The Geek Girl's Recap of 'DWTS' Season 28: Week 8

Monday Leaderboard (combining scores from both rounds)

Ally and Sasha (80/80)

Kel and Whitney (74/80)

James and Emma (72/80)

Hannah and Alan (71/80)

Lauren and Gleb (70/80)

Sean and Jenna (50/80)

Bottom two: Lauren and Gleb; Sean and Jenna

Eliminated: Sean and Jenna. For those favoring the talent aspect of the show, this elimination was a long time coming. I'm curious what finally tipped the scales?

Geeking Out:

Many a boy band and girl group has been represented over the years through their members participating in the show. As a fun theme night, this is only the second time so far the show has featured a boy band/girl group subject matter. The previous time was three years ago on season 24 and part of the episode was the season's "group dance" night. This time around, couples just danced two individual dances. One to a girl group hit and one to a boy band hit.

Joey Fatone of NSYNC fame and season four's runner-up played guest judge this week. Earlier, two guest judges (which is unprecedented at of right now by the way) were announced with "Baby Spice" Emma Bunton as the girl group represent, but she had a scheduling conflict that prevented her appearance. Which wasn't for the worst though... I'm supposing the judges table would have been crowded with both Joey and Emma right alongside Bruno, Len, and Carrie Ann. Five judges would have bumped the scoring range up to 50, and depending on the invited celebrity, the guest judges are often tricky to take seriously anyway if they don't have connections to the show or the ballroom world. I'm of the opinion that change-up at the judges table might not be a terrible thing, but it just has to be done right.

I might have to do a standalone post just for my ideas on tweaking the show...

James and Emma

Girl Group: Jived to "I'm So Excited" by the Pointer Sisters. Bruno and Carrie Ann remarked on some technicalities in his rhythm, but his performance was as praiseworthy as ever earning nine's across the table.

Boy Band: Jazzed to NSYNC's "Bye Bye Bye." The context rocked the boat for the "proper" judges interests. Bruno and Len would have liked to see more "in-hold" dancing when boy band dancing doesn't inherently mesh with that. Len gave an eight, Bruno and Carrie Ann gave nines, and Joey, not surprisingly, gave a ten. They earned third place with 72 out of 80 points for the night.

Sean and Jenna

Girl Group: Tangoed to "Bills, Bills, Bills" by Destiny's Child. The usual praise for his efforts aside, Len was very unhappy with the performance, seeing it has "just walking about." Carrie Ann commented that the artistry was missing. Joey softened the blowing critiques by pointing out Sean's good frame and that his feet were problematic. Sixes and sevens earned them 26 out of 40 for this round.

Boy Band: A foxtrot to One Direction's "Story of My Life." The critiques went in a downward direction as there was supposedly no fluidity and missed steps. They were scored with sixes across the table, giving them 50 out of 80 for the night.

Hannah and Alan

Girl Group: Salsa to TLC'S "No Scrubs." Carrie Ann's words were good, but not amazing. The lift police felt the tricks were out of sorts (which Joey reiterated). But there was enough latin flavor for Len, and Bruno said she still has potential to be a star attraction. They gave her 32 out of 40 for this round.

Boy Band: Tango to a BTS song. Her best of the night, if not the season, earning 39 out of 40 for the round, and 71 out of 80 for the night.

Ally and Sasha

Girl Group: Samba to Spice Girls' "Wannabe," which earned a perfect score of the night!

Boy Band: Jazz to "Step by Step" from New Kids on the Block. Another step towards perfection in scores and topping the leaderboard.

Lauren and Gleb

Girl Group: Quickstep to "You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes. Everybody but Carrie Ann mentioned little things that could have made the difference. They were given 34 out of 40 for this round.

Boy Band: Rumba to Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way." Her better dance, earning nines across the table and 36 out of 40 for the round. 70 out of 80 was her cumulative score.

Kel and Whitney

Girl Group: Pasodoble to En Vogue's "Free Your Mind." This was an arguably strong dance for him, if not too much so according to the judges' mixed responses and scores. They gave him 34 out of 40 for this round.

Boy Band: Waltz to "I'll Make Love to You" from Boyz II Men. His better and perfect-scoring dance for the night,earning him second place on the cumulative leaderboard.