NeNe Leakes was "in jeopardy" to go home week five, but the way "Dancing With the Stars" works it, that doesn't always necessarily mean she was really threatened.
On Monday night's Disney-themed night, she garnered her first 9's of the competition, from all four judges (including guest judge Donny Osmond) with a sassy foxtrot. She danced amusingly to "Cruella de Vil." She also returned to her original dance partner Tony Dovolani after spending a week with Derek Hough.
"You owned that dance floor," Osmond said. "I never saw anybody work their hips like that."
"You mean mean mean and nasty girl," said Bruno Tonioli. "You put some vamp and grind but never lost the style. It was incorporated so well into the choreography and suited your personality."
"You can rock the villain," said Carrie Ann Inaba. "The switch up was the best thing that happened to you."
"Sometimes you think you want a divorce than you realize the folly of your ways. You are the match made in heaven," said Len Goodman. "I just loved it. To me, your best dance."
Thanks to her steady improvement, week in and week out, the "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star is now in the top 8.
During rehearsal, Dovolani wasn't comfortable with Leakes complimenting Hough's work. He expressed jealousy and insecurity given how successful she was with Hough. "You have a damn attitude," she said at one point. "I'm giving you the best every day." She walked out at one point, in proper "Real Housewives" fashion.
In the end, with intense competition, singer Cody Simpson took the fall. He had a few things going against him: while he was eye candy, he wasn't quite as hot an eye candy as James Maslow, his most direct competitor for votes. He also isn't terribly well known so his fan base is fairly limited. Plus, while he was a passable dancer, he isn't as good as James.
Cody's average judge scores over five weeks were higher than Candace Cameron Bure, NeNe and Drew Carey. But he clearly didn't have the votes.
Not surprisingly, after five weeks, the top two dancers in terms of judges scores are the two ice-dancing gold medal champs, Meryl Davis and Charlie White. Amy Purdy, James Maslow and Danica McKellar are not far behind. (McKellar bounced back from an off week and is still in strong position to win the mirror-ball trophy.)
Maslow was the first dancer this season to pull in perfect 10s from all the judges with his contemporary dance to "Let It Go."
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