Dancing With the Stars recap: Ray Lewis drops out, Lamar Odom breathes sigh of relief
Can we get a collective aww, nuts for Ray Lewis? As we learned during tonight’s Dancing With the Stars, the NFL Hall of Famer was forced to quit because of a nagging foot injury. That was relatively good news for his fellow celebrities because it meant no elimination during week 3 (and no available Lewis Jr. to take over, either!). More on Lewis’ sad story later.
Let’s get to the glitter, fringe, and Movie Night! (Cue: “Fame.”) Oh and hi, Demi Lovato, Jonathan Scott, and Zooey Deschanel! Thanks for coming to the ballroom.
Ray Lewis and Cheryl Burke: Lewis tore a tendon during a 2010 football game, and because of “all this dancing, all of this on my toes, I’m reliving a problem that I never thought I had to relive again,” he said. In the rehearsal package, Lewis choked up when talking about the pain he felt at every practice and how his doctor implored him not to dance again. So long, Ray! But the show went on: Season 24 winner Rashad Jennings joined Burke in a performance of the cha-cha to “Twist and Shout,” from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Lamar Odom and Peta Murgatroyd: In his liveliest performance this season, the baller cha-cha’ed to “Old Time Rock and Roll,” from Risky Business. It was going relatively well until Odom’s roll tripped over his rock later in the number, prompting the judges to pan him yet again. “I like to see you dance because you are so much fun, and I was optimistic about it because you were doing great,” judge Len Goodman said. “But the wheels fell off.” “You channeled the love you felt from the audience,” said judge Carrie Ann Inaba. Score: 12 out of 30
Sean Spicer and Lindsay Arnold: The former White House press secretary got to perform the last dance the night — a disco cha-cha — to “Night Fever.” In a white suit. With lots of backup dancers. And arm extensions. “I don’t know about Saturday Night Fever; it’s more about Monday Night Lukewarm,” said Goodman. “You are so pigeon-toed.” “You’re a genius,” Bruno Tonioli added. “You turned Saturday Night Fever into a disaster blockbuster!” At least Inaba threw him a bone. “You are living your best life… People seem to love you.” Score: 15 out of 30
Karamo Brown and Jenna Johnson: The Queer Eye star said “I’m Still Standing” is his life story, so he used the Elton John tune to dance the jive with backup dancers and a video of support from Rocketman’s Taron Egerton. Hey, the audience loved it! “You make us feel joy, but tonight you had a lot of mistakes,” said Inaba. “Hopefully you don’t go home because I want to see more of you.” “You came straight onto the floor and you started dancing jive,” added Goodman. “That was terrific.” Score: 16 out of 30
Lauren Alaina and Gleb Savchenko: Finding inspiration from Pretty Woman, the country singer wore a slinky costume — complete with long black boots — that Julie Roberts made famous in the movie and danced the tango to the Roy Orbison song of the same name. She went first for the night — and for a good reason, it seems. “This was full of attack, drive, and purpose,” Goodman said. “A little stop and start here and there but the tango you did was excellent.” Added Tonioli, “You’re racy little thing. That was a racy tango, full throttle! Go for it, girl, you have an edge. Use it.” Score: 20 out of 30
Kel Mitchell and Witney Carson: The “big Leonardo fan” performed a splendid rumba to “My Heart Will Go On,” from Titanic. He thought he nailed it, too. “Really solid dancing,” said Inaba. “You made every detail so specific, though you were a little tight. You are making your energy super-tight. Spread it out.” “It was always a good, solid performance,” said Goodman. Score: 20 out of 30
Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten: Still high off the news that Taylor Swift shared her performance from last week on Instagram, the Bachelorette star danced the rumba to the Wilson Phillips song “Hold On,” which you may remember from Bridesmaids. But it needed more hips! “You’re a wonderful, wonderful lyrical dancer,” said Tonioli. “You have to use the floor more and engage the lower half, push your feet through the floor.” “Your upper half is exquisite, but there was no hip action,” added Inaba. Score: 21 out of 30
James Van Der Beek and Emma Slater: The actor dedicated his rumba — performed to “Shallow,” from A Star Is Born — to his lucky wife, Kimberly. “The audience is obviously going gaga over James!” said Tonioli. “You made your partner look fantastic. A real gentleman!” “You’ve juiced every little ounce of emotion,” said Inaba. “It was stunning.” Score: 23 out of 30
Sailor Brinkley-Cook and Val Chmerkovskiy: The model tangoed to a tune from her mother’s favorite movie, Mamma Mia. And how nice! Christie comes to the rehearsals. No pressure, baby girl! “I can really see that you’ve taken on board everything we have said in the last couple of weeks,” Tonioli said. “Nothing uncertain. A great, feel-good tango.” “What a transformation,” added Inaba. “I felt everything you were doing. Huge congratulations for a huge leap forward.” Score: 23 out of 30
Ally Brooke and Sasha Farber: The pop star chose “Dreaming,” from Selena, as the moody soundtrack for her rumba. Her cucarachas, or side rocks, impressed Goodman, though he declared, “Don’t touch me again,” after Brooke high-fived him in gratitude. “You are truly such an emotional dancer,” said Inaba. “That was unapologetically an amazing rumba.” Also, let it be known that Ally now has a rumba alter ego named Alison. Score: 24 out of 30
Kate Flannery and Pasha Pashkov: The adorably clad actress danced an impressive quickstep to Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” and completely won over the judges. “You’re working hard, and it’s paying off!” said Inaba. “I loved your performance. You got right into character,” said Goodman. “This is a big hit!” added Tonioli. Score: 24 out of 30
Based on viewer votes and the judges’ scores, the bottom two dancers were Lamar and Kel. But thank you, Ray! No one got the boot.
Want more on DWTS? Make sure to look up Eye on the Ball Tuesday afternoon on Sirius XM On Demand. Kym Johnson will be our guest!
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