‘Dancing with the Stars 21’ review: Bindi Irwin, Carlos PenaVega, Nick Carter, Gary Busy’s hometown flair
The second week of “Dancing with the Stars” is here with new routines! This time around, we are getting a chance to see routines based all around hometowns. The theme tonight is routines that remind our stars of home; tomorrow night during a special Tuesday show, we are going to get a chance to see the same thing from the pros!
We’re going to provide updates on all of the contestants over the course of the night, so be sure to check back at some point soon! We’ll also have a separate results article for you once we get around to that point in the night.
Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess – Can Nick keep the momentum going? Unfortunately for him, there was a rough patch even after hearing the sweet story about his background in Florida. He had some slips and mistakes in the routine, and he has to expect the attention and microscope to be bigger on him than anyone. 21.
Paula Deen and Louis van Amstel – Did Paula cook up a better routine? It was far from perfect, and it was probably scored a little too closely to Nick for our liking. Yet at the same time, we’re not going to dispute that she was better and did some real rumba moves this time. Maybe there is some hope for Paula, after all. 19.
Hayes Grier and Emma Slater – Did Hayes step up his game? We would say so. Some of the first waterworks of the season came courtesy of Hayes, who got emotional after thinking about his mom and performing a dance that reminded him of his North Carolina roots. It was far and away the best we’ve seen from him (but it’s only been two weeks). 22.
Chaka Khan and Keo Motsepe – Are we about to have a hit from Chaka? Not yet. We do feel like there is some dance ability here, but it feels for now either like she’s just not rehearsing enough, or she is struggling to remember her steps. She is still in her own head, and it’s hurting her. 15.
Andy Grammer and Alison Holker – Can Andy produce an even bigger dance? With this New York inspired routine, Andy did a solid job. He’s going to be around for a long time, but our concern is that he’s going to be in the middle of the pack for so long that he will never get to the next level until it’s too late. 21.
Kim Zolciak and Tony Dovolani – Can they recover from a bad week? It was SO much better. We can understand some of Tony’s frustrations, but we think that Kim started to really get things together this week. If she survives the vote, maybe she could be a force to be reckoned with. 19.
Alek Skarlatos and Lindsay Arnold – Is Alek still a winner in this competition? We’d say that for the time being, definitely. He had the best performance of the night so far in this jazz routine. He’s likable enough that we’re starting to think that he may be able to overcome being a relative unknown and actually go pretty far. 23.
Alexa PenaVega and Mark Ballas – Did Alexa top her husband this time? We haven’t seen Carlos yet, but this salsa had all sorts of energy and great hip movement. She tops Alek as #1 on the night so far, and the rave reviews from the judges were icing on the cake. 24.
Victor Espinoza and Karina Smirnoff – Can the jockey get back on track? He was better than the first time around, but only slightly. Carlos still seems to be mostly in the school of “have energy and fun, and then focus on the dance later.” We don’t know if that will work long-term. 17.
Tamar Braxton and Val Chmerkovskiy – Did we have a great moment this week? Definitely! Tamar proved yet again that she knows how to rock this competition, and she and Val have to be serious contenders at this point. We don’t know if she will have the votes, but we had similar concerns on Rumer Willis. 24.
Gary Busey and Anna Trebunskaya – Was Gary as fun the second time around? There’s something endearing about seeing Gary actually doing this and doing a good job at it. He’s far from perfect, but he actually beat multiple stars this time! 18.
Carlos PenaVega and Witney Carson – What’s next for Carlos? How about a tie with Alexa! We actually thought that Carlos was slightly better tonight, but this is that part of the competition where nobody really wants to give a nine unless they feel absolutely compelled to. 24.
Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough – Is Bindi about to hit a sophomore slump? Nope! She continues a great night of dancing, and there is that elusive nine you were waiting for! The best of the night yet again. 25.
Results – Check out this link to see!
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