We have made it to the five final couples this season Dancing with the stars and tonight is undoubtedly a crucial episode, as we see who will advance to the finals and who will go home during the semi-finals. Together with SI swimsuit model Ilona Maher and her professional partner Alan Bersten we will see the former Bachelor star Joey Graziadei and pro Jenna Johnson, actress Chandler Kinney and pro Brandon Armstrong, Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik and pro Rylee Arnold and NFL wide receiver Danny Amendola and pro Witney Carson compete to advance.

At this point in the season it really is anyone’s game. We supported Maher, the Olympic rugby player from Vermont, who modeled the cover of SI Swimming’s September digital issue, and last week was a big week for her and Bersten. During the special 500th episode of DWTSthe pair received their first 10 of the season after dancing to Pharrell Williams’ “Chuck Berry.” It might come as a surprise that judge Carrie Ann Inaba gave them the high score; she had been a bit hard on the couple over the past few weeks.

Each couple will dance twice this time, so let’s see how they do! We updated this post live as we looked at this week’s dances, scores, and surprise elimination twist.

Kinney and Armstrong earned another perfect score last week, making them a formidable duo for these final episodes. To start the episode, the two danced the salsa to the song “Spicy Margarita” by Jason Derulo and Michael Bublé. The Pretty little liars star wore an amazing lime green set, with an embellished bra top and a feather skirt that turned blue at the end. Armstrong wore a silky multi-colored button-down shirt and brown pants. As expected, they completely convinced the audience and the jury. The pair went to a salsa club ahead of the episode to practice their moves, and it really showed.

As for their judges’ scores, they got a 10 from Inaba, a 9 from Derek Hough and a 10 from Bruno Tonioli. That means Kinney and Armstrong had a 29 out of 10 after their first performance.

For their second dance of the night, the pair performed a Foxtrot to a cover of Hozier’s song “Too Sweet,” with Kinney talking about how much she wanted to make it to the finals. That said, she also acknowledged how difficult it was to make it to the finals. the dance would be. Unsurprisingly, the two took it to the dance floor, with Kinney looking stunning in an emerald green floor-length dress with sequins from her chest to her thighs and satin gloves, while Armstrong wore a detailed green suit jacket and black trousers.

The judges generally loved their Foxtrot, with Tonioli calling it ‘intensely sensual’. That said, Inaba criticized Armstrong’s footwork and said it was only fair that she brought it up. As for Hough, he called the performance “phenomenal,” as if Kinney had gotten something great out of Armstrong. In their second dance, the couple received a 9 from Inaba, a 10 from Hough and 10 from Tonioli. That means they have a 58 out of 60 for the total of both performances.

The pressure was certainly on for the reality star this week, who noted that if he makes it to the finals, he will be the first former bachelor to do so. The pair didn’t disappoint with their first performance of the evening, dancing a jazzy Foxtrot to Erin Boheme’s song ‘I Won’t Dance’ with District 78. Graziadei wore a teal velvet suit, while Johnson wore a teal full-length suit bore the ground. dress with a sequin halter top, a fully layered skirt and gloves.

The judges went wild for Graziadei and Johnson’s performance, with Hough even stating that it was one of the best Foxtrots he had ever seen. How did they do in terms of scoring? Well, they definitely got a perfect score. Inaba, Hough and Tonioli all gave the couple a 10, meaning they had 30 out of 30 points after their first dance.

As for their second performance of the night, Graziadei and Johnson tackled a Paso Doble, with the reality star taking on the matador persona. While Johnson acknowledged that her partner is fantastic when he takes on different characters, she also emphasized the importance of him bringing his A-game this week. The two danced to a cover of The Beatles’ song “Come Together,” with Johnson wearing an amazing black dress with sheer sleeves, a sheer back and glitter on the bodice. Graziadei rocked an all-black traje de luces-inspired look with sequins.

The crowd erupted as Graziadei and Johnson finished their second dance, but not all judges thought it was a perfect performance. Inaba criticized their timing, while Hough thought their timing was great. Tonioli acknowledged that they had ‘messed up a bit’, despite the performance still being ‘brilliant’. This led to Inaba scoring the dance a 9, Hough a 10, and Tonioli a 9. This meant that their second dance received a 28 out of 30, putting Graziadei and Johnson at 58 out of 60 points.

After rebounding to score their first ten last week, it was imperative for Maher and Bersten to keep the momentum going this week. Their first performance was a Paso Doble dance, which Bersten compared to a “bullfight.” They danced to the song “Unholy (Orchestral Version)” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras and had the crowd screaming. Maher looked absolutely stunning in a red dress with a sequin top, while Bersten channeled his inner matador with a black traje de luces-inspired ‘fit.

Like the audience, the judges loved Maher and Bersten’s performance. Tonioli called it an “incredible transformation” and Inaba told the rugby player that she has come the furthest of the season so far. Maher got emotional while speaking to cohost Julianne Hough after the dance, which was truly heartfelt. As for their scores, the pair received a 9 for Inaba, a 10 for Hough and a 9 for Tonioli, bringing their score to 28 out of 30 after their first dance.

Maher and Bersten took to the dance floor again tonight and performed the Viennese waltz in honor of JVKE’s “golden hour”. The rugby player acknowledged that it could be the last time they would perform together, while Bersten did not want to hear that. Maher said in her voice-over that her job tonight was to prove she was worthy of making it to the final. During their second performance, Maher rocked a gorgeous glittery light lavender floor-length dress with a v-neck and full skirt, while her professional partner matched her in a purple suit. They finished their dance smiling from ear to ear and hugged each other.

The judges were very impressed with Maher and Bersten’s Viennese waltz, with Tonioli calling the SI swimsuit model ‘radiant’. Inaba said she felt “honored” to have witnessed their performance, even going so far as to say the pair had “changed (her) life.” During this amazing dance, the couple received a 10 from Inaba, a 9 from Hough and a 10 from Tonioli. The scores were 29 out of 30 for their second dance and a total of 57 out of 60.

Like Maher and Bersten, Amendola and Carson have come a long way this season Dancing with the stars. Tonight, the pair performed the Viennese Waltz to a cover of John Mayer’s “Gravity.” Carson explained that with this dance she wanted to tell a story about two people who want to be together, but know they are not right for each other. Amendola admitted that his competitive side came out, and luckily that translated best on the dance floor.

Carson looked amazing in a dark blue-gray floor-length dress with a deep v-neck, open back and sequins all over. For the athlete’s appearance, he opted for a dark blue-gray suit and bow tie. The audience cheered loudly when their emotional performance was over, and the judges were very impressed. For their first performance of the evening, Carson and Amendola received a 9 from Inaba, a 9 from Hough and a 9 from Tonioli. Although Hough said he couldn’t quite believe the emotion between the two, the other jurors felt differently. That brings the pair’s total to 27 out of 30 so far.

The final performance of the semi-finals saw Amendola and Carson dance the Salsa to the song “I Like It” by Cardi B, Bad Bunny and J Balvin, providing a very exciting song to end the night. “We work hard for hours; whatever it takes,” the NFL star said in his voiceover before the performance. For their big dance, Amendola leaned into the Latin vibe with a red and cheetah print shirt with layered flared sleeves, although his sleeves were immediately ripped off as soon as they started dancing. Carson wore a matching halter top and miniskirt, and a red flower in her hair.

“You blew the roof off,” Hough said after their performance against Amendola, and Inaba and Tonioli were also very impressed. Their rocking dance saw them score a 9 from Inaba, a 9 from Hough and a third 9 from Tonioli. This brought their second performance to 27 out of 30 and their score for the evening to 54 out of 60.

Nedoroscik and Arnold did fantastic last week and this week, unsurprisingly, was no different. Arnold danced the Cha Cha to “Bailar” by Deorro with Elvis Crespo and pushed the gymnast to lean against his sexy side, trying to get some more movement out of his hips. The pair wore matching hot pink and looked great on the dance floor, with Nedoroscik wearing a sequined shirt and white trousers, and Arnold wearing a sequined mini dress with multiple cutouts. As with the other performances of the evening, the audience absolutely loved Nedoroscik and Arnold.

As for the judges, Hough told Nedoroscik that he thought the dance was too difficult for him, while Tonioli agreed that he needed to work on his footwork. That said, the judges acknowledged how fun the dance was and how excited they got the audience. Their Cha Cha saw them score an 8 from Inaba, an 8 from Hough and 9 from Tonioli, a total of 25 out of 30.

Nedoroscik was ready to “really hang in there” for his second appearance alongside Arnold. The pair danced the Tango to a cover of The Temper Trap’s song “Sweet Disposition” and really impressed us. Arnold looked stunning in a bright red floor-length dress with sheer cutouts on the bodice and a unique high neckline, and Nedoroscik took his style up a notch with a red suit with iridescent, color-changing fabric. Hilariously, Nedoroscik lost his glasses while dancing and didn’t even stop, proving how focused he was on the performance.

The judges loved this performance, with Hough telling the pair that he thought this was ‘more triumphant’ than their first. Inaba scored them a 10, Hough gave them a 9 and Tonioli also gave them a 9. This brought their score for dance number two to 28 out of 30, a total of 53 out of 60 for the evening.

As we all know by now, the rankings aren’t always about who advances and who gets eliminated. It’s also about the mood of the fans. For the semi-finals we believed that the mood at home would make a difference in who would go to the final. But instead we were ready for a twist! Tonight’s episode ended in the nick of time, but the hosts completely shocked the contestants and audience with the announcement no one was going home tonight! All five couples will advance to the final next week.

The Dancing with the stars The season 33 finale – a special three-hour event – ​​will air on Tuesday, November 26 on ABC and stream on Disney+.