Plot

Dancing with the Stars - April 13, 2009

With eight out of the original 13 dancers left in the competition on "Dancing with the Stars," the real front-runners started to emerge. Rapper Lil Kim picked the right time to get hot, taking home the high score for the evening and knocking Gilles Marini off the top of the leaderboard.

Ty & Chelsie: Rodeo champ Ty Murray agreed with the judges' harsh assessment of him last week and explained that his performance looks mechanical because he's trying too hard to remember things. His partner Chelsie Hightower tried to loosen him up by bringing a trampoline into their practice session. Judge Len Goodman said Ty looked bewildered, "like, 'what's going on?'" Bruno Tonioli said "the line dancing was good, then the jive started." He said Ty did 20,000 kicks and flicks, "but none of them were right." Carrie Ann Inaba called it exciting and said it "rocked the house," but said Ty was better suited to the foxtrot and Lindy hop. Scores: 6, 6, and 6. Total: 18

Shawn & Mark: Olympic champion Shawn Johnson was acting all shy around partner Mark Ballas as they tried to get into character for their romantic rumba. Mark pulled out all the stops in rehearsal, creating a faux-prom for Shawn, who might miss her big dance if she makes it far enough on the show. Bruno called the performance the innocent side of romance "with a hint of the devil." Carrie Ann wasn't totally buying it, saying she could see the discomfort in Shawn's eye. But she said it came together in the second half of the performance. Len said some rumbas can sometimes get too hot, but that Shawn and Mark just nailed it. Scores: 8, 9, and 9. Total: 26

Lawrence & Edyta: Lawrence Taylor had trouble getting into the fun side of the jive in rehearsal, so his football-playing buddy Warren Sapp, last year's "Dancing" runner-up, stopped by to give him some encouragement. Carrie Ann said Lawrence got his groove back. Len said he liked the style of the dance and the basic movements. Bruno said Lawrence was "alive and kicking," and said he could tell Lawrence was having a good time and called it Lawrence's best performance, to date. Scores: 7, 7, and 8. Total: 22

Melissa & Tony: "Bachelor" star Melissa Rycroft slipped and stumbled and tore her skirt last week, but she came back focused and it showed. Despite some goofiness in rehearsal, Melissa and her partner Tony Dovolani pulled off a serious and seductive rumba. Len said it was clean and precise and had interesting choreography, but said it could be a bit more earthy. He encouraged Melissa to find the character of each individual dance. Bruno praised Melissa for her graceful moves, but said he wanted to see "Melissa the maneater." Carrie Ann loved the the emotional quality of the dance, and told Melissa to work on her hip motion. Scores: 9, 9, and 9. Total: 27

Lil Kim & Derek: Lil Kim took it back to jail, but this time she was the warden as she and partner Derek Hough gave their take on Elvis Presley's "Jailhouse Rock." Bruno Tonioli loved it, throwing out his hands to be cuffed and shouting, "Warden Kim, I'm guilty! Take me! Arrest me!" Carrie Ann stood up, cheered and said, "That was amazing" and "mindblowing." Len was the old sourpuss, calling it fun and energetic, but that it got so carried away with the story that it lacked the jive he'd like to see. He said it was "a tad theatrical." Scores: 10, 8 and 10. Total: 28

Steve-O & Lacey: Steve-O had trouble even talking about getting romantic with his sister-like partner Lacey Schwimmer, so his chances of pulling off much chemistry on their rumba were slim. Carrie Ann was speechless at first and said there was something "oddly mesmerizing" about watching him. Then she said it was his commitment that made it enjoyable to watch. Len said "you can't confuse movement with dancing," and said there was no movement or hip action and it just wasn't good. Bruno said Steve-O had the charm of a confused puppy, but "the dancing is bad." Scores: 7, 4, and 5. Total: 16

Gilles & Cheryl: Actor Gilles Marini worried about the jive, saying it wasn't his dance. He still pulled it off and got high scores, but was bumped off the top for the first time this season. Len said Gilles showed a lot of the jive's qualities, but said there was a wrong step that went wrong right in front of the judges' table. He also called it a bit "frantic." Bruno compared Gilles to "Fast & Furious," and praised him for putting 110 percent effort in. Carrie Ann said there was something weird going on with Gilles' arms, but generally liked it. Scores: 9, 8, and 9. Total: 26

Chuck & Julianne: Country singer Chuck Wicks hoped he'd be able to show some chemistry with his real-life girlfriend, Julianne Hough. They went to relive their first date at the Santa Monica Pier to get in the mood. Bruno said he wanted to order "some more of that" after they performance, noting they "switched on the raunch factor." Technically, it wasn't perfect, Bruno said, but that it was a step in the right direction. Carrie Ann fanned herself and called it passionate and sexy. Len said parts of it "were more suitable for the bedroom than the ballroom." He said it was a little too in-your-face. Scores: 8, 7, and 8. Total: 23

LEADERBOARD:

Lil Kim & Derek: 28

Melissa & Tony: 27

Shawn & Mark: 26

Gilles & Cheryl: 26

Chuck & Julianne: 23

Lawrence & Edyta: 22

Ty & Chelsie: 18

Steve-O & Lacey: 16