Dancing with the Stars: Lauren Alaina Honors Grandmother With Elvis Jive

The line-up is getting smaller and the competition is getting tougher on season 28 of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars.

This week, the couples had their regular competition piece to learn, in addition to being prepared for a “dance-off” to earn extra points. Due to their previous week’s performance and having the highest cumulative judge’s score for the season, James Van Der Beek and Emma Slater had immunity from the dance-off and automatically received two bonus points to their overall evening’s score.

The night began with the couple’s dances:

Sean Spicer and Jenna Johnson (filling in for Lindsay Arnold whose mother-in-law passed away)

Jazz – “Come Sail Away” by Styx

Len Goodman: “Well, we keep throwing you out of the boat and the viewers keep throwing you a life preserver. Why not? The thing is this, look, we all like an underdog and I bet if I was a viewer and I saw how hard you try…there wasn’t a lot of glaring mistakes. Your feet, well, the mermaid had better feet. Sean, I respect your effort. Well done.”

JUDGE’S SCORE: 20

Lauren Alaina and Gleb Savchenko

Jive – “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley

Bruno Tonioli: “Darling, The King himself would have loved that performance. It really had that wonderful, authentic 50s feel – bright, optimistic. You had a good pumping action going through the legs, but you went wrong. You went wrong, my darling. You made three mistakes and it’s a shame. It doesn’t take away from the quality of your dancing, but at this stage in the competition, you really have to be careful not to do those mistakes, but the performance was great.”

JUDGE’S SCORE: 24

Kel Mitchell and Witney Carson

Salsa – “This Is How We Do It” by Montell Jordan

Carrie Ann Inaba: “You took me way back. What I loved most about that was the way you went back and forth between getting the cool groove down and then going back into partnering. The way you love Witney, you’re leading. I see you. You’re pushing her back and forth, she’s trusting. All that and a bag of chips.”

JUDGE’S SCORE: 28

Ally Brooke and Sasha Farber

Paso doble – “Higher” by Ally Brooke

Len Goodman: “It was a mix of good technique and high performance, and that is an irresistible combination. Well done.”

JUDGE’S SCORE: 30 (the first perfect score of the season)

Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten

Quickstep – “American Girl” by Elle King

Bruno Tonioli: “What is going on? This show keeps getting better and more exciting by the minute. That was a game-changer. You rocked that quick step. Nothing fuzzy, nothing shaky, nothing unclear. But what I like is, that time I told you about using the floor? Tonight you really used it to give you lift and spring. Your action through the feet was just beautiful, my darling.”

JUDGE’S SCORE: 29

Kate Flannery and Pasha Pashkov

Jive – “Heat Wave” by Linda Ronstadt

Carrie Ann Inaba: “You’re so right. Dance is a celebration of life and I felt that celebration and I’m sure your sister, Nancy, is watching and smiling at you and so proud of you. The jive had a lot of energy, I loved the characterizations. The beginning was so clever, Pasha, great choreography. There were just, sometimes, out of hold, the arm that is not in hold, that’s separate is a little small and you guys match so well that when you don’t do it, it stands out to me. It was a good jive.”

JUDGE’S SCORE: 24

James Van Der Beek and Emma Slater

Contemporary – “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey

Len Goodman: “I thought this was like a good book. There was something for everyone. Holds your interest from start to finish. You’re never sure what’s going to happen next. Then you get to the end and I think you’re going to find it’s got a really happy ending.”

JUDGE’S SCORE: 30

Next up, were the highly competitive dance-off routines with the winners earning two extra points to their total scores.

Kel and Witney vs. Ally and Sasha

Jive – “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen

Winner: Kel and Witney

Kate and Pasha vs. Sean and Jenna

Cha-cha-cha – “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” by C + C Music Factory

Winner: Kate and Pasha

Hannah and Alan vs. Lauren and Gleb

Salsa – “Rhythm is Gonna Get You” by Gloria Estefan & Miami Sound Machine

Winner: Hannah and Alan

The judge’s scores were then added into the fan’s votes and it was a big surprise to learn that the bottom two couples were Ally Brook and Sasha Farber, and Kate Flannery and Pasha Pashkov. With the final decision falling on the judges, Ally and Sasha were saved and Kate and Pasha were out of the competition.

The Top 6 couples move onto next week to perform to hits from boy bands and girl groups, then, on November 18, the semi-finals begin.