The contestants of Dancing With the Stars season 34 are dancing through life — and the ballroom — on the show’s Wicked-themed night.
Director Jon M. Chu took a seat at the judges table alongside Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli as the Tuesday, October 21, episode kicked off with a message from Wicked leads Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
“Wicked is a beloved tale of two best friends who change each other’s lives for good,” Erivo said, while Grande added, “So rejoicify! Let’s kick off this special Wicked celebration with a speculator opening number created by our wonderful choreographer Chris Scott.”
After the pros and troupe dancers performed a routine to a medley of “No One Mourns the Wicked” / “Defying Gravity” / “For Good” / “Thank Goodness” / “Dancing Through Life” / “What Is This Feeling?” Pentatonix’s Scott Hoying and pro Rylee Arnold took to the dance floor first.
The duo performed a dramatic contemporary to “The Wizard And I” by Erivo featuring Michelle Yeoh — and received some constructive criticism (and praise) from the judges.
While Chu wished that some of the transitions were “a little cleaner,” he said the pairing “swept [him] away to Oz.” Tonioli, meanwhile, shared that it was “good to see [Hoying] let loose in the land of Oz,” but encouraged the Grammy Award-winner to reign in his passion.
Up in the skybox, Arnold and Hoying appeared to not be loathing their scores and kept a smile on their faces while receiving a score of 28 out of 40 — meaning, a combined score of 58 out of 80 since there were no eliminations during last week’s Dedication Night.
Ultimately Arnold and Hoying said goodbye for good. “Rylee is my favorite person ever. I had so much fun. I learned so much. And it’s Wicked Night. A perfect way to go,” Hoying said, while Arnold emotionally added, “I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. Scroll down to see each couple’s scores from Wicked Night:
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