Nine celebrity and pro-dancer couples face double elimination as they compete for this season’s eighth week live, MONDAY, NOV. 2 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EST), on ABC.
The show’s cold open will be a sketch aimed at encouraging people to vote as part of a nonpartisan initiative. Later, Tyra Banks will walk out to “Treasure” by Bruno Mars.
UPDATE: Jeannie Mai drops out due to health issues. As a result, only ONE couple will be eliminated this week.
Double elimination, Two Dances
In addition, for the first time this season, Relay Dances will find our couples split into three groups, dancing either a Cha Cha, Samba or Viennese Waltz relay. Each group will dance to a different song and the couples will take turns, one couple dancing at a time. One judge will rank the couples within each relay group and give bonus points depending on those rankings. These points will be combined with the individual scores and live voting to determine who is up for elimination.
Live votes (via?abc.com, the ABC app and SMS/text) will occur each week only during the live broadcast in the EST/CST time zones (but fans in all U.S. time zones may vote within that window). With each subsequent episode, the live vote combined with the judges’ scores will be revealed during the broadcast. At the end of the evening, judges will decide which celebrity up for elimination stays in the competition and which celebrity’s journey comes to an end.
The couples (with their dance choice and song) are as follows:
- Kaitlyn Bristowe and pro Artem Chigvintsev dancing Jive to “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen
- Skai Jackson?and pro Alan Bersten dancing the Salsa to “Work It” by Missy Elliott
- Justina Machado and pro Sasha Farber dancing the Samba to “Magalenha” by Sergio Mendes
- AJ McLean?and pro Cheryl Burke dancing the Rumba to “Way Down We Go” by KALEO
Jeannie Mai,and pro Brandon Armstrong dancing the Charleston to “Shout” by The Isley Brothers- Nelly and pro Daniella Karagach dancing the Rumba to “Nobody Knows” by The Tony Rich Project
- Nev Schulman and pro Jenna Johnson dancing Viennese Waltz to “Stuck with U” by Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber
- Chrishell Stause and pro Gleb Savchenko dancing Viennese Waltz to “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley
- Johnny Weir and pro Britt Stewart dancing the Foxtrot to “Wonder” by Shawn Mendes
Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli are joined by Emmy Award winner and six-time Mirrorball champion Derek Hough at the judges desk. Meanwhile, unable to judge this season live in the ballroom, Len Goodman will still be a part of the show in a different capacity and sharing his ballroom expertise from the UK.
