Dancing With the Stars season 35 hosted Yacht Rock Night, delivering smooth grooves and a surprising elimination. Amber Glenn and Harry Shum Jr. tied for the top leaderboard spot with matching 24/30 scores, while Grammy nominee Taylor Hanson and professional dancer Britt Stewart exited the ballroom.
Yacht Rock Night Scores and Leaderboard Standings
Thirteen celebrity couples hit the ballroom for the September 29 episode, performing routines set to soft-rock classics and smooth grooves defined by the yacht rock era. Figure skater Amber Glenn and partner Pasha Pashkov kicked off the evening with a foxtrot to Toto’s Hold the Line
. Glenn earned three 8s from judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli for a total score of 24/30, marking the highest tally of the season so far. Hough praised the routine, telling the competitor that she turned this ballroom into your own personal ice rink,
while Tonioli likened the performance to a glass of the finest champagne.
Later in the program, Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson matched that top-tier score with a jive to Hall & Oates’ You Make My Dreams (Come True)
. Tonioli called the performance theatrical and sophisticated, telling the pair they were sailing right up to Broadway with that!
Meanwhile, Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas secured second place on the leaderboard with a 22/30 for their quickstep to Turn Your Love Around.
Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart Sent Home in Shock Elimination
Despite scoring an 18/30 for their routine, Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart were eliminated at the end of the night. The departure left the ballroom stunned, as both partners expressed deep gratitude for their time together in the competition. Ahead of the season 35 premiere, Stewart had praised Hanson’s intense dedication to rehearsals, noting that the professional dancer told The Hollywood Reporter she was excited about the partnership because she is a millennial who can appreciate the significance of Taylor Hanson and how awesome it is for him to be on the show. Stewart added that she sighed in relief when Hanson told her during their first meet, I will do whatever you need me to do. If that means buying a cot and sleeping at the dance studio so we can rehearse all the time, that is what I will do.
Every elimination on the program is determined by combining the judges’ scores with viewer votes submitted during the live broadcast. Viewers cast up to 10 votes per couple through ABC’s website and text messaging, with West Coast fans required to submit their ballots between 5 p.m. PT and roughly 6:45 p.m. PT. Hanson and Stewart’s exit follows the departures of Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten during Viral Hits Night, as well as Conner Leavitt and Sarah Jane Nader during premiere week.
Standout Performances Across the Ballroom
Other couples fought hard to climb the leaderboard amid physical setbacks. Julia Stiles performed a salsa to Hall & Oates’ I Can’t Go for That
with partner Ezra Sosa despite nursing a rib injury sustained during rehearsals. The routine earned a 19/30, with Tonioli telling Stiles she awakened her inner Spice Girl and Hough calling the dance a breath of fresh air.
Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson delivered the lowest score of the night with a 15/30 for their foxtrot to Rupert Holmes’ Escape (The Piña Colada Song).
Knowing he relied on fan votes rather than technical scores, Rodriguez capped off his performance by ripping off his shirt to reveal a bare stomach painted with the message Dancing for the people
. Meanwhile, Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik earned a 21/30 for a quickstep to Maneater,
which Hough highlighted as her best dance of the season.
Full Leaderboard Scores for Yacht Rock Night
| Couple | Score |
|---|---|
| Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov | 24/30 |
| Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson | 24/30 |
| Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas | 22/30 |
| Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik | 21/30 |
| Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy | 21/30 |
| Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach | 21/30 |
| Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold | 20/30 |
| Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa | 19/30 |
| Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart (Eliminated) | 18/30 |
| Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong | 18/30 |
| Jackson Olson and Emma Slater | 18/30 |
| Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess | 17/30 |
| Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson | 15/30 |