“Dancing with the Stars” Recap: Celebs Dance to “Guilty Pleasure” Songs
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ABC(LOS ANGELES) — Dancing with the Stars kicked off its “guilty pleasures” week Monday night, with four of the eight remaining celebrities performing individual routines to songs they enjoy listening to.
The other stars collaborated on a team freestyle dance. That group included Melissa Rycroft, who on Sunday suffered a disc herniation at the C4-C5 level of her cervical spine during rehearsals. She soldiered on and competed despite the injury, which didn’t seem to hamper her ability on the dance floor too much.
The show was cut short by one hour due to the presidential debate.
Here’s a rundown of Monday’s individual dances:
— Kelly Monaco, wearing a sexy leather outfit, and her partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy — who showed off his own body by keeping his shirt open — got things started with a samba to “Want U Back,” by British pop star Cher Lloyd.
Len Goodman, calling himself a “conservative sort of an English guy,” complained that it was too raunchy. Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba both felt Monaco came across as tense and unnatural in her movements. Total score: 24.5 out of a possible 30.
— Gilles Marini donned dress pants and suspenders for his rumba with Peta Murgatroyd. Marini’s song choice was Whitney Houston‘s “I Will Always Love You.”
Inaba had the pratfall of the night — after yelling, “Let the baby-making begin!” she fell off her chair. After getting back to her feet with a smile on her face, she said she enjoyed the sensuality of the dance.
Tonioli believed that Marini maintained his rhythm well. Goodman added that the performance deserved an Oscar nomination. Total score: 29.5/30.
— Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy wore all black for their quickstep to the Simon & Garfunkel classic “Mrs. Robinson.”
Inaba declared it to be Alley’s best dance of the season, aside from one small “boo boo.” Goodman played off the name of her partner by telling her she danced to the “maximum.” Total score: 25.5/30.
— Surrounded by inflatable parrots, Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke tackled the samba as the house band played the Barry Manilow hit “Copacabana.”
Goodman called it an “unstoppable” performance. Tonioli said the ex-NFL star made the samba look so easy to do. Inaba built upon Tonioli’s critique, exclaiming that Smith has the “samba swagger.” Total score: 29/30.
For the team dance, Rycroft, Sabrina Bryan, Apolo Anton Ohno and captain Shawn Johnson worked together on a high school football-themed freestyle set to the Carly Rae Jepsen hit “Call Me Maybe.” The ladies wore cheerleader outfits for the occasion.
Goodman said the team’s moves were tight, in a good way. Inaba thought they were fantastic, and Tonioli said it was hard to distinguish the stars from the pros because the former danced so well. Total score: 29.5/30, including a 10 from Goodman.
On Tuesday night at 8 p.m. Eastern time on ABC, the celebrities involved in the aforementioned team dance will perform their individual routines. The other stars will deliver their own team freestyle. No one will be eliminated this week.
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