The Backstreet Boys member tops the leaderboard after getting a perfect score for his contemporary number with Sharna Burgess.
- Nov 3, 2015
AceShowbiz - Moving on from the Halloween-themed episode last week, "Dancing with the Stars" returned on Monday night, November 2 with performances that paid tribute to influential figures in the contestants' lives. This week's episode featured immunity for the pair who got the highest score and dance-offs for the other six teams.
Carlos Pena Jr. and Witney Carson danced first, performing a salsa to pay tribute to Marc Anthony who is Carlos' friend. It was great but there was a problem with the lift which Carrie Ann Inaba pointed out in her comment. "I actually thought you had a rough start, you kept taking it up a notch but I found a mistake as well. I still loved your connection, it was enjoyable to watch," she said. Julianne Hough said Carlos channeled the freedom of salsa, but told him to watch his hips. The judges gave him 27 out of 30 points.
Alek Skarlatos and Lindsay Arnold danced a contemporary paying tribute to the American Sniper, Chris Kyle. The judges found it beautiful but thought that the choreography was a little too simplistic. Bruno Tonioli noticed Alek missed a lift. The Legion of Honour recipient earned 25 points.
Andy Grammer and Allison Holker danced a Viennese waltz set to Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" dedicated to his late mom. The judges felt the emotion in the dance, but agreed that there were technical problems stemming from his posture. The singer earned 22 points.
Alexa Vega and Mark Ballas danced an Argentine tango to pay tribute to David from the David & Goliath story. The judges noticed there were some tiny mistakes, but Carrie Ann still called it "epic." The actress earned 25 points.
Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess danced a contemporary to pay tribute to his wife Lauren who is currently pregnant with their first child. Bruno dubbed it "a love poem perfectly visualized through dance," as Carrie Ann was brought to tears. The judges gave the boybander a perfect score of 30.
Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough danced a foxtrot to pay tribute to Grace Kelly. Carrie Ann thought it was "incredible," but Julianne and Bruno had issue with Bindi's shoulder. Bindi earned 28 points.
Tamar Braxton and Valentin Chmerkovskiy danced a paso doble to pay tribute to her sister Toni Braxton. Julianne said the choreography was perfect for Tamar, but she needed to watch her arms. Carrie Ann pointed out a mistake in the lift. The singer earned 28 points.
For getting the highest score that night, Nick Carter won the immunity and got extra three points for a total of 33. Next, the remaining couples competed in head-to-head dance-offs.
Bindi was pitted against Carlos. They did a jive. The judges all agreed that Carlos & Witney did better than Bindi & Derek although 64 percent of the votes was for Bindi, so Carlos and Witney won the competition.
The judges were divided when picking between Tamar and Alexa who danced a cha cha, but America votes solidified Alexa's win. Andy and Alek did a samba, and Andy was clearly the winner in their dance-off.
Though so, when it's time for elimination, Andy couldn't avoid the chopping block. He and Allison were eliminated in the eighth week of the competition after earning the lowest score of the night.
