Dancing With the Stars saved one of its biggest surprises of the season for Grammy Night. On Tuesday’s episode, November 10, Jenna Dewan and her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy were sent home, just one week before the Season 35 semifinals, even though they earned one of the night’s top scores and won their Dance-Off.

The episode came with plenty of musical star power. Sheryl Crow, Maren Morris, and Brandy and Monica performed live during the show’s first Dance-Off round of the season, as recapped by TV Insider. Here is how the night played out.

The first round: Grammy-winning hits

Each of the seven remaining couples danced to a famous Grammy-winning or Grammy-nominated song. The scores out of 30:

  • Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson: 29, for a salsa to “Die With a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars. Johnson revealed she was dancing with a broken nose. With two bonus points from last week’s Dance-Off immunity, their total reached 31.
  • Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy: 28, for a jazz routine to Janet Jackson’s “All for You.” Dewan, who toured with Jackson earlier in her career, got a surprise video message from the singer.
  • Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov: 28, for a paso doble to Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life.”
  • Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach: 27, for an Argentine tango to Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love (Remix).”
  • Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas: 27, for an Argentine tango to Sisqó’s “Thong Song,” despite a rib injury in rehearsal.
  • Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik: 27, for a tango to the Black Eyed Peas’ “Boom Boom Pow,” their best score of the season, with will.i.am cheering in the audience.
  • Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold: 27, for an Argentine tango to “SexyBack” by Justin Timberlake featuring Timbaland.

The Dance-Offs, with live music

Six couples then went head to head in three Dance-Offs, each winner earning two bonus points.

Amber Glenn and Ezra Frech, two of the season’s elite athletes, faced off in rumba routines while Brandy and Monica sang their 1998 hit “The Boy Is Mine.” Derek Hough called it “one of the most satisfying Dance-Offs we’ve ever seen.” Glenn and Pashkov took the win.

Dewan and Ali, both actresses, danced cha-chas to “The Middle,” performed live by Maren Morris. Dewan and Chmerkovskiy won that round, bringing their total for the night to 30.

In the last matchup, Connor Wood and Maura Higgins danced cha-chas to Sheryl Crow’s “All I Wanna Do.” Carrie Ann Inaba drew audible reactions for criticizing the amount of country line dancing in Wood’s routine, and Higgins and Ballas won the round.

The elimination

Five couples were announced as safe for the semifinals: Shum Jr. and Johnson, Glenn and Pashkov, Frech and Karagach, Higgins and Ballas, and Wood and Arnold. That left Ali and Ravnik and Dewan and Chmerkovskiy in the bottom two.

Because the result combines judges’ scores with viewer votes, a strong night in the ballroom is not always enough. Dewan and Chmerkovskiy were the couple sent home. Dewan took the result graciously, thanking her family for being there every week. “I had a great time, and I loved getting to share that with the world,” she said. “Honestly, all love.”

Outlets including Entertainment Weekly called it an “absolute shocker,” and many fans online agreed, given that Dewan finished the night with one of the highest totals.

What’s next

Six couples remain heading into the semifinals on Tuesday, November 17. Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC and streams on Disney+. With scores this tight, every vote matters, and Grammy Night showed that nobody is safe.

Image: Mirrored Disco Ball with Light and Motor by Catboy69 via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0