1 week Ago By Variety
“Dancing With the Stars” hit a new milestone on Nov. 12, and revealed who was heading to the semifinals for Season 33. The 500th episode opened with pros — including returning favorite Sharna Burgess — for the opening number, “Crazy in Love,” the same opening number from the series premiere in 2005.
Many past competitors returned to the ballroom, including Adam Rippon, Ginger Zee, Kaitlyn Bristowe, Alyson Hannigan, AJ McLean and Simone Biles. This week, each of the remaining six teams performed routines honoring fan-favorite performances from the past. Last week ended with a tie on the leaderboard: Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson had 32 points, as did Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong.
Joey and Jenna performed a contemporary routine, inspired by Riker Lynch and Allison Holker’s Season 20 performance. “I thought it lacked a bit of rawness,” Carrie Ann Inaba said after the routine, while Derek Hough replied, “I disagree!” Derek, who gave a 9 to the pair last week, gave them a 10. Meanwhile, Chandler Kinney and pro Brandon Armstrong paid tribute to Derek and Kellie Pickler’s Season 16 performance with an Argentine Tango.
Derek liked it so much he “preferred” theirs over his — and the other judges agreed and the pair earned the first perfect 30 of the season. Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach, who honored James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess’ Season 23 performance with an Argentine Tango, didn’t impress Carrie Ann, who gave them an 8 and told them she missed the Dwight from earlier in the season. Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten fell to the bottom of the leaderboard during the Halloween week but made quite the comeback with a Quickstep inspired by Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold’s Season 25 performance, earning a 10 from Carrie Ann.
After their solo dances, the couples were given the ultimate challenge, learning a dance style and song five minutes before performing live. While all pairs impressed the judges, only Chandler and Brandon received a perfect score of 30 for the challenge as well. Ultimately, after audience votes were added in, Dwight and Daniella were eliminated.
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