ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” is at the halfway point of the competition, which means that the ballroom is heating up! Tonight, each couple took on music from popular boy and girl bands. Former show finalist and Backstreet Boy Nick Carter filled in for Julianne Hough as a judge.
The dances
Olympian Simone Biles and Sasha Farber kicked off the night with a sassy samba to "Destiny Child’s Survivor." While she was hesitant to be sexy on the dance floor, she managed to impress the judges. She received a 35 out of 40.
Bullrider Bonner Bolton and Sharna Burgess heat up the dance floor with their rumba to "I Want it that Way" from the Backstreet Boys.
There is no denying that they have chemistry, but the judges gave it mixed reviews. Their final score was a 30 out of 40.
Olympian Nancy Kerrigan and Artem Chigvinstev brought out the passion with their paso doble to "Free Your Mind" by En Vogue. She finally let it go and showed off her personality and talent tonight. Talk about freeing her mind! Their final score was 33 out of 40.
“Bachelor” Nick Viall and Peta Murgatroyd performed a Beach Boys-themed jive to "Fun, Fun, Fun." While he seemed to enjoy it and finally have fun on the dance floor, he left the judges wanting more. He got the lowest score of the night with a 28 out of 40.
Fifth Harmony singer Normani Kordei and Val Chmerkovskiy performed a salsa to "When I Grow Up" by the Pussycat Dolls.
For some reason, ABC started it in the middle of the dance but from what I saw, it was hot, sexy and showcased why she is constantly on top of the leaderboard. Those construction workers didn’t hurt her performance either! They got the second highest score of the night with a 38 out of 40.
Chicago Cubs alumni David Ross and Lindsay Arnold attempted an Argentine Tango to "I Want You Back" from NSYNC.
While it was not the most conventional song for that dance, they seemed to make it work. Despite his frustrations during the week, they received a solid 29 out of 40.
NFL free agent Rashad Jennings and Emma Slater performed a tango to "I’ll Be There" from the Four Tops. He certainly made up for last week’s lower scores by attacking the dance and giving it his all.
As judge Carrie Ann Inaba said, it was the perfect combination of style and technique. He received a 37 out of 40.
Welcome back, Maks! “Glee” star Heather Morris and Maks Chmerkovskiy are back together. He took several weeks off due to an injury. Tonight, they performed a rumba to "Waterfalls" from TLC. It is so nice to see them together again—especially since they got the season’s first perfect score!
The team dances had David and Lindsay, Bonner and Sharna, Nick and Peta and Rashad and Emma (Boy Band) vs. Normani and Val, Heather and Maks, Simone and Sasha and Nancy and Artem (Girl Group). The teams each danced to a medley of songs from popular bands. Boy Band channeled 90s boy bands and Magic Mike, while Girl Group had a slumber party theme with a sexy twist.
Boy Band received a 33 out of 40, while Girl Group received a 34 out of 40.
Elimination
Team Boy Band was called safe before the group dances, which means all the female contestants are in jeopardy. Simone and Sasha and Normani and Val were called safe, which left Heather and Maks and Nancy and Artem in the bottom two.
The couple eliminated was Heather and Maks. It was a shock to everyone, especially the audience.
Next week, the remaining couples will dance to songs from the movies. Stay tuned!
