Rock night was bumpy for almost everybody on Dancing With the Stars.
Scores dipped across the board Monday, with even judges' darling Katherine Jenkins reaching new lows and Melissa Gilbert requiring a mysterious trip to the hospital following her routine, which apparently was more eventful than we realized?
What was so tricky about dancing to covers of Muse, the Rolling Stones and Queen? And you won't believe who fell on his butt...
Seasoned-and-he-knows-it pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy slipped toward the end of his and Melissa's paso doble, right on his perfect little tush! That somewhat marred the proceedings, but the judges were quite understanding—albeit no easier on the Little House on the Prairie star than they were on anyone else with the scoring.
But while Maks went thud on one end, Melissa was the one who really got hurt, having banged her head during their dramatic dance-capping dip. She did not let on during her post-routine interview, but she had left for the hospital by the time the show ended after reportedly feeling light-headed backstage.
Tom Bergeron announced that she had left the studio at the end of the show.
"I know silly old Maks fell over, but it was a slippery floor," Len Goodman commiserated. "And in the bull ring, you can slip."
Maybe the pressure of having to be a badass at tango and paso doble—not to mention comprising what's been called the most talented DWTS lineup yet—just got to them.
Katherine was still one of the best dancers out there, but her paso doble wasn't firing on all cylinders and the judges dinged her for lacking her usual artistry. In fact, her 24 was her lowest score of the season!
Jaleel White was similarly psyched to come out and tango, but though he insisted he was really "feeling the music," the panel wasn't feeling him quite so much and he ended up with a 22, tying his worst score to date.
Sherri Shepherd and Gladys Knight (a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, to boot!) danced similarly lackluster tangos, with Sherri cutting loose when she was solo but then turning robotic in hold.
Gavin DeGraw's tango was much fiercer, believe it or not—and it was scored higher, accordingly, landing him squarely in the middle of the pack! "Absolutely not," he deadpanned when Brooke Burke Charvet asked if he thought he'd done enough to stay out of the bottom two.
But someone had to break out of the pack of mediocrity, right?
Sure enough, Donald Driver heeded the call and shifted into front-runner mode—his bare-chested paso doble was fierce, crisp and obviously a first-half highlight for Bruno Tonioli while he waited for William Levy to join the party.
But when William showed up to jive with Cheryl Burke...even he made a glaring mistake, not managing to swing her properly through his legs and having to improvise a few bars. That, and his feet were leaden and his upper body uncharacteristically stiff, leading to his worst score of the season.
So, Donald hung onto that lead! Then the night started to look up...
Roshon Fegan lit up the floor with a Viennese waltz that resulted in a "good job, dawg" from Len (it's the compliment Roshon wished for backstage) and Carrie Ann Inaba telling the 20-year-old she thought he was the best dancer among the men. Not just tonight, but in general!
Maria Menounos, dancing on a right foot with a stress fracture and a left foot with multiple bone bruises, performed perhaps the fiercest tango of the night.
"Beauty, attitude and sex appeal by the truckload" raved Bruno. "What you can do with your feet healed, I don't know."
Here's how the leaderboard stacked up:
Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd: 27
Maria Menounos & Derek Hough: 26
Roshon Fegan & Chelsie Hightower: 26
Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas: 24
Gavin DeGraw & Karina Smirnoff: 23
Jaleel White & Kym Johnson: 22
Melissa Gilbert & Maks Chmerkovskiy: 22
William Levy & Cheryl Burke: 22
Sherri Shepherd & Val Chmerkovskiy: 21
Gladys Knight & Tristan MacManus: 20
Who dahnced the best dahnce in your book? And why did everyone seem to have so much trouble tonight? Could William be in trouble? Sound off in the comments!