The competition is heating up at the midway point of "Dancing with the Stars" on ABC, and the celebs broke a serious sweat Monday night performing the Argentine Tango, the sexy samba -- and a swing dance marathon with all of the couples on the dance floor at the same time!
Jake Pavelka and his pro partner Chelsie Hightower were first out of the gate with a high-energy, sexy samba. The "Bachelor" star almost stumbled again on the dance floor steps, but managed to stand his ground. Judge Len Goodman said, "I think you're showing more confidence in your dancing," but said Jake was "lacking rhythm." Bruno Tonioli agreed, "It lacked bounce. … Except for the pelvic gyrations, which you were very comfortable with, you didn't wiggle correctly." And Carrie Ann Inaba advised, "If you want to be at the top, you need to connect to the music." All three judges each awarded the couple a 7, for a total score of 21.
Despite receiving a very mild concussion during an attempted flip during rehearsals, Olympic skater Evan Lysacek sizzled with pro partner Anna Trebunskaya with their fast-paced samba, but the judges delivered their criticism with a sharp point. Bruno said, "I didn't know you had a little devil inside you," but complained, "It was pretty to look at, but it wasn't actually right for this dance." Carrie Ann declared, "You lost the battle with the samba. … It never came together at the same time." And Len was the most blunt, saying, "It was your worst dance. … Everybody comes up against one dance that doesn't suit them, and this wasn't yours." Each judge awarded the couple a 7, for a total score of 21.
"The Insider"'s own Niecy Nash and pro partner Louis van Amstel delivered a humorous-yet-disciplined Argentine tango, and the judges responded to the effort. "Nice to see you dancing -- really dancing," said Carrie Ann. "Your dancing has comes so far -- you were definitely in the zone." Carrie Ann added, however, that she could do without the comedy, and Len countered, "I liked the comedy. I didn't think the comedy interfered with the performance." But the elder judge critiqued, "It lacked a bit of intensity." Bruno agreed, yet commented, "You worked on it and it's good and it shows." Again, each judge awarded the couple a 7, for a total of 21.
ESPN sportscaster Erin Andrews and pro partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy danced the sexy samba to a standing ovation from the audience (no doubt in part because Maksim ended up without his shirt), but Len fumed, "You should be getting eights, nines and even tens -- you come out and show me a proper dance! I'm fed up, Maks, with shirts coming off!" He gave the couple a 7. Bruno disagreed, shouting, "This is a girl that can do it and you did it well. … It was exciting, it had grace." He gave them a 9. And Carrie Ann jumped out her chair, cheering, "You nailed it!" With her 9, the couple scored a 25 out of 30.
Football star Chad Ochocinco and partner Cheryl Burke set pulses racing with their tight Argentine tango, and Bruno growled, "The revenge of Ochocinco! I knew you had it, and tonight you actually proved you could dance." Carrie Ann praised, "Tonight you nailed it -- it was arrogant, it was sensual." And Len adulated, "On 'Dancing with the Stars' you either grow or you go. You grew tonight." With each judge awarding an 8, the couple earned their highest score of the season with a 24.
Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger and pro partner Derek Hough shimmied with an exciting samba, which she called one of the hardest dances yet, and their hard work paid off -- at least for two of the judges. Carrie Ann enthused, "That was just ridiculous!" and gave them a 9. But Len grumbled, "The difficulty of that routine and the performance level was great -- [but] it's not a samba, it's a hodgepodge of sexy moves and gyrations." He gave them a 7. In response to Len's criticism, Bruno had to pick up his jaw from the floor. He sang to the couple, "You are one singular sensation, I tell you! Watching you makes me dribble with desire. There's nothing to worry about." He gave them a 10, upping their score to a 26 out of 30
The last couple of the night, former "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson and her pro partner Damian Whitewood, danced a fiery Argentine tango that lit a flame under Bruno, who raved that Pam looked like a "salty Latina … ready to be plucked, but not without a fight." He added, "You're not just dancing but living the part, and I love to see that." He awarded them an 8. Len gave them a 7, observing, "It had a nice, smoldering intensity about it," but it was, "sometimes a bit scruffy." And Carrie Ann also gave them a 7, saying, "Unquestioningly sexy -- but in this one I wanted to see more technique." The couple earned a score of 22 out of 30.
The final dance of the night found all seven couples working the floor in a swing dance marathon, with each pair being picked off by the judges until there was only one left. In a contest of style and stamina, Jake and Chelsie were the first to be voted off (adding 4 points to their score of 21, for a total of 25); Niecy and Louis were next (adding 5 points to their score of 21, for a total of 26); Evan and Anna were third off (adding 6 points to their score of 21, for a total of 27); Chad and Cheryl followed suit (adding 7 points to their score of 24, for a total of 31); Pamela and Damian landed in the top three (adding 8 points to their score of 22, for a total of 30); while Erin and Maks were runner ups (adding 9 points to their score of 25, for a total of 34) to the dance marathon champs, Nicole and Derek (who added 10 points to their score 26, for a total of 36).
Watch "The Insider" for more highlights and backstage interviews from "Dancing with the Stars"!
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