Taylor Hanson and pro partner Britt Stewart were eliminated from Dancing With The Stars Season 35 on Yacht Rock Night, the Week 3 episode that aired Tuesday, September 29, on ABC and Disney+. Their exit leaves 12 couples in the running for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
The Hanson frontman and Stewart danced a foxtrot to The Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes” and scored 18 out of 30 from judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, a three-way tie for ninth on the 13-couple leaderboard. Eliminations on the show are decided by the lowest combined total of judges’ scores and viewer votes, with live voting open during the East Coast broadcast and closing shortly after the final performance.
Both looked stunned when their names were called, and Stewart grew emotional. “This has been everything. This has been incredible,” Hanson said of the experience and of working with Stewart, while Stewart said she was “so grateful” for their friendship and added, “Thank you so much for everything.”
Ahead of the premiere, Stewart said she was “excited” to be partnered with Hanson and recalled him telling her at their first meeting, “I will do whatever you need me to do. If that means buying a cot and sleeping at the dance studio so we can rehearse all the time, that is what I will do.”
The First Eights Of The Season
The judges had not scored any dance above a 7 through the first two weeks. That changed with the opening dance of the night, when Olympian Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov earned three 8s for a foxtrot to Toto’s “Hold the Line.” Their 24 out of 30 was the highest total of the season so far. Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson matched it later in the show with a jive to Daryl Hall and John Oates’ “You Make My Dreams Come True,” leaving the two couples tied at the top.
Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas followed with 22 for a quickstep to George Benson’s “Turn Your Love Around,” which included the couple’s first 8 of the season.
Hanson and Stewart shared their 18 with Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong and with Jackson Olson and Emma Slater. Two couples scored lower and stayed in the competition: Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess with 17, and Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson, who finished at the bottom of the leaderboard with 15 for a foxtrot to Rupert Holmes’ “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).”
Mariah Carey Night Is Next
The remaining 12 couples, from the 16 who opened the season, return Tuesday, October 6, for Mariah Carey Night, dancing to the singer’s biggest hits. Dancing With The Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET live on ABC and Disney+, with episodes streaming the next day on Hulu.
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