Jenna Dewan Exits DWTS in Week 9 Despite 30-Point Grammy Night Score

Q: How did Jenna Dewan face a shocking DWTS elimination despite earning near-perfect scores on Grammy Night?

Jenna Dewan was eliminated because *Dancing With the Stars* does not base results on judges’ scores alone; eliminations are decided by the combined total of judges’ scores and live viewer votes. On Grammy Night, Dewan and partner Val Chmerkovskiy were among the strongest couples. They scored 28 out of 30 for their jazz routine to Janet Jackson’s “All for You,” then beat Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik in the dance-off, earning two bonus points. That gave them 30 total points, tying them for second on the final leaderboard behind Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson. Even so, the show’s format meant that a high placement on the judges’ leaderboard did not guarantee safety. Once audience votes were added to the scores, Dewan and Chmerkovskiy ended up with the lowest combined result among the remaining couples and were sent home. That is why the elimination was widely described as shocking: Dewan had been seen as a frontrunner, had one of the top scores of the night, and had just won her dance-off. But on *DWTS*, strong judging numbers can still be overturned if viewer support is not enough.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Nov 11

Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy were eliminated in Week 9 after a jazz routine to Janet Jackson's "All for You," leaving six couples in the Season 35 semifinals.
The pair went home on the lowest combined judges' scores and viewer vote, even after winning a head-to-head dance-off and tying for second on the leaderboard with 30 points.
Julianne Hough called the result "shocking" because Dewan had been viewed as a strong contender, coming off a perfect 40 the previous week and consistently high scores.
Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson led the night with 29 out of 30, while Tatyana Ali, Amber Glenn, Maura Higgins, Ezra Frech and Connor Wood also advanced.
The upset underscored how audience voting can overturn strong judges' marks as the ABC and Disney+ competition heads into next Tuesday's semifinal.