Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 8)

Couples

The 13 celebrities and professional dancers who competed were:

Shawn Johnson, Gilles Marini, and Melissa Rycroft later competed in the All-Stars season, where this time Johnson was paired with Derek Hough, Marini was paired with Peta Murgatroyd, and Rycroft remained with her original partner, Tony Dovolani. Marini finished 6th, while Johnson finished as the runner-up to Rycroft, who was the first and only contestant to win with Tony Dovolani.

Changes

Originally, the season was advertised as the first U.S. season where a husband and wife would compete against each other: rodeo champion Ty Murray and singer-songwriter Jewel. The two had married the previous year after a ten-year courtship. However, just prior to the series, Jewel fractured both her tibias and was unable to perform. She was replaced on the show by Playboy model Holly Madison. Murray chose to continue on the show, and Jewel appeared during the season as a special musical guest.

Nancy O'Dell, the then co-host of Access Hollywood, was also originally announced to be on the show, but was forced to withdraw from the competition due to a torn meniscus, which required surgery. She was replaced by Melissa Rycroft, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader who won season 13 of The Bachelor. She only had two days to practice her first dance.

Overview

Week 1: Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke received  ²⁴⁄₃₀ (the highest score of the night) for their cha-cha-cha. Although having only two days to practice for their Waltz, Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani tied for second place with Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas. Steve Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff received the lowest score of the night, a  ¹³⁄₃₀, for their cha-cha-cha.

Week 2: Steve-O suffered a pulled back muscle while performing his salsa during dress rehearsal, and therefore could not perform live. Instead, the judges' scores were based on his pre-recorded dress rehearsal video, which earned him a  ¹⁴⁄₃₀, the lowest score of the night. Gilles Marini performed a quickstep, which earned him a  ²⁷⁄₃₀, the highest score of the night. Once the scores from weeks one and two were combined, Gilles & Cheryl held the top spot with 51, Mellissa & Tony, were placed in second, with 49 points, and Shawn & Mark, in third with 47. Steve Wozniak and Belinda Carlisle were revealed to be in the bottom two. They both participated in a dance-off, and they both scored  ¹⁷⁄₃₀. In the end, Belinda & Jonathan were eliminated.

Week 3: Shawn & Mark, Melissa & Tony, and Gilles & Cheryl all scored  ²⁷⁄₃₀, making a three way tie. David Alan Grier improved greatly from his score of 17 the previous week, to a score of  ²⁴⁄₃₀ the next week. Steve Wozniak & Karina Smirnoff received the second lowest score in the history of the show for their Samba:  ¹⁰⁄₃₀ (4, 3, 3). Still, Wozniak managed to escape the bottom two and avoided the dance-off. Denise & Maks and Holly & Dmitry were revealed to be in the bottom two, and they would be participating in the dance-off. Holly improved her score by one point, receiving 18, while Denise improved by four points, receiving a 20. However, Denise Richards was eliminated. This was the second time Maksim Chmerkovskiy was eliminated after a samba, since Tia Carrere in season two.

Week 4: Gilles & Cheryl received the first  ³⁰⁄₃₀ of the season for their Argentine tango, tying him with Sabrina Bryan in season five for the earliest  ³⁰⁄₃₀ awarded, until they were beaten by Janel Parrish and Bethany Mota in season 19, when they both achieved a score of  ⁴⁰⁄₄₀ in week 3. Melissa & Tony came in second, receiving a  ²⁹⁄₃₀ for their Lindy Hop, while Lil' Kim & Derek came in third, receiving a  ²⁷⁄₃₀ (9, 8, 10) for their Argentine tango. Steve & Karina received the lowest score, a  ¹²⁄₃₀ on their Argentine tango. Holly & Dmitry, Steve & Karina, and Steve-O & Lacey were revealed to be in the bottom three. In the end, Holly Madison and Steve Wozniak were eliminated in the show's only mid-season double elimination.

Week 5: Once again, Gilles & Cheryl climbed to first place, with a score of  ²⁹⁄₃₀ for their Paso doble. They were also the only couple to receive 10s (from Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno). Shawn & Mark & Lil' Kim & Derek, both came in second place, receiving  ²⁶⁄₃₀ for their Vienesse Waltzes. Steve-O & Lacey Schwimmer received the lowest scores of the night, a  ¹⁸⁄₃₀ for their Viennese Waltz, yet they still managed to escape the bottom two and the dance-off. David & Kym and Lawrence & Edyta were revealed to be in the bottom two and the dance-off. David danced his Viennese Waltz and improved his score by two points to a  ²⁴⁄₂₀, while Lawrence did not improve his Paso doble receiving a  ²⁰⁄₃₀. However, David Alan Grier was eliminated.

Week 6: For the first time since the start of the competition, Gilles did not receive the highest score. Lil' Kim & Derek had the highest score, with a  ²⁸⁄₃₀ for their Jive. Steve-O and Lacey received the lowest score of the night,  ¹⁶⁄₃₀ for their Rumba. Len Goodman gave them a 4, and Carrie Ann gave them a 7. Such a difference between judges' scores is rare. Furthermore, 4 is the lowest Week 6 score in the history of the show. They were subsequently eliminated.

Week 7: The stars were given the chance to design the costumes for their dances. Also occurring for this week, was the first group dance of the season dedicated to the 1960s. Melissa & Tony took the top of the leaderboard for the second time with a near perfect  ²⁹⁄₃₀. Lawrence Taylor & Edyta Śliwińska ended up with the lowest score, a  ²¹⁄₃₀ for their Waltz, and they were later eliminated.

Week 8: Melissa suffered a hairline fracture in her ribs, and could not perform her Jive live. Instead, the judges' scores were based on her rehearsal video. She received the lowest score of the night, a  ²¹⁄₃₀. Lil' Kim & Derek received the highest score, a  ²⁸⁄₃₀ for their Paso doble. Team Tango (Gilles & Cheryl, Lil' Kim & Derek, and Ty Murray & Chelsie Hightower) managed to beat Team Mambo (Shawn & Mark, Lacey Schwimmer & Tony, and Chuck & Julianne) with a  ²⁸⁄₃₀ to Team Mambo's  ²⁵⁄₃₀. Melissa's spot in the Team Mambo was filled in by Lacey Schwimmer who learned the dance in less than a day. Lacey and Tony were ignored during the scoring; however, the team score was added to Melissa's individual score. Chuck Wicks was eliminated in what Tom Bergeron called "the most shocking elimination this season".

Week 9: Despite her sustained injury, Melissa & Tony scored a perfect  ³⁰⁄₃₀ for their Samba, the second perfect score of the season. This, combined with their score of  ²⁷⁄₃₀ for the Viennese Waltz landed them in the top spot, with a total of  ⁵⁷⁄₆₀. Ty and Chelsie landed in the bottom with a total score of  ⁴⁶⁄₆₀, scoring a  ²⁵⁄₃₀ for their Argentine tango (their highest individual score of the competition) and a  ²¹⁄₃₀ for their Rumba (the lowest score of the night). However, Lil' Kim was eliminated. This elimination was met by boos from the audience and the judges gasping (with Carrie Ann Inaba holding back tears).

Week 10: Shawn and Mark received their first  ³⁰⁄₃₀ for their Argentine tango. Gilles and Cheryl received a perfect  ⁶⁰⁄₆₀ for their Waltz and Salsa. This was the first time since season five that a perfect 60 has been achieved in the semi-finals as well as the first time since season five that a 30 alone was achieved in the semi-finals. Ty Murray and Chelsie were at the bottom of the leaderboard with a  ⁴⁸⁄₆₀, receiving  ²⁵⁄₃₀ for their Viennese Waltz and  ²³⁄₃₀ for their Samba, and were eliminated.

Week 11: Gilles received a perfect score of  ³⁰⁄₃₀ for the Group Paso doble. Shawn and Mark were the only couple to receive a perfect score for the Freestyle round. Shawn's combined score of 88 gave her the highest score of the night, tied with Gilles; the first time in eight weeks. Mark became the third, and only male, two-time champion. Shawn, Gilles, and Melissa are the only three couples to get perfect 30s this season, they were also the part of four dancers to maintain above a judges score of 7 (along with Lil' Kim) with Gilles receiving nothing below an 8 and Shawn receiving only one 7 (in week 1). Shawn and Gilles were the only couples not to be in the bottom two or at least not under the red light. Shawn is the fourth female winner, and additionally the sixth winner to get a perfect 30 on the freestyle.

Scoring chart

Red numbers indicate the lowest score for each week. Green numbers indicate the highest score for each week.      indicates the couple (or couples) eliminated that week.      indicates the returning couple that finished in the bottom two (or bottom three).      indicates the returning couple that was the last to be called safe (they may or may have not been in the bottom two).      indicates the winning couple.      indicates the runner-up couple.      indicates the third-place couple.      indicates a couple that was eliminated in a dance-off.

Average score chart

This table only counts for dances scored on a traditional 30-points scale. (Dance-off scores not included)

Highest and lowest scoring dances

The best and worst performances in each dance according to the judges' marks are as follows:

David Alan Grier, Denise Richards, Chuck Wicks and Holly Madison did not land on this

Weekly scores and songs

Unless indicated otherwise, individual judges scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.

Week 1

Running Order

Week 2

Running Order

Week 3

Running Order

Week 4

Running Order

Week 5

Running Order

Week 6

Running Order

Week 7

Running Order

Week 8

Running order

* Due to an injury, Melissa Rycroft was unable to perform her Jive, or as part of Team Mambo, on the live show. Lacey Schwimmer filled in for her on Team Mambo instead. Rycroft's rehearsal tape for her Jive was shown and scored, as Steve-O was forced to do in Week 2.

Week 9

Running order

Week 10

Running order

Week 11: Final

Running Order (Night 1)

Running Order (Night 2)

Dance chart

     Highest Scoring Dance      Lowest Scoring Dance      Danced, but not scored

Dance schedule

The celebrities and professional partners danced one of these routines for each corresponding week.

Week 1: Cha-cha-cha or waltz

Week 2: Salsa or quickstep

Week 3: Samba or foxtrot

Week 4: Lindy Hop or Argentine tango

Week 5: Paso doble or Viennese Waltz

Week 6: Jive or Rumba

Week 7: One unlearned dance from week one to week six and 1960s group dance

Week 8: One unlearned dance from week one to week six and Team mambo or tango

Week 9: Two unlearned dances (one ballroom, one Latin) from week one to week six, with a 15-second solo during the Latin routine

Week 10: Final two unlearned dances (one Ballroom, one Latin) from week one to week six

Week 11 (night 1): Paso doble face-off, freestyle

Week 11 (night 2): Favorite dance of the season, eliminated stars return

Professional dancer competition

Six professional dancers, three men and three women, will compete live in a weekly dance competition for a guaranteed spot as a professional dancer to be paired with a celebrity next season.

For the first week, six professionals will be paired into three couples and will compete in the first round with their chosen style of dance, either Latin or Ballroom. Of the six dancers, one male and one female will be eliminated based on fewest viewer votes.

In the second week, the four remaining professionals will pair up and compete in whichever style dance they did not do the first week. The dancer with the lowest number of viewer votes, whether it be male or female, will be eliminated.

In the third week, the three remaining professionals will teach a celebrity from a previous season, and the dancer with the lowest number of viewer votes will be eliminated.

In the fourth week, the two professionals will pair up with a current pro and choreograph a Ballroom and a Latin routine. The dancer with the highest number of votes will win.

The competing dancers are:

Mayo Alanen (Runner-up)

Brent Borbon

Afton DelGrosso (3rd Place)

Anna Demidova (Winner)

Genya Mazo

Snow Urbin

The celebrity partners for Round 3 are:

Cody Linley (season 7, paired with Afton DelGrosso)

Lisa Rinna (season 2, paired with Mayo Alanen)

Maurice Greene (season 7, paired with Anna Demidova)

The professional partners for Round 4 are:

Kym Johnson (paired with Mayo Alanen)

Maksim Chmerkovskiy (paired with Anna Demidova)

The winner, guaranteed a spot as a pro in season nine, is Anna Demidova.

Macy's Stars of Dance

For the May 12 "Design a Dance" performance, viewers had voted in the weeks beforehand about what style dance they wanted (Quickstep), what song they wanted the dance to ("It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"), and what professionals they wanted to do the dance. Also, Dancing with the Stars held an online contest where viewers could submit their drawings for outfits for the performance. The winner was Rebecca Farmer from New York City. Her designs were turned into the outfits for the performers, and she won a trip to the show.