'Dancing With the Stars' season 28 'Disney Night' recap: No one goes home, Ally Brooke finishes in first
Magic permeated the air on "Dancing With the Stars" Monday night.
The top nine kicked the difficulty up a notch and even sent out a last-minute emotional plea to the audience not to send them home. Their message was heard loud and clear -- there were no eliminations.
The night's scores will now carry over into next week's episode.
Former Fifth Harmony singer Ally Brooke nabbed the top score of the night -- 27/30 -- and also the first nines of the season. She dazzled the judges with her dreamy and romantic contemporary dance to the titular song from "Beauty and the Beast" -- a movie and song that's near and dear to the singer's heart.
Brooke, who was ecstatic to meet Princess Belle and the Beast at Disneyland before her emotional number with partner Sasha Farber, revealed that "Beauty and the Beast" will be her wedding song.
Meanwhile, former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer sunk to the bottom of the pack. Despite giving his best on the dance floor with his quickstep to "You Got a Friend in Me" from "Toy Story 4" with partner Lindsay Arnold, he earned the lowest score of the night -- 19/30.
Spicer also became emotional before his performance by dedicating his dance to his late father, who died from pancreatic cancer in 2016, and to all fathers currently struggling with cancer.
The audience was also treated to a stunning opening performance at Disneyland, which featured the night's top nine competitors and music from Disney's highly anticipated "Frozen II," out Nov. 22.
"DWTS" tasked its newest pro Daniella to dance along to Queen Elsa's ballad "Into the Unknown." The song, along with the complete "Frozen II" soundtrack, will be available for purchase on Nov. 15.
Judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli were seemingly intoxicated by the cheerful Disney magic as the two couldn't seem to stop smiling and laughing-- even when Inaba accidentally fell out of her chair during her review of Kate Flannery's performance. However, the ever-cantankerous Len Goodman remained unfazed by the pixie dust and bah-humbug'd through the night, earning strong boos from the audience at times.
The night's most impressive performance came from James Van Der Beek with his powerful and dramatic Paso Doble with partner Emma Slater to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" theme. However, he failed to tie in first with Brooke by just a point.
While Inaba and Tonioli enthusiastically held up nines, judge Goodman criticized the "Dawson's Creek" star for not making his hand movements sharper and awarded him an eight -- granting an overall score of 26/30.
Goodman also broke from the others when judging "Bachelorette" star Hannah Brown, who danced a breezy and beautiful foxtrot with partner Alan Bersten to Aladdin's "A Whole New World."
While Inaba and Tonioli ecstatically awarded her a pair of nines, Goodman handed her a disappointing seven -- giving her the final score 25/30. However, with the foxtrot being one of the easier ballroom dances to master, perhaps Goodman felt Brown's choice was too safe and a step down from last week's first-place worthy Paso Doble.
"The Office" star Kate Flannery enjoyed a comeback on Monday night with an intense and creative jazz number to "A Spoonful of Sugar" from Mary Poppins. The judges lauded the variety of her routine, which borrowed elements from the Charleston, polka, quickstep and cancan -- securing her a final score of 24/30.
The night's most memorable moment came immediately after Flannery's performance when host Tom Bergeron tried removing a wayward umbrella prop from the dance floor and subsequently sent judge Carrie Ann tumbling out of her chair.
"We got a judge down!" Tonioli shouted excitedly while Flannery and partner Pasha Pashkov rushed in to upright the fallen Inaba, who happily promised them bonus points.
"Dancing With the Stars" returns next Monday, Oct. 21, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. Scores from the night will carry over into next week's live show.
