Dancing With The Stars Week 4 Recap: Who Failed To Hit A High Note On Mariah Carey Night?

"Dancing With the Stars" has officially carried out a rite of passage for any self-respecting reality TV competition: an episode devoted to Mariah Carey's music.

Carey's discography has already been honored on just about every singing show there is — to varying degrees of success — and "Dancing" got in on the fun Tuesday night as the 12 remaining couples whirled and twirled to her iconic whistle notes. (This recapper would argue, though, that the evening could have benefited from a few more of Carey's out-and-out hits. "#Beautiful"? "It's Like That"? Give us "Always Be My Baby" or give us nothing!)

And while we're not sure if Mariah can officially take credit for this or not, her timeless tunes did make way for some of the season's strongest performances yet, with a handful of pairs even pulling themselves back from the brink of Season 35 collapse. One couple wasn't so lucky, though — and for two consecutive weeks now, the eliminated contestant was not the contestant appearing at the bottom of the leaderboard.

Keep scrolling for all the details of Mariah Carey Night, then hit the comments with your thoughts on this week's performances and results!

DANCE STYLE: Rumba (to "Anytime You Need a Friend")

It's still early in the season, and maybe I'll eat these words, but I feel fairly confident that this year's Mirrorball will go on a shelf in the Karagach/Pashkov household. Ezra's showing no signs of slowing down in this competition, and his mastery of the rumba — a notoriously tough style for male contestants — only cemented his status as a formidable frontrunner. Ezra's floor spin at the very end of the number did look a little uncertain, but that was a tiny blip of clunky maneuvering in an otherwise silky-smooth performance.

JUDGES' SCORES: 24 out of 30 (their first eights!)

DANCE STYLE: Tango (to "It's Like That" ft. Jermaine Dupri and Fatman Scoop)

Harry is such an interesting case. He's a really, really good dancer, and he has yet to look nervous about any style — or, really, any step — that he's encountered in this competition thus far. I'm curious, then, where the growth comes in for him, and I suspect that's a question asked by viewers every season who don't love when contestants arrive to the ballroom with prior dance experience. Surely Harry has room to improve, and surely he'll meet a style soon that isn't his forte. But last week's dance was very good and got eights across the board, this week's dance was very good and got eights across the board... I worry a plateau is on the horizon, but I also don't know how he breaks out of it. He's just really, consistently good, and it's possible that will be his undoing.

JUDGES' SCORES: 24 out of 30

DANCE STYLE: Rumba (to "My All")

Speaking of plateaus, though, Jenna at last managed to break free from the weird cloud of high expectations and self-imposed pressure that colored all of her previous performances. This rumba's choreography (Jenna starting with a solo) and staging (Jenna and Val dancing in a single spotlight, in a small part of the dance floor) were very smart choices by Val, who used the stripped-down moment to showcase his partner's vulnerability and raw, undeniable talent. This was really gorgeous on every level, and if you tell me you didn't gasp at Jenna's final split, I'll have no choice but to assume you're lying.

JUDGES' SCORES: 24 out of 30

DANCE STYLE: Foxtrot (to "#Beautiful" ft. Miguel)

We love to see a "Dancing" contestant pull out of a nosedive, don't we? After a promising debut back in Week 1, Tyler seemed to be squandering his own potential in the subsequent two episodes... only to bounce back stunningly with this foxtrot! Tyler was lighter on his feet here than he's ever been, and he led Sharna with a really lovely, relaxed confidence. Plus, an emotional pre-performance package? He's officially back in it, folks.

JUDGES' SCORES: 21 out of 30 (a whopping four-point increase from last week!)

DANCE STYLE: Waltz (to "If It's Over")

This breathtaking waltz reminded me a bit of Mark's Season 31 freestyle with Charli D'Amelio, where they took a performance that could have included lots of tricks and instead kept it simple with two people dancing gorgeously. Maura's faux-confidence seems to have transformed into real confidence now, and it showed in that endless series of spins that she navigated without a hint of nerves on her face.

JUDGES' SCORES: 25 out of 30 (including the first nine of the season!)

DANCE STYLE: Samba (to "Obsessed")

We've all had our fun, but it's time to wrap this one up. At the very least, let Witney rest her poor feet!

JUDGES' SCORES: 13 out of 30

DANCE STYLE: Waltz (to "Without You")

Ooh, more improvement here from another male contestant whose potential was threatening to evaporate in the last two weeks. Jackson really slowed down his frenetic energy here, and previously graceless arm flourishes became elegant and rounded. That said, I was not confident that any of the lifts or tricks in this waltz were going to land the way they were supposed to, which prompted a little exhale of relief every time Emma got back on the ground safely.

JUDGES' SCORES: 21 out of 30

DANCE STYLE: Jazz (to "Fantasy")

Tatyana had her own high bar to clear this week after breaking through with last week's fantastic quickstep, and unfortunately, this jazz never broke out of "perfectly fine" territory. On the choreography front, a lot of valuable time seemed to be wasted at the top of the stairs, where Tatyana and Jan didn't have quite as much room to move around and get into the meat of their routine. The sequences that took place on the actual ballroom floor were more fun and complex, but all told, this dance felt like the cotton candy that popped up in this episode's opening number: sweet, yet insubstantial.

JUDGES' SCORES: 20 out of 30 (a one-point decrease from last week)

DANCE STYLE: Rumba (to "Touch My Body")

Connor is the final prong of the adorable but frequently forgettable Tyler-Jackson-Connor trident; just like those other two, Connor improved meaningfully on Tuesday's episode, but he didn't quite get up to the level of impressive technique that his counterparts did. Much of the true rumba content in this dance featured herky-jerky hips on Connor's part, and the performance felt padded with gimmicks (Connor's worm!) that weren't necessary. Having said that, the whole thing was kinda hot, right?

JUDGES' SCORES: 19 out of 30 (a one-point decrease from last week)

DANCE STYLE: Viennese waltz (to "Vision of Love")

Aw, yay! Julia's finally enjoying this! Viennese waltzes and foxtrots tend to be a nice, relaxing balm for contestants on the verge of becoming their own enemies, and I was delighted to see Julia breathing much easier in this routine. Plus, the elegance! We all knew Julia had the dancing chops to succeed in this competition; how great that she's becoming convinced of it, too, and it's showing in her quality of movement.

JUDGES' SCORES: 21 out of 30

DANCE STYLE: Rumba (to "Hero")

Let's all take a moment to appreciate Amber's quads in the photo above, shall we? And I don't mean the figure skating trick! Anyway, this was another very solid showing from our Olympian, but it felt like there was some tension in the atmosphere as she was performing it, no? It could have been that final, intense trick she and Pasha pulled off — which required several seconds of buildup before Amber actually flipped herself over — or maybe it was simply the high stakes of having the closing spot in the performance lineup. Regardless, here's hoping Julia Stiles hasn't passed the "I'm in my head!" baton to Amber when Amber has such potential to go the distance.

JUDGES' SCORES: 23 out of 30

DANCE STYLE: Jazz (to "Emotions")

It's always a treat when "Dancing With the Stars" branches out into more abstract styles, and this jazz gave Ciara the perfect opportunity to loosen up even more after last week's funky cha-cha. It did seem, though, like Ciara was thinking about the steps a lot when she was dancing, and we could see her thinking as she transitioned from sequence to sequence. Tuesday's jazz was easily her most confident performance yet, but she still had a wall up that I imagine prevented some voters from connecting with her. Not to mention, Ciara and Brandon were first to perform on Tuesday, and their routine — while solid! — likely got swallowed up by this episode's bevy of strong showings. Still, they deserved to stick around at least a few more weeks, and I'm especially bummed to see Brandon's run cut short once again.

JUDGES' SCORES: 21 out of 30

OK, your turn. How do you feel about Ciara's elimination? Who was your favorite on Mariah Carey Night? Drop a comment below with all of your thoughts!