Daddy's Little Girl

Anyone who's read my earlier posts can tell I'm not really a fan of what I call "competition TV," those programs that pit contestants against one another to win money or a recording contract or a person's heart. With a few exceptions, it's not really something that interests me. However, I found myself tuning in to "Dancing With The Stars" this week.

Why?

I wanted to see Kelly Osbourne.

Again, why?

For two reasons. First, I wanted to see if she could pull it off. Second, I wanted to see whether Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince of Bleeping Darkness, would actually show up and sit in the audience with the family members of the other contestants.

Kelly Osbourne is the youngest daughter or Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. As part of the phenomenal success of The Osbournes reality show on MTV, she became a target of the paparazzi and has struggled with the demons that haunt her family, drugs and alcohol. She has a sharp tongue and a quick temper, and like her parents, no internal censor. I thought it would be interesting to see if she if she could tamp all that down to be a contender in the competition.

Well, like everyone who watched the show, I was more than pleasantly surprised. Her first dance was very elegant, ladylike and polished, very un-Osbourne like. She did an amazing job and handled herself brilliantly. She and her partner got high marks from the judges and have moved on to the next round of the competition.

And as for Ozzy, yes, he was in the audience, with Sharon and Kelly's fiance. Not only was he there, but he cried. Yes, The Prince of Bleeping Darkness actually cried watching his daughter glide elegantly across the floor. I expected that from Sharon, I've read her autobiography Extreme and I know that beneath her business rep as a cast iron bitch she's actually a marshmallow. But Ozzy? After her dance was completed Kelly ran across the floor to hug him and Sharon, and I don't think they could have been more proud.

I've only seen Ozzy Osbourne in concert once, in December of 2001 as they were in the middle of filming the first season of The Osbournes. More than anything, I went because I wanted to see Zakk Wylde. Unfortunately, I have to say, it was one of the most boring concerts I've ever been too, and I was disappointed. After that, I've much preferred Ozzy in Dad mode than Rocker mode, and Dad mode was out in full force on Dancing With The Stars.

Go, Kelly! I'm rooting for you!