Dancing With the Stars season 35 is preparing to send its seven remaining couples into the final theme night before the semifinals, with the competition turning its attention to Grammy-winning music.
The all-new “Grammy Night” will pair the celebrities and their professional partners with songs by artists including Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake. The episode will also feature celebrity dance-offs accompanied by live performances from Brandy, Monica, Maren Morris and Sheryl Crow.
One couple, however, will sit out the dance-off portion. Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson earned immunity after receiving the highest scores last week, allowing them to focus on their main routine for the evening.
The Grammy Night lineup
Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov will take on a paso doble set to Evanescence’s “Bring Me to Life.” Their routine is the only paso doble listed for the seven remaining couples.
Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold are scheduled to perform an Argentine tango to Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack.” They are one of three partnerships assigned the Argentine tango during Grammy Night.
Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach will also perform an Argentine tango, using Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” remix as their soundtrack.
The third Argentine tango belongs to Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, who will dance to Sisqó’s “Thong Song.”
Shum and Johnson, the dance-off immunity holders, will perform a salsa to “Die With a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars.
Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy are set to deliver a jazz routine to Janet Jackson’s “All for You,” while Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik will perform a tango to “Boom Boom Pow” by the Black Eyed Peas.
Together, the assignments give the episode a wide mix of styles. Three couples will face Argentine tangos, while the remaining partnerships have distinctly different routines: paso doble, salsa, jazz and tango.
Live music joins the dance-offs
Grammy Night will not be limited to the seven primary performances. The dance-off round will unfold alongside live appearances by Brandy, Monica, Morris and Crow.
The specific dance-off pairings and the songs attached to those performances were not detailed in the supplied lineup. What is confirmed is that Shum and Johnson will not have to participate because of their immunity, while the rest of the field remains eligible for that portion of the night.
The special episode also marks the show’s return to its regular Tuesday-night schedule. Grammy Night is set to air November 10 at 8 p.m. ET.
ShowBiz Take
Grammy Night arrives at a significant point in season 35: It is the final themed installment before the competition moves into the semifinals. With only seven partnerships remaining, the format gives every couple a recognizable Grammy-winning track while adding another performance layer through the live dance-offs.
The night’s assignments also create clear contrasts across the field. Three Argentine tangos will invite direct comparisons among Wood and Arnold, Frech and Karagach, and Higgins and Ballas. Elsewhere, the paso doble, salsa, jazz and tango selections will give the other four couples separate stylistic lanes.
Shum and Johnson enter with the episode’s one confirmed competitive advantage. Their immunity removes the dance-off requirement after they posted the previous week’s highest scores, making them the only remaining partnership able to bypass that stage of Grammy Night.
What Happens Next?
Following the November 10 broadcast, Dancing With the Stars season 35 will move on from its theme-night run and head into the semifinals. Before that happens, the seven couples must first tackle their Grammy-winning selections, with six of the partnerships also facing the evening’s dance-off component.