Billy Ray's Achy Breaky Dancing Exit
Dancing with the Stars cut the crap tonight.
That's the way judge Bruno Tonioli might have put it, anyway, a night after calling Billy Ray Cyrus' dancing "crap" and invoking a few fighting words from the "Achy Breaky Heart" singer.
"It's so rude," a frustrated Cyrus told cohost Samantha Harris Monday after his second performance of the night, a mambo. "We tried really hard and worked really hard...He called me a southern gentleman. He needs to take a lesson on southern gentlemen."
But despite Cyrus' manly manners and raw appeal, which had kept him in the competition this long, it was the Hannah Montana star's turn to go Tuesday, clearing the way for Ian Ziering, Joey Fatone, Laila Ali and Apolo Anton Ohno to compete in next week's semifinals.
Cyrus and partner Karina Smirnoff scored a combination 38 on their foxtrot and mambo, prompting avid Cyrus fan Carrie Ann Inaba to admit that his technique wasn't "quite up to par" of his fellow contestants.
"This is a celebration tonight," Cyrus said even before he knew that he was getting the boot. "I got to meet my hero, Muhammad Ali, last night. I conquered my fear. I'm happy to be here and I'm ready to go on Jimmy Kimmel." (The fellow ABC personality interviews all of the Dancing also-rans on his late-night talk show.)
"Thanks to all the fans—you've been awesome," he said, after the fact.
While Cyrus' ouster wasn't a shock, though, he was joined in the bottom two by Joey Fatone, proving the audience isn't necessarily in sync with the judges, who just adore the bouncy former boy-bander and gave him a 55 out of 60 last night.
Inaba, for one, told Fatone that it felt like he had the competition "in the bag" after his lively mambo, which had the "Joey special" that was missing from his waltz earlier in the evening. (Which Len Goodman, a stickler for "proper" dancing, really liked, of course.)
Staying out of the hot seat, meanwhile, was safer bet Ian Ziering, who scored an underwhelming 48 on his foxtrot and rumba. Goodman said that the usually consistent actor took "a bit of a dip" after a foxtrot that was "a bit skippy and a bit hoppy."
"Like a jumping goat," Tonioli added.
But Ziering's fans were behind him, perhaps rewarding him brownie points for surprising partner Cheryl Burke with a birthday cake topped with a hopeful-looking candle in the shape of a "10."
Golden as always were Laila Ali, whose beloved father was, as Cyrus said, on hand to watch his daughter dance a "spunky" jive and a "poignant" waltz, totaling a 53 for the night, and Apolo Anton Ohno, who rocked the house with both his tango and perfect Paso Doble.
"That is a champion looking at the finishing line and going in for the kill!" Tonioli exclaimed.
If the voters don't go in for the kill first, that is. The season finale of Dancing with the Stars is in two weeks already, and, considering what happened to Fatone, it's anyone's competition at this point.
Even if Fatone goes "Bye Bye Bye" next week, however, he'll be hitting the road regardless with the second edition of Dancing with the Stars—The Tour, which kicks off June 20 in Austin. He and partner Kym Johnson will join season-two champs Drew Lachey and Cheryl Burke, season-three duo Joey Lawrence and Edyta Slewinska, and season-one pioneer Joey McIntyre, who will partner with Julianne Hough.
Tuesday's results show also featured Nellie Furtado singing her 2000 hit, "I'm Like a Bird," and her new single, "All Good Things."
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