‘Dancing With the Stars’ Week 2: Oscars Night Sees a Twist on the ‘Dirty Dancing’ Lift

This article contains spoilers for the Sept. 24 episode of “Dancing With the Stars.”

Week 2 of “Dancing With the Stars” was “Oscars Night,” with couples dancing to songs from films including “Barbie,” “A Star is Born,” “La La Land” and “Superman,” while Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher and pro Alan Bersten both lifted each other in a Salsa set to to “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life” from “Dirty Dancing.”

We also saw not one but two stars going home, including much-protested con artist Anna Delvey — whose casting was even called out by fellow ABC show “The View” — and “Beverly Hills, 90210” star Tori Spelling. The double elimination was announced during last week’s premiere, where no cuts were made. Points from last week were carried over to Tuesday night’s show.

Delvey, whose criminal exploits inspired Netflix series “The Dropout,” and partner Ezra Sosa performed a Quickstep to “Suddenly I See” by KT Tunstall from “The Devil Wears Prada.” Derek Hough thought it showed “Anna, the person, not the persona,” but wanted more energy. She earned 17 points, for a two-week total of 35.

Meanwhile, Spelling and pro Pasha Pashkov performed a “heartfelt” Rumba to “This Is Me” from “The Greatest Showman.” The dance earned 19 points, with a total of 36. Spelling was “really pumped” about earning her first 7 of the competition — which also ended up being her last.

Despite landing in the bottom two, scorewise, “Runaway Train” star Eric Roberts was saved by viewers’ votes. The actor danced to “The Godfather Waltz” by Nino Rota and Carlo Savina. He and partner Britt Stewart earned a score of 15, the same low tally as last week, for a total of 30.

“The Bachelorette” Jenn Tran and pro Sasha Farber performed a Tango to “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)” by Fergie, Q-Tip and GoonRock from “The Great Gatsby.” They earned a score of 19. Farber praised Tran’s ability to stay in time with the music, even though they couldn’t hear it themselves on the dancefloor.

Football star Danny Amendola and partner Witney Carson performed a “Top Gun”-themed Jive to “Danger Zone” by Kenny Loggins. Bruno Tonioli proclaimed that Amendola was “off like a jet fighter… talk about cruising at high altitude,” while Carrie Ann Inaba asked for a repeat. They earned three “7” scores for a total of 41 for both weeks.

Viewers also saved “Family Matters” actor Reginald VelJohnson, whose “Die Hard” Paso Doble — performed in a police uniform in front of a cop car — also earned low judges’ scores: He finished the night with 31 points total.

“Pretty Little Liars” star Chandler Kinney, who led last week’s leaderboard with her tango to Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go,” performed a Rumba to Billie Eilish’s song “What Was I Made For?” from “Barbie.” Hough told her she was “made for dancing” and joked that he had more notes for her partner Brandon Armstrong. Inaba predicted that Kinney will do “quite well” this season, but did give a few corrective notes. They earned 24 points for a two-week total of 47.

“The Bachelor” star Joey Graziadei and pro Jenna Johnson performed a Rumba to “Shallow” by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper. The reality star admitted that Val Chmerkovskiy helped him with the “sensuality” of the dance. He was rewarded with a score of 22, for a two-night total of 43.

“Real Housewives” star Phaedra Parks and pro partner Chmerkovskiy performed a Foxtrot to “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” by Jennifer Hudson, the Oscar-winning song from “Dreamgirls.” She earned 21 points for an overall total of 40.

NBA star Dwight Howard and pro Daniella Karagach performed a Foxtrot to “City of Stars” from “La La Land.” Their height difference wasn’t a problem in last week’s side-by-side dance, but having to keep the ballroom “hold” proved more difficult. Inaba called the performance “gorgeous”; his two-night total was 44.

Model Brooks Nader and pro Gleb Savchenko performed a Quickstep to “9 to 5” by Dolly Parton. Tonioli scolded her for “mucking about” at the beginning of the dance, while Hough told her she had “all the ingredients,” but called out the Tango hold in the middle of the dance.

Gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik and pro Rylee Arnold performed a Paso Doble to the “Superman” theme. He began the dance solo as the bespectacled Clark Kent before throwing away his glasses — just like he did at the Olympics — to become a superhero. The routine let him incorporate some of his pommel horse moves, which thrilled the audience but which the judges asked him to “finesse.” They agreed, however, that his “likability” was off the charts. He earned a 22 for Tuesday night, bringing his total score so far to 43.

Next week, “DWTS” is on hiatus due to the Vice Presidential Debate. To make up for the skipped session, the following week will feature two episodes — one on that Monday, Oct. 7, and the other on Tuesday, Oct. 8.

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