Gabriella Papadakis (R) and Guillaume Cizeron of France, rhythm dance
This was skated to John Legend and it IS really beautiful and EXTREMELY good. A young actress could probably get away with wearing this dress to a cocktail event, also. Tanith reminded me that they were poised to very possibly win the gold in 2020 and she had that freak wardrobe malfunction. This ain't going anywhere! He deserves extra credit for skating in pleather pants.
Victoria Sinitsina (L) and Nikita Katsalapov of ROC, rhythm dance
We saw this look during the Team Competition, where we learned that Johnny hates this shirt; he mentioned it AGAIN over the weekend. I also still hate it, obviously. Is he in costume as one of Tony's heavys on The Sopranos? The combo of "You Can Leave Your Hat On" into "Brick House" is hard to beat in terms of playing DJ though.
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue of the USA, rhythm dance
We've seen this (fantastic) Janet Jackson look earlier during the team competition -- where it won -- but I learned during the NBC Broadcast that they both worked with one of Janet's dancers on this AND that Miss Jackson likes it.
Madison Chock and Evan Bates of the USA, Rhythm dance
I find them REALLY creative. They skate a Billie Eilish medley here and I appreciate that they have matched their costumes to Billie's hair from the "When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?" period. Also, I learned from Tanith that this is the 4th Olympics that Evan has skated in -- the most for an American skater -- and my big question from this was HOW OLD IS EVAN BATES? (He's 53. [jk, he's only 32.]) I'm really bummed that Madison had a teeny slip-up in this performance. It was honestly really minor-looking to me? Johnny: "They're like champagne. They're bubbly and they're rich and I just love it." (His metaphors are making him sound like Heather's version of Karl Lagerfeld.)
Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin of Russia, rhythm dance
Okay. I hate her outfit -- she looks like a Peloton instructor who had to improvise her workout gear on the way home from the club -- but this program is skated to a Backstreet Boys/Shawn Mendes medley, and that is just fun. (It's mostly BSB.) It's VERY entertaining. Doing a slow cartwheel onto someone's knees to the "EVERYBODDDDDDDDY" of "Backstreet's Back" is what I want from ice dancing. However, I do think that leaving "I Want It That Way" out of a BSB medley is an error.
Piper Gilles (L) and Paul Poirier of Canada, rhythm dance
She wore the skirt version of this costume during the Team Competition, and several of you noted that you liked the jumpsuit version better. AND HERE IT IS! You manifested that. And I agree; having them both in a jumpsuit feels very campy and fun.
Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, of Italy, rhythm dance
As I noted in the team competition....who skates to Michael Jackson and skips the white glove?! Johnny said that this is not in their wheelhouse artistically and....I agree there. This routine sort of feels like it's an instructional video.
Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Soerensen, of Canada, rhythm dance
I love her costume -- it has A LOT of rhinestones, but this IS ice dancing -- and I feel like his raspberry-colored shirt sort of clashes? (Johnny also thinks his skating lacks oomph and I tend to agree.) However, they skated to a George Michael medley and therefore get all my votes. One does wonder, though, if guilty feet having no rhythm is impacting their skating....
Olivia Smart and Adrian Diaz, of Spain, rhythm dance
They skated to "Proud Mary," and her dress falls into that category I like to call I Could Technically Wear This Out Later. (I also think that you need to wear more FRINGE for "Proud Mary"! I also have noticed lately that a lot of skaters, including Olivia, can't help singing along to whatever song they're skating to, and honestly, who DOESN'T want to sing along to "Proud Mary"!)
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain, rhythm dance
This was skated to a KISS medley and it was ALSO really, really fun. I do think some more aggressive makeup would not have gone awry -- it's KISS! -- but their costumes are pretty damn perfect. Tanith said they're called the "Disco Brits," which is a tremendous nickname.