‘Dancing With the Stars’: First Perfect Score Awarded | Season 32 Week 8 Recap

Oh I wanna dance with somebody! It’s Whitney Houston Night in the Dancing With the Stars ballroom, and the Greatest Love of All in this competition? It’s a perfect score – and don’t you know we’ve got our first one of the season?! That’s something to sing about. So let’s get into the dances of week 8.

Harry Jowsey and Rylee kicked off the night with their Viennese Waltz to “I Have Nothing,” and while the judges definitely noticed some “breakthrough moments” after Rylee took her celeb partner to a ballet class, he’s still lacking a lot of grace and presence. 28/40.

Jason Mraz and Daniella were up next, and their scores have been kind of all over the place, not gonna lie. Jason wanted to bring those scores back up with a Samba to “Higher Love” that was also a higher difficulty, but the judges couldn’t ignore a couple little missteps. They did appreciate what he was going for though, so 33/40.

Alyson Hannigan and Sasha took to the dance floor next, and they were looking to keep their momentum going coming off of her best dance yet last week. This contemporary dance to “Greatest Love of All” was the perfect way to do that, she nailed it and the judges said they saw a different side of her – 33/40, tying with Jason! Who would have seen that coming at the start of the season. 

Xochitl Gomez and Val had a tougher week to bounce back from after her wardrobe malfunction and ankle injury the week before. But she was nothing if not determined to bring her scores back up with this Tango to “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” – like look at this! The judges called it flawless and magical and handed Xochitl the first perfect score of the season 40/40 now THAT’S how you do a comeback.

Barry Williams and Peta had to follow that, and while we all saw a little bit of a sexier side to Greg Brady than we ever expected with this Rumba to “Didn’t We Almost Have It All,” the judges want more content and they want more oomph. So just a 32/40.

Charity Lawson and Artem were another pair coming off a tough couple of weeks score-wise, but they managed to have a solid performance during their Viennese Waltz to “I Will Always Love You.” Yeah, the judges want her to watch her arms and turns a little bit, but they said it’s only because she’s doing so well. 36/40, our Bachelorette is back-lorette.

Closing out the night we had Ariana Madix and Pasha, who were still reeling after their Britney Spears tribute dance last week went viral. They kept that momentum going this week with a Paso Doble to “Queen of the Night” that the judges called clean, sharp and dominant – and we ALMOST got a second perfect score just one point away for a 39/40.

Before we sent one pair packing, we had the dance-off, which pitted the couples against one another side by side until one team was called the winner and had three points added to their score. Charity and Artem ended up winning this one, but it didn’t change the leaderboard at all.

And even though Harry continues to be the worst dancer of the season, it was Barry and Peta that were sent packing during the elimination, which come on he ripped his shirt open! The crowd was in disbelief too, they were chanting Barry’s name, it was a sad moment. 

But for real, Harry can’t make it through next week, right? I’m scared. Let me know what you think in the comments!