On night two of season 21 of "Dancing With The Stars," the 13 pairs danced to songs that reminded them of their hometowns. Many stars made major improvements from week one, while some just still couldn't get their footwork right, leading to the first elimination of the season.
Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough dominated once again with 25 out of 30 points, while Tamar Braxton, Alexa PenaVega and her husband Carlos PenaVega all came in a close second, tied with 24 out of 20 points. American hero Alek Skarlatos came in a close third with 23 points, really winning the judges over with his charm, and Vine star Hayes Grier and singer Andy Grammer weren't far behind. While Paula Deen and Kim Zolciak made extreme improvements from week one, really impressing the judges, they still came in under 20 points. Gary Busey, Victor Espinoza and Chaka Khan were the three lowest scores of the night, and while they did make minor improvements from week 1, they still have a long ways to go.
The eliminations were based on judges' scores and viewer votes from week 1, which left Busey and Khan in the bottom two. After the numbers were all added up, we said goodbye to Kahn, the Queen of Funk, and her partner Keo Motsepe, but she handled it well.
"I absolutely enjoyed it, yes, and I'm so happy to have met everybody," she said during her goodbyes. "I feel like I've done [Keo] such a disservice. He is by far one of the best dancers that I've ever seen."
The two-night "Hometown Glory" event will send another star home tonight based on the scores and viewer votes from Monday's episode. Here's who danced their way to the top last night and will most likely not be going home during tonight's eliminations.
Bindi Irwin & Derek Hough (25 out of 30)
Once again, Irwin and Hough were the top dance of the night. This week, they danced the tango to AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long," and Irwin really had fun with it, revealing her love for heavy metal. The edgy twist they put on this classic dance made them rise above the rest. "You are one of the most bubbly people that I've ever met," Derek's sister Julianne Hough told Irwin following their dance. "But you have this little fiery rock star in there." We may only be in week two of the season, but it seems like these two already have a pretty good shot at the Mirror Ball trophy.
Tamar Braxton & Val Chmerkovskiy (24 out of 30)
Braxton is really impressing the judges with how well she moves on the dance floor, and having last year's winner as a partner is definitely a huge help. The two danced the cha-cha to Sister Sledge's "We Are Family," and Braxton had a little trouble making the moves work with what she wanted the song to represent. As someone who was dedicating the song to her entire family, she found the thrusts and booty pops to be a little much in rehearsals, but the two negotiated and it turned out great, with the perfect touch of sexiness. Judge Bruno Tonioli absolutely "loved it."
Alexa PenaVega & Mark Ballas (24 out of 30)
With her husband being her main competition right now after doing one point better than her in week 1, Alexa knew she had to step it up. The two danced the salsa and it was sexy, spicy and nearly flawless. Even the lift, which can be rare to see so early in the show, was perfectly done. "That was a whole other level of commitment," Julianne Hough told them while Carrie Ann Inaba said they "set the house on fire." Who knew the girl we once watched grow up in "Spy Kids" could move like that! If she keeps this up, there's a good chance she and her husband could be fighting it out all the way to the finale.
Carlos PenaVega & Witney Carson (24 out of 30)
Carlos and Alexa have been keeping their personal competition fun, and it'll be interesting to see how hard they work on tonight's show after tying last night. Either way, the two are both amazing, and Carlos and Witney have an undeniable chemistry that could carry them all the way to the end. The foxtrot came shockingly easy to Carlos, and the judges are still in awe over his natural ability to dance. "You have so much ease and natural ability," Julianne told him. "And you smile because you're enjoying it and you connect with Witney."
Alek Skarlatos and Lindsay Arnold (23 out of 30)
With Skarlatos being a U.S. Army hero, and not so much of a performer like most of the other stars, what he's done so far in just two weeks is extremely impressive. He's really getting into this and taking it seriously, and it's showing in not only his performance but his scores as well. His jazz last night to "Don't Stop Believing" blew everyone away, and Julianne even told him that he was right there with Lindsay the entire time, which is an impressive task for just week 2. "I was intoxicated with that performance," Inaba gushed.
Watch the remaining 12 pairs dance to a song that reminds the pro dancers of their hometown live tonight on ABC!
