Latin night certainly did not disappoint in the ballroom, and it's safe to say, probably not too many were disappointed with the elimination either (read who that is below). In the meantime, who was on fire and who was cool to the touch? Let's get to the week-three rundown!
Update:Charlotte and Keo were eliminated, which shouldn't shock most of you. If she wasn't eliminated last night, then it would have surely been next week. After all, viewers saw firsthand that she wasn't as committed as the other contestants. Still, I feel for Keo, who for the second season in a row hasn't had the easiest of pairings. So who is Keo putting his money on now that he's no longer in the competition? "Rumer and Val," he told Dancing With the Stars Radio. "She's a hard worker and has the right attitude for the show." By the way, interesting choice of words if you read into that.
As for Charlotte, she had plenty to say to DWTS Radio postshow. "People kind of pinned me up as this dumb blond, but they have no idea. They just don't know." The model went on to add that once the dust has settled, we'll see a lot more of her. "I'm grateful to have been on this show, but they were very wrong about me. I'm a very intelligent person."
Rumer Willis and Val Chmerkovskiy: Wow. Let me just say (1) I want that jumpsuit and (2) I want Rumer's abs. If they ever remake Saturday Night Fever, I want it to star Val and Rumer. As for the judges' critiques, I don't understand why Julianne thought that Rumer's joy wasn't evident until halfway through the routine. That to me is like saying they sleepwalked their way through the dance. Hardly. Score: 33/40
Update: I truthfully thought Val and Rumer deserved more 9's in their routine, but Val wasn't the least bit concerned with that. If anything, his focus is putting more trust in his partner. "Sometimes it gets challenging for me because I need to be more patient and trust the fact that so far her track record shows that she will get it by Monday," he revealed. "I forget sometimes that she's not a pro, and I give her stuff that is really challenging." Still, if that's an issue for Rumer, she sure isn't letting on. "Tonight for me was more about the fun we were having dancing together," she told me. And by the way, the secret to those abs? Working out, eating healthy, and "gummy bears," joked Rumer. "Seriously, those gummy bears and I are good friends!"
Charlotte McKinney and Keo Motsepe: From that rehearsal package to Bruno's comment that she won't win any awards in quantum physics, Charlotte took quite a beating. Kudos to Len though for saying "you get what you put into" this process. It's true. If Charlotte is afraid of missing emails for modeling and acting jobs, don't sign up for DWTS in the first place. Score: 22/40
Update: See above.
Michael Sam and Peta Murgatroyd: Michael showed his physical strength with the salsa, but the performance wasn't as strong as last week. The moves didn't flow naturally, and Michael was definitely more stiff—but they should bounce back next week. Score: 24/40
Update: Peta was overheard telling reporters that she was definitely disappointed with the scores, but she and Michael looked forward to redeeming themselves next week. I'll catch up with the charismatic duo on Monday night and have a full report.
Riker Lynch and Allison Holker: If I tell you guys that the press room erupted in cheers after their dance, would you believe me? Well, it's true. If I were Val and Rumer, I would be worried. After all, Rumer told GMA last week that she didn't have any competition, but I would think that she might want to change that sentiment now. Score: 34/40 (BTW, what the heck was up with Len's 7?)
Update: "I think I was told I have really high testosterone tonight," remarked Allison. "I was like, 'I don't know what that means, but OK!' I'm just going to have to watch the comments on playback tonight." Meanwhile, Riker was already focused on next week. "My most memorable year is 2014 because it's the year my band really took off and we played a bunch of festivals and went on a world tour." So should we expect Riker's bandmates to show up in his routine next week? Riker wouldn't say, but his smirk pretty much said it all.
Suzanne Somers and Tony Dovolani: Suzanne isn't going to win the Mirrorball, but don't tell that to Tony, who looked like he might lose it on the judges for giving them 6's (and one 7). Suzanne's fruity routine was certainly fun and charismatic, but that's about all it was (sorry, Tony). Score: 25/40
Update: Suzanne told ABC7 Los Angeles' George Pennacchio that she was having "so much fun, I was like, 'Oh, I forgot that step!'" Still, who cares when you get to wear a fruit bowl on your head?
Chris Soules and Witney Carson: Nice work, sexy Bachelor! I still don't think last week was as bad as the judges (or Chris) thought, but the Argentine Tango certainly made up for any doubts. Sexy, passionate, and on point. That was hot. Score: 28/40
Update: "It just doesn't feel right to be at the bottom," Chris told me backstage. And who can blame him? The guy is giving his all each week (and doing a fine job), and yet he's been "in jeopardy" both weeks so far. "I'm just hard on myself," he said. His partner, Witney, was more upbeat: "He killed it tonight!" It's that attitude that Witney will try to pass on next week as they take on the rumba (known as the hardest dance) tied to Chris' stint on The Bachelor. However, I joked that for Chicago Cubs fan Chris, his most memorable year should be 1908, which is when the Cubs last won the World Series. (As a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan, I'm allowed to tease him about that.) But alas, since the Cards and Cubs are opening the baseball season on ESPN this coming Sunday night, Chris and I decided to make a bet. It's going to go something like this:
Witney: "If the Cardinals win, Chris has to take us to Disneyland!"
Glamour: "Yes! And he has to take a picture wearing my Cardinals jersey next Monday night."
Chris: "I can do that."
Glamour: "And if the Cubs win, I'll have to wear a Cubs jersey and take a picture in it."
Witney: "And we'll still go to Disneyland!"
(Oy, what have I gotten myself into?)
Robert Herjavec and Kym Johnson: Watching #TeamSharkaroo makes me feel like we're invading on their private time together. It was hot and romantic, but as Len put it, "You're in the middle of the pack. Everything was good, nothing was great." Score: 29/40
Update: Although I was joking about being uncomfortable watching Kym and Robert dance, I definitely wasn't backstage. Robert gazes so lovingly into Kym's eyes that you can't help but feel like you definitely shouldn't be witnessing what you're witnessing. (They weren't making out, but you get the point.) Every moment that Robert is with Kym, he wants to be affectionate and practice more. "We should have rehearsed more," he remarked to her. "I want to rehearse tonight. It's very important to rehearse." I joked that he should take that lesson and preach it to kids that slack off in school. Robert's response? Nothing but laughter (and more gazing into Kym's eyes).
But back to the dancing. So what's Robert's most memorable year? "1970. It's the year my dad took my mom and I and we escaped the communist country of Yugoslavia and came to North America on a boat with one suitcase. We literally walked off the boat with one suitcase. Kimmy was playing this song one day and I said, 'Oh my gosh, that's the song my mom used to dance to.'" Added Kym: "It's going to be really emotional and really beautiful."
Patti LaBelle and Artem Chigvintsev: I could watch Patti LaBelle rehearsal packages all day long. I also want to see a Golden Girls remake with her in it—love her pizzazz! I don't know how much more "content" (as Len put it) that we're going to see, but do we really care? Just keep doing what you're doing, LaBelle. Score: 22/40
Willow Shields and Mark Ballas: So the 41-year-old is pretty good, huh? (Kidding, kidding.) Willow was literally catching fire tonight, and her work ethic is something that Charlotte could learn a thing or two from. Score: 32/40
Update: Willow promised me it was OK to give her a hug backstage, telling me "I swear, this paint isn't coming off! In fact, we were still cleaning paint out of each other's ears [from last week] three days after." (Good to know.) As for Mark's look, I honestly thought he had sea salt attached to his face. Turns out it's dry ice. As for the dance, Willow was happy with the final performance, but "I was so mad at myself this week because I got hurt. I felt like I couldn't push myself as much."
Noah Galloway and Sharna Burgess: Sheesh. Let's take a moment to congratulate Sharna, who continues to choreograph masterpieces. And Noah's strength—my goodness, most people with all of their limbs can't do half of that. It will be interesting to see if Noah decides to attempt the prosthetic arm once more this season or if he decides it's not worth it. Score: 30/40
Update: Although Noah decided not to use that very expensive prosthetic arm this week, it's not entirely off the table. "We might try it again," revealed Noah. "I only had that arm for a couple days, and it's really hard to adapt to it that quickly. I'm going to start wearing it more often, and we may use it another time or we may not." Meanwhile, knowing how much those things must cost, I was cringing when Noah practically threw it, and so was Sharna. "I was like, 'OK, look away!'" she joked. "And we were on the live feed when he threw it!"
Needless to say, Noah's probably going to own most memorable year week next Monday, and Sharna isn't shying away from the pressure of creating an emotional routine. "I don't think I've put this much pressure on myself to create something like this in all my time [on the show]," she told me. "So hopefully I can step it up. I know how big it is, how amazing it is, and what it deserves."
Nastia Liukin and Derek Hough: These two are just a machine. How else do you explain the lack of rehearsal time together and their ability to create such intense masterpieces? Score: 34/40
Update: Backstage, Derek told me that he likes to catch Nastia "off guard and have her do silly things in front of people. She gets so shy, but I'm like, 'Nope, you gotta do that!'" Speaking of doing things, Derek also gave me my first Red Hot, which I have to say I wasn't crazy about. Another thing that Nastia doesn't often do? Wear big hair like the style she had on last night. "My hair is so huge!" she laughed. "But I'm from Texas, so I'm kind of used to it. This is definitely going back to my Texas roots!"
How do you feel about Charlotte and Keo going home? Who do you think will own Most Memorable Year week?
