SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Tuesday’s episode of Dancing with the Stars.
Another week, another night of Dancing with the Stars.
It’s the first-ever Super Bowl night in the ballroom, so the remaining couples are dancing to songs from former Super Bowl halftime performers, including Shakira, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Bad Bunny, and more. As we know, Disney loves synergy, and this is no exception since ABC and ESPN are hosting the big game this season.
The judges are joined tonight by Joe Buck, the lead play-by-play announcer for ESPN’s Monday Night Football. Don’t expect any sophisticated remarks from him, considering he tells the audience early on he has no idea about the technical aspects of any of the dances, but he’s excited to weigh in.
Let’s dive into Super Bowl Night.
Reality star Maura Higgins with Mark Ballas. These two are still on cloud 9, literally, after getting the first 9 of the season last week from Carrie Ann. This week, they’re dancing a tango to “Only Girl (In the World)” by Rihanna. In her intro package before the performance, she seems to be struggling with pain in her neck, so staying in frame might be tough. She definitely comes across a little stiff, but otherwise powers through. “Maura, once again a beautiful performance,” Carrie Ann tells her but reminds her that her movement needs to be more “punctuated” on the Latin dances. SCORE: 33 out of 40
Savannah Bananas midfielder Jackson Olson with Emma Slater. The pair have been in the bottom two the past two weeks, and Olson also has to prepare for the Banana Bowl (which went down over the weekend), so who’s to say how he’ll do with a salsa to “Uptown Funk” by Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars. Not sure how much salsa there was in the final product, but they certainly brought the energy. “I think this was your best dance,” Derek says. “It just felt like you really commitTed and owned that floor.” SCORE: 31 out of 40
Olympian Amber Glenn with Pasha Pashkov. They got great feedback on their rumba last week, but they weren’t too thrilled to go down on the leaderboard. Their upside down split is also making the rounds on social media, so they’re excited to get back out on the ballroom floor and raise the bar. This week, they’re taking on a samba to “Mi Gente” by J Balvin & Willy William. “She knows how to get the party started!” Bruno says, pointing out she’s also finally playing more within the style of dance, as they judges have been asking her to do for a few weeks. SCORE: 34 out of 40
Reality star Tyler Cameron with Sharna Burgess. These two gave the judges their “breakthrough dance” of the season last week, and now is Cameron’s time to shine as a former football player. He’s performing a jazz to “The Time (Dirty Bit)” by Black Eyed Peas, and Burgess is really focusing on his balance (which is kind of nonexistent). The song was perfect for him, since the judges previously compared him to Patrick Swayze, and yes, they did hit a lift…obviously. “Tyler, I love when you go dirty dancing!” Bruno says, also complimenting his improvement on his timing and his form. SCORE: 30 out of 40
Comedian and podcaster Connor Wood with Rylee Arnold. Their scores dropped slightly last week, so this is another chance for Wood to prove that he’s got some hip action in him with a samba to “Hips Don’t Lie” by Shakira ft. Wyclef Jean. And you know what? Those hips were doing something! “You really didn’t have the correct hip-foot action for the samba,” Bruno told him. It’s hard to say how his sins were worse than the other men before him, whose footwork could also use some finesse, but hey! SCORE: 25 out of 30
Actress Julia Stiles with Ezra Sosa. This movie star also had a breakthrough last week, and she seems to really be enjoying the experience now that she’s let go a little. Nowhere to go but up from here! Stiles says she’s channeling the queen herself with a jazz to “Jenny From the Block” [Track Masters Remix] by Jennifer Lopez ft. Jadakiss & Styles P, which also featured an homage to her film Save the Last Dance right in front of her co-star Sean Patrick Thomas. “I know this is the wrong movie, but I think we just got served!” Carrie Ann screams. SCORE: 33 out of 40
Actress Tatyana Ali with Jan Ravnik. The Fresh Prince star was a little hurt by Carrie Ann’s 6 last week, so she really wants to improve this week. She and Ravnik are dancing a salsa to “Squabble Up” by Kendrick Lamar, which is an interesting combination, and the judges sort of unfairly hold that against them in the scoring. Both Derek and Carrie Ann say it might’ve been too laid back for a salsa (maybe they should’ve been given a song above 100 bpm), but Joe Buck says it was his favorite of the night! “You’ve got it,” Bruno assures her, but wants her to go even further. SCORE: 29 out of 40
Late-night sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez with Whitney Carson. After once again getting the lowest scores of the week, Jimmy Kimmel’s right-hand man thinks maybe the judges were just having a bad day. Witney doesn’t think so, and she’s really honing in on his technique. She’s got her work cut out for her teaching him a salsa to “Tití Me Preguntó” by Bad Bunny, but Guillermo is going for a 6, especially from Carrie Ann. “You took the note, and you made it work!” she tells him. SCORE: 22 out of 40
Actress Jenna Dewan with Val Chmerkovskiy. This week’s performance will be all about passion, because these two are dancing a paso doble to “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga. Dewan is also filming The Rookie, so things are getting challenging as Val drills her on the technique — even on set between takes. “Incandescent! Thrilling from start to finish!” Bruno yells. SCORE: 36 out of 40 (straight 9s!)
Actor Harry Shum Jr. with Jenna Johnson. The Grey’s Anatomy actor is finally starting to feel like a leading man, and as they reach their flow, they’re performing a samba to “Yeah!” by Usher ft. Lil Jon & Ludacris. Shum Jr. got to see Usher’s halftime performance live, so hopefully he’ll be able to bring some of that same energy to the ballroom, but he’s going to have to remember this is a Latin dance and not a hip-hop routine. “If that was a halftime show, amazing. I loved every minute of it. But, it’s a samba,” Carrie Ann said. “You need to put more content in your dances.” SCORE: 33 out of 40
Paralympian Ezra Frech with Daniella Karagach. Bringing up the rear this week, these two are coming off heaping praise from the judges for their rumba on Week 4. For Super Bowl night, they’re performing a salsa to “Hot in Herre” by Nelly. Frech wants to bring a decade of missed parties to the ballroom floor tonight. (he was training to make it to the Paralympics, to be fair). “I genuinely get lost in your performances,” Derek says, “Fantastic way to close the show.” SCORE: 36 out of 40 (another straight set of 9s!)
Who goes home?
In a move that had the audience distraught but should’ve been expected at some point, Guillermo and Witney are sent home Tuesday night. Next week is Dedication Night, where the remaining stars will be honoring someone or something special in their life.