SPOILER ALERT! This post contains details from Tuesday night’s episode of Dancing with the Stars, including who went home.
Viewers were transported to Oz for Wicked night in the Dancing with the Stars ballroom on Tuesday.
Wicked director Jon M. Chu joined in on the fun to guest judge the performances, which included a range of songs from both films including all the top hits like “Dancing Through Life,” “Popular,” and “Defying Gravity.” The night began with a lively opening number featuring the pros choreographed by Chris Scott, who also did the choreo for the films and was also in the ballroom for the show.
Also, Deadline was in the ballroom to capture some behind-the-scenes content for the swankified evening, and you’ll find some of those videos below.
Keep reading for more on the performances and scores, as well as to see who was sent home in the single elimination.
Pentatonix singer Scott Hoying with Rylee Arnold. Dancing a contemporary to “The Wizard and I,” Hoying (a self-proclaimed Wicked super fan) wanted to take the judges’ notes from previous performances seriously and take up more space on the ballroom floor. Hoying played the part of the Wizard in the song, while Arnold embodied Elphaba. “Contemporary is hard for somebody with normal arms and legs,” Chu joked of Hoying’s lengthy limbs, complimenting the vigor of the routine but pointing out that he would’ve like to see smoother transitions. SCORE: 28 out of 40.
Social media personality Alix Earle with Val Chmerkovskiy. The TikTok star danced a jazz routine to “What Is This Feeling?” and was determined to do it justice for Ariana Grande, whose performance in the movie she praised. And, she did just that. By all accounts, she totally nailed it. “I thought it was delicious,” Bruno Tonioli said. “Everything had the right intention in the right place.” While it might not have been her most difficult dance, as Carrie Ann Inaba pointed out: “It was your best dance.” SCORE: 35 out of 40
Wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin with Witney Carson. Irwin is here to be the “best [he] possibly can be,” so he pulled out all the stops for this jazz routine to “Dancing Through Life.” It would’ve been a crime to assign him any other song for Wicked night, and naturally he brought the fun and breezy energy required of anyone embodying Fiyero. “That needs to be your theme song,” Inaba told him. “That was so ambitious. You really took the challenge…You nailed it!” She also called Carson’s choreography “stunning.” SCORE: 36 out of 40 (all 9s, their best scores of the season!)
Whitney Leavitt (The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives) with Mark Ballas. After getting ahead of her music last week on Dedication Night and making a rare mistake, Leavitt was determined to bounce back and be “more present” for her quickstep to “Popular.” For this Glinda-centric routine, she and Ballas were even able to use some of the set pieces from the film. “It was the perfect blend of technical prowess and…art,” Chu said. “I was floating on air in a bubble watching it, and I think the whole world was too.” She certainly redeemed herself from the week before, considering dance brought not only her highest scores of the season, but the first 10s of the season, too. Derek Hough was the only judge to give her a 9 (Booooo!). SCORE: 39 out of 40
Reality TV star Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach. Dancing a rumba to “I’m Not That Girl,” Efron was coming off the highest scores of the season on Dedication Night, when he danced for his younger sister. The last time he did a Latin dance, he struggled a bit as the movements are self-admittedly out of his comfort zone, so he was extra focused this week to make up the deficit. Shall we just say, the hips were moving tonight! As Tonioli said, “Your hips are no problem at all,” adding that, in fact, sometimes Efron seemed to even lose control of them. Inaba complimented he and Karagach’s partnership and had some technical notes, but all the judges agreed he’s certainly been growing significantly week over week. SCORE: 32 out of 40
Comedian Andy Richter with partner Emma Slater. Performing a jazz routine to “One Short Day” intro’d by the one and only Michelle Yeoh (via video message), Richter was ready to step into his element with the showmanship of the dance style. While he says there won’t ever be an episode of this show where he doesn’t expect to go home, he’s still committed to bringing his all until that day comes. He proved that on this journey into the Emerald City, as exhibited by Tonioli’s comment: “You were on time! It’s a miracle!” He got three 7s! His highest scores! Once again, Derek Hough was a little bit of a buzzkill, saddling Richter with another 6. SCORE: 27 out of 40
Actor Elaine Hendrix with Alan Bersten. The Parent Trap phenom was left confused after her Dedication Night dance received fairly low scores from the judges, which she felt was a bit unfair. On a week where she felt the pain of her physical limitations more than ever, it was fitting she was dancing a contemporary to “Defying Gravity,” a song all about pushing past anything and everything standing in one’s way. She brought the ballroom to their feet and made Inaba cry with her powerful performance. “That was something special,” Inaba said. “That passion — it was beauty, elegance…I am so proud of you.” The dance earned her all 9s, her highest scores of the season. SCORE: 36 out of 40
Jen Affleck (The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives) with Jan Ravnik. The new mom danced a Foxtrot to the romantic ballad “As Long As You’re Mine,” and she went into the week feeling a little insecure. “Do you think I’m a bad dancer? Be honest,” she asked Ravnik in their intro package, though he insists she’s doing great. Affleck says she specifically asked for harder choreography this week in an effort to up her scores. “I really felt like you were connected to that dance,” Derek Hough told her. “It was very beautiful.” Affleck seemed a little underwhelmed with her score, despite it being her highest of the season with all 8s. SCORE: 32 out of 40
Danielle Fishel (Boy Meets World) with Pasha Pashkov. After Inaba told her last week that she felt like she was watching “the same dance over and over again,” Fishel wanted to shake things up with her Argentine tango to “No Good Deed.” And shake things up, she did! “Full of passion and drama! It had a fantastic style and placement,” Tonioli said, also praising Pashkov’s choreography, given the song is quite a challenging one. Inaba got what she asked for, calling the dance Fishel’s “breakthrough.” The judges bestowed her highest scores of the season, all 9s! SCORE: 36 out of 40
Olympic gold medalist Jordan Chiles with Ezra Sosa. Chiles closed out the night with her rumba for “For Good.” An interesting dance style for the song, which required Chiles and Sosa to embody friends rather than lovers (as is typical of a rumba), but somehow they pulled it off. It was simply no surprise she earned three 10s. Keeping it short and sweet, Inaba said: “It was perfection!” SCORE: 39 out of 40
It truly felt a little unfair to have to eliminate anyone on a night with so many high scores and noticeable improvements, but such is life.
Drumroll, please…Scott Hoying and Rylee Arnold had the lowest scores and thus will not be dancing next week.
