Guillermo and Witney Survive 13-Point Samba on DWTS Mariah Carey Night
Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson will dance again next week on Dancing With the Stars after surviving a 13-out-of-30 samba on Mariah Carey night.
The pair competed on season 35 of the ballroom contest with a samba, the fast bouncing Latin dance, to Mariah Carey's 2009 single "Obsessed" on Tuesday, Oct. 6. The show described the evening as its first-ever Mariah Carey night, and the judges gave the routine 13 points from a possible 30, according to Billboard. Rodriguez and Carson were not eliminated and return next week.
The performance ended with a belly bump between the partners and drew a loud ovation from the studio audience. Carson is competing this season while pregnant. The song itself comes from Carey's album Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel and peaked at No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100, the United States singles chart.
The scores were low. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba asked Rodriguez, "Where is all your joy?" after the dance. Judge Bruno Tonioli described his technique as "beyond critique."
Carson rejected that reading of the routine. She told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published on Oct. 7 that she "disagreed completely" with Inaba's criticism, according to Entertainment Weekly. Rodriguez joined Carson for the interview to discuss the comments and the score.
What makes this stand out is the split in the room. The audience responded warmly to the closing belly bump. The judges responded with one of the lowest totals of the night. The public vote and judges' scores together decide who leaves, and this time the combination kept Rodriguez and Carson in the contest.
The theme night featured Carey's catalogue as the music for the remaining couples. Programme listings from ABC describe Season 35 Episode 5 as "Mariah Carey Night" with 12 remaining couples dancing to her songs. The season began with 16 celebrities. The show airs on Tuesdays at 8/7c and streams on Disney+, with Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough listed as hosts.
Fans who missed the live broadcast can watch the full routine. The official Dancing With The Stars channel has uploaded "Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson's Mariah Carey Night Samba" for replay on YouTube.
