It’s hard to believe that Dancing with the Stars is nearing the end of this season. This week, the challenge was to perform two different dances to the same song: one to the instrumental and the other one to the original. Not only are the dances getting more intricate, but the judges decided to bring back Dancing with the Stars’ bad boy, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who is known for his opinionated ways and not always agreeing with the judges. It was interesting to see Maksim’s take on the remaining competition.

Leah Remini’s dances for this week were the paso doble and the tango to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.” Her first dance was all about taking charge, but she’s still having trouble getting into character mode. Her dance partner expresses most of the emotion. Maks said it best “he’s looking crazy and you’re not.” Overall, it was neat and precise, but this is semifinals, you have to take more risks than Leah did. Her argentine tango was very romantic. However, it was very slow. The acoustic version of the song truly helped set the mood for these two people. The judges still feel that Leah needs to step up her game if she hopes to make it to next week’s finals. Leah’s dance total 65/80.

Corbin Bleu continues to impress with his stellar performances. This week he danced the tango and the rumba to Fall Out Boy’s “My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up).” The dances were technical and it was great seeing Corbin take control in that dance. While most of the judges agreed they liked the first performance, Len felt it wasn’t a typical tango. His best dance of the night was his second performance where he got 10s across the board. Corbin can perform any dance and it will still be excellent. The dance was very technically savvy. Corbin received 75/80 for the night.

Jack Osbourne has proven over and over again that he is still in it to win it. He performed a jazz routine, then an argentine tango to the song “Roxanne.”  Len is proud of Jack’s commitment, but felt that this wasn’t a great performance. The dance was lacking in “finesse and dance quality” as Len said. Like Corbin, Jack’s second performance was his best of the night. There was great framework and precision, which the judges loved. Jack’s dance total for the night was a total of 71/80.

Bill Engvall continues to be the fan favorite by remaining this long in the competition. He has to perform an argentine tango and a cha to “I’m  Sexy and I Know It.” After hurting himself, he continued to pull throughout the two dances. There were a lot of holes throughout the dances but the judges praise him for not “breaking out of character.” Even though Bill has been a work in progress, he continues to be the people’s champion that everyone routes for. What’s great about Bill is that he can easily put a smile on your face and make you laugh. Whether he’s good or bad, he still seems to be having the time of his life. Bill’s dance total for the night was a total of 60/80.

Amber Riley truly has what it takes in order to win the mirror ball trophy. Her dance partner, Derek knows how to design intricate, difficult choreography to that could lead to his fifth mirror ball  trophy. “Derek is a man who knows how to win,” according to Maks. Amber’s performances were a jazz routine followed by a Viennese Waltz to the Bruno Mars hit “Locked out of Heaven.” This was her night and both of her dances did not disappoint. Len was pleased with her jazz routine that he even asked her to do it again. Carrie Ann thought it felt like “a mathematical problem,” but she certainly solved it. Amber and Derek’s choreography synced up so well, you would have wanted to see them do it again. Her Viennese Waltz was very elegant and graceful. The performance in itself won 10s across the board. Amber received the highest score of the night with a total of 79/80.

The bottom two for this week’s eliminations was Bill/Emma and Leah/Tony. Sadly, Leah and Tony were the next couple sent packing. Now that next week is finals week, I wonder who will be the next couple sent home.