DANCING WITH THE STARS Showdown: The Finalists Revealed!

Last night on DANCING WITH THE STARS, Ricki Lake and Derek earned their first perfect score of the season, Rob Kardashian and Cheryl received their first ten, J.R. Martinez and Karina suffered through J.R.'s twisted ankle, and Hope Solo struggled to keep her momentum. Whose performance was enough to bring them into next week's finals?

Well, hosts Tom and Brooke announce right away that Rob and Cheryl will be dancing for the trophy, leaving two places left for the finals. But before we find out who'll be joining them, there'll be tons of performances - Cobra Starship, the AT&T Spotlight Performance, and a visit from The Muppets.

Cobra Starship takes to the stage first with singer Sabi to perform their hit single "You Make Me Feel..." The group is joined by Sharna, Kym and Tristan from the troupe.

We also look back at yesterday's tension between Hope, Maks and the judges, this time with extra snippets: Hope says she feels "nobody else can do" what they did in their routine last night, and Len says that he doesn't understand their anger since "the thing is, we were nice!" It's not really a surprise, then, that after rough performances yesterday Hope and Maks are told they're in jeopardy.

Tonight's AT&T Spotlight comes from FOOTLOOSE star Kenny Wormald, who describes being bullied for his interest in dance growing up. He mentors members of the dance academy Gold School for their performance to "How You Like Me Now." After a commercial break The Muppets' Gonzo, along with the rest of the famous puppets, sing a song from the Muppets movie (which hits movie theaters November 23). It's fun to see The Muppets make a return, complete with Statler and Waldorf taking playful digs from the judges' table.

But, as always, the real event of the show is the celebrity elimination, and tonight it comes down to Hope Solo and J.R. Martinez. J.R.'s been a consistent audience and judges' favorite, but it's last night's performance that truly matters.

Unfortunately for Hope, last night's wasn't a strong performance for her either, and it's the one that costs her the competition just short of the finals. "I'm grateful, it was an amazing opportunity," Hope says. "I'm going to try to win a gold medal instead of the Mirror Ball Trophy." She adds.

"Dancing with the Stars" is the U.S. version of the international smash hit series, "Strictly Come Dancing." This version is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Conrad Green serves as executive producer and Rob Wade is co-executive producer. Alex Rudzinski directs. "Dancing with the Stars" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

 

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