Monday, November 7th marked the quarter finals for this season of Dancing With The Stars. Only a week away from the semifinals, the eight remaining couples had nowhere to hide.
Week eight, 90s Night, was celebrated with live performances, the return of relay dances and a double elimination that promised to shake up the competition. The night’s scores had a 16-point gap between the lowest and highest couples, with scores ranging from 29 to 45.
Actor Trevor Donovan and his partner Emma Slater kicked off the competition. After tying for first place with Charli D’Amelio last week, Trevor and Emma had to keep up their momentum. The couple danced a creative Salsa to “Barbie Girl” by Aqua. The unique Barbie and Ken doll-inspired routine earned the couple a 34.
After earning her first perfect score last week, Drag Queen star Shangela and her partner Gleb Savchenko had a lot to prove. Despite channeling her inner Scary Spice while performing an energetic Samba to “Spice Up Your Life” by the Spice Girls, Shangela’s technique fell a little short, earning her only one “10” and three “9s,” giving the couple a 37.
Deaf actor Daniel Durant and his partner Britt Stewart took a creative approach to their Jazz routine performed to “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode. Giving the audience insight into what it’s like to dance from a deaf perspective, the couple performed in silence midway through the routine. Not only did the performance bring judge Derek Hough to tears, it also earned the couple not only their first, but three “10s” toward 39 points.
Three couples received perfect scores on Monday, Charli and her partner Mark Ballas, Wayne Brady and Witney Carson, and Gabby Windey and Val Chmerkovskiy. Charli and Mark danced the first International Tango of the season to “Song 2” by Blur, earning her a standing ovation from judge Carrie Ann Inaba. After two weeks of earning his lowest scores of the competition, Wayne got his groove back this week dancing a Salsa to “Motownphilly” by Boyz II Men – earning Wayne his first perfect score since Prom Night week.
Gabby reunited with her regular partner Val who was quarantining last week after testing positive for COVID-19. With their heads back in the game, they once again earned a perfect score for their Samba set to Ricky Martin’s “Livin La Vida Loca.”
Following the couple performances, it was time for the relay dance round. The couples were paired up based on their dance levels and scores in the competition, and then assigned a specific dance and song. The winner, selected by a single judge, was awarded five bonus points.
Shangela and Gleb competed against Daniel and Britt, both performing a Cha Cha to a live performance of “Ice Ice Baby” by Vanilla Ice. Shangela won the five points from judge Len Goodman.
Trevor and Emma danced a Samba against Vinny Guadagnino and Koko Iwasaki to a live performance of “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” by En Vogue. Torn between both competitors, Carrie Ann finally awarded the five points to Trevor.
The third lineup of couples was Heidi D’Amelio and Artem Chigvintsev versus Wayne and Witney who danced a Samba to a live performance of “Shoop” by Salt-N-Pepa. Wayne won the five extra points from judge Bruno Tonioli.
Finally, the two stars holding the highest individual scores the whole season, Charli and Gabby went head-to-head with a Salsa to a live performance of “Ain’t Gonna Hurt Nobody” by Kid ‘N Play. After a hard choice, Derek awarded Charli the five points.
Even with those extra points, tension mounted as the couples faced the season’s first double elimination. Heidi and Artem’s scores, and fan votes couldn’t save them from the bottom two, and were the first couple eliminated without the possibility of a save from the judges. Trevor and Emma and Vinny and Koko were next on the chopping block. After an unanimous decision between the judges, Trevor and Emma were saved, sending Vinny and Koko home after narrowly avoiding elimination for the majority of the competition.
As the competition comes down to the wire, next week’s semifinals episode – which premieres Monday, November 14, will feature another double elimination. With only six couples remaining, it’s anyone’s game. Who will make it to the finale? Tune in on Monday to find out!