Products You May Like
This week Dancing With the Starsis tearing up our hearts — and Joey Fatone’s pants. Yes, the guest judge danced a bit too hard in the opening number and split his trousers. But, hey, anything goes in Girl Groups and Boy Bands week. With next week kicking off semifinals, the judges are getting tougher on the stars and the stars are getting even more invested. Here’s how the night went…
GIRL GROUPS
James Van Der Beek and Emma Slater
Jive / “I’m So Excited” from The Pointer Sisters
“The 10s have been unleashed, the bar’s been set,” James tells his partner Emma. They are ready to hit the ground running — and they do with this jive. They have fast feet, somersaults, and even end the dance in splits. Guest judge Joey says James makes doing this look effortless and easy, even though it’s very clearly not. Carrie Ann agrees, despite noting he was a bit ahead of the beat early on in the song, which could be why they didn’t get a perfect score.
Score: 36/40
Discover your new favorite show: Watch This Now!
Sean Spicer and Jenna Johnson (filling in for Lindsay Arnold)
Argentine Tango / “Bills Bills Bills” from Destiny’s Child
With the Argentine Tango, Sean Spicer gets to do lifts. The dance ends on a cool lift and … that’s about where the compliments end. “It’s not easy being green, is it?” asks Joey. He says that Sean looks great from the waist up and there’s no more time for errors in this competition. Len, Carrie Ann, and Bruno are all in agreement that Sean tries hard, but so far he’s just not as good as his fellow competitors.
Score: 26/40
Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten
Salsa / “No Scrubs” from TLC
After a standout performance last week, Hannah takes a bit of a step back with her Girl Group number. But the judges are pleased to see her confidence is growing; and Hannah is just as pleased she kept her top up. Spinning around, being flipped, and dancing the salsa while you could accidentally almost reveal yourself on national TV at any moment? That deserves its own award.
Score: 32/40
Ally Brooke and Sasha Farber
Samba / “Wannabe” from Spice Girls
Ally was in the bottom two last week, but it’s a good thing she made it through. It would be pretty bad if the former girl group member didn’t get to perform during Girl Groups week. Carrie Ann says her samba was flawless; Len says it’s fantastic; and Bruno just wants more. Baby Spice, aka Emma Bunton, sends her regards via video since she wasn’t able to make it in person. But we have a feeling that a perfect score will have Ally forgetting her girl group idol isn’t there in person.
Score: 40/40
Sean Spicer, Dancing With the Stars
Lauren Alaina and Gleb Savchenko
Quick Step / “You Can’t Hurry Love” from The Supremes
Lauren is back with a vengeance. She wants to get over the fumbles from last week — and for the most part, she does. Len says there were a couple moments that weren’t quite dead on point, but he liked it. Joey agrees that there were some missteps, but he’s impressed with her quick step. Carrie Ann has no idea what the other judges are talking about — she loved it.
Score: 34/40
Kel Mitchell and Witney Carson
Pasodoble / “Free Your Mind” from En Vogue
Kel and Witney are living off the high of their first 10. But not so high they can’t make it to church. Kel takes Witney to his church, where … he’s a pastor? It’s a little unclear. But speaking of worship, that’s exactly what (most of) the judges do to this number. “I am overwhelmed by the power of the performance,” Bruno says. But not all the judges: Len is not a fan. He says there were too many gimmicks and not enough pasodoble.
Score: 34/40
BOY BANDS
James Van Der Beek and Emma Slater
Jazz / “Bye Bye Bye” from *NSYNC
It should come as no surprise that James Van Der Beek is longtime friends with the guys of *NSYNC, but I was not expecting a story about how James helped an underage Lance Bass and Justin Timberlake into a club. What bouncer would not let those three into a club!? Anyway, the dance was … basically the *NSYNC dance from the video with Emma standing on the side. Len wasn’t a fan, but Joey was — he whips out a 10 and says he doesn’t care what anyone else says.
Score: 36/40
Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten
Tango / “Boy With Luv” from BTS
Hannah has an emotional practice with this one, saying she’s going to lose it during rehearsals. But she keeps it together and nails it on the dance floor. Joey says it’s the best dance of the night. Bruno says it has old school Hollywood glamour, Carrie Ann says she brought her A game. Len couldn’t let the critiques go by without getting in one — “you got a little bit loose on occasion” — but he says “well done.”
Score: 39/40
Sean Spicer and Jenna Johnson (filling in for Lindsay Arnold)
Foxtrot / “Story of My Life” from One Direction
Who knew Sean Spicer was a fan of Harry Styles? Bruno says this dance is solid and consistent: The foxtrot is very hard, but it’s a fluid dance and old Spicer just isn’t that fluid. Carrie Ann also noticed he threw off his step. Sean gets a bit emotional during her critique, which doesn’t cause Len to hold back. Joey ends it on a high note and says Sean always puts in 110 percent.
Score: 24/40
Lauren Alaina and Gleb Savchenko
Rumba / “I Want It That Way” from Backstreet Boys
Lauren met the Backstreet Boys at an awards show and has become friends with AJ. He visited the dance studio to show them a few real life moves. But I do not remember the BSB being this sexy with one another. Lauren and Gleb are heating up the dance floor. Carrie Ann is impressed with how far Lauren has grown. Bruno says it’s smoldering, smoky, hot.
Score: 36/40
Dancing With the Stars
Kel Mitchell and Witney Carson
Viennese Waltz / “I’ll Make Love to You” from Boyz II Men
Kel is also no stranger to the boy bands as he met quite a few back in the day on All That, including Boyz II Men. I would not have guessed that “I’ll Make Love to You” would make such a beautiful Viennese waltz. Len and Joey are fans, Bruno says Kel danced like a perfect gentleman, and Carrie Ann says she’s most impressed that he immediately took her direction from the last dance about using his arms more. THAT is how you get a perfect score, people.
Score: 40/40
Ally Brooke and Sasha Farber
Jazz / “Step by Step” from New Kids on the Block
When Ally finds out she’s doing “Step by Step,” she shows Sasha her NKOTB moves, but he’s not impressed. The duo come out in their best ’90s clothes and rock out the dance anyway. Joey says this is a great way to end the show. Bruno felt like he was at the MTV awards. He says Ally reminds him of his “dear friend Paula Abdul.” Len says Ally’s personality is reflected in the dance: It was plain fun.
Score: 40/40
Ally and Sasha lead the night with not one, but two perfect scores. Sean and Jenna are in the bottom along with Lauren and Gleb. But that’s just the judge’s leaderboards. When the live votes are factored in, the actual bottom two are … the same! For once! If you look at the judge’s critiques from the past few weeks, it’s not hard to figure out who they will likely save. And they do.
Carrie Ann and Bruno vote to save Lauren, which means that Sean Spicer is going home just short of the semifinals. With that, we have just two more shows until one of the final five walks away with the Mirrorball Trophy.
Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.