In the most recent episode of “Dancing With the Stars,” Osmond power reigned supreme, Aaron Carter got his groove back and with the help of a well-placed nickel, Michael Irvin received the highest praise yet from the judges.

Night one brought out the A-game of the stars. It also brought out a case of the flu as Derek was temporarily sidelined from competition, causing his partner Joanna to learn a new routine with Maksim. Although their Argentine Tango got high marks from the judges it did not keep her from possible elimination, proving that the fan votes have been going to Derek.

One of the highlights of the evening was Kelly Osbourne dancing to her father’s hit “Crazy Train.” While doing the routine, she injured herself, but improved dancing-wise and was highly commended by the judges.

On the first night the group dance was introduced as the dancers and stars did a routine based on the hustle in full ‘70s regalia. Donny Osmond was most definitely in his element.

Elimination night was the better of the two as several unexpected couples found themselves in the precarious position of being sent home. Norah Jones performed and showed her versatility as an arranger and song stylist. In a nutshell “It’s Gonna Be” from her latest album has the type of infectious rhythm that makes you wish it could go on indefinitely. On her second go round, Jones’ stripped down version of her breakthrough hit “Come Away With Me,” was also enjoyable to listen to. The performance was heightened by the professional dancers moving to the guitar playing of Jones and a band member.

Interspersed throughout the elimination episode had the professionals reflect on their past dance routines to Michael Jackson’s music as a buildup to their tribute to the king of pop. It brought home just how influential he has been to dance as his songs were the most performed to (a whopping 17). According to one of the professionals he truly was “The father of choreography.” With a mixture of Latin and Michael Jackson moves to a melody of his tunes, the dancers did him proud.

At the end of the show we are reminded that voting counts. You can’t just dance well and get near perfect scores from the judges. You have to be popular and put your face out there. In this competition if you don’t campaign for the votes you’ll wind up going home.

Will Donny maintain his high scores? Will Kelly lose her confidence? More importantly has Michael Irvin found a new place to put his spare change? Tune in next time to find out.

Related posts:

1. Gotham Arts Exchange in association with NYU Skirball Center presents DANCE GOTHAM January 7-8, 2012 at 7pm Gotham Arts Exchange, in association with the Jack H. Skirball Center for the Performing Arts at NYU, presents the sixth annual presentation of DANCE GOTHAM on Saturday, January 7 and...
2. Michael Jackson’s Influence Still Strong in Today’s Music When a person’s death overshadows their legacy, it’s pretty easy to forget their birthday—and even easier to forget exactly what they did when they were alive. Through all of his...
3. New ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Cast Revealed On ABC Monday night during Bachelor Pad, the 13th season cast of Dancing with the Stars was slowly revealed. Many gossip sites have speculated for months about potential cast members,...
4. Power Ballads Flow Heavy on Beyonce’s ’4′ When you’re as big a star as Beyoncé Knowles, you don’t need a gimmick to sell a record. Knowles shot to fame in the late 90s fronting Destiny’s Child, one...
5. Dance Worthy It’s hard enough to convince someone that there actually is an Irish Dancing World Championship, but it might impossible to convince anyone that there have been over 40 of them....