It’s all for you! Dancing With the Stars paid tribute to Janet Jackson during the Monday, November 8, ahead of the semifinals. Each pair performed two dances and at the end of the night, two couples were sent home.
While many received perfect scores, the nerves were running high for every team.
“I came on the show, and I really didn’t think I would make it far,” Olivia Jade Giannulli said ahead of her Argentine tango. Plus, the night was extra special for the influencer since she has a connection to the five-time Grammy winner — her dad, Mossimo Giannulli, starred in one of Jackson’s music videos. “My favorite memories with my dad were on a dance floor. The fact that my dad is watching me dance every single Monday is just everything.”
While the routine was impressive, the judges weren’t fully sold. While Carrie Ann Inaba said she wanted more “heat,” Len Goodman didn’t like the fact that Val Chmerkovskiy had incorporated a table into the dance.
For some, the pressure was evident during the rehearsals. Melora Hardin and Artem Chigvintsev really butted heads ahead of their paso doble. Luckily, after a bit of back and forth, they hugged it out — and the tense moment led them to their first perfect score of the season.
Later in the night, Amanda Kloots and Alan Bersten went through a similar experience, with her calling him out for being rude in rehearsals. Still — it paid off in the end, and they were given a 40/40.
After the duos’ separate numbers, it was time for the dance-offs. First, Jimmie Allen and Emma Slater did the salsa to “Made for Now” alongside Suni Lee and Sasha Farber. Bruno Tonioli chose to give the bonus points to Jimmie and Emma.
Carrie Ann judged JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson and Olivia and Val on their rumbas. While she called it the “dance-off of all dance-offs,” she gave the points to JoJo and Jenna.
Iman Shumpert and Daniella Karagach went head-to-head against Melora and Artem, each dancing the foxtrot. Judge Derek Hough complimented how far Iman had come but ultimately gave his points to Melora.
Amanda and Alan and Cody Rigsby and Cheryl Burke each performed the jive. Len said it was a “tough call” but gave his two points to Amanda.
The three couples in the bottom were Olivia and Val, Jimmie and Emma and Melora and Artem. Olivia and Val were the duo with the lowest combined scores and votes, so they were the first eliminated. Derek, Bruno and Carrie Ann — who was crying — voted to save Melora, sending home Jimmie and Emma.
Scroll down for a breakdown of all the scores:
