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*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***
Back in early February, just after a snoozer of a Super Bowl in another Patriots title, MTV's The Challenge set off on starting both a new year and a new era anew after an agonizing long year & a half's trilogy. War of the Worlds brought together top Challengers we've known for a long time with those from outside the MTV Reality community and the United States for a Challenge season unlike any other. And after a season that seems to have breezed by quite a bit compared to last season - and with unpredictability sending home the big name veterans earlier than planned, destiny awaits our finalists at the start of summer.
Cara Maria, Georgia, Hunter, Mattie, Ninja, Theo, Turbo and Wes were worthy finalists who more than proved themselves to make it all the way to the end for a shot at a share of $1 million, and when we were last in Namibia they had completed a one- to two-day's worth of work in the scorching heat of the desert: a 50-mile trek that began with them doing several laps of running and bicycling with puzzle stations in between in just that first day alone. When you have all of those ingredients, not everyone will make it out alive - at least as the game is concerned... and Georgia and Mattie succumbed to the pressure when they were eliminated, and Ninja almost bit the dust as well. That explains why things have stepped up for this final much to everyone's excitement, and it's only day 1.
At the end of the first half, Theo, Wes and Turbo finished in the top three and TJ Lavin made them the trifecta for one last Tribunal... one last twist to a season that's had it all. This week, they will determine who in the bottom three will they bring with them to Day 2 and which two will have to face each other to advance on. Then, all that's left is one more trip around the same dunes in this corner of southern Africa that saw Zach win his lone Challenge as a rookie, then a trip to the beach where the money will await them after battles with brains, food and brawn. They will determine who wins it all... and only the top three will cash... with $750,000 going to the champion in a final that, once again, is a cumulative timed final, with #1 not necessarily going to who crosses the line first.
After the events of last year, will Hunter write his ultimate redemption story? Will Cara or Wes become immortals with their third Challenge title? Or will a rookie follow in Thor's footsteps and become a champ in their first try? The answers will unfold after the jump on the SocialPulse of Day 2 of The Challenge: War of the Worlds Final. We're so glad you're with us here on this Memorial Day.
Happy Memorial Day to all of you in blog land, and as we celebrate summer in America, the end is just about here for MTV's The Challenge: War of the Worlds. As far as we see it here, the Final in Namibia has already had plenty of drama taking place, and all that's left is a final Tribunal and an in-final elimination before the final exam continues along towards crowning a champion.
The 'Pulse of Part 2 of the finale comes your way here in just a bit, where by the time we're done with that we'll see who wins the whole thing. But for the time being, enjoy the in-between chatter in the MTV Reality community from before the finale, which also includes the Game of Thrones series finale, anticipation for the vets making a one-night-only return, and much more. And afterwards, more on a big summer happening taking place in just a few weeks... that's all ahead here.
Two years ago during The Challenge XXX: Dirty 30, DCBLOG found out about something that was unique and one of a kind that took place in the New York City suburb of Secaucus, New Jersey. It was there that an MTV superfan who has had many opportunities to meet the MTV Reality family at numerous reunion tapings and events, Andres Rodriguez, had invited some of his friends from high school, his neighborhood and everyone else's friends to his house... not for the usual watch parties among friends that take place every week in places across this country of ours, but for something totally different. It has become of one of our most popular stories, a recurring one at best, for perhaps the most unique story we could find anywhere of MTV fandom taken to a whole new level.
For nine seasons dating back a few years to when he was still attending high school, Andres and his friends have taken part in a made-for-YouTube web series inspired by The Challenge that saw the weekly challenges that he had seen his favorite challenger, Kailah and the rest of those he's gotten to cross paths with, be brought into his house's backyard in a town that's well-known for its ties to the media aspects of America's four major sports leagues and not far from the venues that make up the Meadowlands complex. It would become known as The Caucus Challenge... and when he saw this site's original story on it in fall 2017 - which tied in with him meeting the Dirty 30 cast during premiere week, Andres was touched by how what he was able to do received recognition even from a not as nationally known but well respected west coast blog site 3,000 miles away, and soon it got the attention of both MTV and the castmates who he's gotten to hang out with many times since.
Since that first post on The Caucus Challenge, Andres hosted and produced two additional seasons of the show where upgraded the series on the production side to match the same on-air look as the MTV show for Season 8 of Deceptionand Season 9 of Prime Revival, where the product only got better as did the competition and twists on the field and the intrigue that takes place in between with those who have competed in many seasons before and those who are joining the game for the first time. Because of the climate of the Northeast and New York City, as well as the demands of the school year and work, seasons of his show are not filmed during the fall or winter... meaning that he would have to wait for spring to arrive to film seasons of it between that time and the summer.
In a way, it almost felt like baseball season of sorts for this in this community: there's the long wait through fall, the agonizing winter and them having to wait until March for the feelings to come once more. But in the case of this year, it would make the long wait for a landmark season in this show's history a more juicy one that would be worth sitting through many months for. It's Season 10 of The Caucus Challenge, and a season unlike any other: a hybrid of a popular MTV Challenge format, and a popular Vegas casino game: Rivals Roulette.
*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***
This is Memorial Day Weekend, and these are the three days that, in the minds of so many, officially begin summer in America. And as hundreds of thousands are gathering in Indianapolis this weekend for the biggest and most prestigious event in American open-wheel racing in the Indianapolis 500 - while others are in Monte Carlo for the Formula 1 Grand Prix in Monaco and NASCAR fans are gathering in Charlotte for the Coca-Cola 600, Season 33 of what's acknowledged by many the fifth major pro sport known at MTV's The Challenge has reached the starting line for the final challenge of War of the Worlds in Namibia.
When we last southwestern Africa, the last challenge before the final took place with the eight competitors who did not place first in the previous week's competition being given one last shot to earn their way into the final with one final purge to join Cara Maria and Turbo. The man who's made plenty of headlines in the past thirteen months, Paulie, opted to risk his body before the final by going all out in an over-water obstacle course... and he paid a big price by not making the final at all. Wes, Theo and Hunter made it through ahead of him by playing it safe, while the only real battle existed among the ladies: despite encountering a seal, Mattie made the final to join Georgia and Ninja and sending home Da'Vonne after she took out Dee in the last Killing Floor elimination.
The final challenge of any Challenge season is one that combines endurance, toughness, brains and every kind of emotion you can think of to produce a hour or two of compelling television that almost always has everyone talking long after TJ Lavin hands out the money and announces who wins it all. That has not been the case in a while on this show, especially after what we saw last year on Final Reckoning even before Ashley M. stealing all of Hunter's money. That won't the case this time around, as the finalists will find themselves tackling one of the hardest finals in Challenge history right in the heart of the desert, where a 50-mile journey - almost two full marathons back to back - will await them in day 1 alone... and thanks to a never-before-seen twist that goes down at day's end and the toughness of this exam, not everyone will make it out at the halfway point.
As it was for Free Agents, Invasion of the Champions, Dirty 30 and Final Reckoning, this War of the Worlds final is a cycling-style cumulative timed final being conducted over multiple stages and over two days. The winner of this season - and who places 2nd, 3rd and so on down the line - will be determined just like in the Tour de France: whoever clocks in the lowest cumulative time will win, and only those who are in the top three of the eight will cash. And as it was on Vendettas, this is a solo competitor, gender-neural final challenge, where the champion will pocket a first place check of $750,000, second place winning $200,000 and the bronze medalist earns $50,000.
So, welcome on in: it's the finale of War of the Worlds... all ahead on the SocialPulse of The MTV Challenge at DCBLOG. We're glad you're with us...
Happy Memorial Day weekend to all of you in blog land, and here at the spiritual beginning of summer, we are almost at the end of Season 33 of MTV's The Challenge. And War of the Worlds in Namibia is on the edge of kicking off the final challenge with a prize pool of $1 million going to whoever survives one last battle in the desert.
We'll have the 'Pulse of Part 1 of the finale coming up a little bit later, to then be followed by this week's Part 2 where the loot will be handed out. But before all that, indulge yourself in the in-between chatter in the MTV Reality community before we post that then, plus we'll look at a Memorial Day Weekend wipeout... that's all ahead.
CAUTION: Certain Videos Embedded in This Post Contain Adult Language, Themes and Scenes Some May Find Offensive & Disturbing. Viewer Discretion is Advised.
Ask anyone who loves pop culture, and they'll likely tell you that one of their favorite aspects is getting to see people with ink being decorated all over their bodies. In its Wikipedia entry, Tattoos are defined as, "...is a form of body modification where a design is made by inserting ink, dyes and pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment." Whether they are for decorative, symbolic, pictorial or identification purposes, and regardless of the reaction family, friends or anyone else has, tattoos have become a key part of American life.
If you have kids in your family, they've likely have had one of the temporary kind on one's forehand over one weekend that has the image of their favorite superhero. And for those who make the real deal, it's become a multi-billions' dollar industry... one that I got to experience firsthand years ago when I went inside a tattoo parlor for the first time when I walked into a Las Vegas location of Club Tattoo, a regional tattoo parlor company co-owned by the late Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, who himself was adorn with tattoos all over his body.
It's with tattoos on the minds of many that last year, MTV brought to America one of the channel's biggest global sensations to our shores: a show that brings couples, friends, family and even familiar names to a tattoo parlor to design tattoos for each other. And it's when the answer of how these people "Deal with the Reveal" that makes for the most compelling and entertaining part of every episode of a global MTV franchise that, last year, made its way from Britain to America. To those in the UK, it's Just Tattoo of Us... to us in America, it's How Far is Tattoo Far?.
Last year, the MTV Reality family got bigger by quite a bit when the 2018 end of The Challenge's now much-maligned series trilogy, Vendettas and Final Reckoning, got to invite those from shows outside of both the U.S. channel to its draft pool of potential competitors. It was also the case for the show that Vendettas also helped to introduce to the American audience in between it and Final Reckoning when the U.S. adaption on MTV's global reality franchise Ex On The Beach debuted just after Cara Maria Sorbello came away victorious as the first solo winner of a final challenge in series history.
Someone who is on everyone's list of the Top 20, 50 or 100 of the reality stars who defined the twelve months is Paulie Calafiore, who joined this MTV family a year ago from a network that was, once upon a time, a corporate sibling when CBS and MTV were under the same Viacom ownership as part of what Disney, Comcast and AT&T's WarnerMedia are now -- a media super conglomerate. And the show he comes from is one that defines summer to both die-hard reality fans and to casual viewers during the broadcast networks' offseason... and come next month, we'll again hear those familiar terms "veto," "head of household" and "evicted" when Season 21 of that show debuts.
Paulie first burst onto the scene on Season 18 of Big Brother in 2016 as part of a twist that offered keys to America's most famous summer share to siblings of past houseguests, as he is brother of Season 16 runner up Cody Calafiore. Two years later, he found himself on MTV in eventually becoming one of The Challenge's biggest names in making the Final Reckoning final as a rookie and just falling short of a second straight trip to the dash for the cash on War of the Worlds when he got eliminated in the regular season finale Purge. But months before, he gained his MTV membership card by being one of the ten singles who formed the first cast of Ex On The Beach USA.
Along the way, Paulie has certainly become one of those figures in reality TV that viewers would love to love, or love to hate. Those who saw BB18 know about his showmance with Zakiyah Everette, his bromance with two-time runner-up Paul Abrahamian, his questionable treatment of the female houseguests including future Challenger Natalie Negrotti and Da'Vonne Rogers, and all that took place that summer. Those who watched EOTB last year saw him click with Lexi Marsella, but that came crashing down like many other romances in the Shack of Secrets. And of course, there's The Challenge and his much-publicized relationship with Cara Maria, which was sealed with tattoos for each other on the first season of How Far is Tattoo Far. And everyone has heard of the news that unraveled with them and Bachelor alum Danielle Maltby in the run-up to the past two seasons, which saw Cara and Paulie break up and then get back together amidst much public attention.
It would be easy for you to either support him or to root against him, and those who saw him struggle in the sea in the semifinal of War of the Worlds had reason to cheer either way or feel for him when he came away empty. But to better understand who the real Paul Calafiore is, you have to know more than just this divisive reality TV personality: there is a side of him who actually is well-spoken even with his Jersey accent, well-versed and has an understanding of the whole world around him, and not just of what goes on in the new section of the reality world he has entered. The title of this post brings to mind the animal which he has used to offer a platform for which he can discuss the things he wants to talk about in great detail: the lion.
*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***
We've arrived at the weekend, one which was anticipated for the fact that golf's second major was to have featured Tiger Woods in contention after his celebrated Masters triumph, and for public anticipation to have our third Triple Crown winner in five years. Instead, the man in the Sunday red did not make the cut at the PGA Championship in New York, and horse racing is still shook after Maximum Security's shock DQ that marred this year's Kentucky Derby. But nonetheless, the sports calendar rolls along with soccer's FA Cup Final, heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder having just scored a 1st Round KO tonight, and the NBA and NHL conference finals going along.
And as far as competition goes in the fifth major pro sport is concerned, we are almost at the end of Season 33 of The Challenge, as War of the Worlds is playing down towards its $1 million final. And when we last left Namibia -- that is, at the end of Week 13, the serious business began for the twelve competitors remaining in the game, as Paulie opted to not put himself into elimination against arch nemesis Kyle and instead gave it to fellow Brit Theo in the latest incarnation of Hall Brawl, which saw the sprinter turned Love Islander take out the win. And TJ Lavin donned a pilot's outfit for a scary challenge aboard a plane that saw them go upside down and all around, which saw Cara Maria and Turbo clinch berths in the final challenge.
Turbo also had a hand in helping to choose who goes into, what turns out to be, our last visit to the killing floor, and this week sees who faces who in the season's last elimination, which is an all-female affair... and if what happened over a week ago is a sign, he'll likely put a Ninja Warrior or a lady from Down Under in. Whoever emerges out of that battle will join the rest of the field, sans Cara and Turbo, for the last regular challenge before the final, which we here at DCBLOG like to refer to as, "the semifinal." And it is a Purge: whoever falls short in a daunting obstacle course over the water will not make it to the final... and it's what happens with one of the players deciding to go all in this close to the final that will either make or break their chance at the cash.
It's "Judgement Day" for Da'Vonne, Dee, Georgia, Hunter, Mattie, Paulie and Theo as they face the last two hurdles en route to the final of War of the Worlds... that is all ahead on the Pulse of The Challenge on DCBLOG. Happy Saturday...
With The Challenge: War of the Worlds now into its $1 million final, soon it'll be summer in MTV land when How Far Is Tattoo Far debuts next week in time for Memorial Day weekend. Cheyenne and Cory will one of the many guest stars joining Snooki and Nico in the parlor, while the romantic reality series they were part of before they joined Teen Mom OG, her original series Are You The One and one of the many shows he's been on - Ex On The Beach - will be part of the summer slate... not to mention the series he got his start on Real World returning on Facebook.
Very soon, we will be welcoming a new class of twenty or more new singles who will get the chance to fall in love and hope that they will leave paradise with both $1 million and their perfect match when Season 8 of AYTO comes along, and once again with the versatile Terrence J. as master of ceremonies. Five years ago, it debuted as one of the handful of shows that received the benefit of launching out of Teen Mom, and it has given us plenty of memorable romances and moments along the way. Season 8 will be a sexually-fluid season, as casting has gone out of their way to cast those from the LGBT community for the first time.
One of the most notable figures of the group that paved the way for the likes of Devin, Tori, Diandra, Hunter and other AYTO alumi is Simone Kelly, who came to Hawaii for Season 1 in 2014 from Chicago via Atlanta. Those who lost some sleep to watch that original season remember her as the one who helped to break up the series' first big romance of Shanley and Chris T. when she sent him into the Truth Booth and to the Honeymoon Suites with another castmate, and sparking that big blowup with the Shans.
Up until four years ago, the only way to get on The Challenge was being an alum of a past Real World or Road Rules season or being cast in a "Fresh Meat" season. That all changed with Battle of the Exes 2 when Simone was then part of the historical shift in the tide in that traditional choice of casting when she and three other members of her original cast -- John Jacobs, Brittany Baldi and Adam Kuhn -- went to Central America for that season, setting the stage for those from other reality shows joining the draft pool. Most recently, we saw Simone on Dirty 30 when she was part of a fight with another competitor in the Redemption House that was so vicious, it wasn't even aired.
She may have stepped away from doing reality television, but there is a good chance you'll hear from Simone again - this time on something that she's familiar with from the occupation she got to enjoy before going onto MTV: on the radio. The one who referred to herself as "Monie on the Mic" worked both on the air and behind the scenes at local radio in Atlanta before the opportunity to fall in love and win money came her way.
Last year, Simone Kelly, the singer & songwriter, made her debut when she released an ode to moms everywhere on Mother's Day weekend with the track "Dear Mama." And earlier this year, she dropped her second single entitled "Answer Ur Phone" on all digital music platforms including iTunes, Tidal and Spotify. The song is exactly what you think it is: a plea to those who haven't gotten back to her voicemails and texts to respond as possible.
In an Instagram post that accompanied the release of "Answer Ur Phone" in late March, Monie wrote about her journey from being on four MTV shows to now embracing her new career path of music, something so many aspiring artists can relate to as she takes on this new frontier.
"When I first started this music journey, my biggest fear was what people thought and my therapist helped me to recognize that.
Today, I’m a real artist. I create something extraordinary EVERYDAY. I’ve invested a lot of my own money and time for my EP. I spend countless hours recording, writing for myself and others, and took vocal lessons because I take it serious. There were a lot of people who didn’t believe me when I said I was going to do this; friends, family, peers, etc. It only motivated me! Singing is like anything else you do, if you keep at it you only get better with time. I embrace the voyage.
This was one of the hardest things I’ve ever embarked upon. I respect artist so much more now, especially independent ones. You have NO IDEA what we go through and how much footwork it takes just to complete ONE record. Not including the “industry” bullshit that can never be avoided. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Literally.
This process has showed me how strong I really am and all the things I’m intimidated by or may struggle with does not make me subordinate. All my songs are true stories. I leave it all on the beats. The heartbreak, fake friends, insecurities, & past mistakes all make me who I am. And I am STILL HERE!
Thank you to all my producers & writers for your the support.! Your creativity has contributed a lot to my confidence and creating my own sound! EP COMING SUMMER 2019🍾✨💕😘"
This week, she came to hometown hip-hop radio station WPWX Power 92.3 to return to familiar surroundings of the radio studio to guest host one of this shows and discuss her new track... and below is both that track and the music video for "Answer Ur Phone."
We are almost at the weekend, and we at DCBLOG are hope you're enjoying this last full week before summer arrives. We're still catching up on The Challenge: War of the Worlds as our signature Pulse diaries go, and after the jump we'll have the interaction leading into Episode 14 of Season 33 of the big show, and something that we here like to refer to as The Semifinal. That is, the last competition before the main event of the final challenge, and $1 million on the line. We'll have our view of the last challenge before the marathon that decides things tomorrow to begin your weekend.
We are in the last full week of the traditional September-to-May television season, the time where the major broadcast networks air their biggest series, where they are also pitching their fall lineups to advertisers along Broadway, and where fans are waiting to see if their favorite show is on that lineup or not. And for those who are anxious but also in a teary eyed mood, come next week the network comedies, dramas and most other programming you love will wrap up their seasons, to be replaced for the next few months by a whole kaleidoscope of reality programming, which includes a new season of Big Brother, America's Got Talent and others.
For us who follow the MTV world, there's no need to worry. We have a new season of Are You The One to come to the linear MTV cable channel, while the emerging platform of Facebook Watch will be the home to the revival of The Real World with seasons to take place in Atlanta, Mexico City and Bangkok, Thailand. In time for Memorial Day next week, it'll be the premiere of Season 2 of How Far is Tattoo Far? - the U.S. version of MTV international format Just Tattoo of Us, followed a month later by the return of The Hills in the New Beginnings reboot. And as a prelude to another Monday night doubleheader, Teen Mom OG returns next month with originals Maci, Amber and Catelynn marking their tenth anniversary on MTV this summer.
#TattooFar, along with a sneak preview of the series that eventually became Teen Mom: Young Moms Club, gained the ever-coveted spot of launching out of last year's blockbuster Jersey Shore Family Vacation. Another show that gained what might be the Super Bowl-like spot of following the return of that cast to our airwaves was another global MTV format, Ex On The Beach, and after two jaw-dropping seasons of the American version of the British franchise that debuted five years ago (for which last year's Vendettas introduced this series to the U.S. as the bridge to that debut), Season 3 has been filming over this spring while our focus has been on The Challenge.
Who will be among those who will see the answers to the question, "Whose Ex Is Next?" After the jump, we'll discuss who will be in that position. So once again, get ready to join us for some tea around the hotstove.
*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***
Welcome back friends... we hope you got to enjoy your Mother's Day Sunday with your moms everywhere, and if you're a mom - we wish you a late, but better late than never, Mother's Day to all of you. On the competition front, we saw Manchester City hang on over Liverpool to win the Premier League and cap off an incredible week for English football, while on a Sunday of Game 7's in the NBA Playoffs, we're all still buzzing about Kwahi Leonard's buzzer-beater to send Toronto into a frenzy - the first walkoff in a series decider since "The Shot" by Michael Jordan 30 years ago.
As far as the fifth major pro sport is concerned, we are in the business stretch of a season of The Challenge that, thanks to it being shorter in length than Final Reckoning, has breezed by fairly quickly. And last we left War of the Worlds - earlier this weekend as we measure our time here, things began to get serious for the competitors as they encountered their toughest challenge yet, and the one that will usually tell us who has a serious chance at the cash: a endurance mission. The effects of that demanding task saw Turbo and Ninja & Dee get into a big argument and Hunter threaten to quit... but it's what happened in the preceding elimination that had everyone talking: Georgia beating Nany in a chair-based Killing Floor that had viewers crying foul.
But, there is one elimination that everyone loves and craves more than any other: players strapping on an American football helmet, crashing into each other inside a narrow hallway and trying to ring a bell located at the other side of the playing surface. That's what will go down this week for the season's penultimate trip into the Killing Floor, as one man will decide whether or not to risk it all in settling a feud spurred on by his power player girlfriend. Then, the competitors will board Challenge Airways -- with TJ Lavin as a pilot -- as they'll have to handle their worst fears for a plane ride like no other. And for a new rivalry that's affected three continents, a chance to right some wrongs as the players inch closer to the final - for which the week's top two competitors earn a bye to the final.
After the jump, "Final Destination" awaits the players left in the running for $1 million as we bring you Week 13 of War of the Worlds on this backtracked Challenge SocialPulse. And thanks for staying up for us tonight and wrapping up this amazing weekend with DCBLOG.
Good Sunday Funday, hope you got to enjoy this Mother's Day with everyone you love including the most important lady in your lives. We continue to catch up on matters relating to The Challenge: War of the Worlds as far as our signature Pulse diaries are concerned, and after the jump it's the interaction leading into Episode 13 of this season, with Hall Brawl and a host donning a pilot's uniform, which means we have some turbulence coming for the challengers left to dispute their claim to be in the final. Our view of the Quarterfinal comes up in just a bit -- that is, if you're still up, but until then, here's some in-between interaction leading into the week before last.
*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***
We have made it to Friday and Mother's Day weekend... and as decision day awaits a handful of NBA teams and both Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League after a most momentous week for English football in European action, things are getting into serious on The Challenge, as the British invasion of America's fifth major pro sport rolls along on War of the Worlds.
Please note that we've been delaying our episode social diaries for the sake of the section of our readership who prefer to watch the episodes later rather than live. But as we left things off at the end of what was Week 11, the players were getting used to playing for themselves and they went for a ride in the desert completing puzzles while sitting atop a moving car in the sand. Wes devised his latest plan to shake up the game as only he knows best, while Nany got to read out Cara Maria in heated verbal warfare, all ahead of the first female solo elimination.
In the end, Georgia was picked by the jury to go into the killing floor, and after she had a hand in taking down a big fish in the pond earlier on she will meet whoever gets chosen to go up in an elimination that, shall we say, will prove anything is possible even when you don't have the budget to see these ladies go one on one in the manner we expect. The players will then pair up once again for a demanding finals preview, where it's what happens there that will create surprise rivalries, cause one player to threaten to quit, and another to debate taking a big gamble.
Just ahead, DCBLOG brings you another Backtracked installment of The Challenge SocialPulse, as things get "Lost in Translation" in Africa. And, welcome to the weekend everyone...
Good evening... we're less than 24 hours from a new episode of The Challenge: War of the Worlds as things get down to the nitty gritty. As far as DCBLOG is concerned, we're not at THAT point in the season yet as, as is custom, we're falling behind a bit in timeliness of our episode coverage for the interest of our binge-worthy audience who prefer to watch the episodes later. The influx of episodes airing without definitive conclusions are the reason why we're dropping back our Pulse posts to after it airs... hence, we're at Episode 12, one week behind.
As for what we have here ahead, we'll delve into it at the end of this... but for now, enjoy the in-between interaction for Week 12 of War of the Worlds which we have specially compiled for you below after the jump. Also, we'll head to the Big Apple and join a well-known MTV podcast host as he gets to meet one of the biggest stars of reality TV's Monday guilty pleasure. Join us next.
On the same weekend that saw Ariana Grande headline Coachella, Game of Thrones premiere its final season and Tiger Woods return to glory at The Masters, the music world and social media began to buzz around the grapevine over the biggest pop star of our time teasing everyone about the end of the month. On April 13th on her website, Taylor Swift posted a countdown to midnight on April 26th, fueling speculation among her stans known as the Swifties about the possibility of releasing new music.
When the NFL Draft came to Nashville two weeks ago, as in previous years the event took place outdoors in commissioner Roger Goddell hearing it from the crowd in announcing the picks of round 1 on Thursday night and the NFL fandom coming together in the city's main entertainment district. Lower Broadway hosted the three days of the NFL Draft that saw Heisman winner Kyler Murphy be drafted 1st overall by Arizona and saw a record 40 trades go down, all in front of 600,000 people on site and 47.5 million TV viewers.
Brandon Urie w/ Taylor on "ME!"
As Broadway in Nashville is where the action is with live country music, honey tonks, shops, eateries and everything else of interest to locals and tourists alike, it was there that all was revealed for the next phase in Taylor's musical evolution from country star to full-fledged pop star. The day before round 1 of the Draft on April 25th, a mural of a butterfly painted by a local street artist was found by media both press and social wise, as Kelsey Montague added the words "ME!" to his composition in that trendy neighborhood. Taylor paid a visit to the mural on Draft Day, and revealed that it was part of the promotion of the lead single of her seventh album.
Shortly after Round 1 of the draft concluded, "ME!" was released both in its audio form to all digital music outlets and in its visual iteration when the music video premiered simultaneously. The bubblegum track also stars Panic! at the Disco's Brandon Urie, and as she told ABC/ESPN at the draft, Taylor saw the song as "embracing your individuality and really owning it... with a pop song, we have an ability to get a melody stuck in people's heads, and I just want it to be one that makes them feel better about themselves, not worse."
Despite critics being split on it, "ME!" shot to records on iTunes, Amazon Music and other music platforms both in America and overseas, while its Willie Wonka-themed video set new benchmarks on YouTube and Vevo. She and Brandon got to perform the track for the first time live at this past week's Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, though Beyonce fans claim she copied her iconic performance at Coachella from last year. But this does offer the ramp-up to the summertime release of her new album, whose title has not officially been released though it is hidden in the video.
Cam and Kayla.
It would seem somewhat strange to offer a link between Taylor and MTV Reality, but after Kayla from Season 1 of Are You The One? got to hang with the queen at her New Orleans tour stop last year while on break at her local news job, there is another link besides the world's biggest star right now and a show that marks its fifth anniversary this year and for which Season 8 is coming in the summer. This year's quest to find love in perfect matches and truth booths will be a gender-fluid season, meaning those from the LGBT community will appear on AYTO for the first time, just after Ex On The Beach welcomed its first gay castmates on Season 2, including Jozea from The Challenge.
Last year, we saw someone very much different from everyone else make his way to the AYTO abode in Cam Viney, an aspiring lawyer from West Virginia, who took a break from interning in our nation's capital to find love. He is black, who is a Republican and who supports our President... and while visiting the White House on one of his assignments in Washington, D.C., he got to meet Ivanka Trump. Before that, he was a track athlete at the University of Illinois who competed in the relays at both the national level and in the Big Ten Conference.
During AYTO's Season of Fate last year, Cam made his mark a couple times: he found love in the house and forged a lifelong friendship with cheerleader/dancer Kayla Umagat, and found himself in a big rivalry with Kwasi (the one who then went onto the YouTube reboot of Singled Out) that even turned into blows one night. But if everyone thought that he's conservative in everything he does, it was anything but when it came to the many times where the AYTO cast got to dance.
Well before he entered the Are You The One house and while she was recording the first inkling of her breaking out of that country shell in Red, Cam took to YouTube to do what a lot of people did back in the spring of 2012: ask Taylor if he can bring her to his high school prom. He got to perform a different version of "You Belong to Me" with his own customized lyrics, and got the junior and senior classes at his high school to ask that magic question.
And that's not all... when Cam was in Champagne, Illinois, he also asked Taylor the magic question again, this time at a formal on the Illinois campus. Eventually, these two tries in high school and college didn't work out, but it was worth a good try though, Cam... at least, you got to be on an MTV reality dating show.
As we bask in springtime in May and count down to summer starting in a matter of weeks, there is something that those who follow MTV Reality television is most looking for. In more than a month, the latest rebooted MTV series of years gone by will return to our screens when The Hills: New Beginnings takes its first baby steps on June 24th. But the countdown to the return of one of the channel's most iconic hits can be traced not just to the series two of its stars came from that debuted fifteen years ago this fall, but also all the way across the sunbelt to the west coast of Florida.
This winter and spring saw an eventful Season 2 of Siesta Key, a season that once again brought drama as red hot as the sunny, 100-heat heat of a Florida summer to our screens, as they channeled the Californian spirit of Laguna Beach and The Hills out east. As it was for Season 1, this sophomore season began with the birthday rager that turned this town into Fight City Beach South after the many bar brawls that went down up the road by the Floribama Shore, and ended with a dramatic breakup of the couple who started this summer as the king and queen of this kingdom south of Tampa Bay.
*** Advisory: DC SocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're reading this top to bottom. ***
Welcome to the month of May and to this month's first Friday where a big sporting weekend is ahead of us. Fans of horse racing and those across America are heading to Big Easy's part of the world of Louisville for the annual gathering known as the Kentucky Derby, while fight fans and those who bleed Mexican red, white & green are en route for Las Vegas to see Canelo Alvarez face Daniel Jacobs on Cinco De Mayo weekend. And for fans of the beautiful game and those in Britain who are now getting to see what here in America have been seeing all winter & spring: Manchester City and Liverpool have their penultimate game of the 2018-19 Premier League season as they chase the title of champions of English football.
And as the NBA and NHL seasons are into their playoffs as well, things are also getting into the business end of the season on MTV's The Challenge: War of the Worlds, as we now bring you the Pulse of the most recent episodes. Don't adjust your sets... we took two weeks off from doing the Pulse posts for the reason that these recent episodes have cliffhangers at the end, and for the sake of the section of our viewing audience who prefer to binge the episodes instead of watching them live, we've tabled covering the action, reaction and interaction of the episodes to a few weeks after their airings, plus to allow our ExtraTime storytelling to take center stage in the time in between. So if you're just catching up, we've saved this seat for you to join us here.
When we did our last Pulse post for Episode 10 a few weeks back, the second half of the season began for the fourteen competitors who remained after Kam got her first elimination L in a regular Challenge elimination. That was when TJ Lavin dropped a Teej-bomb on them that the rest of the season would become an individual affair, and it didn't take long for the tempers to flare between the fiery one of the Young Bucks, Hunter, and the one everyone is stanning here, Turbo. They and the rest of the players went through hurricane-force winds for their first challenge where they have just themselves to watch out for, and trivia settled the first solo elimination when Bear finally succumbed in the first of what will sure be many seasons of him on American TV.
As things now get into the business of this being a solo game, Week 11 of this will see the two people who returned from three years away following them being on Rivals III, and will tell us if they have not lost a step of two. For the political mastermind who also has an adorable dog, it's the ginger man who unleashes his latest plan that will sure to shake up the players left in the desert. And for his partner of back in summer 2016, someone who we grew to love during her previous time on MTV will finally get to speak on behalf of the rest of the fandom and read out the strongest lady on paper going into here. And no Challenge would be without a challenge, as the players will pretend that they're going onto Game of Thrones, and compete a puzzle along the "Highway to Hell."
So, we welcome on in to the first of a couple (or perhaps, more) Backtracked installments of the DCBLOG Challenge SocialPulse, as we begin to play our way towards the $1 million final on War of the Worlds. And thanks for staying patient with us, but you'll be rewarded after the jump. But most importantly, welcome to the weekend...
Tonight on The Challenge: War of the Worlds, the result of the second straight cliffhanger to this season in two weeks (which is why DCBLOG's signature SocialPulse posts covering the social reaction to both last week's episode and the one before that have not posted on here as of yet - and have been replaced this week by these ExtraTime stories) will see Episode 13 begin with something that trumps any trivia contest, most every daily challenge and most finals in the past several seasons: Hall Brawl. Perhaps, the week-long anticipation of a feud that's divided Challenge stans everywhere and put the spotlight on one girl with red hair will go down on the floor in a matter of hours from now... maybe Cara Maria Sorbello's boyfriend Paulie Califiore could face her ex Kyle Christie this close to the final.
The sight of seeing players collide head-on in a tight hallway in a nighttime setting with spots in the game up for grabs is a quintessential Challenge elimination game, and it is the reason why I watch The Challenge nowadays after this very elimination took place during the rookie-laden Battle of the Seasons seven years ago, where one of its two combatants is the star of this post. But you'd be crazy if this blogger had to write about it here again, for which the post we are featuring the man who succumbed to the season's eventual champion that night is helping to spread something that is needed more than ever during times like these where negativity seems to be everywhere.
There is one day every year that those who fall in love, those who are in love and those who wish they were in love look forward to more than any of the 364 other days on the calendar: February 14th. The Valentine's Day holiday is classified as the Feast of Saint Valentine, the 3rd century Roman saint who was commemorated in Christianity on this date and during the High Middle Ages from the year 1000 to 1250 A.D., was associated with courtly love.
But in modern times, Valentine's Day is certainly much more than just a day to celebrate him, as it has emerged as a celebration in religious, cultural and commercial circles of romance, romantic love and everything related to hearts everywhere. When it was celebrated on that Thursday this past February, Americans sent over 200 million Valentine's Day cards -- hundreds of millions more among the school kids, and over $18 billion was spent on chocolates, roses, candy and all things related to love for its biggest holiday... ranking alongside Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Easter in the most popular holidays from an economic point of view. And of course, Valentine's Day was everywhere you went on social media as couples announced engagements and others posted pictures of their significant others on a day where love is on everyone's mind.
It was on Christmas morning last year that Real World Cancun alum and two-time Challenge competitor C.J. Koegel revealed on Instagram that he and girlfriend, fellow fitness model Bree Branker, that they got engaged thanks to his puppy asking the magic question on his behalf to her. And it came a few short months after he went out to Los Angeles to fulfill a prestigious item on his to-do list: go see The Ellen Degeneres Show, and got to dance in front of America once again with the show's in-house resident DJ Twitch.
The synopsis on Ellen's YouTube channel reads, "For 16 incredible, eventful and sometimes life-changing seasons, Ellen has been making audiences laugh all over the world with her signature brand of humor and her powerful message of kindness. There's nobody better at making you laugh and brightening your day. You never know what funny can do!" It's with that message in mind that, on Valentine's Day this year, C.J. decided to spread that message of love in a way that is uniquely New York and rings true during an intense time in our country.
In the video embedded below, he decided to brave the upper 30-degree cold of the Big Apple by donning a Cupid outfit and boxers with the name of his favorite daytime talk show host and helping to radiate Ellen's message of kindness and love all over a city that's tough on the outside but welcoming on the inside. As he goes to Central Park, Times Square, the city's coffee shops and subways and even sending hope to the city's homeless, the video's description reads, "Everyone deserves love and smiles, especially on Valentine's Day! Roaming around NYC handing out roses to everyone I felt would bring smiles to people's faces! Be kind to one another! Happy Valentine's Day!"
