Dancing With The Stars Sends A Second Couple Home In Super-Sized Week 5 — Plus, Who Was Crowned Prom Royalty?
Dancing With the Stars sent us on a long, looping emotional rollercoaster on Monday night — but that was only half of this week's ride.
An entire additional episode of Dancing awaited us on Tuesday, with a second couple poised to leave the competition after Selma Blair voluntarily bowed out due to health concerns the previous night. This time, the 11 remaining contestants danced to songs that brought them back to their high school proms — and in the spirit of nostalgia, the show also brought back its dance marathon element, which hasn't made an appearance since Season 15 in 2012.
During the marathon, all 11 couples took the dance floor at the same time, first dancing a hustle followed by a Lindy Hop. One at a time, the judges tapped out couples from the marathon, and duos earned bonus points based on how long they remained on the floor. The last pair standing was crowned Prom King and Queen — and this year, that honor went to Jessie James Decker and Alan Bersten. (A pleasant surprise!)
All told, the judges' scores from Monday and Tuesday night, combined with those dance marathon bonus points and the home audience's votes, resulted in another couple's elimination. Keep scrolling for our recap of Tuesday's performances and results, then hit the comments with your thoughts!
SAFE: Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart
DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to "SexyBack" by Justin Timberlake ft. Timbaland)
Once Daniel hit the floor next to Britt, his footwork unfortunately oscillated between timid and messy, and it seemed Britt was guiding him through the choreography more than she typically does. That said, this cha-cha featured a fabulous interlude where Britt and Daniel faced the sides of the ballroom and rotated their hips outward, which Daniel slayed — and his confident facial expressions always make up for any subpar footwork.
JUDGES' SCORE: 32 out of 40 / 66 out of 80 for the week
SAFE: Vinny Guadagnino and Koko Iwasaki
DANCE STYLE: Viennese Waltz (to "You and Me" by Lifehouse)
OK, I'll say it: I love Vinny. I do! I can't help it! I'm normally a bit of a purist when it comes to Dancing With the Stars, mostly championing the technically gifted dancers over the "Hey, he's trying!" competitors. But man, Vinny's a delight. His timing in this Viennese waltz was admittedly off, and his free hand occasionally made some strange shapes, but he was also refined and elegant, and he can commit to a character better than most others on the roster.
JUDGES' SCORE: 28 out of 40 / 60 out of 80 for the week
SAFE: Shangela and Gleb Savchenko
DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to "Waiting for Tonight" by Jennifer Lopez)
Years of watching and recapping Dancing With the Stars have admittedly turned me into a Len Goodman-esque fuddy duddy; to that end, I found Shangela's extended lip-sync opening — while fabulously, fabulously epic — to be a bit too much time-wasting "messin' about" before the cha-cha truly began. And though the judges glossed over Shangela's footwork in their critiques, it's true that her technique is still not quite where it should be after five weeks of competition, especially given her massive potential.
JUDGES' SCORE: 35 out of 40 / 67 out of 80 for the week
SAFE: Charli D'Amelio and Mark Ballas
DANCE STYLE: Jive (to "You Make My Dreams" by Daryl Hall and John Oates)
In a way, it was a relief to see Charli briefly drop out of character near the end of this jive, and to see her kicks and flicks lack just the teensiest bit of energy; with several weeks still left in Season 31, it's not a bad thing that there's room for improvement here. That said, Charli still crushed this on the whole, bringing fun personality and lightning-fast feet to Mark's considerable content.
JUDGES' SCORE: 38 out of 40 / 77 out of 80 for the week
SAFE: Jessie James Decker and Alan Bersten
DANCE STYLE: Viennese Waltz (to "Breakaway" by Kelly Clarkson)
Aside from some occasional stiffness and awkwardness in her arms, Jessie showed great improvement from even Monday night's tango. That's no small feat, coming off a night of tough critiques and a place at the bottom of the leaderboard. Plus, Jessie's emotional connection to "Breakaway" was lovely and authentic, and it showed in her graceful execution — and she and Alan were crowned Prom Queen and King during the evening's dance marathon! Woo!
JUDGES' SCORE: 32 out of 40 / 61 out of 80 for the week
SAFE: Gabby Windey and Val Chmerkovskiy
DANCE STYLE: Tango (to "Good Girls Go Bad" by Cobra Starship ft. Leighton Meester)
Just 24 hours ago, Gabby was asked to emote more through her face, and she completely delivered with sassy facial expressions and crisp, sharp head and neck movements throughout this tango. And that final pose? Get it, girl.
JUDGES' SCORE: 40 out of 40 / 76 out of 80 for the week
SAFE: Trevor Donovan and Emma Slater
DANCE STYLE: Jive (to "Basket Case" by Green Day)
I wasn't sure how well a jive would fit with "Basket Case," fearing we might have another "samba danced to 'Life Is a Highway'" situation on our hands. But not so! Though not always as bouncy as it should have been, Trevor's approach to this jive was energetic, animated and altogether joyful to watch. And not many contestants could pull off that yellow plaid ensemble so effortlessly.
JUDGES' SCORE: 32 out of 40 / 64 out of 80 for the week
SAFE: Jordin Sparks and Brandon Armstrong
DANCE STYLE: Contemporary (to "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown)
Given Jordin's connection to "No Air," and the anecdote in which it was played at her own prom — to mixed reactions; ugh, teenagers — I had hoped for clearer emotion to be expressed in her face and extensions. Instead, much of the emotional intensity was saved for after the performance when Jordin broke down in tears on Brandon's shoulder — a very sweet moment, but one that I wish had happened just 90 seconds earlier via her dancing.
JUDGES' SCORE: 35 out of 40 / 68 out of 80 for the week
SAFE: Wayne Brady and Witney Carson
DANCE STYLE: Samba (to "It Takes Two" by Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock)
Very occasionally, Wayne seemed to be just a hair ahead of Witney and the music during this samba, but that's small potatoes. His overall performance was electric and full of attitude, and his efforts to nail this style's highly intricate footwork were not for naught.
JUDGES' SCORE: 40 out of 40 / 77 out of 80 for the week
IN DANGER, SAVED BY JUDGES: Heidi D'Amelio and Artem Chigvintsev
DANCE STYLE: Jazz (to "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper)
Heidi is now proficient enough that she can handle an opening choreography interlude without her partner present, which she did quite well alongside two troupe members at the top of this number. The question, then, is why Artem subsequently gave Heidi little more than step-touches to execute for the rest of the routine; after weeks of marked improvement, Heidi deserved to tackle something much meatier, especially in a style as fun and creative as jazz.
JUDGES' SCORE: 33 out of 40 / 69 out of 80 for the week
ELIMINATED: Joseph Baena and Daniella Karagach
DANCE STYLE: Cha-Cha (to "Shut Up and Dance" by Walk the Moon)
It's a shame that Joseph and Daniella seem to have plateaued. Joseph consistently delivers some of the best technique of this season's amateurs, and he's proven he can internalize and build upon the judges' corrections. Even with this cha-cha, there was the same conundrum in which I could see that Joseph did an excellent job, and yet the routine left no indelible impression. Unfortunately, the viewing audience seemed to share that sentiment, and Joseph and Daniella were sent home.
JUDGES' SCORE: 32 out of 40 / 66 out of 80 for the week