ABC DANCING WITH THE STARS - With a lineup of celebrities including a supermodel, a former White House press secretary, a Bachelorette, pro-athletes from the NFL and NBA, a Supreme and a TV icon to name a few, "Dancing with the Stars" is waltzing its way into its highly anticipated upcoming 2019 season. The new celebrity cast is adding some glitzy bling to their wardrobe, breaking in their dancing shoes and readying themselves for their first dance on the ballroom floor, as the show kicks off MONDAY, SEPT. 16 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), on ABC.
The semi-finals of Dancing With the Stars season 28 air on Monday, November 18. The 5 celebrities still in the competition are Lauren Alaina, Ally Brooke, Hannah Brown, and James Van Der Beek, and Kel Mitchell.
Mitchell, an actor and comedian best known for his role on Nickelodeon’s hit variety show All That, was partnered with dance pro Witney Carson for the season. Carson, who won her second season as a dance pro on DWTS, has proven to be a great partner for Mitchell, whose ability and scores have steadily improved week after week.
During week 8, Kel and Witney earned the first 10 of the season, securing their status as one of the top-performing couples and a worthy contender for the Mirror Ball trophy.
Their forward progress continued into week 9. Last week, for Boy Bands and Girl Groups Night, Kel and Witney delivered two excellent performances that earned them the number 2 position on the leaderboard heading into the semifinals with a total score of 74 points out of 80.
For their first dance of the night, Kel and Witney performed a Paso Doble to “Free Your Mind” by En Vogue. While they only received 8s from judges Carrie Ann Inaba and Len Goodman, 9s from Bruno Tonioli and guest judge Joey Fatone earned them a 34 out of 40.
They built upon that first score in a big way thanks to their second dance. Kel and Mitchell’s beautiful Viennese Waltz to “I’ll Make Love to You” by Boyz II Men earned them 10s across the board, equating to a perfect score of 40 out of 40.
Their score of 74 means that they are heading into the semifinals in second place, behind Ally Brooke and Sasha Farber’s perfect score of 80 out of 80. Behind them are James Van Der Beek with 72 points, Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten with 71 points, and Lauren Alaina and Gleb Savchenko with 70 points.
Based on their scores and consistently entertaining and skillful performances, Kel and Witney certainly deserve a coveted place in the season 28 finals; however, with just 10 points between the top and bottom of the leaderboard, it really is anyone’s season to win. Kel and Witney will need to deliver perfection during their week 10 performances and rely on the support of voters if they want to make it through the semifinals without a heartbreaking elimination. Kel and Witney have found themselves in the bottom 2 in past weeks, but have been saved by the judges who believed they deserved to stay in the competition. If they do find themselves in the bottom 2 this week, will they have done enough to advance into the finals? That’s for the judges to decide.
Reflecting on their week 9 performances and their secured place in the semifinals, Witney Carson took to Instagram to thank her over 1.1 million followers for their support, writing “WOW we made it to the semi finals!!!! So humbled and grateful to have such an amazing partner @iamkelmitchell! & THANK YOU guys for voting for us every week. Let’s take it all the way!”
Tune in to new episodes of Dancing With the Stars season 28, live on Monday nights at 8/7c on ABC.