Dancing with the Stars Season 35 sailed into Yacht Rock Night with routines set to soft-rock classics from Fleetwood Mac, Hall & Oates, the Doobie Brothers, and more, and the results delivered the season’s first genuinely surprising elimination.
If Tuesday’s episode had you double-checking the scoreboard, you weren’t alone.
The theme sent all 13 remaining couples to soft-rock classics rather than any single genre or era. The full song lineup included Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov dancing a foxtrot to Toto’s “Hold the Line,” Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson performing a jive to Daryl Hall & John Oates’ “You Make My Dreams Come True,” and Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa taking on a salsa to Hall & Oates’ “I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do).” Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik danced a quickstep to Hall & Oates’ “Maneater,” while Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas earned their strong score with a quickstep to George Benson’s “Turn Your Love Around.” Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart performed a foxtrot to the Doobie Brothers’ “What a Fool Believes,” Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold danced a foxtrot to Fleetwood Mac’s “Everywhere,” Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong took on a cha-cha to Luther Vandross’ “Never Too Much,” and Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach danced a foxtrot to Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers’ “Just the Two of Us.” Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy rounded things out with a samba to Toto’s “Africa,” while Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson closed the night with their now-infamous foxtrot to Rupert Holmes’ “Escape (The Piña Colada Song).”
The night belonged to two couples tied at the top. Amber Glenn and pro partner Pasha Pashkov earned the season’s first-ever 8s, scoring a 24 out of 30 for a foxtrot that judge Bruno Tonioli compared to “the finest champagne.” Harry Shum Jr. and pro partner Jenna Johnson matched that score with a jive judges called a genuine “statement” performance, also landing three 8s for a total of 24 out of 30. Not far behind, Maura Higgins and pro partner Mark Ballas turned in a strong 23 out of 30, with judge Carrie Ann Inaba holding the routine up as an example for the rest of the field.
Elsewhere on the leaderboard, Julia Stiles and pro partner Ezra Sosa scored a 19, marking her first seven of the season from Derek Hough, and Tatyana Ali and pro partner Jan Ravnik picked up her first sevens across the board for a 21. Guillermo Rodriguez brought some levity to the evening, ripping his shirt off mid-foxtrot and earning his highest score of the season with three 5s, good for 15 points, though that still landed him at the bottom of the leaderboard alongside pro partner Witney Carson.
The real gut-punch of the night, though, was the elimination itself. Taylor Hanson and pro partner Britt Stewart were sent home despite Hanson’s genuine personal connection to the yacht rock genre, having performed “What a Fool Believes” himself when he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame back in 2020. Hanson scored an 18 out of 30 on the night, and the elimination landed as a real shock given that history, with Hanson joining Jackson Olson and Emma Slater and Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson as the bottom three couples in danger heading into the results.
Yacht Rock Night is the kind of theme that tends to reward polish and musicality over flash, and this week’s leaderboard reflected that, with Amber Glenn and Harry Shum Jr. both emerging as genuine frontrunners two weeks into the regular season. With Mariah Carey Night up next, the competition only gets more interesting from here.
We’ll keep tracking Dancing with the Stars Season 35 as new themes and eliminations roll in, so check back with Theme Park Scope for the latest, and follow us on social so you don’t miss it.
Were YOU surprised by Taylor Hanson’s elimination on Yacht Rock Night, or did you see it coming?
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