‘Dancing with the Stars 22’ review: Ginger Zee, Nyle DiMarco, and Paige VanZant fight to make finale
This week’s “Dancing with the Stars” show is the final one before the finale, so you have to know with that the stakes are more than a little bit high to see what happens next. Only three are going to make it to the finale, and we’ll be back at the end of the night with some more results!
This is a live review, and we’re going to be sharing some further updates as the night goes on.
First Round – Trio Dances
Paige VanZant & Mark Ballas with Alan Bersten – Samba – “Hip Hip Chin Chin” by Club Des Belugas. Did Paige match or surpass her previous performance? It was a spectacular start to the show, and a lot of content. This was Paige basically reminded everyone that she is the most talented dancer among the remaining performers. Score: 30.
Antonio Brown & Sharna Burgess with Hayley Erbert – Argentine Tango – “Mi Confesion” by Gotan Project. Here’s a chance for something different. The opening was a tad too long, and once it got going, there was more content. It just paled in comparison to the first routine from Paige. Score: 27.
Wanyá Morris & Lindsay Arnold with Witney Carson – Paso Doblé – “Explosive” by David Garrett and Franck Heijden and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Lindsay and Witney are working together again! These two working together with Wanya seems to be precisely what the doctor ordered in order to get him feeling good about himself as a performer again. This was easily his best dance in a couple of weeks. Score: 30.
Nyle DiMarco & Peta Murgatroyd with Jenna Johnson – Jive – “Hit the Road Jack” – Hermes House Band. Did Nyle bring the fun to a fast routine? He did, but unfortunately a fast dance like this is where we start to see some of Nyle’s limitations brought on by his hearing. There were a few missed kicks throughout, though he did bring the personality. Score: 27.
Ginger Zee & Valentin Chmerkovskiy with Artem Chigvintsev – Paso Doblé – “Shot Me Down” by David Guetta. Artem’s back! How was his return? There were some really nice moments in here, but a struggle with her dress caused the scores to be docked slightly. The thing we’re getting the sense of tonight is if there’s a very obvious slip-up, you get docked slightly. Otherwise, there are some issues. Score: 27.
Second Round – Traditional Routines
Paige VanZant & Mark Ballas – Argentine Tango – “One Time” by Marian Hill. How strong was Paige’s routine this time? It certainly had some spice and some sauciness to it, and may be one of the more seductive routines that we’ve seen on the show to date … so much so that it wasn’t quite for Len Goodman. Score: 29.
Antonio Brown & Sharna Burgess – Contemporary – “Hall of Fame” by The Script. Is this performance worthy of just that? We really feel for Antonio here given that he was given so much praise, but still couldn’t get that coveted score. Still, he did get a 10 from Bruno for what was a pretty epic NFL-themed routine. Score: 28.
Wanyá Morris & Lindsay Arnold – Charleston – “Shame on Me” by Avicii. Was this an epic dance for Wanya? It bled excellence from start to finish, mostly because it was incredibly entertaining and also technically sound. Also, we saw him twerk after the scores. Blame Erin Andrews for that. Score: 30.
Nyle DiMarco & Peta Murgatroyd – Argentine Tango – “Unsteady” by X Ambassadors. Can Nyle maintain her favorite status? Just because apparently being deaf and dancing was not hard enough, Nyle decided that this time around, the best thing that he could do to further challenge himself was to go at this blindfolded. It was gutsy, and that certainly showed. He also didn’t really miss a beat. Score: 30.
Ginger Zee & Valentin Chmerkovskiy – Quickstep – “Fire Under My Feet” by Leona Lewis. Did Ginger create fire in the ballroom? Other than one little snag, Ginger ended the night on a good note. She’s slightly ahead of Antonio at the bottom of the leaderboard, but the scores last week really matter in terms of the results.
Want to get some other news right away when it comes to “Dancing with the Stars”? Then be sure to head over here, where you can see where we ranked everyone going into this week’s show. Also, sign up over here to score some other TV news on all we cover, sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)