With the weaker couples begin to drop the Dancing With the Stars competition is beginning to heat up in a big way.  Tonight's performances will include the ultra hot Rumba and Samba, two dances that require not only a lot of motion, but a lot of passion.  This is where the ability and the charisma need an extra bond of chemistry to sell the dancers.  Who has it, and who doesn't?

I'm going to do this a little differently this time around and give you the quick thoughts on a couple by couple basis, from best to worst:

Apolo & Julianne.  Holy hotness.  I had my greatest hopes for Apolo from the beginning because of his legendary athleticism but who could have seen the chemistry between him Julianne reaching this level of critical mass.  Not only was the dancing aesthetically well done, the chemistry was off the scale.  Perfect 10's from the judges.

Laila and Maksim.  Laila was off the chart with sex appeal tonight. The dancing was awesome, but there was simply no fear between these two on the level of intimacy.  Stunning.

Joey & Kym.  MUCH hotter than expected.  Although, the thing with Kym being a veteran kind of betrays the sincerity of it.  There were times she sold the heat with Springer, so its not so unbelievable that she could do the same with Joey.  None the less, taken in a singular context, it was off the charts sexy.

Ian & Cheryl.  I rate him below the other three because the hot factor was just sporadic for this couple.  When it was there, it was smoking.  The flawless dancing made them totally safe in my book, but the performance definitely lacked the chemistry.  There was just too much distance.

Heather & Jonathan.  Somehow I forgot them the first time through, I wonder why?  The dancing was fine but the chemistry has no credibility.  Also, despite the fact that it was well done, there is still a tendency to execute variations of the same moves which are just designed to call attention to her 'disability', which is clearly not holding her back one bit.

John & Edyta.  You'll think I'm groping for something bad to say, but John has to vary his facial expression.  Seriously, I could not take my eyes off his face.  He has the same smile every week and it is just getting old.  The dancing was par for the course, there was no chemistry, but there was an attempt which puts him at the top of the bottom for me.

Billy Ray & Karina.  Billy Ray is a yo yo in this thing, one week he's way up, the next he's way down.  Intimacy was the killer here.  When you had couples like Laila and Maksim, and Apolo and Julianne selling super hot chemistry along with outstanding grace and athleticism, you really have to go for it.  of course, Dancing With the Stars is as more an endurance test then it is a week to week battle on equal footing.  We are a point where couples like this are simple not going to be able to succeed.

Clyde & Elena.  Same problem as always.  I'm a broken record with this guy.  He is constantly watching Elena which instantly makes him creepy and betrays a lack of self confidence.  He was spreading out more, which was good, but there was a complete lack of intimacy.

Prediction.  Even though Billy Ray disappointed, his previous success is going to save him.  Clyde is going home this week.

- Jon Lachonis, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image from Abc)