After several weeks of middle-of-the-road scores from the judges, Monique, the last woman standing, finally earned her first perfect 10s. But they weren’t enough to save her, and she and Louis were the next pair eliminated from
Dancing with the Stars.

The show began with confessional clips
from last night’s Performance Show. Mario admitted to getting emotional
during his Waltz. “I promised Karina I wasn’t gonna cry, but I got all
watery,” he said. “Then when I concentrated on not crying, I thought I
was going to forget my steps.”

Regarding his Fox Trot, Emmitt said, “I’m not sure if the performance was as shaky as those scores.”

But
Emmitt & Cheryl were happier about the response to their Rumba, especially
Len’s comment that he wished he could’ve given them an 11 — which
would have given them a total of 30 for the dance. Cheryl said, “We
really did get a perfect score…”

Emmitt completed her sentence: “…in our minds.”

The
first dance of the evening was the Judges’ Encore. Len announced that
the honor would go to Monique & Louis, “because we thought it was so
fantastic, and it’s the first time they’ve been asked to give an
encore.”

The only difference in tonight’s performance was that,
at the end of the routine, Louis wouldn’t move out of the way so that
Monique could get up off the floor. She played along, flopping around
to indicate her displeasure.

Then it was time for the return of Willa Ford. She didn’t dance. Instead, she sang the theme song from Fame. Why? No one knows. But Tony, Max, Louis, Edyta, Cheryl, and Elena danced to it, which is reason enough for me.

While
the pros cleared the floor, Samantha was backstage asking the celebrity
competitors about the previous night’s dances. Emmitt discussed his
low-scoring ballroom routine. “When you have a score that’s low,”
Emmitt said, “you wanna come back and give a great performance.”
Monique, who’d fared similarly in her performances — scoring high in
the Latin after a rough Ballroom — agreed.

When asked how he
and Edyta were going to move forward in the competition, Joey said, “If
we’re blessed to be here next week, we’re just going to keep it going.”

On
what it would take to score a perfect 30 points from the judges, Mario
said, “Maybe the stars have to be aligned. Maybe everyone has to be in
a good mood.” Back in the ballroom, Tom said the latter condition would
never be met on this show.

Then we learned what last night’s
audience thought of the performances. “I started to get a little choked
up when I saw Edyta in her costume,” Andy Lawrence said.

Another male audience member was outraged: “I am so sick of Mario! The women want him… and the men want him too!”

Two
of last season’s pros, Jonathan Roberts & Anna Trebunskaya, were
also in the audience. Anna was impressed by the male celebrities this
season: “I think I’ll have Mario for Monday, and I think I’ll have
Emmitt for Tuesday.”

After the audience comments, Tom and
Samantha announced the first couple who will be returning for next
week’s semifinal round: Emmitt & Cheryl.

Multinational operatic pop stars Il Divo then took the stage to perform Harry Nilsson’s hit song, “Without You,” in Spanish.

But
the real stars were professional Standard dancers Victor Fung &
Anna Mikhed. They danced beautifully, and Anna’s dress was positively
dreamy. It was my favorite dance of the whole season, so far.

After
the dance, Samantha caught up with Emmitt & Cheryl backstage. “The
pressure right now is really awful,” Emmitt said. “Performing is
nothing. The Results Show is the toughest moment.”

The interview
was followed by an update on Slim-Fast Challenge contestant, Tysonia.
Her partner, Christian, surprised her with the news that they’d be
competing against professionals at the Pacific Dancesport
Championships. Tysonia’s initial excitement gave way to panic, as she
practiced the Rumba. More to come next week.

Then, it was time for the third new dance demonstration of the night. Choreographer Hinton Battle has created a fusion of swing and hip-hop he calls Swop. Eight dancers demonstrated the style with an exciting, acrobatic performance.

Tom
and Samantha announced that, for the remainder of the competition,
couples will choose their own dances. For next week, they will pick one
Ballroom and one Latin style that they’ve already performed, but the
music and choreography must be all new.

“Every couple has to have a strategy from now on,” Cheryl said.

“It’s
going to be a hard decision,” Edyta said, “because we have to choose
dances that are good for us… and the audience… and the
judges.”

As for which dance he’d prefer, Mario said, “To me, it’s the one that got the best response from the audience.”

Monique said, “I think I’m gonna choose something that got some criticism — to give myself a second chance.”

All
the pros said they have special tricks for managing their celebrity
charges over the final couple weeks. Mario needs to be dealt with
harshly. Emmitt needs to have fun. Monique needs to have confidence.
And Joey needs to keep from burning out.

In another clip
package, the judges gave their opinion of the four remaining
celebrities. Len called them “The Big Easy (Emmitt),” “Little Miss
Dynamite (Monique),” “Joey The Dependable,” and “Mario The Magnificent.”

Of Emmitt, Len said he’s “funky. He is a true, cool dude.”

Carrie
Ann said, “What I love about Emmitt the most is the way he moves his
head. It goes with his body.” (I guess that’s better than if it
went with someone else’s body.)

Len did have some nits to pick. “Technically, Emmitt needs to work on his footwork. We want to see good posture.”

Bruno suggested, “Give it the edge. Give it precision.”

Len said Monique “comes to the floor totally committed.”

Bruno
said she has “the most beautiful arms in the competition.” But he also
noted that “she seems to give the same facial expression in all the
dances.”

Carrie Ann said, “She’s disconnected. It all feels quite fake.”

Joey was described by Len as “the most accomplished ballroom dancer in this whole series.”

“You can see the pin-sharp execution of the step with his feet,” said Bruno.

“The only problem with Joey’s dancing,” said Carrie Ann, “is that he gets a little locked in his chest.”

Len said Joey’s weakness was “lack of flair.”

“Mario,
without a doubt, is the most talented of all our celebrities,” said
Len. “He can do things that none of the other celebrities can do.”

Carrie
Ann said, “What’s missing from Mario’s performance is fluidity. He goes
from move to move to move. It’s precise, but he’s forgetting about
everything that’s happening between the steps.”

Of all the competitors, Bruno said, “The standard is so high, whatever happens is going to be amazing.”

After the clips, Joey & Edyta were announced as the next safe couple.

But
that didn’t mean that Mario & Karina and Monique & Louis were
the Bottom Two. Tom clarified that, though either Mario or Monique had
received the lowest total score, the other couple could have been
anywhere in the top three.

Tom then announced the couple who would be going home: Monique & Louis.

As
Tom tried to get Monique to come over for an interview, her mother ran
out onto the floor for a hug. After prying herself away from her mom,
Monique thanked the fans who’ve kept her in the competition so long.

Of
his partner, Louis said, “Whatever I threw at her, she never said no.
She’s a perfect example, that if you want something bad enough, you can
do it.” Monique said she and Louis will be lifelong friends.

After
a short video montage of their performances, Monique & Louis walked
to the center of the floor for their final dance. Monique’s mom was
back, cutting in on Louis. The rest of the competitors waited to
approach, until Monique waved them over. Everyone stood in a circle and
danced to “Don’t You Forget About Me.”