Dancing with the Stars is getting muy caliente with Latin Night. The 11 remaining couples will perform Sambas, Rumbas, Paso and more before another pair gets eliminated.
Will Chris Soules get dumped after receiving the lowest scores last week? Or will he get a rose and leave another couple on the chopping block? And will the judges finally take out the 10 paddle (keeping in mind that only 11 couples have ever received a 10 in the first three weeks)?
LIVE…from Hollywood…it’s Latin Night on Dancing with the Stars!
There’s a lot of fire and skin in the opening number. Suzanne Somers’ Carmen Miranda-style outfit has me worried.
In addition, we learn that at some point ABC will air a 10th-anniversary special that’s not part of the competition. Next week is the Most Memorable Year for the contestants while Disney Night returns in two weeks.
Rumer Willis and Val Chmerkovskiy: Salsa
They’re doing a Disco Salsa with plenty of lifts. They went to a roller disco and Val busted his lip during a lift. So basically, Rumer’s crotch broke Val’s mouth. The routine is full of glamorous disco diva cheesiness and it’s fast and fun. As much as I love it, she was off a tiny bit following the lifts. Len Goodman loves the exuberance that they finally delivered and calls it the best routine of the season. Julianne Hough quickly rains on the parade, claiming that her joy only came out halfway through. Carrie Ann Inaba compares Rumer’s body to that of her mother’s in Striptease.
Judges’ Scores: 8+9+8+8=33
After eight 8s in the first two weeks, they finally get a 9.
Charlotte McKinney and Keo Motsepe: Rumba
She was as shocked as I was that she wasn’t eliminated first. She has dyslexia which somehow requires visual learning and she’s also constantly distracted by e-mails because she’s a busy model and actress. Keo calls her out on wasting his time. I mildly enjoy the routine, although Charlotte doesn’t do much. It’s mostly just Keo dragging her around and all Charlotte does is show off how flexible she is. Bruno Tonioli throws MAJOR SHADE by basically calling her a complete moron, but at least she’s pretty. I guess the judges aren’t sympathetic anymore about her getting bullied online because they’re pretty harsh about her feet.
Judges’ Scores: 6+5+5+6=22
Ouch, back down to where they were in week 1. She’s definitely gone next week if not tonight.
Michael Sam and Peta Murgatroyd: Salsa
They went to a spa to relax at the start of the week. But Peta quickly became tense again because Michael is extremely strong and gets her very high on the lifts. His energy and hip action is great as always, but it’s not that great. He’s always bubbly and fun, but he’s not really impressing me or making me think he could win. The judges were nervous and thought Michael was tentative and went wrong a lot with the steps. Carrie Ann was scared by the lifts, but Len was OK with them. The judges all agree it was probably his worst week so far.
Judges’ Scores: 6+6+6+6=24
Oof, that could put him in serious danger next week.
Riker Lynch and Allison Holker: Salsa
Riker is not comfortable with being sexy or taking his shirt off, especially around hunkasauruses like Noah and Chris. It’s kind of endearing, as his desire to take down his cousin Derek. Once again, he’s absolutely amazing and has smooth, fantastic moves. He waits until the last second to rip open his shirt. I’m loving how his body moves. The judges love it and finally see him as a serious contender, but Carrie Ann wants them to fulfill more traditional gender stereotypes. She thinks he’s too androgynous and wants Riker to be more manly.
Judges’ Scores: 9+7+9+9=34
Wow, even Julianne was shocked by Len’s score.
Suzanne Somers and Tony Dovolani: Samba
She has a fruit hat to dance to “Copacabana.” Ugh, she’s reaching Bill Engvall levels of silliness, even though she claims to take the competition very seriously. Suzanne and Tony talk a lot about how cool it would be to be the oldest winner ever, but it’s not gonna happen. She’s very good for her age, but she’s not that polished. The judges are overly nice to her, as they typically are with older contestants who have some dance ability. They do point out that she missed a few steps and Carrie Ann asks for more depth. I agree, she needs to take on a routine that isn’t comedic.
Judges’ Scores: 6+6+6+7=25
I appreciate that nice comments don’t necessarily equate to generous scores.
Chris Soules and Witney Carson: Argentine Tango
Chris wasn’t bummed by the scores last week, he was bummed because he screwed it up so badly. I appreciate that he knows he did poorly and wants to do better. Luckily he has a Tango, which is arguably the easiest style to make a guy look good. There’s not a whole lot to it, but it looks cool and he definitely makes a massive improvement. Julianne says he’s on fleek, though she isn’t sure what that means. Neither do I. The judges are all happy with his comeback.
Judges’ Scores: 7+7+7+7=28
Those scores seem very fair.
Robert Herjavec and Kym Johnson: Rumba
During rehearsals, he suffered a lot of pain stemming from a car crash he was in three years ago. Once again, it’s a very sweet, romantic, elegant, simple routine. I continue to be impressed by how graceful he is as a dancer, but I’d love to see something more than another romantic routine from these two lovebirds. The judges are again sickened by how sweet they are (for the second week in a row, Carrie Ann uses vomiting as a compliment) but offer some constructive criticism about his movements. Len says that they’re middle of the pack, good but not great.
Judges’ Scores: 7+7+8+7=29
Rumer has eleven 8s and one 9. Robert has eleven 7s and one 8. At least they’re consistent.
Patti LaBelle and Artem Chigvintsev: Cha-Cha-Cha
During rehearsals, she’s impressed that he can lift her and she loves it. She’s so damn sassy and even busts out a “Bye Felicia.” The routine is incredibly entertaining, but she’s not doing a whole lot of dancing and spends half of the dance on a luggage cart. Patti is an amazing performer and does a little bit of decent movement, but there’s very little content. The judges like the entertainment but not the dancing.
Judges’ Scores: 6+5+5+6=22
The audience boos, but those scores are correct. Even better, all the guys take off their shirts when Patti goes back for her interview.
Willow Shields and Mark Ballas: Paso Doble
She got injured during rehearsals and it seems pretty bad. The routine has a cool fire and ice routine with Willow as a Fire Queen and Mark as an Ice Man. I love that, since she’s 14, Mark has to come up with clever concepts to avoid anything sexual or passionate. She has some good moves and it’s a superb routine, but she still doesn’t have the kind of bad-ass ferocity I want in a great Paso. But the judges love it and love her. I feel like they’re overpraising her and while the judges don’t think her age is still a factor, I do.
Judges’ Scores: 8+8+8+8=32
Once again, I don’t understand the judges’ comments vs. the actual scores. They were so positive and I expected a few 9s.
Noah Galloway and Sharna Burgess: Argentine Tango
The Tango is hard and Sharna wanted him to use a robotic, prosthetic arm. But during rehearsals he couldn’t get used to it, so two days ago he told her he wasn’t going to wear it for the routine, requiring her to adapt. The routine itself is fine, though I’m not very impressed with his limited movements. However, I’m very impressed when he lifts her up over his shoulder with one hand. The judges love it a lot more than I do, but when Carrie Ann dares to point out one mistake, she gets booed. At least Noah says he’s OK with criticism and wants to hear it so he can improve.
Judges’ Scores: 7+7+8+8=30
I continue to be confused. The comments were glowing, but the scores don’t accurately reflect them.
Nastia Liukin and Derek Hough: Samba
They only have three days of rehearsals together because he has 10 shows a week at Radio City and she goes to school. However, she rehearses with Henry Byalikov in L.A. for the other half of the week. That actually makes me even angrier that Derek is on this season instead of just letting Henry be her partner because I imagine he is doing just as much work to help her as Derek is.
Derek is completely shirtless, which I always appreciate. It feels more Afro-Jazz to me and the choreography is great, but Nastia seems a bit off to me. I really don’t like her big smile which feels more pageant girl than sexy Samba girl.
Judges’ Scores: 9+8+9+8=34
Ugh, now THAT is some classic Derek overscoring.
THE RESULTS
Chris and Witney, Noah and Sharna and Charlotte and Keo are IN JEOPARDY!
Seriously, Noah?
Noah and Sharna are SAFE!
Why even put him in the Bottom 3 then?
Charlotte McKinney and Keo Motsepe ARE ELIMINATED!
Well, at least Keo wasn’t the FIRST one gone, but second isn’t good either. However, I’m not going to miss them at all since Charlotte was painfully unlikeable. This makes next week tougher to predict since Patti had the lowest score, but seems to be a big fan favorite.
THE LEADERBOARD
34: Riker Lynch, Nastia Liukin
33: Rumer Willis
32: Willow Shields
30: Noah Galloway
29: Robert Herjavec
28: Chris Soules
25: Suzanne Somers
24: Michael Sam
22: Patti LaBelle
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
