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“Dancing With the Stars” has announced its twists for week 8 of season 31 — it’s a double elimination on ’90s night, plus it is the return of relay dances, which pits two couples against one another. The show’s ’90s theme night also includes some excellent guest performers.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Double Elimination, Relay Dances & Guest Performers for Week 8
In a press release on November 2, “Dancing With the Stars” announced several twists for next Monday’s show on November 7, which sees the show “hit rewind” for ’90s night.
The press release reads:
The eight remaining couples will perform new routines and relay dances that will definitely “Spice Up Your Life.” Only six couples will move on to the semi-finals following a ’90s night double elimination.
“Dancing with the Stars” hits rewind with “90s Night” featuring special guest artists Salt-N-Pepa, En Vogue, Vanilla Ice and Kid ‘N Play.
The evening will kick off with a dazzling opening number choreographed by Mandy Moore, featuring the professional dancers who will be joining the DWTS LIVE 2023 Tour. The pros will dance to “Whatta Man” performed live by Salt-N-Pepa and En Vogue. “90s Night” will also see the return of the Relay Dance competition where each winner will have the opportunity to earn five bonus points. All four Relay Dances will feature a live performance from one of the special guest artists – Vanilla Ice, En Vogue, Salt-N-Pepa and Kid ‘N Play.
Vanilla Ice is a particularly fun guest performer because he actually competed on “Dancing With the Stars” back in 2016. He and his partner Witney Carson finished in 10th place.
Based on the number of couples, we think both November 7 and November 14 will be double eliminations because typically, the finale only has four couples competing at that point. There are eight couples left, which means two need to go home each week until the finale.
The Dances & Song Styles
The couples and their dance styles plus the songs they are performing to are:
- Actor and singer Wayne Brady and pro Witney Carson will perform a salsa to “Motownphilly” by Boyz II Men
- TikTok star Charli D’Amelio and pro Mark Ballas will perform a tango to “Song 2” by Blur
- Heidi D’Amelio (“The D’Amelio Show”) and pro Artem Chigvintsev will perform a contemporary to “Ironic” by Alanis Morissette
- TV star Trevor Donovan and pro Emma Slater will perform a salsa to “Barbie Girl” by Aqua
- Actor Daniel Durant (Oscar®-winning “CODA”) and pro Britt Stewart will perform a jazz to “Enjoy the Silence” by Depeche Mode
- Vinny Guadagnino (“Jersey Shore”) and pro Koko Iwasaki will perform a Tango to “What Is Love” by Haddaway
- Drag queen superstar Shangela and pro Gleb Savchenko will perform a samba to “Spice Up Your Life” by Spice Girls
- Gabby Windey (“The Bachelorette”) and pro Val Chmerkovskiy will perform a samba to “Livin’ La Vida Loca” by Ricky Martin
The relay dances are as follows:
- Shangela & Gleb vs. Daniel & Britt
Cha Cha to “Ice Ice Baby” performed live by Vanilla Ice - Vinny & Koko vs. Trevor & Emma
Samba to “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It)” performed live by En Vogue - Heidi & Artem vs. Wayne & Witney
Samba to “Shoop” performed live by Salt-N-Pepa - Charli & Mark vs. Gabby & Val
Salsa to “Ain’t Gonna Hurt Nobody” performed live by Kid ‘N Play
“Dancing With the Stars” airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern and 5 p.m. Pacific time on Disney Plus.