The power of “Popular” carried this Dancing With the Stars season 34 contestant to the front of the pack on Wicked night.
Last week’s “Dedication Night” theme was going to be hard to top, with its heartfelt tributes to the celebrity contestants’ friends and loved ones. But the first few routines on Wicked night, devoted to the highly anticipated musical sequel Wicked: For Good, set the tone for something spectacular.
Social media personality Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy’s jazz number to “What Is This Feeling?” sparked major high score speculation, and wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin and Witney Carson’s jazz spin on “Dancing Through Life” upped the ante. But neither managed to crack the judge’s refusal to go higher than 9 this season thus far.
Then, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt and her pro partner Mark Ballas took to the ballroom to perform a quickstep to “Popular” — and season 34 was forever changed.
ABC
Channeling pop princess Ariana Grande and Glinda the Good herself in matching pink attire, Leavitt and Ballas lit up the stage with a quick, nimble, explosively energetic dance that got the audience on their feet.
When cohost Alfonso Ribeiro turned it over to the judges’ panel for critiques, Derek Hough channeled his stalwart colleague Bruno Tonioli by shooting out of his seat and declaring, “What?!”
“I feel like we are discovering a star before our eyes,” Hough continued. “The way you animate, the way you perform, the way you draw in, the way you are so giving to the audience… it was jam-packed, it was so advanced, and so fantastic.”
Guest judge Jon M. Chu, who helmed both adaptations of the beloved stage musical, described Leavitt’s performance as “The perfect blend of technical prowess and fun and art. I was so lost in it, I forgot I was judging anything.” In a nod to Grande’s character’s iconic entrance into the film that started it all, Chu shared, “I was floating on air in a bubble and I think he whole world was, too.”
Judges Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba echoed the sentiment, with Tonioli calling the routine “insanely good. It was the campest, fastest, funniest, it was Galinda gone ballistic.” Inaba praised Leavitt’s footwork as “unhinged but in all the right ways.”
“You are so exciting to watch,” Inaba continued. “Even though you started as a great dacner, you are getting better with every performance.”
ABC
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Before the judges revealed their scores, Leavitt told cohost Julianne Hough that her sole goal in week 6 was to redeem her week 5 stumble during a soulful contemporary routine dedicated to her husband. “I just wanted to get back on top, baby!”
Get back on top she did, as Inaba, Chu, and Tonioli all revealed 10s, with Hough the sole 9 keeping her from a perfect score. The Dancing With the Stars leaderboard has officially shaken up.
But Leavitt wasn’t the only contestant who earned double-digit scores this week. Later in the night, Jordan Chiles closed out the episode with a Rumba to “For Good” with pro partner Ezra Sosa. The routine — which sparked some friendly interruptions at the judges’ table — also earned three 10s and one 9.
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+, and streams the next day on Hulu.
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