Aaron Carter Scores a Rob Pattinson Comparison on Dancing With the Stars

Bruno was really full of it on a DWTS in which no celeb scored below 21

Aaron Carter may have been compared to the biggest heartthrob of the 24/7 gossip era, but he wasn't the only contestant who raised his game tonight.

Each of the remaining 10 celebs on Dancing With the Stars scored a 21 or higher on Monday's episode—and that's just one week after Michael Irvin floundered at 16 and hoofer after hoofer couldn't muster a twenty-anything.

What accounted for this sudden uptick in a week riddled with flu and other maladies, besides hard work, focus and perseverance?

Well, obviously it was the ol' nickel-up-the-ass trick that did it for Irvin...

Natalie Coughlin & Alec Mazo: Nice abs, so-so paso doble. Maybe it's all the power she's packing in her midsection, but the Olympic swimmer didn't seen nearly as fluid as usual when asked to stomp her way around the floor in a battle of bullfighting wills. All the judges agreed she needs to fierce it up if she's going to compete with the more character-driven competitors in the pack.
Score: 22

Aaron Carter: At first we were wondering just how much this couple wanted to piss off Carrie Ann Inaba—Karina spent half the time in the air! But just when we were about to congratulate them for thumbing their nose at such a dumb rule, we remembered that this particular form of tango is one of the show's alterna-dances, so therefore lifts are allowed. And since Aaron had full license to look intense and a little bit menacing, tonight was a major improvement over last week. "It was a little like watching Robert Pattinson tangoing in Twilight!" Bruno Tonioli exclaimed. Carrie Ann gave him a kiss (but did not expose her neck and wish for immortality), and Len Goodman charmingly observed, "You were like someone lost in the wilderness, like a little boy who's lost his daddy. You've come back to me!"
Score: 24

Michael Irvin & Anna Demidova: The NFL Hall of Famer didn't have to worry about being light on his feet for the paso doble—but he squeezed a nickel between his butt cheeks at Anna's suggestion to get the right feel for the dance anyway. It didn't do anything for his timing, but the ever-buff athlete at least cut a fine figure in his toreador togs. The judges really dug it, though, and Bruno encouraged Irvin to "keep that nickel in your butt, because it's working for you!" So wasn't he pleased when Irvin presented him with the lucky 5-cent piece? "It's on eBay!" Bruno promised.
Score: 21

Mya & Dmitry Chaplin: We had nothing to complain about regarding this sexy, tricky tango. Judges? "Normally I don't like too much messing about on the stage," Len reminded us for the umpteenth time. "But I think this dance lends itself to a small area—I never really know what I like until I see it—and I've got to say, I liked that." "Intricate like lace," raved Bruno, whose only quibble was a smidge of emotional distance between the two. "I know you chose to be distant," added Carrie Ann, "but it was distant without an emotional dialogue." Meaning, we guess, "Be distant but still look like you want to rip Dmitry's clothes off." We second the motion.
Score: 27

Mark Dacascos & Lacey Schwimmer: All that was missing from this paso doble were the swishing noises that accompany Mark's every head flick on Iron Chef America. The martial arts master was in his element tonight with a dance that utilized every bit of his intensity, sharpness and high-kick ability. And did we mention the man's abs? "[In the paso doble] you need posture, you need passion, you need performance. You had all three," Len said en route to giving Mark and Lacey their highest marks of the season.
Score: 26

Donny Osmond & Kym Johnson: You were right, mom. Donny Osmond rocks! The veteran entertainer—who's 51, by the way—absolutely nailed the Argentine tango, summoning just the right amount of intensity and mystery while matching Kym step for step. Carrie Ann admitted she had fallen in love and emitted a sound we don't know how to spell. "Finally, Donny Osmond is turning into Donny Darko—moody, dangerous and sharp as a blade!" growled a comparably reserved Bruno. Against the Italian's mild protests, Donny said he had one thing he wanted to say. "You took me there!" he exclaimed, pointing at Bruno, who along with Carrie Ann presented Donny with his first 10s of the season.
Score: 29

Louie Vito & Chelsie Hightower: After thoroughly disappointing last week with the country two-step, the so-infatuated snowboarder raised his game multiple levels with the Argentine tango. Just when we thought the dance was going to solely comprise Chelsie flicking and twisting around a stationary snowboarder, the kid started doing kicks and lifts that almost made him look like a dancer. "I really like the way you partner her," Carrie Ann said. "I really get the sense you're manipulating her." Indeed.
Score: 22

Melissa Joan Hart & Mark Ballas: Another good dance in the can for Melissa. But though the actress got the steps, we wouldn't exactly say she danced the Argentine tango with reckless abandon. A certain amount of tenseness in her face kept it from being entirely romantic and sensual—at times it appeared that she was contracting her facial muscles to make sure they didn't touch Mark's. Of course, maybe she just didn't want to catch his flu.
Score: 23

Kelly Osbourne & Louis Van Amstel: Kelly looked a bit lost at first when her paso doble kicked off, but she ultimately rode her dad's "Crazy Train" to a more confident place. We felt she looked more timid than tyrannical throughout, but at least she kept up with the steps. And, she looked awesome. Her décolletage, at least, was killer. "When you are on it, you can deliver. So you've got to stay on it," Bruno encouraged her. Added Carrie Ann, equally ambiguously: "You're so good when you're good."
Score: 24. So apparently she was pretty good tonight.

Joanna Krupa & Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Derek was past the mask-wearing stage, fluwise, so Maks stumbled stepped in to manhandle Joanna in the Argentine tango. She took it well. In fact, she would have taken it all the way to a perfect score if Maks hadn't—what was that? It looked as if it was on his end, but apparently he wouldn't have tripped if the model hadn't planted the wrong foot behind her. Bummer, because it was totally hot otherwise. "I was living my fantasies up until that stumble," Bruno lamented. Hmmm, maybe the flub was a good thing...Anyway, Derek was backstage and looked as if he'll be good to go next week.
Score: 24

The stars also performed a group hustle, with Kelly Osbourne opting to perform barefoot after suffering some sort of an injury during her solo. As expected, it was a little of this and a little of that, with the highlights including Mark Dacascos' standing backflip, Aaron's sharpness and Louie's mutton chops.

"That was kinda like the crazy train," Carrie Ann observed.

We've got a Michael Jackson tribute to look forward to tomorrow night, but sadly, one of these much-improved players has to say goodbye.

Here's how the leaderboad shaped up tonight:

Donny & Kym: 29
Mya & Dmitry: 27
Mark & Lacey: 26
Aaron & Karina: 24
Joanna & Maks: 24
Kelly & Louis: 24
Melissa & Mark: 23
Louie & Chelsie: 22
Natalie & Alec: 22
Michael & Anna: 21