Flavor Flav Brings Crazy to Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Night

Flav is always entertaining and never predictable, so producers had to know what they were getting into when they chose him. He was going to hype and rhyme and say nonsensical things — though we did appreciate him looking out for synchronicity and timing.

Tonight, we learned that the top three stars, Whitney Leavitt, Alix Earle, and Robert Irwin, were given the challenging paso doble style, to help differentiate them and shine a spotlight on how they compare in similar dance styles.

The bottom two stars (i.e., Andy Richter and Danielle Fishel) got contemporary, which is usually a style that helps elevate a dancer with the judges — but boy did that not really work to the celebrities’ favor this week!

For the first time ever, co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough each joined one of the two teams for the second round of the competition, with the teams dancing to live performances from Chicago and Kool & the Gang. You just know that Alfonso dancing meant a return of “The Carlton,” but we didn’t expect it to play out the way it did!

Fair warning, since I’m safe at home, I’m probably going to be a little harsher than my colleagues Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, Flavor Flav, and Bruno Tonioli. But I might be nicer, too. Maybe.

(“Hey Ya!,” Outkast) It was nice to see Ezra Sosa put some individual personality in his showcase moment with a dramatic entrance before leading the guys. The young breakout pro is definitely emerging as a fan-favorite this season. Daniella Karagach took the center position for the ladies in that moment, and she remains one of the most compelling women dancers in a cast that has no shortage of them. We always love these pro moments as it shows what the stars are aspiring to achieve in their dances, and reminds us why all of these pros are stars in their own right.

(Jive – “I’m Still Standing,” Elton John) Dylan was working so hard in his head we could almost see the gears turning behind his eyes. That’s not a good thing. We could see him working, which means he wasn’t performing. His arms were lackluster as he focused on his footwork and lifting his knees (which also looked very obvious). There was no musicality in this performance, it was rather Dylan powering through the choreography with no panache or style. He rushed at times, was too timid at others, and came across as way too small, way too stiff, hunched over, dancing on his heels (rather than the light jive bounce you want to see). It didn’t come together and was definitely not the 10 dance they were hoping to have.

Judges Scores: 8, 9, 10, 9

My Score: 6

(Paso doble – “Livin’ on a Prayer,” Bon Jovi) From the first beat, Alix was in this. Her energy level and commitment to the intensity and ’80s rock vibe was unparalleled. And then, there was the character of her paso, which was sharp, consistent, and very strong. The frame was there, she slammed into those marks, and really went toe to toe with Val in his very dense, fantastic, paso doble choreography. Val clearly has faith that Alix can step up to more challenging work, and she’s proving week after week that she can. 

After seeing this, Flav should have really been rethinking that 10 he gave Dylan & Daniella. Then, after all his word-sputtering praise of their synchronicity, Flav looked miserable while holding up a “9” paddle for this dance. As it turns out, as he explained to People after the show, “I gave them a nine which was an accident. I really wanted to give them a 10, but they wouldn’t let me change it.” So while they didn’t technically get their first perfect score — they kind of did!?!

Judges Scores: 10, 10, 9, 10

My Score: 10

(Contemporary – “God Only Knows,” The Beach Boys) Look, Andy’s not a dancer and he’s never going to be a dancer. But he’s sweet and he has heart. Yeah, he still went wrong on that second turn/hold with Emma — even after showing that screw-up in rehearsal (oops!) — but he was actually elegant at times. At other times, not so much, with him lumbering around her in the pivot sequence. But his sincerity shined through and it was a sweet tribute to their friendship. Plus, we saw some moments of dancer hands and arms, so he’s still making (incremental) progress overall on this journey.

Judges Scores: 7, 7, 9, 7

My Score: 5

(Paso doble – “No More Tears,” Ozzy Osbourne) There were very, very minor hiccups getting Whitney onto the floor for the start of this and sliding into her final pose around Mark. Add one shuffle step moment and if those sound super nitpicky that’s because, as usual, Whitney is a very clean and committed dancer. We loved the characterization of this piece with the spider element, so props to Mark for getting creative in the storytelling, while both he and Whitney were fierce for fierce, beat for beat in perfect synchronicity. She continues to excel in this competition, reaching new heights with this one.

Judges Scores: 9, 10, 10, 10

My Score: 10

(Contemporary – “Dream On,” Aerosmith) It’s rare that a star takes a step backward with a contemporary, but Danielle actually looked as if she was phoning this in through much of it. We know she wasn’t, but that’s how it looked on the screen. Especially in the early moves, she was stepping and moving through them like she was blocking a scene for the lighting or something, rather than performing We’re not sure if she was anticipating the lifts, but she was not in the moment and committed to performing this story. The choreography was there, but Danielle did not rise to it. Her punches to his chest were lackluster — actually, that’s the right word for most of the piece. Even getting into that final lift-spin didn’t come naturally.

Judges Scores: 9, 8, 9, 8

My Score: 6

(Viennese waltz – “What the World Needs Now Is Love,” Jackie DeShannon [as performed by Dionne Warwick]) Was there supposed to be a drop move that they skipped, with Elaine just crouching for a few beats instead, or was it choreographed that way? That was the only moment that just felt a little off as the narrative of the dance progressed. Otherwise, we were impressed with Elaine’s commitment to the totality of the dance. We’d have liked a bit more extension in her arms — possibly rib-injury related — but were loving the chemistry and smooth gliding motion across the floor. It’s great to see Elaine back in the ballroom, easing back in with a less physically demanding style. She managed to do a lot with just four days of rehearsal.

Judges Scores: 9, 9, 10, 9

My Score: 8

(Jazz – “River Deep – Mountain High,” Ike & Tina Turner) Jordan was in this and channeling her inner Tina Turner. She took her performance to the next level with an incredible commitment, marrying her incredible athleticism with musicality and grace that was mesmerizing to watch. This was one of the most compelling and urgent dances of the season, demanding full attention just to see what they might pull off next. Ezra was very smart in giving Jordan so many moments to really step up and shine, and despite the complexity of some of those lifts — including getting her onto the desk toward the end — her strength and balance really helped catapult her to the upper echelon of this competition. This was a fantastic, breakthrough moment.

Judges Scores: 10, 9, 10, 9

My Score: 10

(Paso doble – “Icky Thump,” The White Stripes) With the top 3 couples doing the paso, Robert & Witney took this week as Robert competing with pros Mark and Val, rather than their celebrity partners. In a big way, that’s exactly right as he’s in the masculine role of the dance. No pressure! We loved the ambition at the start, but Robert had a little trouble with his timing and prop. He could have been a little more dramatic with the knee walks and shaping, too. For a celebrity male tackling the dance style, he did great — competing with Mark and Val, he wasn’t quite there.

Judges Scores: 9, 9, 10, 10

My Score: 9

The winner of the first round of competition tonight scored immunity from next week’s relay dances and 2 bonus points for that round — but then we ended with a tie between Alix & Val and Whitney & Mark. The tiebreaker was cumulative judges’ scores throughout the season, which pushed the Mormon Wives star into the lead, earning her the immunity and points.

For the first time ever, co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough joined the teams for this round of the competition, though they made it clear to the judges and viewers that it was very important that everyone remember to judge the celebrities and “not us,” reiterating it several times. So … judge them?

(Danielle & Pasha, Whitney & Mark, Jordan & Ezra, and Dylan & Daniella – “25 or 6 to 4,” Chicago) As a bonus, the actual band Chicago was going to be performing live, which means it’s even more important to step up and impress. The inspiration for the dance, per Danielle, was The Blues Brothers meet special agents, which meant cool shades for the guys, withTeam Captain Danielle not hesitating to give Alfonso a central role in the piece. “We’re not losing to Julianne,” Alfonso said, teaching his team “The Carlton.” “I’m not losing to Julianne.”

There were a lot of great moments throughout this dance, but we didn’t love how many times they “marched” in straight lines as couples across the floor, even though they were tight and concise with the moments. It killed the excitement of the dance every time and looked very repetitive and dull. That said, the moments were everything, with Jordan flying through the air to Ezra’s arms, the use of “The Carlton” and some great partnering. We hate to say that we saw Danielle flagging toward the end, while we lost Dylan altogether in this piece. So it was a mixed bag. Oh, and Alfonso has officially renamed the dance “The Alfonso” — but can he do that?

Judges Scores: 10, 10, 10, 10

My Score: 9

(Andy & Emma, Robert & Witney, Alix & Val, and Elaine & Alan – “Celebration,” Kool & the Gang) Andy said that him being Team Captain is like the guy who shows up to the plane being asked to fly it, but took to the role and told his team that he believes if you lead with fun, everything goes better. And like Chicago, Kool & the Gang were set to perform live, adding to the pressure of really standing out. Julianne, as a former pro, quickly stepped into a leadership role in rehearsals.

This routine did a better job of showcasing the individual couples, though that may not have been a great choice. Right away, Alix and Val struggled with their lift-flip move at the front of the group in the first couple breakout. Robert more than made up for it with his solo portion with Witney, while Elaine and Alan were … fine. Unfortunately, Andy was so much a prop and really stood out as a prop during the four-and-one segment with just the celebrities with Julianne. The co-host, though, proved an overall fun addition as the principal(?) in this post-graduation celebration. She was in fine form, really bringing her all. And we do appreciate the laugh of Andy trying “The Carlton/Alfonso,” but it was too little too late. By the time we got to the ending formation, everyone seemed tired, the timing was atrocious (even from Robert and Elaine) and the plane was crashing.

Judges Scores: 9, 10, 10, 9

My Score: 6

Alright, here’s where we’re going to quibble about judges’ scores. While the overall scores remain too high across the board, those team dance scores were a disaster — and could have a huge impact on these results. The difference in dance quality was staggering between Team Chicago and Team Kool, but the total difference in judges’ points was 2… 2!?!

That basically means that the Team dance had virtually no impact on the overall rankings, when it really should have. If a competitive round is going to be rendered meaningless, then why are we having it? It also waters down the effectiveness of the judges in general. We start to lose respect for them for inflated scores — and we’re not even talking about Flavor Flav’s overall ridiculousness as a judge — and they give more power to the voters. If their score variance is going to be negligible, then it is a popularity contest.

All of that said, Andy Richter still had the lowest scores — and deservedly so — and we still don’t quite think it was time for him to go. Now, his overall score should have been even lower than it ultimately was, had the team dance been scored properly, which could have been enough to make a difference.

Taking out the Andy fan favorite factor, though, and everyone else is within 6 points of one another, from Whitney Leavitt at the top to Danielle Fishel at the second-to-bottom. That margin is ridiculous and really put it down to the viewing audience. 

Our own feelings on the matter were that if we assumed Andy was safe, and we did, then Danielle’s surprisingly off night really stood out. Add Elaine coming back from the hospital, for some sympathy votes, and it was definitely looking grim for the Boy Meets World alum.

Right now, the competition is cut in half with Dylan Efron and Elaine Hendrix joining Danielle and Andy in the bottom half, and we really don’t see that changing at any point. So as long as they are the next four to go, in whatever order that turns out to be, then things are still alright in the world of DWTS.

The first couple sent to safety was Alix & Val, which was no surprise, followed by Dylan & Daniella, Robert & Witney, Jordan & Ezra, and Elaine & Alan. With both Dylan and Elaine heading off to safety, it looked like Danielle & Pasha’s time was up, as they stood alongside Andy & Emma and Whitney & Mark. We couldn’t really get back-to-back Mormon Wives shock eliminations, right? Jen Affleck was a surprise, but she also wasn’t a front-runner.

Dancing with the Stars returns for its “20th Birthday Party” next Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+ — featuring the return of OG host Tom Bergeron as guest judge.