“Dancing with the Stars” Recap: Brant Daugherty Booted
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ABC/Craig Sjodin(LOS ANGELES) — Actor Brant Daugherty and his partner Peta Murgatroyd were eliminated on Monday night’s edition of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars.
The Pretty Little Liars actor was emotional when he talked about his experience on the show.
“I’ve learned something I never thought I’d be able to learn in my life, I learned a lot about myself and I’m just very, very grateful for the opportunity,” Daugherty said.
Murgatroyd called Daugherty “an amazing guy.”
Elimination is based on combined judges’ and viewer votes. Typically, audience votes from the prior week are combined with the judges’ scores from the live performance, and the star with the lowest overall total is sent home.
On Monday’s episode, each celebrity danced to the music of Cher, who also served as a guest judge in Len Goodman’s absence. She also performed her hit “Believe” and her new single, “I Hope You Find It.”
The couples each performed two dances — one in an individual routine and a second, short routine in a dance-off challenge with each winner picking up three extra judges’ points.
Here’s a rundown of Monday night’s performances:
Corbin Bleu: The actor’s sultry Argentine tango with partner Karina Smirnoff drew enthusiastic applause, and the judges commended the performance but found flaws. Carrie Ann Inaba told Bleu he had brought his “A-game,” but she said his footwork wasn’t “quite as smooth as it could have been,” and Bruno Tonioli agreed with her, telling Bleu “some passes were not as clean as you can usually do.” Cher thought the performance was “amazing.” Total score: 27 out of a possible 30 points.
Leah Remini: The former King of Queens star turned in an airy Viennese waltz with partner Tony Dovolani that was set to Sonny and Cher’s “I Got You Babe,” the song which recalled the first time that Cher met Sonny Bono, whom she would later marry. Inaba thought Remini was sometimes dancing a little behind the pace of the music, and Tonioli cautioned Remini to maintain body contact with her partner. Cher was touched by the performance, and gave her the couple a 9. “I was just enthralled that you could interpret what Sonny and I went though that day at that coffee shop, and that was — that was enough for me. It was beautiful…” Total score: 25/30.
Brant Daugherty: The actor’s feisty foxtrot with Peta Murgatroyd earned 9s from each of the three judges, although Tonioli and Inaba had constructive criticism for him. “Your knees are going in a lot,” Inaba said. “You have to finish your lines.” Tonioli said Daugherty’s dance content was “always flawless” and he put so much into his routines, but he agreed with Inaba that the actor needed more refinement in order to take his routines to the next level. Cher said Daugherty and Murgatroyd had an indefinable quality that gave them star quality on the dance floor. Total score: 27/30.
Elizabeth Berkley Lauren: The actress’ impassioned jazz routine with partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy earned her 8s each from Inaba and Tonioli. Tonioli felt Lauren missed many of the musical cues of the song — Cher’s “Bang, Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)” — and Inaba felt the anger in the routine was “kind of one-dimensional.” Cher liked that it was “rough” and intense. Total score: 25/30.
Bill Engvall: The comedian’s earnest, enthusiastic disco routine with partner Emma Slater drew chuckles from the three judges, who praised his outlook even as they critiqued his technique. “It was like John Travolta very, very faded and very…far away but you’ve got the spirit going,” Tonioli said. Inaba said Engvall had a magical ability to make her feel better. Cher said she was amazed that Engvall could have turned and twirled his pro partner into so many positions. Total score: 24/30.
Jack Osbourne: The TV personality’s passionate tango with partner Cheryl Burke earned him rave reviews from the judges. Inaba said she was struck by Osbourne’s confidence on the dance floor. Cher had the audience laughing when she told Osbourne that he looked “like a tango-dancing pimp,” and Tonioli told Osbourne: “I tell you: you’ve grown so much as a dancer. That was a proper classic tango.” Total score: 27/30.
Amber Riley: The Glee actress’ energetic rumba with partner Derek Hough won her a perfect 10 from Tonioli, who was thrilled with her performance. He told her she turned around the system of the rumba. “You were leading the dance all the time. You were the one in charge…you were the one slowing it, down you were the one selling it and I bought it, darling!” he said. Inaba told Riley it wasn’t her best dance: “I think that there’s more in you and that’s what it is, I want more…” Cher said the routine was great: “I loved it. I just thought it was fabulous.” Total score: 28/30. Because Riley earned the highest score of the night, she was safe from elimination Monday and avoided the dance-offs.
The Dance-Offs:
With Riley and Hough safe, the remaining six couples had to compete against each other in one of three styles of dance. For each pairing, one couple had to dance, immediately followed by another couple performing the same style of dance. The winning couple in each of the three pairings earned an extra three points, which were added to their total score for the night.
Bleu faced off against Lauren in a cha cha cha. Bleu won the match-up, finishing up the night with 30 points.
Daugherty chose to go up against Remini. Their rumba match-up ended with Remini on top. She earned a total of 28 points for the night.
Osbourne faced Engvall in a disco match-up which ended with Osbourne winning and finishing the night with 30 points.
Dancing with the Stars returns next Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern time on ABC.
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