And then there were three!
"Dancing With the Stars" is down to its final three contestants after kicking off the season with 12 optimistic hopefuls competing for the mirror ball trophy. Monday night's episode featured two different dances routines from the remaining contestants and another shocking elimination.
Singer and actor James Maslow and his professional partner Peta Murgatroyd were eliminated from the show, making the finals an all-female battle featuring Olympic ice dancer Meryl Davis, paralympian Amy Purdy and actress Candace Cameron Bure. In his intro package Maslow said he was looking forward to being the only man standing in the dancing competition.
"I've really had an amazing experience on this," a disappointed Maslow said after learning his fate. "I enjoyed it more than I ever thought was possible. I've made some amazing friends and I'm just grateful for the opportunity. It's been lots of fun,"
Murgatroyd gushed, "He was absolutely amazing."
Each couple performed two separate dances: the first reprised their performances from partner switch-up week, while the second consisted of a freestyle routine.
Maslow and Murgatroyd took the stage first, performing the tango and a steamy kiss. The dance received great reviews from Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli, but Carrie Ann Inaba called Maslow out for being "a little too rigid." They scored a 29. Their hip hop freestyle, which included Maslow swinging a huge sword and flipping off a wall, received a 29 as well.
Meryl Davis and Maksim Chmerkovskiy preformed a perfect-scoring "seductive" Argentine tango. Their contemporary freestyle "was an homage to the journey we've been on," said Meryl. As several audience members wept, Tonioli stood up and said the performance was "as close as it gets to a flawless work of art." They scored a perfect 30.
In his intro, Chmerkovskiy said, "How can you enter a race without trying to win? God knows, I came back 13 times for this. I wanna look back and say, 'I have nothing else to give.'"
Candace Cameron Bure and Mark Ballas, who injured his shoulder during a lift, performed the quickstep, which received a 27 and a disco freestyle that received a 24.
"I wasn't going to let Candace down no matter what," Ballas said after the couple's first dance of the night. "You'd have to take my arm completely off for me not to be here, so I'm here for Candace one hundred percent."
Amy Purdy and Derek Hough's salsa was "splashy, exhilarating, and flamboyant," according to Tonioli, and earned them a perfect 30. Their Cirque du Soleil-inspired freestyle received praise for its choreography but only received a 29.
The "DWTS" finale will air Tuesday on ABC at 8 p.m. EST.
Which couple are you rooting for to win?
