It's more evidence of the show being over produced to make it more so..

Agree 100%. Its worse on the HD channel. Their voices are to the fore and you can hardly hear the orchestra. I think they are too close to the mikes.
They ruin the dancing for me. Rather just hear the orchestra

Yes the producers choose the music.

The pros and band should choose the music based on the celebrity's age, size, shape and character.

I agree with tonight's music being crap. I think a more pumping dance tune would be much better. My choice would be Anthem by N Joi. What dance would this track be good for? A tango or a Cha Cha maybe?

http://youtu.be/F1Fditzd-JM

Here is the track in question.

In the past we have commented on how good the music & singers have been, but this series has been the pits with both the music & some of the singing. As for the so called tango, what a joke.

The problem is the music has to be useable for copyright purposes. It has to be arrangeable to the right length and to match the available musicians. Then, in theory, the singers have to be able to sing it. Then it has to be deconflicted with everyone else's choices and then it has to be fitted into any theme the show has.......

The problem is when the choices were inappropriate, or dull, the theme or concept is naff, or the singing dire.

Tonight's music was mostly dire. During some of the dances (Natalie's the most) I can't help feeling there had been some mix up in the sound room and an engineer had accidently switched off the sound of the actual music fand had switched on something random from his iPod.

So the studio audience are hearing the correct music and we get something that makes no sense.

Only so much traditional music? I suppose it depends what you mean by traditional. I have well over 150 cds that are all strict tempo. It would take an awful lot of years of Strictly before that lot became repetitive.

I have about 50 AT tracks on my phone. And probably 100 Salsa / Merengue / Bachata / Cumbia ones.

You would think after the whooping reaction Suzy's Paso got last week, the producers would keen to slip a few more crowd pleasing traditionals in there.

I wonder what their market research shows, their music choice seems to indicate catering to a younger demographic that I wouldn't have thought was there.

For some reason (no doubt a ratings idea from one of the various trendy producers they've had over the years), it swapped from the pros providing a list of choices to the production department and them picking which ever they could (presumably) get the performing rights to and which they thought would be suitable for the band to work with, to this ridiculous situation where pros are being presented with a "Hobson's Choice" or being given a fait accompli.

Here is a choice of music for the producers if they pass by:

Strictly Salsa
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1763494

Strictly Argentine Tango
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1763697

I so, so agree. The music choices are dire.

If it's because the producers are trying to play to a 'younger audience', then why don't they give that audience more credit?

Many of the 'younger people' of my acquaintance will hear a piece of music on the telly, and - if they like it - go off and search for it on t'internet. They don't always expect to hear something they already know.

(you can turn all of that around for us oldies, who occasionally hear music that we like, but don't know, and go out to look for it).

As an aside, DD and I almost had a 'Keystone Kops going through a door' moment after hearing Kellie and Derek's Argentine Tango music on Dancing With the Stars.

That's the phenomenon I'm talking about!

That's more of a Rumba track.

More like disco for a group dance.

That was a joke...

I generally don't mind some of the stranger music choices but tonight was the first time where I felt like most of the routines were negatively affected by it. Natalie/Artem and Abbie/Aljaz in particular were really unfairly done by and their routines actually worked better when you mute the audio.

There has to be a medium that everyone associated with the show can reach so this doesn't happen. It's bad enough that TPTB decide the theme of the dances now, but taking the music choices out of the hands of the pros is ridiculous.

Ah! But I could agree with an SCD Rumba or the first 40 seconds.

Some of the music choices are just plain odd! It's been a recurring problem for a few series but this one is really taking the biscuit!!!

To me, as an amateur, I think authentic music would help you get into the character of the dance a lot more e.g. proper tango music or Rihanna? To me there is absolutely no contest, the proper music will help the amateur dancer 'feel' the dance and can only help their performance surely? It's OK for the professionals, they should be able to turn the dances on and off like a tap by now but it's not the same for the celebs and if you're doing a dance like the tango, argentine tango or charleston in particular I think it stands to reason you need authentic music. Plus IMO these dances just look better with the right music.

Of course they do.

I agree, let's say tango needs music with a beat and accents to make those staccato moves work, it's not enough that you can count to it the same. Because it looks like the dancers have a seizure. Here's some inspiration for the producers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTBPakx7_4M

If that does not animate the audience I do not know what will. It may be repetitive, but we don't see more than one two tangos a night.

It has hit a low point this series. A combination of generally poor choices or some atrocious re-working of classic numbers. There has also been a couple which I haven't recognised.

I think they need to go back to basics.

For most dances the music and the actual dance have the same name ...... you can play a tango or you can dance one or even better you can dance to the tango that is being played. The music and the dance are two sides of the same coin. And there are thousands and thousands of appropriate tunes out there.
Thats why the results are generally lame and limp when a traditional dance is done to the wrong music. Its a mis-match.
Sometimes I wonder if the producers pick songs to manipulate the results.

That is not the fault of the singers, it is the fault of the production crew who have control of the balance of every instrument and singer both for the house PA and the transmission.

Of course they should. I find it amazing that they don't.

The reaction to Susanna and Kevin's 'traditional Paso' says it all.

Wake up producers, you are ruining it.