‘DWTS’ Recap: Music Video Night Ends with a Shocking Elimination
Disney/Eric McCandless Reading Time: 3 minutes
Dancing with the Stars Season 32 returned on Tuesday for Music Video Night, as the cast danced routines inspired by some iconic music videos. This week’s episode also featured team dances. At the end of the night, Lele Pons and Brandon Armstrong went home in a shocking elimination.
Ariana Madix Tops the Leaderboard on DWTS Music Video Night
The top spot on Tuesday night’s leaderboard went to Ariana Madix and Pasha Pashkov, who danced a Cha Cha to “I’m a Slave 4 U” by Britney Spears. Ariana said she watched the video over and over when it first came out, and she definitely channeled Spears in her performance.
Guest judge Paula Abdul told Ariana that she showed “finesse and fury” in her routine, matching the pro dancers who joined the couple as backup. Abdul gave the routine a score of 10, while the other coaches gave it a 9. That left Ariana with a total score of 37 out of 40.
This was the highest score of the night, which gave Ariana and Pasha some special perks for next week’s show. Not only will they receive bonus points, but they also won’t have to participate in next week’s dance-off.
Team ‘Gangnam Style’ Wins the Team Dance Competition
During Tuesday’s show, the eight remaining couples split in half to perform team dances. The first team, which happened to feature the youngest dancers in the competition, danced to “Gangnam Style” by PSY. It was an energetic routine that the DWTS judges loved.
Derek Hough even jumped over the judges’ table to hug Harry Jowsey, who showed off his best dancing of the season. Harry had the lowest score of the night with a 24 out of 40 for his and Rylee Arnold’s Jazz to “It’s Gonna Be Me” by NSYNC.
The “Gangnam Style” team ended up earning a perfect score of 40 out of 40. That happens to be the first perfect score of the season. They were followed by the second team, who danced to “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” by the Backstreet Boys.
The judges weren’t quite as complimentary to this team, giving them a combined score of 37 out of 40. (Paula Abdul gave them a 10.) These scores were added to the team members’ individual scores, which factored into the results.
This #MusicVideoNight Salsa from @lelepons & @brandonkstrong is one we’ll remember whenever, wherever 💃 #DWTS pic.twitter.com/a4n7rre9f7
— Dancing with the Stars #DWTS (@officialdwts) November 8, 2023
Lele Pons, Brandon Armstrong Eliminated
Voting was open during the show. At the end of the night, the votes were combined with the judges’ scores to determine which couple should be eliminated. That couple turned out to be Lele Pons and Brandon Armtrong.
Lele and Brandon opened the show with a Salsa to “Whenever, Wherever” by Shakira, earning compliments from the judges. Hough told Lele that her “hips don’t lie,” and Carrie Ann Inaba called it “the dance we have been waiting for.” They earned a 33 out of 40.
They were tied with Alyson Hannigan and had a higher score than Charity Lawson and Barry Williams. They also had a whopping nine points higher than Harry Jowsey and Rylee Arnold. Lele’s elimination is sure to upset a lot of fans.
What did you think of Music Video Night? Did the right couple go home? Let us know in the comments below, and be sure to tune in for Whitney Houston Night next week on ABC and Disney+.
