Dancing With the Stars brought the Friday night lights to the ballroom on Tuesday!
In its first-ever collaboration with the NFL, the remaining 11 pairings honored iconic halftime show performances during DWTS Super Bowl Night.
From Rihanna to Lady Gaga to Bruno Mars, the pros and celebs danced their own interpretations of memorable halftime moments, adding plenty of tricks and lifts.
Super Bowl Night also welcomed its first guest judge of the season: sports commentator Joe Buck.
With any guest judge, majorly skewed scoring is always a possibility.
However, Joe held his own and provided pretty much the exact same commentary I was giving from the comfort of my own bed.
The Recap
Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy’s Paso Doble to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance” scored big with the judges — and myself — earning straight 9s and easily becoming one of my favorite performances of the night.
Also receiving a flush of 9s were Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach. The couple danced a Salsa to Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” and man, was it.
Unfortunately for Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold, they remained near the bottom of the leaderboard alongside Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess and Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson.
But Connor and Rylee’s “hips didn’t lie” enough to send them home, keeping them safe for another week.
As Joe Buck so perfectly put it, Andy Richter walked so Guillermo Rodriguez could run.
And he ran straight into the hearts of America.
Guillermo and Witney’s Salsa to Bad Bunny’s “Tití Me Preguntó” landed them at the bottom of the leaderboard, but the opening alone proved to be some of Witney Carson’s best work.
She was hoisted midair, in a split, for multiple moments. PREGNANT.
Despite becoming a fan favorite this season, Guillermo’s journey ultimately came to an end at the conclusion of Week 5.
Keep scrolling for the Super Bowl Night scoring breakdown:
- Jenna Dewan & Val Chmerkovskiy: Paso Doble — Bad Romance | 36/40
- Ezra Frech & Daniella Karagach: Salsa — Hot in Herre | 36/40
- Amber Glenn & Pasha Pashkov: Samba — Mi Gente | 34/40
- Maura Higgins & Mark Ballas: Tango — Only Girl (In the World) | 33/40
- Julia Stiles & Ezra Sosa: Jazz — Jenny From the Block | 33/40
- Harry Shum Jr. & Jenna Johnson: Samba — Yeah! | 33/40
- Jackson Olson & Emma Slater: Cha-Cha — Uptown Funk | 31/40
- Tyler Cameron & Sharna Burgess: Jazz — The Time (Dirty Bit) | 30/40
- Tatyana Ali & Jan Ravnik: Salsa — Squabble Up | 29/40
- Guillermo Rodriguez & Witney Carson: Salsa — Tití Me Preguntó | 22/40
- Connor Wood & Rylee Arnold — Hips Don’t Lie | 25/40
The Ballroom Popped Off
The show’s opening number also deserves a major mention in this recap.
DWTS prides itself on having an in-house band, but there was a literal marching band in the ballroom for Super Bowl Night.
Speaking of commotion, another equally lively moment happened during Harry and Jenna’s judges’ feedback.
Carrie Ann Inaba told Jenna she wasn’t choreographing to her full ability, explaining that she didn’t think there was enough “samba” in their Samba.
Carrie Ann also called out a “lift” in Jenna’s routine, which is typically prohibited in certain ballroom styles.
After Jenna questioned the critique, Carrie Ann literally read the definition of what constitutes a lift to a professional dancer.
Special shoutout to Ezra Sosa and Julia Stiles for literally healing Taste of Reality’s millennial heart.
Ezra pulled out the big guns with a Save the Last Dance tribute, but having Sean Patrick Thomas, who starred alongside Julia in the iconic film, make a cameo during the dance was the perfect touch.
Next week, the 9 remaining couples take on Dedication Night.
Aka, get your tissues ready!
