*Caution: Spoilers Ahead!
Dancing With the Stars turned up the heat on Tuesday with some of the season’s best dances yet!
Tuesday’s new episode saw the stalwart panel of judges — including Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli and special guest judge Paula Abdul — score a slew of scene-stealing routines as the eight remaining couples gave it their all to stay in the race for the Len Goodman Memorial Mirrorball Trophy.
After two hours of powerhouse routines, jaw-dropping performances and bar-raising scores, it was up to America to vote on who deserved to perform once more next week, and who would be getting the boot!
In the end — through a combination of judge’s scores and audience votes — three couples were determined to be in jeopardy: Lele Pons and Brandon Armstrong, Charity Lawson and Artem Chigvintsev, as well as Barry Williams and Peta Murgatroyd.
Despite not being anywhere near the bottom of the leaderboard — having scored a 33 out of 40 for their salsa set to “Whenever, Wherever” by Shakira — the pair simply didn’t generate enough viewer votes to stay in the game.
“I am so grateful for everything… everybody here is the best,” Pons shared with the co-hosts after the elimination, while Armstrong stressed that he doesn’t feel he and Pons deserved to go home just yet.
Meanwhile, one of the night’s biggest stand-out performances came early on when Ariana Madix and her pro-partner Pasha Pashkov hit the dance floor with a sultry, stunning cha-cha set to Britney Spears’ iconic “I’m a Slave 4 U.” The performance was a hit with judges – particularly Abdul, who awarded the pair a flawless 10. With three 9s from the others, the pair would up with an impressive 37 out of 40.
After all the individual dances had been performed, it was time for the cast to split into teams for the Team Dance Round. Ariana, Jason Mraz, Alyson Hannigan and Barry Williams — as Team 4 Everybody — performed a freestyle set to “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” by the Backstreet Boys. Meanwhile, Harry Jowsey, Xochitl Gomez, Lele Pons and Charity Lawson, as Team Young’n Style, performed a freestyle set to Psy’s “Gangnam Style.”
Team 4 Everyone earned a 37 out of 40, while Team Young’n Style edged them out with a perfect 40 out of 40.
As for the rest of the celeb-pro couples, here’s how the leaderboard looked after Tuesday’s new episode:
Ariana Madix & Pasha Pashkov: 37 (9,9,10,9 Inaba, Hough, Abdul, Tonioli)
Jason Mraz & Daniella Karagach: 35 (8,8,10,9)
Xochitl Gomez & Val Chmerkovskiy: 34 (9,8,9,8)
Lele Pons & Brandon Armstrong: 33 (9,8,8,8)
Alyson Hannigan & Sasha Farber: 33 (8,8,9,8)
Charity Lawson & Artem Chigvintsev: 32 (8,8,8,8)
Barry Williams & Peta Murgatroyd: 28 (7,7,7,7)
Harry Jowsey & Rylee Arnold: 24 (6,6,6,6)
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.
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