ABC/Eric McCandless(New York) — Magic permeated the air on Dancing with the Stars Monday night because it was Disney Night of all nights. The top nine kicked the difficulty up a notch and even sent out a last-minute emotional plea to the audience not to send them home. Their message was heard loud and clear as no one was eliminated Monday. The night’s scores will carry over into next week’s episode.
Former Fifth Harmony singer Ally Brooke nabbed the top score of the night — 27/30 — and also the first nines of the season. Meanwhile, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer sunk to the bottom of the pack with the lowest score, 24/30.
The night also treated audience with a stunning opening performance at Disney Land, which featured the night’s top nine competitors. ABC also aired the trailer for the upcoming Disney+ streaming exclusive Lady & the Tramp. In addition, The audience enjoyed music from Disney’s highly anticipated Frozen II — arriving in theaters November 22. DWTS tasked their newest pro Daniella to dance along to Queen Elsa’s ballad “Into the Unknown.” The song, along with the complete Frozen II soundtrack, will be available for purchase on November 15.
Judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli were seemingly intoxicated by the cheerful Disney magic as the two couldn’t seem to stop smiling and laughing– even when Inaba accidentally fell out of her chair during her review of Kate Flannery’s performance. However, the ever-cantankerous Len Goodman remained unfazed by the pixie dust and bah-humbug’d through the night, earning strong boos from the audience at times.
Brooke, the night’s first place finisher, dazzled the judges with her dreamy and romantic contemporary dance to the titular song from Beauty and the Beast — a movie and song that’s near and dear to the singer’s heart. Brooke, who was ecstatic to meet Princess Belle and the Beast at Disneyland before her emotional number with partner Sasha Farber, revealed that “Beauty and the Beast” will be her wedding song.
However, the night’s most impressive performance came from James Van Der Beek with his powerful and dramatic Paso Doble with partner Emma Slater to the Pirates of the Caribbean theme. However, he failed to tie in first with Brooke by just a point. While Inaba and Tonioli enthusiastically held up nines, judge Goodman criticized the Dawson’s Creek star for not making his hand movements sharper and awarded him an eight — granting an overall score of 26/30.
Goodman also broke from the others when judging Bachelorette star Hannah Brown, who danced a breezy and beautiful foxtrot with partner Alan Bersten to Aladdin‘s “A Whole New World.” While Inaba and Tonioli ecstatically awarded her a pair of nines, Goodman handed her a disappointing seven — giving her the final score 25/30. However, with the foxtrot being one of the easier ballroom dances to master, perhaps Goodman felt Brown’s choice was too safe and a step down from last week’s first-place worthy Paso Doble.
The Office star Kate Flannery enjoyed a comeback on Monday night with an intense and creative jazz number to “A Spoonful of Sugar” from Mary Poppins. The judges lauded the variety of her routine, which borrowed elements from the Charleston, Polka, quickstep, and Can-can — securing her a final score of 24/30.
The night’s most memorable moment came immediately after Flannery’s performance when host Tom Bergeron tried removing a wayward umbrella prop from the dance floor and subsequently sent judge Carrie Ann tumbling out of her chair. “We got a judge down!” Tonioli shouted excitedly while Flannery and partner Pasha Pashkov rushed in to upright the fallen Inaba, who happily promised them bonus points.
Sean Spicer, despite giving his best on the dance floor with his quickstep to Toy Story 4‘s “You Got a Friend in Me” with partner Lindsay Arnold, he earned the lowest score of the night — 19/30. Spicer also became emotional before his performance by dedicating his dance to his late father, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2016, and to all fathers currently struggling with cancer.
Dancing with the Stars returns next Monday, October 21 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Scores from the night will carry over into next week’s live show.
Here are the current standings:
First place:
Ally Brooke, former Fifth Harmony singer, with Sasha Farber — 27/30
James Van Der Beek, Dawson’s Creek actor, with Emma Slater — 26/30
Kel Mitchell, actor and stand-up comedian, with Whitney Carson — 26/30
Hannah Brown, The Bachelorette star, with Alan Bersten — 25/30
Sailor Brinkley-Cook, model, with Val Chmerkovskiy — 24/30
Kate Flannery, actress from The Office, with Pasha Pashkov — 24/30
Lauren Alaina, country singer, with Gleb Savchenko — 23/30
Karamo, Queer Eye reality TV personality, with Jenna Johnson — 21/30
Lowest score:
Sean Spicer, former White House press secretary, with Lindsay Arnold — 19/30
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