Tonight's Dancing with the Stars was incredible.  The level of dance has soared sky-high.  It might have been because the dancers got to choose their own styles this week, one ballroom and one Latin.  Or, it might have been because each celebrity dancer was treated to a master class by head Dancing with the Stars judge Len Goodman.   Either way, this is arguably the most talented group of semi-finalists that Dancing with the Stars has ever seen.

Tonight's show  was also the highest scoring performance show that I have seen.  The judges awarded five perfect scores tonight out of eight performances.  Marie ended the night at the bottom of the leaderboard again--the only celebrity dancer who didn't earn a perfect score--but as last week showed, the judges' scores don't necessarily mean anything.  It's going to be tough to predict who will go home tomorrow.

After tonight's semi-final performance show, there is a tie for first place.  Both Melanie Brown and Helio Castroneves scored perfectly in both the ballroom and Latin rounds.  Mel and Maksim Chmerkovskiy earned praise for their stunning Viennese waltz and their fiery paso doble.  Helio and Julianne Hough began the night clad in green for a fantastic foxtrot.  They ended the night with an energetic cha cha that prompted Len to name them the stand-out couple of the evening.  It's going to be difficult deciding between these two.

Jennie Garth and that adorable Derek Hough, of whom I simply cannot get enough, finished the evening very respectably.  They started out the night with a tango that was a bit tame but still earned them a ten from Len Goodman.  But they sure did finish strong, with a powerful cha cha.  Jennie has been struggling with self-confidence during this whole season of Dancing with the Stars, and the perfect 30 that she got on her cha cha will certainly help to convince her that she can dance.  They ended the night with a total score of 58 out of 60, just two points behind the leaders.

Finally, at the very bottom of the pack, but still with a respectable score of 56 out of 60, is Carrie Ann's favorite cougar Marie Osmond and her partner Jonathan Roberts.  They were the only couple who didn't get triple tens tonight, but the 29 that they earned on the quickstep is nothing to sneeze at.  It's no question that Marie has a considerable fanbase that continues to deliver with the votes.  We'll find out tomorrow night if her fans will carry her into the finals.


-Debbie Chang, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of ABC)