Week 3 of season 25 of Dancing With the Stars revived Guilty Pleasures Night, which highlighted the celebrity contestants’ favorite things that are not necessarily the easiest things to admit!
In a surprise turn of events (most likely to make room for news coverage before and after the show), before Guilty Pleasures Night got into the scored dances, it was announced that there would be no elimination tonight, which means that all eleven remaining couples will return next week for Most Memorable Year Night!
Now, here are Julia Delbel, Paul Bentley, and Dwtsdreams with thoughts on the night of performances!
Guilty Pleasures Performances
The eleven couples left in the season danced a new style dedicated to the celebrities’ guilty pleasures. No elimination was held at the end of the night.
Drew Scott and Emma Slater
Argentine Tango
Red Right Hand by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Guilty Pleasure: True Crimes Movie
Bentley This Argentine Tango made me see a newfound control in Drew’s dancing. He remained steady as he lead for Emma, and it was done so in a way that had a fair give-and-take between the two of them. While I can following Drew taking the judges’ advice, he still needs to continue improving his shoulders while in frame as pay closer attention to his feet so they don’t look like they are “beneath” him. But hey, this is his biggest improvement yet, so I don’t expect him to get to where he needs to be for tens so quick!
Dream Before this week when Drew has in hold he was very stiff and lacked the full range of motion required in dances. This week Drew broke that barrier! His shoulders were down at least sometimes, his neck was up, and he found control! He does still need to work on keeping the shoulders down the whole time but monday night’s dance was a start!
Julia I am so happy to see Drew improving so much with each performance! I think he and Emma are on track to go pretty far in the competition, but they’ll have to keep the momentum going and make sure they maintain a strong voting base.
The Judges’ Scores
|
Carrie Ann
8
|
Len
7
|
Bruno
8
|
Total
23/30
|
The Bloggers’ Scores
|
Bentley
7
|
Dwtsdreams
7
|
Julia
8
|
Total
22/30
|
#TeamHotProperty 1(800)868-3404
Derek Fisher and Sharna Burgess
Cha-Cha-Cha
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air by DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
Guilty Pleasure: The Fresh Prince of Bel Air TV Show
Bentley I can tell that Derek pays careful attention to each and every one of his moves because not only does he fill in all the gaps with his own kind of micro-movements, but I also saw that when he makes a mistake, he makes it look like it was supposed to happen, which just goes to show that those hours in rehearsal have really been paying off! Even when he missed the underarm turn with Sharna, he just rolled with it! Still, though, just like in his Salsa from week one, I think that Derek was too careful. I felt as though he was holding himself back because of a little bit too much reliance on Sharna. It’s to a lesser extent from last time, but it is still there. I know that Derek can dance like a pro is he sets his mind to it-- he just has to allow himself to do so as he builds up his comfort on stage!
Dream I would consider myself the “Len” type because I am a stickler for a dance full of content and technique and this lacked both. That was not a Cha-Cha-Cha. Some may beg to differ but that looked like this show likes to call I Jazz. I am really enjoying Derek’s positive outlook but I want a little more technique out of him. He has an amazing natural rhythm though!
Julia I think Derek is going to have a breakthrough soon, I just hope it happens before it’s too late. He seems enthusiastic and focused on getting the technique of the routines down, now he just needs to come out full-force and be powerful and confident in his movements!
The Judges’ Scores
|
Carrie Ann
7
|
Len
7
|
Bruno
7
|
Total
21/30
|
The Bloggers’ Scores
|
Bentley
7
|
Dwtsdreams
7
|
Julia
7
|
Total
21/30
|
#TeamHoopsAndHeels 1(800)868-3403
Victoria Arlen and Val Chmerkovskiy
Quickstep
Tubthumping by Chumbawamba
Guilty Pleasure: Tubthumping Song
Bentley While there were some glaring issues in this Quickstep, I couldn’t help but love the fun production and the overall the nostalgic early-2000’s high school TV show feel to it. This week, I saw a lot of the couples truly put in some hard work for their dances, but Victoria was the one that I felt like pushed herself further than anyone else! All of the tape and other contraptions that she used on her legs that Tom talked about really paid off because, despite some mismatching between she and Val, she had really clean and in-tune leg work. I’ve noticed, though, that with high-paced dances like this, Victoria tends to make some mistakes from her own energy, which needs to be condensed and converted into stability and polish. I just loved the feel-good nature of this and the message behind this guilty pleasure! And I loved Tom’s PSA before Victoria got her scores! XD
Dream This wasn’t Victoria’s best dance, but it was filled with lots of content! I have to disagree with Bentley; Victoria was a little too bouncy and some of her movements weren't sharp, but I thought she had great power and showed some stability through the dance! It is true that sometimes Victoria gets too excited and her movements become messy.
Julia I’m starting to worry that this couple is fading away. I guess the invisibleness of Victoria’s disability has made it (and her, since that’s what production has focused on so far) easy to forget. It’s a shame the she is only really focusing on that so far, and not her fun and outgoing personality, because I think she’d stand out more that way.
The Judges’ Scores
|
Carrie Ann
8
|
Len
7
|
Bruno
7
|
Total
22/30
|
The Bloggers’ Scores
|
Bentley
7
|
Dwtsdreams
7
|
Julia
7
|
Total
21/30
|
#TeamViVa 1(800)868-3413
Vanessa Lachey and Alan Bersten (Maks Chmerkovskiy)
Jazz
Due to a personal issue, Maks Chmerkovskiy was unable to perform. Alan Bersten filled in for him.
Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper
Guilty Pleasure: Having a Girls Night Out
Bentley Well first of all, I just want to address the whole thing about Maks not being able to make it and Alan having to fill in for him. Now, I really hope that nothing serious for Maks to leave, but if it wasn’t, I feel like the show should have maybe been a little more upfront about it to the audience. Sure, whatever happened could be personal, but if it was, why not tell the audience if it is something that he will be able to return next week for, or if he voluntarily chose to do so, or something. Because without that, speculation obviously occurs. And while we still don’t know exactly what happened, if there was a falling out between Vanessa and Maks like some sources say, it will be quite interesting because both of them have been accused of being hard to work with (whether it’s true or not) among negative other things in the past, so the media has a lot of ammunition in its pockets! But whatever it is, I hope everything works out. And if this is all over something petty, these two need to learn how to work with each other! I mean, they’re not getting for nothing!
Anyway, the dance. XD This was sort of an intermediate level Jazz routine, but it think it showcased the clarity and precision she has in her movement. She didn’t quite match up to the troupe during the solo dancing part, though, because she was just a hair ahead of the music. I would have maybe like to have seen some more dancing between Vanessa and Alan to see how she and Alan can compliment each other, but given the nature of the dance, I see why the choreography leaned more towards the troupe. Overall, Vanessa didn’t hold back, as always, and she just let herself have fun with everything, which
can do wonders for a routine!
Julia I was really enjoying Vanessa and Maks as a team, and didn’t want to believe the stories of drama behind-the-scenes, but I have a feeling it’s at least somewhat true. This is actually the main reason why I’m not a fan of the “married celebs with married pros” gimmick; these teams were formed entirely based on who they were married to and not because of how they’d gel with each other, which wasn’t really fair to anyone involved. I actually thought these two had better chemistry than Nick and Peta, but I don’t know what to think now! Regardless of what may or may not have happened, I hope they can find a way to work well together for the rest of the season.
Dream I really wish that the show wouldn’t have Jazz if their pros don't have training and cannot execute a proper jazz. I totally understanding that some of our incredible pros don't have Jazz training, but it is a little disrespectful to an incredible art form to call walk around in latin shoes while doing some lifts and arm movements “Jazz.” This was a great dance, but it wasn’t a Jazz.
The Judges’ Scores
|
Carrie Ann
7
|
Len
8
|
Bruno
8
|
Total
23/30
|
The Bloggers’ Scores
|
Bentley
8
|
Dwtsdreams
7
|
Julia
8
|
Total
23/30
|
#TeamBabiesAndBallroom 1(800)868-3412
Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev
Viennese Waltz
Love on the Brain by Rihanna
Guilty Pleasure: Fifty Shades of Grey Movie
Bentley I think I would put this dance in the category as one of the sexiest Viennese Waltz performances ever performed on the show, on par with Jana and Gleb’s from season 23. Nikki did not just dance as a sexy character- she embraced it, and she didn’t hold back in being that character with Artem. Right off the bat, though, she seemed as though she had brace herself from losing her balance from that first fleckerl. She did end up saving herself, but when it came to in-hold turns, she had to keep nudging herself just a little bit because she was not exactly in time with Artem. I also would have liked to have seen more in framed hold, but talking about a lack of certain content has become a normality, and even just talking about it can get redundant. But from what was there, Nikki sold it!
Dream A true Viennese Waltz only consists of turns and step changes. I understand that this is DWTS not Blackpool, but I would loved to see a little less of the elevator stuff at the beginning. With that being said, Nikki really embraced the character she was portraying in this sexy, seductive Viennese Waltz. I love how Nikki is starting to commit to the emotion of the dance, but she is still lacking finesse and proper execution of some of the steps. For example, Nikki’s change steps were a little off balance at times, but overall, this was improvement from last week.
Julia Nikki was hosed on Monday. This was a lot better than any of the judges gave her credit for. There was clear technical improvement from her slow Waltz the previous week, and her chemistry with Artem has been getting better. It’s frustrating that the judges don’t seem to want to praise these two for anything.
The Judges’ Scores
|
Carrie Ann
7
|
Len
7
|
Bruno
7
|
Total
21/30
|
The Bloggers’ Scores
|
Bentley
8
|
Dwtsdreams
7
|
Julia
8
|
Total
23/30
|
#TeamSmackdown 1(800)868-3409
Frankie Muniz and Witney Carson
Samba
It’s Gonna Be Me by *NSYNC
Guilty Pleasure: Boy Bands
Bentley I never really thought about it until Monday night, but I can definitely see Frankie in a boy band! XD He smashed that boy band lip-syncing and dancing section! Unfortunately, though, the rest of his dance did not stand out as much as that section. It’s almost as though Frankie was “fighting” the Samba, and he was struggling to come out on top. His arms were the biggest sin in this performance, which needed to come from his core. He still had the style needed for the dance, and Witney’s choreography enhanced that.
Julia I almost want to score this higher, because there were portions of this dance that blew me away. Unfortunately, the Samba execution wasn’t one of them. The boy band stuff, on the other hand, was EXCELLENT, and I think that kind of personality in his performances is what’s going to take Frankie a long way in this competition!
Dream This was a fun dance full of energy, but it lacked Samba content. His Samba walks lacked the hip action to classify it as a true Samba. Overall, this was a fun performance, but it wasn’t a Samba.
The Judges’ Scores
|
Carrie Ann
7
|
Len
7
|
Bruno
7
|
Total
21/30
|
The Bloggers’ Scores
|
Bentley
7
|
Dwtsdreams
6
|
Julia
6
|
Total
19/30
|
#TeamFranneyPack 1(800)868-3405
Lindsey Stirling and Mark Ballas
Jive
Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham!
Guilty Pleasure: Staying in Bed All Day
Bentley Team STARK did it-- they got my first 10 for this season! Mark is always an expert at combining, as Carrie Ann once called it, “concept and content.” Who would’ve known that Lindsey’s down week would also be the week that performed this dance?! Lindsey was quick, sharp, loose-- everything! I’m usually a high heel advocate for the women to dance in, but I actually ended up finding the choice of wearing sneakers to be lovely and endearing. Everything from the basic link steps to the mooch steps were absolutely phenomenal, looking like they were effortless to execute! I think Len said this, too, but this is the dance of the season so far for me!
Julia This currently holds the place of my favorite dance of Season 25, but I didn’t give it a 10 because I saw a few instances where Lindsay wasn’t really pointing her toes when she needed to (I guess because of the shoes LOL). Just wanted to explain that, but I still loved this performance and think Mark is doing a very good job at mixing concepts with content so far this season, which is something he’s struggled with at times in the past.
Dream Content and execution-wise, this is the best dance so far of Season 25. I am so impressed with Lindsey! Her flicks and kicks were clean and precise, and she killed the timing of the Jive! She was straightening her legs through the back of her knees, which created long, clean leg lines! Her feet were flexed at some points, but overall incredible mind-blowing job for Team Stark.
The Judges’ Scores
|
Carrie Ann
9
|
Len
9
|
Bruno
9
|
Total
27/30
|
The Bloggers’ Scores
|
Bentley
10
|
Dwtsdreams
9
|
Julia
9
|
Total
28/30
|
#TeamSTARK 1(800)868-3407
Sasha Pieterse and Gleb Savchenko
Jazz
I Can’t Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch) by Four Tops
Guilty Pleasure: Cooking
Bentley This Jazz dance was sweet (pun intended), but there was not a lot of oomph to it. It was kind of pedestrian and underwhelming, especially with the side-by-side dancing. The acting and prop usage was still joyful and cute, but there wasn’t exactly a stand-out moment that I can say had the best dancing because all of the dancing was relatively casual and theatrical, which made me want more of the stuff that Sasha and Gleb started to do towards the end. I still can see improvement in Sasha’s movement, but it was all a bit too mild for me to see anything all that major in it.
Dream Sasha has amazing potential, but she has yet to knock down all the walls that are stopping her from reaching that point. This dance was underwhelming and lacked power. I am just missing something from Sasha, but I am not sure what yet.
Julia Sasha and Gleb are another one of the couples I think could be in danger soon. They seem to work well together, but other than maybe their Samba, they haven’t really had any stand-out performances yet. “Most Memorable Year” week seems to be the point of the season where most viewers determine their loyalties, so they have one more chance to get people on their side next week.
The Judges’ Scores
|
Carrie Ann
7
|
Len
6
|
Bruno
6
|
Total
19/30
|
The Bloggers’ Scores
|
Bentley
7
|
Dwtsdreams
6
|
Julia
7
|
Total
20/30
|
#TeamATeam 1(800)868-3410
Nick Lachey and Peta Murgatroyd
Jazz
Jump (For My Love) by The Pointer Sisters
Guilty Pleasure: Romantic Comedy Movies
Bentley Um, okay. I don’t even know what to think of this dance. It was just so…different. XD I don’t want to undermine the learning and rehearsing process of dancing on the show or anything, but am I the only one who feels like they could have danced this at the same dance quality as Nick with only two hours of rehearsals? Basically, I feel like Nick could have been challenged a lot more this week. But even with what Nick was given, Nick had quite a few mistakes. He did get into the character needed for the dance really well, and he got the few hip movements down, but it was overall just not enough for me.
Dream This dance made me laugh so hard because the choreo was so funny. This dance lacked Jazz content, but I am not surprised because most of the Jazz dances on this show don’t have leaps, turns, kicks, or new exciting arm movements. This dance in terms of content was just boring and so textbook DWTS Jazz. It had some girl group arm stuff, some arm poses, a couple of lifts, and that’s it.
Julia Nick seems so timid. I was hoping this fun Jazz routine would help him loosen up, but he still had trouble going “full-out” with it. This is a problem several contestants have been experiencing this season, so hopefully their pros will be able to help them find the courage to really go for it without holding back soon!
The Judges’ Scores
|
Carrie Ann
7
|
Len
7
|
Bruno
7
|
Total
21/30
|
The Bloggers’ Scores
|
Bentley
6
|
Dwtsdreams
6
|
Julia
6
|
Total
18/30
|
#TeamMomAndPops 1(800)868-3408
Terrell Owens and Cheryl Burke
Salsa
The Breaks by Kurtis Blow
Guilty Pleasure: Breakdancing
Bentley Alright, I do have to give props to Terrell and Cheryl for at least attempting some weird breakdancing-inspired moves, but everything put together was messy. Terrell was anticipating each following step so much that he ended up rushing things and going at a faster pace than Cheryl and the troupe behind him. And while Terrell was able to feel the music throughout his entire body, his limbs came off as lazy, and maybe it partially has to do with his height, but he could have definitely danced bigger than he did on Monday night. A lack of Salsa arm moves also gave me not a lot to base my judging on, so I had very little to base by score on once again. I want to see a routine from Terrell that is packed with content so not only do we see a variety of movement from him, but also so he can improve a wider range of steps through more exposure to the style.
Dream I love Cheryl and she is an amazing teacher, so it makes me mad when year after year she is given not ringers. This dance was messy and my least favorite of the night.
Julia Terrell tends to have small movements, but I think he’s slowly improving on that front. I think the fun vibe of this dance helped him work on that a little this week, and getting to breakdance on the show probably encouraged him to go all out with this performance. I liked that Cheryl managed to combine recognizable Salsa content with the breakdancing (which I was okay with being included, since it literally was his chosen Guilty Pleasure). I’m not gonna let them get off easy with a lack of content next week, though! :P
The Judges’ Scores
|
Carrie Ann
7
|
Len
7
|
Bruno
7
|
Total
21/30
|
The Bloggers’ Scores
|
Bentley
7
|
Dwtsdreams
6
|
Julia
7
|
Total
20/30
|
#TeamGetchaPopcorn 1(800)868-3411
Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold
Charleston
The Glory Days by Michael Giacchino
Guilty Pleasure: Superhero Comics
Julia I had some serious beef with Len’s take on this one. I would understand the 7 if they were throwing a bunch of Cha-Cha and Samba steps into the dance, but he of all people should know that Charleston shares elements with Quickstep and Lindy Hop, so it wasn’t a reach to include them in the routine. I don’t think the dance was quite perfect, but they worked very well with a song that clearly was not meant to be used for a Charleston. I think Jordan is a serious contender for the MBT, but he’s going to need to show a softer side soon because I’m still seeing a lot of people who have yet to warm up to him. Luckily, I think he’ll have that chance next week.
Bentley Yeah, I thought that a 7 was a bit low, too, but I do see where Len was coming from when it came to content. I didn’t mind it as much as he did, but I definitely notice some blurred lines between Charleston content and other content in the same category as it. I found this dance to be super entertaining, though, as it was stylized and executed so well as a superhero comic, which is thanks to Lindsay’s awesome modernization of the dance! Jordan looked like just as much of a pro as Lindsay on the dance floor; there couldn’t have been a better person to play the superhero character than him!s
Dream I thought a 7 was too low for such a fun dance that did consist of Charleston action. Yes, there were some Quickstep moves, but both of those dances are so similar, so I feel as though a 7 wasn’t a fair deduction.
The Judges’ Scores
|
Carrie Ann
9
|
Len
7
|
Bruno
9
|
Total
25/30
|
The Bloggers’ Scores
|
Bentley
9
|
Dwtsdreams
9
|
Julia
9
|
Total
27/30
|
#TeamFishUponAStar 1(800)868-3406
Dance Rankings
Julia
1. Lindsey & Mark
2. Jordan & Lindsay
3. Nikki & Artem
4. Drew & Emma
5. Vanessa & Alan (Maks)
6. Victoria & Val
7. Derek & Sharna
8. Terrell & Cheryl
9. Sasha & Gleb
10. Frankie & Witney
11. Nick & Peta
Bentley
1. Lindsey & Mark
2. Jordan & Lindsay
3. Nikki & Artem
4. Drew & Emma
5. Derek & Sharna
6. Vanessa & Alan (Maks)
7. Victoria & Val
8. Sasha & Gleb
9. Frankie & Witney
10. Terrell & Cheryl
11. Nick & Peta
Dream
1. Lindsey & Mark
2. Jordan & Lindsay
3. Victoria & Val
4. Drew & Emma
5. Vanessa & Alan (Maks)
6. Nikki & Artem
7. Frankie & Witney
8. Derek & Sharna
9. Sasha & Gleb
10. Terrell & Cheryl
11. Nick & Peta
Bentley Who doesn’t love a good opening number featuring all of the celebrities in the cast?! I loved the opening number for a lot of reasons, actually. First of all, I liked how they opened with Tom paying tribute to the victims of the Las Vegas Shooting (which, it was hard to have high energy from Monday after the event, but the show did its best). My favorite part of the opening was all of the fun little things that they had for each contestant to represent their guilty pleasures. It was kind of confusing at first because we didn’t exactly know what the contestants’ guilty pleasures were yet, but I loved the changes in music and how everything kind of flowed together to make sure everybody was showcased! Even though it wasn’t dance-heavy at all, it was just an awesome, creative number!
Bentley It’s kind of weird how we just came out of a week where we had 25 different dances that were all roughly just under a minute long, and then this night comes out with dances that are about 20 seconds longer than last week. I was so used to the shorter dances that I kept thinking that the dances were going to end earlier than they were. And while it doesn’t really seem like it, twenty seconds makes quite the difference!
Bentley As we all know, there was no elimination on Monday, which is kind of crazy. We are going to be going into the fifth round of dances will eleven couples still left in the competition. Has that ever happened before? I know that season 23 had eleven couples for week four, too, but that season didn’t have two nights of dances in the early weeks like this season had. Either way, with only ten weeks this season, there is without-a-doubt going to be at least one double elimination this season, unless we get a random final 5 finale or something like that.
Dream I thought it was very important that DWTS sent their love and thoughts to the victims of the horrific shooting. I just wanted to say all my thoughts and love goes to the victims and their families during this time
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