Dancing With the Stars Recap for 11/7/2023

It is Music Video night on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars! The show will celebrate the best music videos of all time with new dances. Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribiero host, Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli judge. Paula Abdul is a guest judge.

 

Celebrity: Lele Pons

Claim to Fame: Social media star

Pro: Brandon Armstrong

Dance: Salsa

Video: Whenever, Wherever by Shakira

Sammi: What a way to begin the show. They not only were able to stay true to the actual video, but they added enough to make it their own…and keep the salsa content.

Derek: She nailed the Shakira part, but he gives her places to improve.

Paula: She was wickedly seductive.

Bruno: She knows how to work it, but needs to work on detail.

Carrie Ann: She was on fire!

Scores: 9-8-8-8=33/40

 

Celebrity: Ariana Madix

Claim to Fame: Vanderpump Rules

Pro: Pasha Pashkov

Dance: Cha cha cha

Video: I’m A Slave 4 U by Britney Spears

Sammi: She nailed that entire dance….she got the entire Britney vibe, every move, every feeling, every bit of sexiness….all of it….wow….Britney would be proud!

Paula: She channeled Britney seamlessly.

Bruno: She’s a bad, bad, bad girl and he loves it!!!!

Carrie Ann: There were moments where she actually thought she was watching Britney dance.

Derek: She was fantastic.

Scores: 9-9-10-0=37/40

 

 

Celebrity: Harry Jowsey

Claim to Fame: Too Hot to Handle

Pro: Rylee Arnold

Dance: Jazz

Video: It’s Gonna Be Me by NSYNC

Sammi: LANCE!!!! I am so happy he is there to help. I was obsessed with this video when I was a teenager and am so glad it was chosen for tonight. I have to say, this was the cutest, most fun thing I have seen on the show….I have no words. Harry as a doll is a nice touch.

Bruno: He gives him some advice, but loved the performance.

Carrie Ann: She loves that he had fun, but he needs to work on some technique.

Derek: The performance was fun….and it is going to be okay.

Paula: She loves his spirit.

Scores: 6-6-6-6=24/40

 

 

Celebrity: Jason Mraz

Claim to Fame: Grammy winning singer

Pro: Daniella: Karagach

Dance: Jazz

Video: Take on Me by Ah-Ha

Sammi: This is the most epic dance the show has ever had…..all of it….the background comics, the additional dancers, the performance as a whole…there was something so special and powerful behind it that it is going to be one of the most unforgettable dances in the history of the show.

Carrie Ann: She liked the jazz, but she was underwhelmed.

Derek: He loved it, but also agrees with Carrie Ann.

Paula: It was a wonderful dance.

Bruno: It was spot on and never lost the story.

Scores: 8-8-10-9=35/40

 

Celebrity: Alyson Hannigan

Claim to Fame: American Pie, Buffy and How I Met Your Mother

Pro: Sasha Farber

Dance: Quickstep

Video: Candyman by Christina Aguilera

Sammi: Can they BE any more adorable? Their happiness and spirit are what make this dance. The technique has also improved as well…making this is her best dance!

Derek: This is her best dance!

Paula: She triumphed beautifully.

Bruno: She channeled Christina and gave a proper quickstep.

Carrie Ann: It was her best dance and magical to boot.

Scores: 8-8-9-8=33/40

 

 

Celebrity: Xochitl Gomez

Claim to Fame: Babysitters Club on Netflix, Marvel

Pro: Val Chmerkovskiy

Dance: Jazz

Video: Hollaback Girl by Gwen Stefani

Sammi: That had so much spirit in it….I am not sure about  that song for a jazz, but somehow they were able to pull it off. The fact that Xochitl added her own twist was icing on the cake.

Paula: They have a provocative and surprising partnership.

Bruno: There was a small error, but still very good.

Carrie Ann: The mistake somehow fit into the dance.

Derek: She is fantastic, but he agrees with Bruno.

Scores: 9-8-9-8=34/40

 

Celebrity: Charity Lawson

Claim to Fame: Bachelor/Bachelorette

Pro: Artem Chigvintsev

Dance: Jazz

Video: All for You by Janet Jackson

Sammi: She looks like she is having the time of her life out there….it is also hard to tell who is the pro and who is the celebrity in the group part of the dance….she is improving more and more every week.

Bruno: It had power and precision.

Carrie Ann: She liked it, but didn’t buy it.

Derek: She had the technique, but he wanted more energy.

Paula: She needs to get into her power a bit more, but she did a beautiful job.

Scores: 8-8-8-8=36/40

 

 

Celebrity: Barry Williams

Claim to Fame: Brady Bunch

Pro: Peta Murgatroyd

Dance: Quickstep

Video: I’m Still Standing by Elton John

Sammi: What a way to end this round! He is definitely the most delightful part of this season. He may not be the best technical dancer, but he makes up for it with his love of performing, his spirit and his personality.

Carrie Ann: He made a mistake, but she loves his classiness and how he makes everyone smile.

Derek: He agrees about the mistake, but thinks he had good frame in the side by side.

Paula: He was a delight to watch.

Bruno: Despite the mistakes, it was enjoyable.

Scores: 7-7-7-7=28/40

 

Ariana is the top scorer, so she is exempt from next week’s dance off.

 

Harry and Rylee, Lele and Brandon, Xochitl and Val and Charity and Artem do a Gangnam Style dance. Harry is the team captain, which is an interesting choice. However, it works because they all work well together and get a perfect score for the dance. I have to say though, I was not expecting this….it made me smile from start to finish.

 

Ariana and Pasha, Jason and Daniella, Barry and Peta and Alyson and Sasha dance to Everybody (Backstreet’s Back). I miss who the team captain is, but with the help of show alum and BSB member AJ McLean, it is bound to be epic.

The dance is a lot of fun and has a lot of throwback moments to the actual music video. It is giving me flashbacks to watching when I was in high school. However, the judges think they were out of sync (not in sync…NSYNC?) They get three nines and a ten, the latter being from Paula.

 

These numbers get added to everyone’s scores.

 

Results: Ariana and Pasha, Harry and Rylee, Xochitl and Val, Jason and Daniella and Alyson and Sasha are all safe. Everyone else is in the maybe bottom three with Lele and Brandon going home.

 

More next week, stay tuned.

 

 

 

More next week, stay tuned!