’90s Night
Season 31 • Episode 9
Dancing With the Stars Season 31 has reached the quarter-finals, and tonight’s ’90s Night saw several perfect scores and the return of relay dance rounds. With just a few episodes left in the season, two couples were sent home in a double elimination tonight, meaning the judges could only save one couple from the bottom three.
Vinny Guadagnino feared his chances going into the episode, as he’s been in the bottom week after week with fan votes saving him each time. Did the relay help him clench his place in the semi-finals? Was five points enough to help change the game for any of the couples on the Disney+ competition?
The night began with a high-energy dance number choreographed by Mandy Moore, featuring the professional dancers who will be part of the DWTS LIVE 2023 Tour. The pros danced to “Whatta Man” performed live by Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue.
Anyone else having major nostalgia? We’re throwing it back with #90sNight and it’s totally rad! Join the party and stream #DWTS now on @DisneyPlus! pic.twitter.com/RVqley7iBs
— Dancing with the Stars #DWTS (@officialdwts) November 8, 2022
There were three perfect scores tonight from the season’s top contenders, but like Halloween Night and its group dances last week, those lower on the leaderboard were able to creep their way up thanks to extra points.
Here’s what the remaining eight couples performed during ’90s Night, plus where they landed on the leaderboard:
Wayne Brady & Witney Carson: Salsa to “Motownphilly” by Boyz II Men, 40/40
Gabby Windey & Val Chmerkovskiy: Samba to “Livin’ La Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin, 40/40
Charli D’Amelio & Mark Ballas: Tango to “Song 2” by Blur, 40/40
Daniel Durant & Britt Stewart: Jazz to “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode, 39/40
Shangela & Gleb Savchenko: Samba to “Spice Up Your Life” by Spice Girls, 37/40
Heidi D’Amelio & Artem Chigvintsev: Contemporary to “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette, 35/40
Trevor Donovan & Emma Slater: Salsa to “Barbie Girl” by Aqua, 34/40
Vinny Guadagnino & Koko Iwasaki: Tango to “What Is Love” by Haddaway, 29/40
For the relay dances, the remaining eight couples faced off two-by-two. Each round was adjudicated by one judge each with five extra points on the line. And as an added treat for the audience and viewers, all of the relay dance songs were performed live by the artists who made them famous.
Shangela and Gleb and Daniel and Britt kicked off the relay dances with Cha Chas to “Ice Ice Baby” performed live by Vanilla Ice. The drag queen superstar went first, followed by the Coda star. Judge Len Goodman awarded the extra points to Shangela and Gleb. Next was Vinny and Koko vs. Trevor and Emma, who danced Sambas to “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” performed live by En Vogue. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba gave the five points to Trevor and Emma.
Third was Heidi and Artem vs. Wayne and Witney. They also performed Sambas, this time to “Shoop” performed live by Salt-N-Pepa. Bruno Tonioli was in charge of this round, ultimately giving the win to Wayne and Witney.
Lastly was Charli and Mark vs. Gabby and Val, who collectively have earned the highest scores throughout the season. They danced Salsas (something neither of them have danced so far) to “Ain’t Gonna Hurt Nobody” performed live by Kid ‘N Play. Charli and Mark went first, followed by Gabby and Val. Derek Hough named Charli as the winner.
Here’s where everyone fell on the leaderboard following the relay dances:
Wayne & Witney: 45/40
Charli & Mark: 45/40
Shangela & Gleb: 42/40
Gabby & Val: 40/40
Daniel & Britt: 39/40
Trevor & Emma: 39/40
Heidi & Artem: 35/40
Vinny & Koko: 29/40
Shangela’s relay win landed her the biggest boost of all, jumping from fifth place to third ahead of Gabby and Val and their perfect score and Daniel and Britt and their nearly perfect score.
After the judge scores were combined with the fan votes, in the bottom three were Vinny and Koko, Heidi and Artem, and Trevor and Emma.
Here they go again! 😯 @heididamelio and @WayneBrady crushed this Samba routine! #90sNight #DWTS @DisneyPlus @TheSaltNPepa pic.twitter.com/jP8WZjPI6K
— Dancing with the Stars #DWTS (@officialdwts) November 8, 2022
The couple with the lowest combined scores was sent home without the chance of saving from the judges. Sadly, that couple was Heidi and Artem. It was up to the judges to choose the second eliminated pair, and they chose to save Trevor and Emma. With that, Vinny and Koko were finally sent home after weeks at the bottom.
The dancers face another double elimination next week in the semi-finals. Will you be tuning in?
Dancing With the Stars, Mondays, 8/7c, Disney+