Change can be a very good thing. On “Dancing with the Stars,” changing partners for switch-up week resulted in the first perfect score of the season.
On Monday night’s “Dancing,” Alexa PenaVega stepped into the ballroom with her switch-up partner Derek Hough (her Season 21 partner is Mark Ballas) and the two tangoed their way into a perfect score. Their routine was very stylish and incorporated members of the “DWTS” pro troupe, who performed several moves with them.
Julianne Hough was impressed, while Carrie Ann Inaba gave them a standing ovation, and called their routine “incredible.” Guest judge Maksim Chmerkovskiy said it was “very well done,” and Bruno Tonioli noted that “it was a complete metamorphosis.”
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Alexa and Derek earned a score of 40 out of 40, just one point more than Alexa’s husband, Carlos PenaVega, who also rose in the rankings during switch-up week. His Week 5 pro Lindsay Arnold (usually it is Witney Carson) choreographed a quickstep, which he tackled with such intensity, it earned the pair 39 out of 40.
“It was not a great quickstep, it was an amazing quickstep,” Maks (the only judge not to give them a 10) said.
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Even without Derek, Bindi Irwin put on a strong, powerful and completely fun performance as she danced with Val Chmerkovskiy. Their cha cha was fearless and delightful.
“I loved it. I loved it. I loved it,” Maks raved. “I think it was the dance of the night for me, for sure.”
Carrie Ann said Bindi took herself “to another level” with the 37-point scoring cha cha.
Singer Andy Grammer stepped up his game, earning the fourth highest score of the night for his Argentine tango with Sharna Burgess (his Season 21 partner is Allison Holker), a routine that saw him spin the Aussie pro as her legs wrapped around his head.
Julianne said they “nailed it,” and the twosome took home 36 points.
Nick Carter dropped a little in the rankings for his Paso doble with Witney Carson (his pro is Sharna), earning 35 out of 40, and his routine even taught Maks what Len Goodman meant when he used to comment things like, “it’s just not for me,” about a pair’s routine.
“To me, you’re an incredible dancer, you’re a great performer, clearly,” Maks said, opening with a compliment. “This, to me, is not my cup of tea. I know Len used to say that and I could never understand [it]. I get it now, you know? It’s not my type of Paso.”
Maks may not have been a fan of Nick’s Monday night routine, but he was insistent that the Backstreet Boy has many more weeks of competition to go.
Hayes Grier found himself paired with Allison Holker (he is usually with Emma Slater), and he got a nice compliment from Julianne on his Viennese waltz. She said it “was very sweet,” before he earned 30 out of 40 for the night.
There was no elimination on Monday night, but there will be one next week, counting the scores of tonight’s show and last week, and viewer votes.
The leaderboard for the night was:
Alexa PenaVega with Derek Hough 40/40
Carlos PenaVega & Lindsay Arnold 39/40
Bindi Irwin & Val Chmerkovskiy 37/40
Andy Grammer & Sharna Burgess 36/50
Nick Carter & Witney Carson 35/40
Hayes Grier & Allison Holker 30/40
Tamar Braxton & Louis van Amstel 29/40
Alek Skarlatos & Emma Slater 29/40
Paula Deen & Mark Ballas 26/40
— Jolie Lash
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