It’s 7:40 and Nene just tweeted that she is backstage freaking out. Y’all know I have very little confidence in the Neenster sticking this thing out and doing all the work, but I still feel bad for her that she has to go first. It’s great for me so I can blog it and then move on over to RHOBH Reunion, but really, could they not have put one of the ice skaters on first who is used to performing in front of a large audience? Okay! It’s time to get this show on the road!
Nene’s package is classic Nene. She seems to be very happy and pumped up. Looks like she may have a few moves up her sleeves, y’all. Lots of smiling and no complaining in the first clip and only a little bit of shade throwing at the ice dancers. Tom says to Nene a line he has been rehearsing all day, “I haven’t seen shaking like that since this mornings quake!” Oh, Tom.
Len says, “Nene I’ll tell you what. That is the way to get the party started. It was an all you can eat buffet of fun and entertainment. He gave some minor critiques on her footwork and hips and then said, great start well done.” Nene is crying. I on the other hand just have a bit of an allergy issue or something. 
Bruno said, “Sista Sassy! That’s my kind of girl. I feel you have so much to give. We’re just scratching the surface, don’t you think? Plenty more to come there. I love your energy. I love enthusiasm. A bit tighter on the footwork. Good to see you girl.”
Nene is just beaming. And deservedly so.
Carrie Ann keeps asking her if she is crying. Why are you crying? That was kind of bitchy, Carrie Ann, she is crying because she did something outside of her comfort zone and it went well. Dayum woman, stop making me defend Nene! She says, “You have this incredible larger than life personality and it shows in your dancing. Half of dancing is about personality. I’m going to say something to you though, you are a big, large, sexy, voluptuous woman and I want you to dance bigger. ”
Okay, about her dance, you could see on her face she was very nervous at first but then she opened up a bit. They were supposedly doing a cha cha which I didn’t see a lot of elements of particularly. There was not a lot of dancing involved actually. There was a lot of arm and hand stuff flapping around. Then the last part was more dancey. I thought her footwork was pretty good actually. Her feet look heavy, but she seemed to be in step with the choreography. I thought she did fine. My biggest concern was that the routine was not very difficult at all and this is a dance she had three weeks to prepare for. Next week is already coming for her now. Perhaps they have worked on that one a bit already as well? It was a respectable performance.
She has got to stop with the ridiculous hand gesture “A” thing. She is not in a gang or in middle school. #petpeeve
I think the white dress was a mistake, it made her look larger than she is. Oh also when Len was giving his feedback Gregg (or someone) screamed out to her. The audience seemed to love her. Nene is definitely proud of herself and she should be.
Nice job, Nene Leakes! Nice job.
OMG I posted before I even watched the scores. She got three 7s which is great. They asked her again about getting emotional and she said she just wanted to make Tony proud. She was extremely humble and thanked everyone and said she was honored. My, my, my she does know how to act right!
Good for her. Now I expect those that say you do nothing but hate on NeNe to donate to the happy fund and or eat crow 😀
She did well for a first timer but I just hope she never says she has soul again!! It was nice to see her humbled and get teary eyed.
I am not a hater but I thought her moves were very heavy and she came off as awkward, hope she improves, I was surprised at all the praise
I am not a Nene fan but I was so nervous for her and I think I had allergy issues also.
She did do a great job.
Way to go Nene.
Gosh I had an allergy issue too! Great recap TT. I was proud and happy to see Nee Nee dance. I’ve never watched one episode of this show but it looks like I’m going to be a regular as long as Nee Nee is on and being humble and gracious. Keep it up Nee Nee!
She definitely wasn’t awful. Kind of middle-of-the-pack performance.
great post! i agree with everything you said for the first time ever… lol 🙂 #teamnene
I thought she did great. I wanted to hate it.
She really seemed like she was more in respiratory distress than emotional to me. But what do I know?
What do you know? A lot!
Seriously tho, I was prepared to hate it, and now reading this before seeing it, I won’t know if I’m influenced by the recap & comments watching her.
Fascinating.
WTF? you’re hyperbolic too? or exhausted by the house on the sister? Btw, ‘what do you know. a lot’ was an exaggeration too – as in hyperbole or sarcasm. Sigh ;(
I wondered that too, she was really out of breath.
I was pleasantly surprised that NeNe came out with her game on. Her legs looked great, thou I wasn’t loving her hairpiece jewelry they put around her head. I miss NeNe hair when it was darker and longer with a side part. Anyhoo, great performance, Ms.Leakes! Continue to be humble and Me thinks you may be here for a few more rounds!
I think that hair piece jewelry was to keep her wig from falling off.
definitely better as a brunette. Dr. Rachel Ross is one of the few black women I know that looks beautiful as a blonde!
OMG. The look on Nene’s face after the ice dancer was priceless!
Never claimed to be a dancer much less a judge, but I have to applaud anyone for getting out there and trying….even if Nene. Carry on folks. Meanwhile I’m gonna dance myself right back to the box of wine and keep watching and waiting for the comments.
im proud of her for getting that “akk right” lets see if she can keep it up
I’m not a Nene fan at all anymore, but I must say… “Go girl!!!!” She looked great and she shined bright! I’m proud of her.
I’m stuck watching this boring reunion. Who is doing well? I left after Billy Dee. What are the high scores?
On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 9:20 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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NeNe & Tony 21 (7, 7, 7)
James & Peta 21 (7, 7, 7)
Danica & Val 24 (8, 8, 8)
Sean & Karina 20 (7, 6, 7)
Billy Dee & Emma 15 (5, 5, 5)
Meryl & Maks 24 (8, 8, 8)
Candace & Mark 25 (9, 8, 8)
Cody & Witney 22 (7, 7, 8
Drew & Cheryl 21 (7, 7, 7)
Thanks Bran!
What the heck does the hand gesture mean?
Me too, don’t know “A”
It’s something I see a local blogger do a lot. It’s supposed to be an A for Atlanta. I love the blogger but cannot stand the hand signs….can.not.stand.
On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 9:43 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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Thanks. And now I have the advantage of looking out for her doing it! I’d probably miss it if I weren’t 3 hrs behind y’all.
Drives me fucking nuts! I wanted them to deduct points for showing her gang signs!
I don’t know if it’s a good or bad thing that I’m #westcoast and have an hour and half to see DWTS. But whoever said you that anyone calling you a hater and unfair should eat crow is right – and whoever that is should take the time to comment about it!
I think Nene looks very good in the official DWTS pic. I can’t wait to actually see the dance and yeh, I’m glad it’s first – there’s The Voice, RHOBH reunion & Blacklist all overlapping one another and I don’t have a DVR have to wait for repeats tomorrow but ce la vie!!
Great recap TT – and now I’ll at least get the RHOBH & Blacklist recaps so I’ll know what’s going on with things I miss tonight – that’s what over-invested readers do!! 🙂
RHOBH reunion is dry and boring–you’re not missing anything if you don’t watch tonight. Bravo could’ve had a 2-part reunion or one super-sized reunion.
You know the scores for the male Olympian and the double amputee?
Bran, thanks for the RHOBH info. And I heard on Bravo it’s a 3-part reunion, FFS???
Amy (the double amputee) and her partner received a 24 tonight.
Wow – that’s up in the top for tonight. She’s got Derek who interview says he only stayed for this season because he was so impressed by her willingness to compete in dancing in light of a major impediment. I’ll see how she does, but this is going to be a super popularity, maybe even pity, competition. What a way to mix things up this year, no?
The hand gesture thing is sometimes just a nervous tic. I cannot, after 7 years, break my hubby of that habit. IMHO he could have been a model had he tried, but for the incessant “Chaka” or peace sign!
She did really well. Hopefully her popularity will carry her far. Putting my home judging hat on her degree of difficulty was no where near the others except billy D. immthe Olympic athletes made it look easier and natural
I don’t watch DWTS, but thank you TT for the recap. I don’t comment much on Nene cause I’m a fan of hers and hate to be in the minority…..and, most of the time, I can’t defend her behavior (or bad grammar). What I have wanted to say is that I admire her hustle – she’s parlayed the Housewives gig and is making a way of becoming a permanent celebrity. None of the other housewives can get from under the Bravo thumb, while Nene has. I am so happy to hear that her first round was a successful one. I’ll stay here to keep posted. Thanks TT!!!
I think she did great and I so wanted to hate it. I agree with Carrie, she needs to stand up straight and not hunch down. It’s not cute or sexy on a tall woman. I know she does it because she’s used to squishing down to everybody smaller than her but it’s not attractive.
Next week she has to do the jive. I don’t think she’s ready for that yet.
TT, there are many things that I like about YOU and this BRILLIANT BLOG. I appreciate that even though you are not fond of Nene Leakes, you have been fair and balanced about her performance on DWTS. After reading this post, I went to You Tube to watch Nene’s dance.
She looked radiant and happy.
She’s got the moves!
I think I saw a few fleeting minutes of vulnerability in her expression when she was listening to the Judges comments.
Side note, those British judges do the same thing on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ over here in the UK.
There is something endearing about THIS Nene! If she remains humble, works hard and stays the distance, she could win lots of people over and in the process, create new opportunities for herself.
The white was NOT right. That dress was HIDEOUS.
Better clothes and better accessories next time, I hope.
All in all, I think 21 out of 30, for her first outing is pretty good.
I keep tryna tell you people I like Nene just as well as any of them. I don’t know anything about these people but their behavior on a TV show. I comment on what I see and give my opinion. That’s blogging.
On Mon, Mar 17, 2014 at 11:26 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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I am eating crow. Nene surprised me. She really did a great job. There, I said it!
Jojo, west coast here. Sometimes it’s great to read recaps before the show airs.
It’s nice to have someone still up & awake like I am too. Now watching one of the most exciting episodes of Blacklist in awhile!
You are so right about the recaps first. I just started to regularly reading them first, or during the show, since TT points out things that I never seem to catch. Hello fellow #westcoaster 🙂
I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with NeNE’s demeanor. I’m a bit confused with the way the judges come up with their scores . Billy D. got a 5 from all three judges , he really didnt move much and Nene received a 6 from all three that’s not much of jump and she did far better than Mr. Williams ,then the full house actress got higher scores than the Ice skater who I thought did a much better job. Strange.
Nene got all 7’s.
Thanks for the correction .My point was that Billie D’s score of all 5’s was too high .nene should of gotten a better score because she was way better than that poor guy.
I felt like they dumbed it down. Her routine was kinda hood. She would have rocked on Soul Train though. That was not the cha cha. I give A for effort. A for the “soul” element, but D for technique and endurance. She also was smoking hot!
She did a very respectable job in a field of seriously good amateurs. The one thing that stuck out (to me) was the series of faces she made; kind of awkward and mugging for the camera, not really fitting into the dance routine. I wonder if it’s a habit she developed for her Housewives ‘talking heads’?
I think NeNe did “ok” for a start. She was nervous and rightfully so! This is definitely something different for her. I did not see Cha Cha in the routine but it was full of energy. I liked her white outfit…I’m not going to vote but I am going to tune in every week to see how she progresses. I must say I was shocked at her tears and gracefulness….my, my, my
Nene did very good.
I give her credit for doing something out of her comfort zone.
This cast has some seriously great dancers.
I didn’t see Drew or the swimmer.
Billy seem to walk vs dancing due to his age and 2 hip replacements.
Are you really debating who use the A sign first? Wow, too strange.
Anthony has left the building. I over estimated his ability to leave on his own, so I gave him a little help.
On Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 8:19 AM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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Thank goodness, I was going to tell him off but then remembered that he’s probably insane and would enjoy the extra attention.
I thought so! You can take down my response to Anthony if you like. 🙂
Good for you TT. I really but my tongue… (errrr fingers) on that one. The NERVE!
Ha. That’s rich. Yelling at TT to do her research. You are obviously unfamiliar with this blog, which stands out from the pack because TT does her homework. And why “hate”? Take a Xanax and CALM DOWN 🙂
OK OK OK…..now what’s going on here? First I could’ve swore that you said a couple nice things about Nene on the RHOA recap, then something about her being polite to Sheree on WWHL, and now giving her a sympathetic rave review on DWTS? Miss T, have you left any drinks unattended lately that a housewife could’ve drugged?
I’m just telling you what I see!!! Nene controls what gets said about her.
On Tue, Mar 18, 2014 at 11:03 AM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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I was happy Nene did well and acted gracious during her turn, not always so after she saw competitors do great. I thought she could be a good dancer, just based on watching her moves for years on HW. To me, the judges score oddly, especially early on in the season. I was surprised they commented something to Danica about her expressive mouth and not to Nene’s mugging. I thought the Simpson guy, forget 1st name, was scored too low. I felt people were sort of judged by expectations and previous experience, not just how they did on the night, which is how I think it should be.
Nene definitely has the sort of spunky, fun personality that makes up performing these dances. I thought she did very well on this dance. I hope she can pull of the slower dances that require grace and elegance. Go Nene! You may be able to redeem yourself some with this opportunity!
I was pleased to see she made a good debut and was even happier she was humble and gracious. Nice Nene.
Nene surprised me last night. She did well. Good for her. She’s not one of my favorite people, but I’m always happy and proud for women when they step out of their comfort zone in any kind of way. She can talk about having ‘sperience all she wants- but this is a whole different ball game. She was nervous! And I think she did great.
I didn’t watch the show but I did watch the video of Nene and her partner on another site and I have to say I thought she was pretty good. One thing I dind’t care for was the faces she made while dancing. It tends to make a person concentrate more on her face that her dancing, at least for me it did, which MIGHT be what she’s going for IF she’s unsure of herself. I notice she makes a lot of goofy faces in her TH’s on RHOA so maybe it’s just her thing…I don’t know.
Good start for her but can she keep it up without getting a big head and blow the whole thing. Time will tell.
meant to say…..”IF she’s unsure of her dancing”.
I think Nene did do well, as in all 7’s well. I think I saw more cha-cha-cha as some others. And perhaps the mugging was for this type of dance (I’ve seen it on the pros when they’re doing those types of dances). But we’ll certainly see if Tony’s able to get her to control it in other dances down the line. Thought the rhythm and footwork were pretty good.
The most noticeable thing of course was Nene’s attitude and showing humility. It probably has a lot to do with fans of RHOA that hate her praising her efforts as much as the actual dance.
Now I really think it’s very unfair to have the 2 Olympians compete with non-dancers after watching them. I think the judges even underscored them.
It’s going to be interesting to see if the judges’ score based on improvement vs. innate ability to even it out? Although there are some other non-dancers that are very good, those 2 Olympians throw the whole vibe of the show off – IMHO.
NeNe can dance so the dumbed down ChaCha routine that Tony choreographed wasn’t challenging enough to get rave reviews. He even threw in some stripper moves so she would be happy throughout the routine. I’ll reserve my applause for now. Kudos to her for not passing out by the end and also not giving sour face when the other who were better than her performed(noticed cameras kept going to her trying to catch Nay-Nay reaction)
Good job NeNe you go girl, so proud of you, I have faith that her fans will bring her to the end, she is the most popular dancer on the show, certaintly the most intisapated.
Aww I missed it again! Damn it. Every time some cocky, ignorant dumbass comes in making idiotic remarks and TT has to school them, I’m never here. My timing sucks.
Wow! Work has had me tied up. But I went to YouTube to watch the performance, it was really good. I think this will open doors for Nene if she bathe in humility. This is a great opportunity. She has a great team. I believe she has potential to be greater than Nene Leakes (RHOA star). Her personality is big, I think a talk show would be good for her. I’m proud that she makes the best of every opportunity, even after quitting Apprentice, Trump still gave her a job judging the Miss USA pageant. Must be something good in her because her set backs haven’t stopped her. I hope Sheree is cheering & voting for Nene.
She did good until she put some weird moves in and deviated from the ChaCha rather than incorporate the move to the ChaCha. Plus her mouth made strange movements.. She was scared that was plain to see so I am sure they did not yet want to say too much but she got the low score of 7.
I do not think they should have someone like Billy Dee Williams who really cannot do much. It is not fair to him or competitive with the other younger and physically able.
I’ve always suspected the Billy Dees are there for an easy first boot so that the first round gives everyone a chance to get used to the format and audience and such.
On Fri, Mar 21, 2014 at 3:41 PM, Tamara Tattles wrote:
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By the way Nene should not have her pictures altered to look better because when you finally do see her on tv she looks so much bigger.