Wonder how much recycling we do get this year. Great balls of fire and what'll I do? have been used already. Bless Tony Jacklin. I will miss Aliona's reactions this year.
I know there's always lots of repeats or Dave Arch et al would be having to learn too much new material. I think the pros are asked to supply songs they don't mind recycling as well as submitting numbers they are interested in using (that get passed on to colleagues/ignored anyway!)

They tend to leave a recycling gap between series but lots of tracks are covered more than once.
http://www.ultimatestrictly.com/songs/

Libertango has been used four times.

The theme from Birds of a Feather (what will I do....) would make a nice waltz for Lesley

Tiny Dancer by Elton John - Claudia
Rubber Ball - Ed
Long and Winding Road - Greg

Greg - Van Halen and Jump.

Judge Rinder - I fought the law and the law won.
Daisy - Chain of (daisies) fools.
Louise - Eternal Flame (see what I did there!)
Claudia - Bend me shake me.
Greg - Jump for my love.

The "opening" dance is a medley of three songs (including the band's take on Nicki Minaj), and yep, the other one is the celeb dance.

Is it just me who wished TPTB didn't link contestants surnames/jobs/backgrounds to the "theme" songs in the first two weeks? Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. And when it doesn't it can all feel a bit...forced. And predictable as well.

And most of the time the pros look like they're thinking "I wish I had bit more creative freedom because, quite frankly, this is not working. At all"

If Greg's first song is not Jump and doesn't feature him jumping from the judge's desk I'll eat my hat....

Claudia- Spinning Around maybe?
Daisy- All Time Low?

Will - Young at Heart (not sure what dance it would suit though)+

BIB - suggested that further up. Would be a good Cha Cha

Just thought of Labour of Love by Hue & Cry for Ed

Take me out to the ball game - Ed Balls
Eternal Flame - Louise Rednapp
Young at heart - Will Young
Anyone can fall in love (the sung version if the Eastenders theme) - for the EE actor
Tell me on a Sunday - Naga

I don't get the pun with this one

Ore - Hot Hot Hot (with the opening line Ole Ole changed to Ore Ore)
Laura - More More More

I don't think this is predictable, but I think a Rumba to "Hello" with Lesley as the blind girl could be a surprise hit

"Talking Italian" (Claudia = Italian blood)

And CravenHaven, we already had a Rumba to Hello last year.

Nope, certainly isn't just you. And I'd go beyond 'forced' and say it can be downright tacky. I'm sure the pros used to have a bit more of a say but the producers want ratings and have very rigid ideas on how to get them, it seems. Many of which involve patronising the audience as much as possible.

Sorry, seem to be even grumpier than usual this morning On a brighter note, there have been some great suggestions upthread, including some that would be fresh. We've never had 'Can I get a witness?', for example, which could be a great quickstep with the right arrangement.


ETA: Which 'Jump' are we talking about by the way? I had two in mind, did a quick Wiki and it seems there's a shedload of them!

Wholeheartedly agree with both comments on this.

Sadly I suspect the first couple of weeks tend to get used for the trite song choices, because that the is only guarantee of the celeb still being in the competition.

Take your pick.

We have this one

This one

And if you want something a bit more leftfield, there is this one

No idea in what dances they could be used though, maybe one of the resident dancers could help us with that.


It is as though as they are trying to introduce them to the viewers in the public who won't know them all so people will be able to distinguish them apart; "Look, he's a long jumper", "She's the weather lady", "She's Irish, hence the little Irish dance moves in the middle of 'Happy'".

Yep, the first two were the ones that initially sprang to mind (although, being ancient, I thought Pointer Sisters rather than Girls Around).

I'm finding the idea of House of Pain strangely appealing now you've come to mention it, though...


.
Yeah, I considered that and I don't have much of a problem with it in theory - lots of celebs to keep track of in the early days. But it drives me up the wall if taken to daft extremes and the whole performance suffers for the sake of applying an easy label.

Ed is so easy to pick songs for without resorting to Balls.

Monies too Tight to Mention.
Money, Money, Money.
Money for Nothing.
Take the Money and Run.

but Helen was clearly peeking- the cheater- what is wrong with you?

It's almost a tradition though now. Series 2 had Quentin Wilson stomping round to Pink Cadilac with L-plates on his back and that was that, really.

Loving all of these suggestions. Hilarious!

Just thinking about it, I don't actually mind the obvious song choices too much so long as they fit the actual dance style. It's when they try and force them to fit that it becomes cringeworthy.

This one springs to mind: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCKEDUyScIA - surely more suited to a cha cha chaaar?

Rabbit - (Chas and Dave) Laura Whitmore.
Schools Out - (Alice Cooper) Lesley Joseph.
Hello Judge - (10cc) Robert Rinder.
Wrecking Ball - (Miley Cyrus) Ed Balls.

Greg - GOLD by Spandau Ballet or Jump by Girls Aloud.

Naga - News of the World (Or any song with the word News in there)

Will - Young Hearts Run Free.

Even if the above aren't right, I'm expecting TPTB to come up with the usual way too literal selection of song choices.