Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas top ‘DWTS’ leaderboard again after ‘killer’ cha-cha 'melts' Bruno Tonioli
'Dancing With The Stars' duo Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas, who topped the leaderboard last week, returned to wow fans and judges with their cha cha routine in the second week of the fan favorite dance reality show. 'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' star and her pro partner, Ballas, performed the cha cha to 'Play That Funky Music' by Wild Cherry on the latest episode of 'DWTS' Season 34, which aired on September 23.
When judge Bruno Tonioli was asked to share his feedback on Leavitt and Tonioli's cha-cha performance, he quipped that the duo's "killer" performance showed that they're definitely "not a one-hit wonder". "So hot, I'm melting," he added. On the other hand, Carrie Ann Inaba asserted that Leavitt and Ballas lit the ballroom on fire. Coming to Derek Hough, the Primetime Emmy Award winner said that he couldn't stop clapping for the duo. Eventually, Leavitt and Ballas received an overall combined score of 22 out of 30 points.
The duo was tied up with Robert Irwin and Witney Carson, who also bagged a score of 22 out of 30 points. In the episode, Irwin and Carson did the tango to 'Move Your Feet' by Junior Senior. Robert wasn't born when this song came out in 2002, but when his father Steve Irwin's show 'Crocodile Hunter' was at its peak, it was a hit. "Every year I live, I actually feel closer to my dad," he said on the episode. While offering his views on Robert and Carson's performance, Tonioli praised their routine before critiquing a "gimmick" they threw into the choreography. Soon after, Inaba mentioned that Robert's charisma is "off the charts." Meanwhile, Hough called Robert a "crikey."
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Notably, last week, a scoring error for Leavitt and Ballas' tango had become the talk of the town. Leavitt and Ballas had performed a tango to 'Golden' from 'Demon Hunters', and the praises were flowing. Complimenting the duo's dance routine, Tonioli expressed that Leavitt was "elegant" in her moves. "No messing around, very, very, very high quality!" he exclaimed. Hough echoed the same sentiments but advised Leavitt to keep "the frame consistent." Meanwhile, Inaba skipped the premiere episode of 'DWTS' Season 34 due to illness.
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Following that, the 'DWTS' judges gave their scores to Leavitt and Ballas, which saw an unexpected error. Tonioli picked up his paddle to award the duo a score of seven. The studio audience began hooting loudly as Tonioli gushed over Leavitt and Ballas's dance performance. However, Tonioli had accidentally put an eight into the electronic scoring system instead of the seven he had visibly displayed. This score flub resulted in Leavitt and Ballas earning a score of 15 rather than 14 points. Then, Tonioli acknowledged the error, but the result remained the same. After all the 'DWTS' week two performances were done, Leavitt and Irwin topped the leaderboards yet again.