Vanessa Lachey (actress/host) and Alan Berman (filling in for Maks Chmerkovskiy); jazz; 23/30.
Maks was out this season for undisclosed personal reasons so Alan Berman, who was voted off last week with Debbie Gibson, stepped in to do a jazz with Vanessa. Her favorite thing to do is go out and party with her girlfriends so she, Alan, and some troupe members danced to “Girls Just Want To Have Fun.”
Goodman said it was difficult to tell which one was the non-pro dancer when Vanessa danced with the troupe; there’s no higher compliment a celeb can receive (but it probably makes the pro dancers wince.)
Nikki Bella (Divas Champion) and Artem Chigvintsev; Viennese Waltz; 21/30
Bella’s love of “Fifty Shades of Grey” made for some fun visuals in her pre-dance video package with Artem, who’s got a chest made for romance novels. The camera cut to Bella’s fiance, wrestler John Cena, in the audience at the end of the sexy routine, who was applauding in approval.
Bergeron invited him to weigh in on the dance before the judges gave their (mostly) positive critiques. “Who was whipping who, I have no idea, but it worked,” Tonioli said of the couple’s routine.
Frankie Muniz (Malcolm in the Middle) and Witney Carson; Samba; 21/30.
Muniz’s love of boy bands drove him to Nick Lachey to get some advice and prompted a guest spot from ex-DWTS contender Joey Fatone, who made an ‘NSYNC pun, in the pre-dance video package.
Muniz lived out his fantasy of being in a boy band by mouthing lyrics to “It’s Gonna Be Me” during his routine with Carson. Kudos to ABC for cutting to 98 Degrees members in the audience. Inaba and Goodman said Muniz nailed being in a boy band, but he needed more hip action in his Samba.
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Lindsey Stirling (violinist) and Mark Ballas; Jive; 27/30
Stirling’s guilty pleasure was to spend all day in her pajamas (hey, isn’t that everyone’s?) Wearing p.j.’s helped save on orange spray tan, but a few steps into the dance no one was looking at their outfits, adorable as they were.
The two danced a fun-filled jive to Wham!’s “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go” and soon everyone wanted to get up on their feet. In fact, the crowd’s applause practically cut into critique time, but fortunately not all of it. Goodman called it “the dance of the season”; he and the other judges broke out the “9” paddles.
Sasha Pieterse (Pretty Little Liars) and Gleb Savchenko; Jazz; 19/30
Pieterse’s secret passion is baking, which led to a food fight in her and Gleb’s pre-dance video package. Their jazz to “I Can’t Help Myself” was upbeat, catchy — and ended with Savchenko taking a pie to the face.
Bergeron, a “Three Stooges” fan, called it worthy of Moe Howard. Noting that jazz can be “very broad,” Inaba called the routine well done if a bit different. Goodman and Tonioli were kind with their comments, but they broke out the “6” paddles, giving the pair the lowest score of the night.
Nick Lachey (98 Degrees) and Peta Murgatroyd; Jazz; 21/30.
Nick confessed he’s…continue reading on the next page —>
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