Dancing With the Stars Backstage Scoop: Snooki and the Stars Sound Off on the First Ever Switch-Up Challenge!

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Is your heart still pounding?!

It was a night of shocks and surprises on Dancing With the Stars as our season 17 contestants participated in a brand-new competition experiment and a jaw-dropping elimination. (Find out the results of the elimination, right here!)

Armed with only their partners and their dancing shoes, this week's remaining eight couples participated in the "Switch-Up Challenge," a modern-day take on a dance marathon. Without any prior knowledge of the musical selections, the couples were separated into two groups and had to improvise their way to dancing victory—and it was a blast!

We caught up with our twinkle-toed celebs backstage following tonight's episode to get their exclusive reactions to the grueling, yet fun, challenge.

So here was the breakdown: The first couple to get a tap on the shoulder got one point, the second two points and the third three points. The final couple received four points. Out of the two rounds, our best celebrities left standing were Amber Riley and Corbin Bleu.

Despite being tapped out first in round one, Bill Engval says that his goal for the challenge was to have as much fun as possible—so naturally his first though was to give us a little strip tease.

"Right before, I looked at who was in our group and I thought, everyone here is a dancer, so I looked at [Emma Slater] and I said 'If the right song comes on, my shirt is coming off!'" The comedian shares. "And literally as the song came on I grabbed it and her eyes got big and then she started laughing. I have had so much fun with this and she has made it twice as much fun."

Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi tells us that although the news of the Switch-Up Challenge was intimidating, she was ready to go with the flow and rely on her dancing knowledge. "It was fun! It was a little scary at first but once you get in the groove it was great, it's just dancing," she says.

Pretty Little Liars star Brant Daugherty also had a blast performing tonight, earning a sold three points to be added to his judges' scores this week. "It was a good time!" The actor revels, "Really all you can do is have fun with it. There's not a lot of technique you can employ, you just have to go out and move to the music."

Here's hoping that Dancing With the Stars will bring back the Switch-Up Challenge because it was most definitely a fun shake-up for both the stars and the viewers at home!