This week on Dancing with the Stars, the 10 remaining contestants dedicate their song selection and dance to the best year of their life. Cue the water works, cute kids, and temporary fiance, please! Also, the contestants perform a 15-second solo during their routine.
As always, at the top of the show, the stars and pros descend the Dancing with the Stars staircase, which gives us our first glimpse at costumes, dance order, and Mark's weekly make out session with the camera. Oh no! Pro dancer Gleb Savchenko comes down the stars alone. Where is our beloved Lisa Vanderpump?
Lisa was diagnosed with a "viral infection with fever and swollen glands" after fainting last week. "She sat out rehearsal. She's getting some rest right now," host Tom Bergeron explains. "We'll leave it up to her whether she's going to dance tonight."
CLICK CONTINUE READING FOR MORE!
Sean Lowe and Peta Murgatroyd
Best Year: 2012 – Sean found Catherine Giudici, the love of his next six months life. Sean asks Peta to incorporate Catherine into the dance to remind America why care about him to show Catherine how much he loves her and appreciates how she put her life on hold to support him on Dancing with the Stars.
Viennese Waltz: Well, the gray and blue combo of Sean and Peta's costume is striking, so they look nice. The rest of the dance is rather boring and forgetful. At the end, Sean solo dances his way to Catherine and gives her a kiss.
Judges: Len thinks Sean did a good job despite the haphazard footwork. Bruno believes in Sean's talent. Carrie Ann, aka the lift police, points out two lifts and asks Sean to work on his musicality.
Scores: 6+7+7=20
Victor Ortiz and Lindsay Arnold
Best Year: 2011 – Victor (the underdog) won the WBC Welterweight Championship.
Paso Doble: Victor's solo is 99% boxing warm up and 1% Paso footwork. The entire dance consists of Victor walking around Lindsay while she whips her dress around. Victor's abs sure are nice to look at though.
Judges: "You definitely punched the living daylight out of the Paso Doble," Bruno says. "But, you're supposed to dance it, not destroy it." Carrie Ann tells Victor that she appreciates what comes out of his face and heart … but the body needs a lot of work. Len acknowledges Victor's determination but asks for more refinement going forward.
Scores: 6+6+6=18
Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff
Best Year: 2012 – And not for the reason you might think. While winning the Super Bowl is pretty awesome, Jacoby says the real highlight of the year was the birth of his (too cute for words) son.
Foxtrot: When the pressure to dance the perfect dance for his son overwhelms Jacoby, Karina tells him to stop over thinking every move.
Judges: Carrie Ann points out the height difference, adding, "So, sometimes your butt sticks out, get the booty in." Len's a fan! Bruno appreciates Jacoby's special brand of flash and flare but asks him to work on the "spatula" hands.
Scores: 8+8+8=24
Alexandra Raisman and Mark Ballas
Best Year: 2012 – Aly represented the USA at the Olympic Games.
Contemporary: Contemporary allows Mark to incorporate gymnastics into the routine, and Aly shows much more emotion this week than she has in the past. The audience goes crazy.
Judges: Len compliments the perfect balance of emotion and athleticism. Bruno tells Aly that the dance was emotionally intense, dramatic, and deeply felt. Carrie Ann calls the dance profound, adding, "You were completely in the moment, and I was mesmorized."
Scores: 9+9+9=27
Andy Dick and Sharna Burgess
Best Year: 2013 – this year has been Andy's best year. By far. Andy dedicates this dance to his daughter, Meg, who is always in the audience. "My kids have had it hard," Andy says. "Because I'm their father, my troubles become their troubles. I've put them through hell." Sobriety has given Andy a second chance with his kids.
Viennese Waltz: Going into this week, Andy decides to switch gears and focus on the dance instead of the show. Andy dances from the heart – and it shows.
Judges: Bruno says this is Andy's best dance since week one. Carrie Ann sobs, "Your movement vocabulary is small, but what you said with those movements is incredibly beautiful." Len adds, "You came onto this show a man, you'll come out of it a hero."
Scores: 7+7+7=21 (grossly underscored, if you ask me)
Zendaya Coleman and Val Chmerkovskiy
Best Year: 2009 – Zendaya started working in L.A. and got discovered by Disney.
Samba: Zendaya's talent is undeniable. Zendays pulls her inspiration from Beyonce this week – she nails it.
Judges: Carrie Ann and Len both praise Val for his choreography. That said, Len grumps about the lack of Samba in Zendaya's solo. Bruno says, "Star power. Fearless. So cool. So hip. So slick. A samba for today."
Scores: 9+8+9=26
Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough
Best Year: 2011 – Kellie married her husband, Kyle Jacobs, who sings their song "Say I Do" for the dance.
Rumba: Once again, Kellie bends and twists her body in unnatural ways. The dance is beautiful albeit a little slow.
Judges: Carrie Ann compliments Kellie's "work of art" body but takes issue with the lack of continuous motions that should be obvious in a Rumba. Len agrees, adding, "The movement was a tense staccato." Bruno adds, "It was like watching a sequence of magical images scored to the soundtrack of love."
Scores: 9+8+9=26
Ingo Rademacher and Kym Johnson
Best Year: 2009 – Ingo married the love of his life, Ehiko. Ingo says, "My life really started when I met her and we had kids." Apparently, Ingo's son is a hard sell, as he gives his dad a score of 3 when he shows up at rehearsal. Poor Ingo can't seem to catch a break.
Viennese Waltz: Bottom line, it's pretty to look at but not groundbreaking in any way. Still, this is Ingo's best dance yet.
Judges: Len compliments Ingo on his footwork and solo but points out a few mishaps with his arms. Bruno appreciates that Ingo listens to their feedback and makes attempts to correct his mistakes. Carrie Ann mumbles things about love and agrees with Bruno.
Scores: 8+7+8=23
D.L. Hughley and Cheryl Burke
Best Year: Unknown – D.L. fails to give a specific year but narrows his best times down to 8th or 9th grade, before life became real. D.L. jokes, "This dance represents the best of my life… nothing says Compton like the Foxtrot."
Foxtrot: Changing up her strategy a bit, Cheryl wants to have fun and urges D.L. to perform in character. This dance is much, much, much better than anything else D.L. has done.
Judges: Bruno says D.L.'s dance had great content and performance value, adding, "Tough love works for you!" Carrie Ann screams a bunch of nonsense. Len likes that D.L.'s dance came across as fun and much smoother.
Scores: 7+7+7=21
Lisa Vanderpump and Gleb Savchenko
Best Year: 2011 – Lisa fondly remembers feeling like a "mommy" again while planning a wedding for her daughter, Pandora.
Rehearsal: Dancing with the Stars is starting to take its toll on Lisa's health. In the rehearsal clip from Friday, Lisa looks exhausted, emotionally spent, and wobbly on her feet right before she passes out.
Cha Cha Cha: While Lisa looks fabulous in sparkly pink fringe, it's obvious that she and Gleb barely practiced this week's dance. Gleb takes off his shirt mid-dance to make up for their shortcomings.
Judges: "You gave it your best shot," says Len. " It could have been crisper and sharper but that's because it's under-rehearsed." Bruno thinks Lisa looks pretty well considering her circumstances. Carrie Ann holds a point hostage because of a lift.
Scores: 6+6+6=18
Leaderboard
Aly and Mark: 27
Zendaya and Val: 26
Kellie and Derek: 26
Jacoby and Karina: 24
Ingo and Kym: 23
Andy and Sharna: 21
D.L. and Cheryl: 21
Sean and Peta: 20
Victor and Lindsay: 18
Lisa and Gleb: 18
TELL US – YOUR FAVORITE DANCE OF THE NIGHT?
Photo credit: ABC
