“Dancing With the Stars” recap: Whitney Houston night ends in a perfect score and a heartbreaking exit
See who went home and how everyone else scored on season 32, episode 8.
Step by step, we want to dance with somebody on Dancing With the Stars' Whitney Houston night! The remaining seven couples honored the iconic singer and actress with a night full of dances to hits from Houston's decades-long discography. And self-proclaimed "male Whitney Houston" Billy Porter joined the judging panel after kicking off the night with a performance of "How Will I Know."
First out on the ballroom floor, Harry Jowsey performed a Viennese waltz to "I Have Nothing" from The Bodyguard. The judges had plenty to say about the graceful yet lackluster performance. "For such a big guy, you dance kind of small sometimes," said Derek Hough. "The seduction was at a 5, I need it to be at a 10," said Porter. They received a 28 out of 40.
Even with a sprained ankle, Xochitl Gomez performed a passionate tango to "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" and made the judges gleeful with praise. Bruno Tonioli called it "dancing at it's best," Carrie Ann Inaba called it "flawless," and the judges awarded her with the first perfect score of the season.
And coming in with the second highest score of the night was Ariana Madix, who wowed the judges and the crowd with her fiery paso doble. She became the "Queen of the Night" and was left speechless after receiving a 39 out of 40.
Then came the "dance-off" round. First up was Harry and Rylee vs. Alyson and Sasha with a head to head rumba. Billy advised Harry to take on more challenging steps and to not "behave like a tree trunk". In the end, Alyson and Sasha were the winning couple, earning three bonus points. Next up was Barry & Peta and Jason & Daniella dancing a side by side salsa. Barry tore off his hot pink shirt and wooed the crowd and judges, earning him a win. And finally, Xochitl & Val and Charity & Artem were neck in neck in their cha-cha battle, but the judges felt Charity had more drive behind her moves and awarded her the extra points.
But in the end, Barry Williams was the one to get the boot. The crowd erupted in shock, booing as the couple said their goodbyes. "This has been the most wonderful experience of my life," said Barry. "Everyone here has made this a complete delight and I knew I won after the first night."
Here's where each couple landed on the leaderboard after the bonus points added from the "dance-off" round:
Xochitl & Val - Tango, 40 out of 40
Ariana & Pasha - Paso doble, 39 out of 40
Charity & Artem - Viennese waltz, 39 out of 40
Alyson & Sasha - Contemporary, 36 out of 40
Barry & Peta - Rumba, 35 out of 40
Jason & Daniella - Samba, 33 out of 40
Harry & Rylee - Viennese waltz, 28 out of 40
Get ready to "Shake It Off" and live your "Wildest Dreams"... next week is the first ever Taylor Swift night! The ballroom will turn into a celebration of Swift's music as each couple performs dances to her hits.
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+, and streams the following day on Hulu.
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