The top five Dancing With the Stars couples faced off during the semifinals on Tuesday, November 28 — and the episode ended with a shocking twist.
Each duo took the stage twice, performing both a ballroom and a Latin-style dance. Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix and her partner, Pasha Pashkov, kicked things off with a Jive to “Runaway Baby” by Bruno Mars.
“You have everything you need to win this competition,” judge Carrie Ann Inaba told Madix, 38, after the performance.
However, Inaba, 55, also noted that she could tell the Bravolebrity is struggling with an injury as she didn’t seem to be going full out with her arm movements. Earlier this month, Madix shared via her Instagram Story that she’d suffered “a back injury on top of [a] foot injury” while rehearsing for DWTS.
Madix isn’t the only one who put physical comfort aside during Tuesday’s episode. Jason Mraz got nauseous while rehearsing his Viennese waltz with partner Daniella Karagach, but he persevered.
“I cannot drop down on the leaderboard, so I’m gonna deliver hopefully a flawless performance that people will remember for a long time,” Mraz, 46, said in a confessional ahead of his first dance.
The judges gave Mraz positive feedback on his Viennese Waltz, but it was his second dance of the night that really wowed them.
“It’s not always about perfection, I’m looking for magic. That was magic,” Inaba said after getting out of her chair to hug the singer. Derek Hough chimed in: “That’s the way to make it to the finals right there.”
Mraz earned a perfect score for his Paso Doble, a feat that Xochitl Gomez achieved with both of her semifinal dances.
“There is dancing and there is artistry,” Bruno Tonioli told Gomez, 17, after her Waltz to “La Vie En Rose” by Lady Gaga. “You have an amazing future in front of you.”
Tonioli, 68, was similarly wowed by Charity Lawson’s Rumba to “Love the Way You Lie Part III” by Skylar Grey. When Hough, 38, told Lawson, 27, that he still thought she could show more emotion, Tonioli interrupted him to disagree.
“She was on it like Velcro!” he said, putting his arms around Hough. Inaba agreed with Tonioli, telling Lawson she “had the breakthrough” they’d been waiting for.
Inaba was also impressed by Alyson Hannigan’s jive to “Footloose” by Kenny Logins and gave her a 9 for the first time this season.
“That was a tough routine, it was long, it was arduous,” she told Hannigan, 49. “I remember week one, and your journey has been fantastic and you really make everybody think that they can dance because you started as a beginner.”
At the end of the night, cohosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough announced the couples who’d made it to the finals one by one until only Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy and Madix and Pashkov, 37, remained.
“The couple dancing in the finale will be … both of you!” Ribeiro, 52, revealed as Madix and Gomez cried with relief.
“That’s right, no one is going home tonight. Everyone here has made it to the finale,” Julianne, 35, explained. “For the first time ever, we will see five couples dancing for the trophy. All of the judges’ scores and viewers’ votes from tonight will carry over to next week’s scores and votes to determine our new champions.”
All five duos will compete in the finale on Tuesday, December 5. Keep scrolling for a look at all the performers’ scores from the semifinals:
Sara Donnellan
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