Celebs 'face off' on 'Dancing with the Stars;' 6 couples safe, 6 in jeopardy
LOS ANGELES -- "Dancing with the Stars" was condensed into one hour Monday night to accommodate the presidential debate. Time sure flies when there's only 60 minutes! The show is trying out a new theme night this week: the "faceoff."
The 12 remaining couples found themselves pitted against one another. Two couples each took on a specific dance type, but they danced to different songs. The winning couple from each dance dual earned immunity from Tuesday's elimination - that left six couples in jeopardy.
Here are the "faceoff" challenges:
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds vs. Jana Kramer with the jive
There was plenty of good-natured ribbing in this singer-vs.-singer challenge. The jive is a tough one, and both celebrities struggled a bit with the footwork during rehearsal. They looked about equal and the judges thought so, too. However, Kramer was given a 26 out of 40 score; Edmonds, 25 out of 40.
JANA KRAMER IS SAFE.
Vanilla Ice vs. Rick Perry with the paso doble
It's Texan against Texan with this friendly bro-mance in the ballroom. It seemed one of the toughest parts of this challenge was getting these men to pronounce the dance name correctly. They also struggled in rehearsal, and Perry took a nasty fall after a painful ankle twist. The judges scored them exactly evenly (23 out of 40), so according to host Tom Bergeron's giant DWTS rule book, the head judge Len Goodman gets to decide who's earned immunity for the week.
VANILLA ICE IS SAFE.
James Hinchcliffe vs. Ryan Lochte with the CHA
The clever pairings this time give us athlete-vs.-athlete. Both James and Ryan seem to be loosening up a little more in rehearsals and that serves them both well. But Hinchcliffe is by far the better dancer and he outscores the Olympian by earning 29 out of 40 points to Lochte's 25 out of 40.
JAMES HINCHCLIFFE IS SAFE.
Terra Jole vs. Calvin Johnson Jr. with the Viennese waltz
So now we see there are definite patterns with these pairings. With these two celebrities we see the tallest vs. the shortest. Terra wears her heart on her sleeve and brings all kinds of emotions to the dance floor, along with plenty of talent. Calvin has to bury his "Megatron" football image and find a more delicate side to himself. Both couples do outstanding dances, especially considering this is just week three. Terra earns 30 out of 40 points; Calvin, 32 out of 40.
CALVIN JOHNSON JR. IS SAFE.
Maureen McCormick vs. Amber Rose with the salsa
OK, not sure of the cleverness of pairing these two together. But they did offer us two very, very different types of salsa. Amber had a hip-hop flair, shaking all she's got to JLo's song "Booty." Maureen went much more traditional with her routine. Clearly, the judges like tradition. Maureen earned 28 out of 40 points; it was 25 out of 40 for Amber.
MAUREEN MCCORMICK IS SAFE.
Laurie Hernandez vs. Marilu Henner with the tango
This one's easy: The youngest vs. the oldest, but both are very good dancers. And the two women bring very different versions of the tango to life. Marilu is able to channel her life experience (she lets us know she's four times Laurie's age). That lack of experience worries Laurie (who giggles a lot during practice). Pro dancer Val Chmerkovskiy gives Laurie the stern warning that she'll forever be known as "cute Laurie" if she doesn't show the world she has another side. It works! Laurie gets 31 out of 40 from the judges; Marilu, 28 out of 40.
LAURIE HERNANDEZ IS SAFE.
So that means the audience is only voting for Amber, Babyface, Marilu, Rick, Ryan and Terra. Tuesday's results show will combine judge's scores with viewer votes, and one more person will be eliminated.
