Working the Stage

Dancing with the Stars hunk crashes Fifth Harmony's RodeoHouston homecoming debut

More than 64,000 fans showed up to see Fifth Harmony make their RodeoHouston debut Friday night at NRG Stadium, and the group told their “Harmonizers” early and often just how much it meant to see them there.

“I want to thank you guys so much for your continuous love and support from the beginning,” member Normani Kordei said. “I mean, there were five girls with a dream.”

Kordei was referencing the number of people in the group before former member Camila Cabello exited last December, making Fifth Harmony a quartet. But Kordei’s current bandmates, Ally Brooke Hernandez, Dinah Jane Hansen, and Lauren Jauregui, didn’t let her linger on that long as they surrounded her on stage to make an announcement that their fans probably already knew: Kordei is competing on the 24^th season of Dancing with the Stars.

What “Harmonizers” likely didn’t expect to see was Kordei’s DWTS partner, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, join them on the stage. He won the Mirrorball trophy with gymnast Laurie Hernandez last season, so we’ll see if he can make it two in a row with Kordei when the new season premieres Monday night (March 20) on ABC 13.

Chmerkovskiy posted a video on Twitter twerking with Kordei's grandmother backstage at the Rodeo and it appears the Fifth Harmony member learned some of her dance skills from granny.

she got from her grams for sure 😍😂 @NormaniKordei #DWTS pic.twitter.com/q7VeA18ooI

— Valentin (@iamValC) March 18, 2017

But before going to the ballroom, Kordei had some unfinished business at the Rodeo, even as her bandmates wished her well on the competition.

“We knew from the day that we met you how phenomenal a talent you are, especially an incredible dancer,” Alley Brooke Hernandez gushed. “We can’t wait to see you on that stage doing outstanding and killing it just like you do out here with us.”

Memories of Selena

To kick things off, Fifth Harmony seemed to throw it back to the legends. Queen’s “We Will Rock You” blared through the stadium as soon as the lights went down and after close to a minute of hearing Freddie Mercury, Fifth Harmony rolled in on a horse-drawn carriage. It reminded me of Selena’s entrance to her RodeoHouston concert at the Astrodome in 1995.

But after that, Fifth Harmony kept the hour-long show focused on their music, performing songs including “That’s My Girl,” “Miss Movin’ On,” “Sledgehammer,” “Boss,” and “All In My Head (Flex).”

Backed up by an all-female band, Fifth Harmony took a timeout from dancing to get personal on “Brave, Honest, Beautiful," written by Meghan Trainor, who is also featured on the song. “I want you to always feel loved, to always feel important because you are, and right now I want you to repeat after me: I am brave, I am honest, I am so beautiful,” member Dinah Jane Hansen said.

Fifth Harmony saved their biggest hits for last, cueing “Worth It” and then dropping an obvious hint about what was coming next. “Our Harmonizers have been ‘working with us.’ We actually have 9 awards because of them,” Hansen said with a smile.

“Work From Home” was the closing song, and no pun intended, but it has worked for the group well. It’s been certified quadruple platinum. It also got the crowd on their feet.

Homecoming for two members

Fifth Harmony’s first performance at the Rodeo was a homecoming of sorts for two members of the group. Hernandez is a Texas native, hailing from San Antonio, and Kordei lives in Houston.

Fifth Harmony wrapped up on the same message they began on: gratitude to be in front of fans, especially in the Lone Star State.

“I’m so blessed to be here. It’s because of you guys we get to go up here on this stage and do exactly what we love to do,” Kordei said. “I’m so grateful and I wouldn’t choose any other place to represent.”

And “Harmonizers” will likely be watching to see how far Kordei makes it on DWTS.

How soon Fifth Harmony will be back in H-town remains to be seen. Their 7/27 tour starts March 25 in Asia.

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Set List:
That’s My Girl
Miss Movin’ On
Sledgehammer
Reflection
This Is How We Roll
Scared of Happy
Write On Me
No Way
Big Bad Wolf
Boss
Not That Kinda Girl
All In My Head (Flex)
Brave Honest Beautiful
Gonna Get Better
Worth It
Work from Home

Fifth Harmony made their RodeoHouston debut Friday night at NRG Stadium, and the group told their “Harmonizers” early and often just how much it meant to see them there.

Photo by Michelle Watson/CatchLight Group

Fifth Harmony made their RodeoHouston debut Friday night at NRG Stadium, and the group told their “Harmonizers” early and often just how much it meant to see them there.

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Movie Review

New thriller Crime 101 majors in cool with Hemsworth at the wheel

Photo courtesy of Amazon Content Services

Chris Hemsworth in Crime 101.

The career of actor Chris Hemsworth is a curious one, as it feels like he’s a huge star (mostly from playing Thor in Marvel movies) and not at the same time, with most of the non-MCU movies featuring him in a lead role failing to become big successes. But he still has a certain presence about him, which is why he’s being given another chance to prove his star power in the new thriller, Crime 101.

Hemsworth plays Davis, a talented thief who knows how to get what he wants without resorting to violence. When a job early in the movie turns slightly sideways, it makes him think twice about working with his handler (Nick Nolte), who seems to prefer someone with a stronger touch, like the up-and-coming Ormon (Barry Keoghan).

Davis is the main character, but two others who come into his orbit get their own subplots. Lou (Mark Ruffalo) is a slightly schlubby LAPD detective who’s convinced he knows the pattern of an unknown thief that likes to hit places close to Highway 101. Sharon (Halle Berry) works for a high-end insurance agency known for working with ultra-wealthy clients, the types who might be a great target for a thief like Davis.

Written and directed by Bart Layton, the film has a decent propulsion to it that comes with most crime thrillers. Davis and Ormon represent the yin and the yang of criminal approaches, and and it’s interesting to see the juxtaposition between the two as their simmering rivalry heats up over the course of the film. When the film commits to actually showing its crimes, it has an excitement that’s worth watching.

Unfortunately, Layton displays a real lack of focus, taking the audience into subplots with each of the three main characters that prove unnecessarily distracting. Lou’s marriage problems may explain his disheveled appearance, but there’s no need to see him deal with them with wife Angie (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Sharon’s troubles with her male-dominated company prove slightly pivotal, but still don’t merit the time put into exploring them.

The most baffling subplot is Davis pursuing a relationship with Maya (Monica Barbaro), a woman he randomly meets. At different points in the movie, including many of his interactions with Maya, Davis seems like the most uncomfortable, antisocial person in the world. And yet he somehow morphs into a suave smooth-talker who’s able to convince anyone to do what he wants at other key points, making it unclear exactly what kind of person he really is.

Hemsworth does relatively well in the lead role, but he’s still missing that certain something to make his character, and therefore the movie, truly compelling. The rest of the cast is fine, too, but each of them seem to be putting in just the minimal amount of effort to make the film watchable. Ruffalo and Barbaro come off the best, but with the talent in the cast (11 Oscar nominations and one win), they could have been used better.

Crime 101 has most of the ingredients to be another great entry in the genre, and it succeeds when it actually decides to deliver on its promise. But too much of the film is spent on things that have no real bearing on plot or character development, leaving the movie in the middle of the pack.

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Crime 101 is now playing in the theaters.

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