On a night with no eliminations but a switch of partners, NeNe Leakes got to have Derek Hough for a week, the man who has won more "Dancing With the Stars" mirror ball trophies than any dancer.
That alone virtually guarantees her safety next week.
It helped she danced an African-tinged jazz routine to Beyonce that was packed with energy and NeNe attitude. Hough said the music came in a little early, which threw them off.
"I didn't even notice. NeNe is working it. It was you finally killing it," - Carrie Ann Inaba.
"It suited your personality and was the best dance you've done this season," - Len Goodman
'Every girl wants to let their inner Beyonce out," - Julianne Hough, Derek's sister
"It was like being in the presence of the Queen of Sheba," said Bruno Tonioli, who copied NeNe.
"It was awesome. Derek is so amazing and creative," NeNe said, still a bit out of breath a couple of minutes after her routine. "And his hair color is almost the same color as mine."
"If the music messes up, just keep going," she added.
She received 8s across the board, which got some boos for folks who wanted higher scores. Over two weeks, she has pulled in 63 out of 80.
Her score was slightly better than last week. Drew Carey, too, improved week over week. Several dancers, using different partners, did worse, including Charlie White, James Maslow and Danica McKellar.
This past Monday, she finished sixth out of eight, ahead of Candace Cameron Bure and Cody Simpson, the two most likely candidates going home.
Again, Meryl Davis, the ice dancing champ, came in first, with the only 10s tonight from three out of four judges.
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