's Ultimate Scam
Episode 3: Pop's Ultimate Star Ultimately Confusing
Episode 2: Pop