Dancing With the Stars Semi-finals Shocks Fans With New Twist

The semi-finals of Dancing With the Stars are always a toss-up. In some seasons, the correct four couples make it to the finale, whereas in other seasons, fans have to pick their jaws up off the floor because of a shock elimination (looking at you, Juan Pablo Di Pace and Simone Biles.) However, this year’s semi-finals were the epitome of a curveball.

With no pro opening number, it was down to business as the five couples performed their first out of two full-length dances of the night. In the first round, the couples were tasked with performing a Latin or ballroom style they had yet to learn, then switched off in the latter half of the night.

Dr. Strange In the Multiverse of Madness star Xochitl Gomez and partner Val Chmerkovskiy were the only contestants to earn a perfect 30/30 in the first round after their Samba to Gloria Estefan’s “Samba.” The rest of the contestants followed behind, all separated by one point from each other, thus the leaderboard after the first round reading Bachelorette star Charity Lawson, Vanderpump Rules’ Ariana Madix, singer-songwriter Jason Mraz, and lastly, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Alyson Hannigan.

Although all of the contestants received decent criticism from the judges, the judges felt that the dancers were holding back at some point and encouraged them to let go. Mraz took the critique to heart and came out of the gate swinging in his Paso Doble with partner Daniella Karagach. The two earned their first perfect score of the night.

Following their performance, Gomez and Chmerkovskiy performed a Waltz to Lady Gaga’s “La Vie en Rose,” which was the night’s standout performance. Gomez’s performance and Chmerkovskiy’s exquisite choreography gave viewers chills and made the judges emotional.

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba mentioned she never wanted the piece to end. At the same time, Derek Hough fought back tears as he told the couple, “I was thinking about how important this season is, the gravity of this season, what it means to win this season because this is the first time we have the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. I’ll tell you right now, Len would’ve loved that dance.” To the shock of no one, they earned their second perfect score of the night.

Lawson and partner Artem Chigvintsev also took the judges’ suggestions seriously, and they came out with a fun yet difficult quickstep to Fifth Harmony’s “BO$$.” Hough commended the two for keeping the performance factor in line with the difficulty of the choreography. Finally, Lawson got her first perfect score of the season.

Hannigan and partner Sasha Farber performed what many deemed her best dance of the season and earned a 26/30, just slightly trailing behind the other couples.

Closing out the night was Madix and pro Pasha Pashkov’s Foxtrot to “Trampoline.” She was praised for her captivating control and elegance, giving all she had for the final dance of the night. Before revealing her perfect score, Madix got emotional discussing her journey on the show and praised Pashkov for his companionship and creativity.

With about three minutes to spare, the final five couples lined up, waiting to hear who would get their finale dream cut short by one week. Given her consistent spot at the bottom of the leaderboard, viewers suspected Hannigan would go home, so the ballroom roared as she was the first one announced safe.

Mraz and Karagach were announced next, followed by Lawson and Chigvintsev. It was down to Gomez and Madix, and at this point, viewers were screaming at their TVs and gripping their seats when the projected top two were now the “bottom two.”

SICK AND TWISTED, SICK AND TWISTED #dwts pic.twitter.com/CrSoKsdnCK

— Jess Poillucci (@jesspoillucci) November 29, 2023

It was time for Alfonso Ribiero to announce the final couple to dance in the finale. After a 10-second two-shot of the couples that felt like an eternity, Ribiero exclaimed, “Both of you,” and viewers breathed a sigh of relief. For the first time, five couples will compete in the finale for the coveted Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.

me going to bed tonight knowing that all of my girlies will be dancing in the #DWTS finale next week pic.twitter.com/WrVh0sANFv

— ryan (@ryjoyn) November 29, 2023

Next week, fans will be seated for a 3-hour finale, including the redemption round, the beloved freestyle round, a performance from reining champions Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas, and a few other surprises.

Season 32 of Dancing With the Stars wraps up on Tuesday at 8:00 P.M. only on ABC and Disney+.