Dancing With the Stars Stages Its First Grammy Night
Dancing With the Stars put music in the spotlight this week with its first-ever Grammy Night. The episode, the show's week nine of season 35, built its routines around Grammy-nominated and Grammy-winning artists and songs, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The night's main event was a set of dance-offs. In a dance-off, two couples perform the same dance style to the same song at the same time, so the judges can compare them side by side. The judges named one winning couple in each round. The winners earned extra points added to their overall scores.
Three pairings went head to head. Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov faced Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, who both danced the rumba to "The Boy Is Mine" by Brandy and Monica. Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy took on Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik in a cha cha to "The Middle" by Zedd, Maren Morris and Grey. Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold met Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, also doing the cha cha, this time to "All I Wanna Do" by Sheryl Crow.
The songs were performed live in the ballroom. Brandy and Monica, Maren Morris and Sheryl Crow were all there for the night, which the show's own recap describes as a live-music moment for the couples.
Seven celebrities are still in the competition: Tatyana Ali, Jenna Dewan, Ezra Frech, Amber Glenn, Maura Higgins, Harry Shum Jr. and Connor Wood. Shum Jr. and his partner Jenna Johnson earned immunity from the Grammy Night dance-off after the previous Disney Night. Immunity means they were not put into the head-to-head round.
Viewers have a say in who goes home. At the end of each episode, the show removes the couple with the lowest combined total of judges' scores and viewer votes. Fans can cast up to 10 votes per couple, per voting method, through ABC's website or by text.
For anyone who wants to catch up, the show airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. and streams on Disney+. The episode is the latest step in a season that has now reached its ninth week, with the field narrowing toward its final stretch. For the seven couples left, each dance now carries more weight than the last, because the scores and votes add up from one week to the next.
