The monsters are gone! The ballroom was full of light and excitement last night as the contestants moved on to a brand-new theme. Joined by Paula Abdul for Music Video Night, the show continued to ramp up as the stars faced the challenge of their own music video performances and a team dance round.
The Highlights
- Alyson impresses the judges with a fresh new performance.
- It’s official! In two weeks, the ballroom is entering its Taylor Swift Era as the couples dance through their favorite Taylor Swift songs.
- The first perfect score of the season!
Lele and Brandon
Latin icon Shakira is Lele’s inspiration, not just for her salsa this week, but for the work that she does in general. Lele and Brandon worked to honor a classic Shakira video, “Whenever, Wherever,” with a salsa. “Your hips did not lie, my love,” Derek said complimenting her isolation. Following Carrie Ann’s advice from last week that Lele needs to finish her moves, he suggested she move in and out of moves and tricks more cleanly.
Score: 33/40
Ariana and Pasha
After Carrie Ann’s prediction that Ariana could win the whole competition, this duo was full of confidence going into their cha cha inspired by the video for “I’m a Slave for You” by Britney Spears. “Tonight you were a dazzling mix of finesse and fury,” Paula said after their performance. Bruno was also full of high praise for their content, personality, and Britney choreography.
Score: 37/40
Harry and Rylee
Channeling boy band confidence (and some advice from Lance Bass) for a jazzy performance of “It’s Gonna Be Me” by NSYNC. Bruno noticed that they weren’t always in sync with the music, but he and Carrie Ann were both excited to see him have fun more than he has so far.
Score: 24/40
Jason and Daniella
Do we all remember when Jason said he couldn’t dance? He’s been proving himself wrong from week to week. This week continued that trend as they worked on a jazz routine to “Take on Me” by A-ha. Carrie Ann and Derek felt that this was subdued compared to their previous work, but Paula and Bruno had nothing but compliments for this performance.
Score: 35/40
Alyson and Sasha
Bring the energy, Alyson! Alyson and Pasha quickstepped to “Candyman” by Christina Aguilera. Derek was on his feet to tell Alyson that this was her “best dance yet” and that she really managed to pull this dance off. Paula, Bruno, and Carrie Ann agreed that this was a proper quickstep full of things to love from technique to acting.
Score: 33/40
Xochitl and Val
Xochitl wanted to do more than learn a dance this week. Helping plan their jazz routine to Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl,” Xochitl took it all on! Paula Abdul said of this duo, “You are the most provocative and surprising partnership in this ballroom.” Bruno noticed a mistake and wanted to see that cleaned up, but Carrie Ann praised Xochitl for improvising past her mistake.
Score: 34/40
Charity and Artem
Putting ballroom boot camp back into session, Charity had to step it up for their jazz routine to Janet Jackson’s “All for You” featuring a crew of backup dancers. Bruno told Charity that she should be proud for taking on Janet Jackson. As Janet Jackson’s choreographer, Paula wanted to see a little bit more of Janet’s character in the performance.
Score: 32/40
Barry and Peta
Everyone loves Barry! After some harsh criticism from the judges after their Halloween performance, Barry wanted to see the scores come back up with a quickstep to “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John. Derek complimented Barry’s maintenance of his frame, and Paula loved the change she saw in him when the tempo picked up.
Score: 28/40
Team Dance Round
The teams had to dance together to compete for points from the judges. Last week Harry and Alyson were chosen as team captains because they had the lowest scores last week.
Team Young ‘N Style included Harry, Charity, Lele, Xochitl, and their partners who performed to “Gangnam Style” by Psy, getting Derek out of his seat to cheer for Harry. “All of you were absolutely on it” Bruno shared. The whole panel of judges was impressed by how well this group came together.
Score: 40/40
Alysons Team 4 Everybody brought her, Barry, Jason, Ariana, and their pros together to dance to “Everybody” by Backstreet Boys. Going for a group performance that would showcase the best of each duo’s ballroom skills. AJ McLean visited their rehearsals for inspiration, and it paid off. Carrie Ann praised Alyson for sparkling, but wanted to see more cohesion in this dance (to booing from Derek). Paula loved the feature moments. “You guys rock!”
Score: 37/40
The Results
It was an intense night of dance, and with combined solo and team scores combined audience votes, the results were tense. Harry and Rylee survived the bottom of the leaderboard, but Lele and Brandon were sent home.
Next week, Dancing with the Stars returns for Whitney Houston night live on Tuesday on Disney+ and ABC at 8:00 PM ET.
