Recap: Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1” Season 21, Episode 11

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ABC)

We’re down to four fantastic couples vying for the mirror ball trophy, Alek Skarlatos & Lindsay Arnold, Bindi Irwin & Derek Hough, Carlos PenaVega & Witney Carson, and Nick Carter & Sharna Burgess have one last night of competitive dancing, and one more chance to earn America’s votes. Tomorrow, one of the celebrities and his or her professional partner will be crowned the Season 21 champions of Dancing With The Stars.

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ ABC)

The night opened with adorable singer Meghan Trainor performing her sweet hit, “Better When I’m Dancin” from The Peanuts Movie. What an energetic start to the night!

Tonight, the finalists will compete in two rounds of dance. In the first round, one judge will help each couple choose the creative elements of each dance, which is a re-do to a new song. Carrie Ann Inaba will work alongside Linsday & Alek, as well as Bindi & Derek. Julianne Hough is with Nick & Sharna, and Bruno Tonioli is with Carlos & Witney.

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ ABC)

Carlos PenaVega & Witney Carson 1-855-234-5605
Dancing a Foxtrot to “The Hills” by The Weeknd
Carlos is hungry for his first perfect dance of the season. Their judge, Bruno, wants Carlos to focus on his arms and wants them to redo their Week 2 foxtrot.
Julianne: That was the sexiest foxtrot I’ve ever seen!
Bruno: You heartbreaker. You taker, you use her you treat her like dirt. That is no way to treat a lady, but definitely the way to dance the foxtrot.
Carrie Ann: You are so deserved of bring her tonight!
Judges Scores: Carrie Ann: 10, Julianne: 10, Bruno: 10, total: 30 out of 30.

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ ABC)

Alek Skarlatos & Lindsay Arnold 1-855-234-5601
Dancing a rhumba to “The Pieces Don’t Fit Anymore” by James Morrison
Their judge, Carrie Ann, wants them to redo the rhumba, the dance he did in the switch-up week. She wants to see a lot more hip action, but Alek doesn’t think he can be sexy with his partner, who he considers his sister.
Bruno: At times, it looked like someone trying to catch a butterfly mid-flight without hurting her.
Carrie Ann: When you get into the zone, you’re a much better performer… I saw an Itty, itty, bitty bit of hip action.
Julianne: It takes a lot of courage to be an unknown guy to come out here and being committed every single week.
Judges Scores: Carrie Ann: 9, Julianne: 9, Bruno: 9, total: 27 out of 30.

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ ABC)

Before Nick & Sharna danced, Meghan Trainor performed her song, “Like I’m Going To Lose You.” I was hoping John Legend would pop out, but Ms. T sang solo while Artem and Peta danced. (And then Tom shilled the DWTS tour).

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ ABC)

Nick Carter & Sharna Burgess 1-855-234-5610
Dancing a Jive to “Runaway Baby” by Bruno Mars
Julianne came in and is having Nick redo the jive (and hopefully we won’t have any slips on those gold shoes) and she offers great advice on how to make his kicks and flicks sharper- pretend like your tows are touching lot lava.
Carrie Ann: Cowabunga, that was ridiculous!
Julianne: I’m so speechless right now!
Bruno: Nick is the sex-bomb! In a high-octane, kickass jive.
Judges Scores: Carrie Ann: 10, Julianne: 10, Bruno: 10, total: 30 out of 30.

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ ABC)

Bindi Irwin & Derek Hough 1-855-234-5604
Dancing a Quickstep to “Dr.Bones” by Cherry Poppin’ Daddies.
Carrie Ann has tasked Bindi and Derek to redo their Quickstep. Derek has a major cold (I feel you bro!) and his cough may be a hindrance to his dance. Why did they get extra dancers in their routine? Is it because Bindi is too adorable for words?
Julianne: The quickstep is one of the hardest dances, stamina-wise and you are the Energizer bunny!
Bruno: That really was a gem of a quickstep. Every facet, every aspect was like a gleaming cut, jewel.
Carrie Ann: You are in a class of your own.
Judges Scores: Carrie Ann: 10, Julianne: 10, Bruno: 10, total: 30 out of 30.

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ ABC)

Before we start the freestyle dances, we heard the new song from Who Is Fancy, “Boys Like You” which features Ariana Grande & Meghan Trainor. My toes are tapping!

In the second round, the couples take on a freestyle dance featuring special effects, additional dancers and unexpected surprises. It’s a no-holds-barred cdance that is usually one of my favorites! (And it’s Tom Bergeron’s favorite too!) At the end of the night, the couple with the lowest combined viewer and judge votes from the previous two weeks will be eliminated.

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ ABC)

Carlos PenaVega & Witney Carson 1-855-234-5605
Dancing Freestyle (Hip Hop & Salsa) to “WTF9 Where They From?) by Missy Elliot
For their Freestyle dance, and as the culmination of the season, Carlos and Witney wanted to bring in a few former contestants, so Hayes, Alexa and Paula lend a hand, (or a few legs.) It’s never been done before and Carlos finally gets to dance with his wife.
Julianne: That definitely has never been done before. And did it work? I liked it.
Bruno: Hip Hop Hooray for Carlos!
Carrie Ann: I love your heart …
Judges Scores: Carrie Ann: 10, Julianne: 10, Bruno: 10, total: 30 out of 30.

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ABC)

Alek Skarlatos & Lindsay Arnold 1-855-234-5601
Dancing Freestyle to “Marchin On” by OneRepublic
Alek has designed an Army obstacle course for his freestyle dance. Say What?!? That’s right, and obstacle course, like
Bruno: No obstacle is insurmountable and no challenge is too great when you have faith.
Carrie Ann: It was a victory from beginning to end.
Julianne: That was physically powerful and emotionally powerful.
Judges Scores: Carrie Ann: 10, Julianne: 10, Bruno: 10, total: 30 out of 30.

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ABC)

Bindi Irwin & Derek Hough 1-855-234-5604
Dancing Freestyle to “Footprints in the Sand” by Leona Lewis
Instead of doing something high-energy like the other dancers, they’re doing something more lyrical and contemporary. And it’s filled with passion, and power, and artistry, and emotion.
Carrie Ann: That was brilliant and that was a dancer’s freestyle.
Julianne: You’re so special that you’ve taken each and every one of us on the journey with you.
Bruno: You showed us the power of dance at its more powerful and effective form.
Judges Scores: Carrie Ann: 10, Julianne: 10, Bruno: 10, total: 30 out of 30.

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ABC)

Nick Carter & Sharna Burgess 1-855-234-5610
Dancing Freestyle to “Larger Than Life” by Backstreet Boys
This is Nick’s moment, and he wants one of the BSB’s signature songs to cement him at the top of the leader board. And true to his word, Nick was the focus of the dance and he was explosive.
Julianne: That was a freestyle that was larger than life.
Bruno: What a way to finish the night. I felt like a fan.
Carrie Ann: I pushed you really hard this season, but you finished the finals with the most freaking awesome dance ever!
Judges Scores: Carrie Ann: 10, Julianne: 10, Bruno: 10, total: 30 out of 30.

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ABC)

After two dances, the scores were as follows:
Bindi & Derek scored 60 out of 60
Carlos & Witney scored 60 out of 60
Nick & Sharna scored 60 out of 60
Alek & Lindsay scored 57 out of 60

Dancing With the Stars “The Finals, Part 1”
(Adam Taylor/ABC)

But after a night of amazing dances, the journey has to come to an end for one couple. The first couple announced to be safe are Alek & Lindsay (What?!?!). Next, Bindi & Derek are announced as finalists. So either Nick & Sharna or Carlos & Witney have danced their final dance. Both men were amazing this week, so It’ll be sand to see on of them go home after 11 weeks. And I’m so sad to see that Carlos & Witney’s journey ended tonight. He’s just so sweet, and humble, and wonderful!

Tomorrow, someone’s gonna win. Who will it be?

Don’t for get to Vote for your favorite dancers, they still need your vote. Find the Season 21 voting phone numbers here.