Are You The One? Season 2 - A Primer, A Review and A Preview

By DC Cueva

@DC408Dxtr/@DC408DxNow

Hi, hello, what's up and welcome to DCBLOG's coverage of Season 2 of Are You The One?. This winter & spring, we saw "the most ambitious dating experiment ever attempted" that captivated viewers and changed the game in the reality sub-genre of dating shows. We watched a group of 20 young adults previously unlucky in love go through a roller coaster of emotions in Hawaii that ended in a blaze of happiness in two ways. They shared the largest prize in MTV history when they won $1 million, and produced a soon-to-be married couple who'll soon become parents to a brand new baby. Now, we've waited through five long months, and for some just a short summer after a great season of The Challenge, for our first glimpse of what the second season of this awesomely awesome show has in store for us. The countdown to October 6th is now in full gear, and soon Teen Wolf "Moon-days" will soon become AYTO Mondays.

   There's always a curiosity in the entertainment industry of whether or not the sequel can be just as good as the original, and the end result has a varying degree of success. Now we will find out if season two of this matchmaking & social experiment can match, perhaps exceed, the tremendous success of that marvelous first season. Having seen what Adam, Amber, Ashleigh, Brittany, Chris T., Coleysia, Dillan, Dre, Ethan, Jacy, Jessica, Joey, John, Kayla, Paige, Ryan, Scali, Shanley, Simone & Wes did before them, now it's time for Alex, Alexandria, Anthony, Ashley, Brandon, Briana, Christina, Curtis, Dario, Ellie, Garland, Jasmine, Jenni, Jessica, John, Layton, Nathan, Paris, Pratt, Shelby & Tyler to take the baton. And of course, we'll see if - and pray that - lightning can strike twice.

   This season, the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, Jacy's homeland, will welcome the show's new class of romantic pledges in the quest for cash and love. And to kick off our season 2 coverage of the show New York Observer calls, "The Greatest Reality Show of The Decade," we will take you through a primer of what this show is all about, bring you a review & recap of that incredible first season, provide a preview of what to expect this time around, and look at the lucky handful who have been given the huge task to try & follow up what's probably the best first season of any MTV reality show since Catfish. That's all ahead after the jump.

DC SocialPulse: Real World Ex-Plosion Reunion (Backtracked Edition)

*** Reader Advisory: DC SocialPulse Contains

Adult Language. Viewer Discretion is Advised. ***

By DC Cueva

@DC408dxtr / @DC408dxnow

Well, it seems strange, but a bit belated here, welcome to a special back-tracked edition of DC SocialPulse. Yes, I was so busy with covering The Challenge: Free Agents, I wasn't able to cover the final act of Real World Ex-Plosion - the Reunion, which debuted just before Free Agents premiered in April. But fortunately, I saved all the cast tweets and I am able to post them on here, finally, at the beginning of fall 2014 just months after it all aired, and exactly one year since filming took place right here in my neck of the woods. Now, let's proceed...

It's safe to say this was the season that revitalized The Real World in a big way. The first-ever twist to the longstanding formula that was unveiled on, of all things, my 30th birthday last year might've divided many longtime fans of the show. But as it went on, those sketchy first impressions disappeared to the point that many have enjoyed watching this season. So much so that, while we don't usually mention anything on here about numbers, that this is the highest-rated RW season since Back to Las Vegas, and certainly reintroduced a whole new generation of viewers to this show.

   And boy, this has been one hell of a season...I don't normally curse in the social media world (pardon my language), but I pretty much had to utter it out to describe the wild and crazy nature of this Real World season that I have enjoyed so much. And the season that has revamped & revitalized this pioneer of reality television came to a close in, fittingly enough, rather explosive fashion, along with the usual emotions surrounding the cast leaving the city. After seeing a couple fights that saw Brian be kicked out of the last night in the house and all the emotions that come with any season finale, along with the hilarity of the Clip Show, this incredible season wraps up with the Reunion.

   Following twitter's view, I'll have info for those who want to talk the upcoming 2nd season of Are You The One?. Just a reminder here that there's adult language in some tweets below, but I am keeping it uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-) With that, join us after the jump for the reunion, starting with the weekend after the finale and before the reunion - which was the week of the premiere of The Challenge: Free Agents - April 9-10.

DC SocialPulse: The 2014 MTV Video Music Awards

*** Reader Advisory: DC SocialPulse Contains Adult Language & Content 

Some Readers May Find Objectionable. Viewer Discretion is Advised. ***

By DC Cueva

@DC408Dxtr/@DC408DxNow

Welcome again one and all to DC SocialPulse powered by DCNOW...it's been a little while since we've last done this, but glad to be getting back in the thick of things again, even if it's just doing this one special post in between seasons of the shows that are most followed on here: The Real World, The Challenge and Are You The One?. For 35 times earlier this year, we brought you the episode interaction from three great seasons of Ex-Plosion, AYTO S1 and Free Agents (with one special backtracked edition to come here shortly). Now, as we mark summer's end over the Labor Day weekend and with the AYTO season 2 premiere coming in a month, we're doing something different, but rather familiar.

A couple times previously, DC SocialPulse has done posts covering the social interaction surrounding the time when the music world comes together in one room to honor its best. For the 2013 American Music Awards and 2014 Grammys, DCSP brought you the twitter interaction from one of those events I look forward the most: music awards shows. Sunday, August 24 was the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards, and the 31st annual edition took place for the first time at The Forum in Inglewood, CA. With great performances and moments of both the unexpected and heartfelt, it was simply girls night this year as prominent female artists dominated the headlines.

   Beyoncé received the Video Vanguard Award from Jay-Z and son Blue Ivy and dazzled the audience with a show-ending medley of her greatest hits. A year to the weekend of her famous 2013 performance, Miley Cyrus took the opportunity of accepting Video of the Year to bring awareness to America's runaway youth. Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Jessie J opened things with their super collaboration, while Taylor Swift, Usher and Maroon 5 retuned to the VMA stage. Iggy Azalea, Rita Ora and Sam Smith took the VMA stage for the 1st time, as did upstarts 5 Seconds of Summer. And before presenting Best Hip-Hop, Common reminded us all of Ferguson, Missouri.

   We'll have it all covered on here, with a selection of the best tweets from your favorite artists and stars, plus media and yours truly as they saw the biggest moments of the big night, all in this blog's unique play-by-play, moment-by-moment diary. And after you see how twitter saw the night that was, I'll offer thoughts on the winners of the night, a takeaway I have from watching music's best come together, and look ahead to a new show that I'll be live tweeting on DCNOW coming up this fall, plus some new plans for this site.

- As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but I am keeping it uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-)

So with that, join us after the jump for the lead-up, the madness and the aftermath of the most unpredictable night in music.