'Dancing With the Stars': Week 7 Recap

By Rebecca Harper, Hulu | Thursday, November 5, 2009, 3:13 PM

Mya turns up the sass with a fox-trot.

ABC/Adam Larkey

At the beginning of "Dancing With the Stars" this week, chief judge Len Goodman told the celebrities that "good isn't good enough from now on. We're expecting great dancing." And so the stars did their best to deliver, taking on new dances -- fox-trots, sambas, quicksteps and jive -- before splitting into two teams for a group paso doble and Argentine tango. For the most part, the competition delivered the goods, but a busy travel schedule clearly impacted Mark Decascos, who also lost is partner to the flu this week. Meanwhile, the week was full of controversy as Len dinged Mya's seemingly solid performance for being "too modern," and one of the week's top-ranked contestants, Aaron Carter, ended up in the results show's dance-off to keep in the game. Here's a look at some of the week's most controversial moments, plus a final bow for the two eliminated competitors.

Most Controversial Moment, Judges' Edition: Mya
After getting her first bad reviews for her Week 6 jitterbug, it was time for singer Mya to turn up the sass with her fox-trot. The dance started off sexy behind a light screen, evoking images (to us, anyway) of Jessica Rabbit behind the curtain. It was full of old Hollywood glamour -- she got a few tips from former "Dancing" contestant Cloris Leachman -- but it didn't work for all the judges. Though Bruno Tonioli raved that "you looked like a dream and you dance like an angel," Len felt that, once again, the choreography had too many gimmicks. The final tally: A "9" from Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno alike; a mere "7' from Len.

Most Controversial Moment, Audience Edition: Aaron Carter
With Carrie Ann giving him a "9" and Len and Bruno each giving him a "10," Lindsay Lohan's ex Aaron Carter pulled in some of the top scores of the night. Bruno declared that Aaron went "to the galaxy and beyond" with unstoppable momentum. Len -- rarely one to use hyperbole; that's Bruno's job, after all -- said, "That had enough energy to light up Hollywood. It was wild, but it was clean. It was fast, but it had control. It was fun, but it wasn't slapstick." It was a big surprise, then, to see that Aaron was in the bottom three after the viewers' votes were tallied.

All the Jumps in the World Couldn't Save This Dance: Mark Dacascos
The "Iron Chef" star's partner Lacey Schwimmer was out sick with the flu this week, so Anna Trebunskaya filled in for her in the first night of competition. But unfortunately for Mark, he was given just 48 hours to learn the samba, and the chemistry and rhythm was sorely missing from his Latin number. We think Bruno said it best: "It was a little like watching the Kung Fu Panda doing the samba on the Planet of the Apes." Mark scored a meager 19 points from the judges for his samba; he redeemed himself during the results show's dance-off with an impressive cha-cha that the judges enjoyed. Still, it wasn't enough to keep him in the game.

The Crowd has Spoken: Michael Irvin
Long-time audience favorite Michael Irvin got to week 7 thanks to a seemingly passionate fan base, and it paid off for the former Cowboys wide receiver. He'd shown marked improvement in the last two weeks, and his final dance, a fox-trot, earned him his best score of the season: a 23. Michael looked smooth out there on the dance floor, but we have to agree with the viewers: It wasn't worth a winner's trophy.

Talk About It: What were your favorite dances from Week 7?

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