‘Dancing With the Stars:’ Fan-Favorite Couple Receives the First 9s of the Season

Disney Night turned out to be a magical evening indeed on Dancing With the Stars for Ally Brooke, who with her partner Sasha Farber earned the first 9s of the season from judges Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba. The former Fifth Harmony member performed a stunning Contemporary routine to “Beauty and the Beast,” receiving three nines.

Head judge Goodman, 75, who is known as the toughest critic on the ballroom dance competition, compared the dance to “butter on a hot muffin.”

“The lifts, I thought, were in keeping with the routine. They didn’t jar me, there was emotion running through that. They were soft and beautiful and then there was a little bit of passion,” he said. “It was a cracking routine.”

Brooke revealed to host Erin Andrews after completing the routine that she got choked up at the end of the dance when she saw her mom in the audience. “This is my parents’ favorite Disney movie, and I gave my mom my [costume] gloves,” she said. “Afterward, I looked at her and this is the most beautiful feeling because this is not just for me, but for them, for us all. This is so magical.”

Brooke and Farber weren’t the only ones to earn their first 9s, however. All That alum Kel Mitchell and partner Witney Carson received two 9s and an 8 (from Goodman) for their jazz routine to High School Musical‘s “We’re All in This Together.” Meanwhile, The Bachelorette Hannah Brown and partner Alan Bersten received two 9s and a 7 (from Goodman) for their foxtrot to “A Whole New World.”

The final routine of the night, a stunning Paso Doble to the theme of Pirates of the Caribbean from Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek and partner Emma Slater, also earned two 9s and an 8.

What’s more is that producers were apparently feeling generous on Disney Night, with Andrews and co-host Tom Bergeron announcing at the end of the night that no couple would be eliminated this week. It’s the second instance of Season 28 that voting didn’t eliminate any couples; during Week 3, Ray Lewis and partner Cheryl Burke were forced to drop out of the competition following a flare-up of an old foot injury for Lewis, which meant they technically were the eliminated couple.

At the end of the night, Brooke and Farber sat atop the leaderboard with a 27/30, with Mitchell and Carson tied for second with Van Der Beek and Slater at 26/30. Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer and partner Lindsay Arnold brought up last place with 19/30 while Queer Eye star Karamo Brown and Jenna Johnson sat in second-to-last at 21/30.

Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.