Helio and Mel B are all tied up on ‘Dancing’

Next week the winners of “Dancing with the Stars” walk away with the coveted disco ball trophy, but Monday night was just about getting a chance to compete for it. With the competition down to four couples, the celebs and their pro partners put their best moves forward to stay in the game.

Every dance got a standing O and the judges handed out 10s like candy, but even in the midst of all the ballroom backslapping, some stars managed to outshine the competition. And in a season where the male stars dropped like flies, the last one standing could take it all the way.

The worst of the best
The biggest surprise of the semifinals wasn’t part of any routine. It was the fact that Marie Osmond and her partner Jonathan Roberts made it this far at all. After so many lackluster performances, they remain as a perfect example of how much weight the fan votes carry. And, apparently, Marie has a lot of fans.

To her credit, there was one performance this season that stood out and showcased the best of Marie to offer, the quickstep. Just two weeks ago her “Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” routine earned a 28 with judges and rare praise from critics. So it’s no wonder she chose the quickstep again in the ballroom portion of the night’s competition.

The problem for Marie was, after seeing a near-perfect version of the dance before, no amount of playful gestures or move-obscuring costume panels could hide the flaws. The occasional missteps were still evident, leaving the couple with a good, but not great, routine.

Of course, listening to the judges, it sounded like a win. Carrie Ann Inaba thought they were perfect last time, and despite noticing one problem with Marie’s footwork, gave Johnny and Marie a 10. Len Goodman followed suit, but Bruno Tonioli broke away from the pack with a nine — earning him boos from the Osmond-loaded crowd.

For the Latin round, Jonathan picked a mambo. The number was filled with typical Marie shtick: goofy faces, exaggerated characters and clumsy dancing. Or, as Carrie Ann put it, “I was waiting for the confetti canons.” Despite the kind, but obviously not complimentary comments from the panel, it was all nines all around.

Real contenders
With two perfect 30s in their back pockets, Mel B and Maksim Chmerkovskiy didn’t have anything to prove Monday night. They could have simply delivered smooth, quality dances and left it at that. But somehow the two saved some of their best energy for the semifinals.

In week four, the Viennese waltz proved to be one of the lowest scoring routines from Mel and Maks. That made it an even more interesting pick from the duo for the ballroom segment. “I want to prove I can do it better than before,” Mel insisted. And they did.

M&M’s waltz featured the standard turns and counterturns, while incorporating loads of more advanced variations. The series of three full splits on the move from Mel easily impressed. Bruno called it a “Viennese waltz driven to maximum impact,” and Carrie Ann said it gave her chills. It also earned the couple their third 30 of the season.

Given that Mel and Maks’ last paso doble was dubbed the best of season by head judge Len, they were expected to wow with it again Monday night. Before hitting the stage, Maks even warned, “If we get a 29, it’s going to feel like we failed.”

But Mel and Maks didn’t fail. The intense paso, complete with whip rather than cape, showed they owned the dance. It racked up yet another 30 for them, and the first combined 60 for anyone. But they didn’t hold that record long.

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