Dancing with the Stars (American season 8)
Season eight of Dancing with the Stars premiered on Monday, March 9, 2009, as part of ABC's spring line-up. The show generally followed the format of previous seasons, with 13 couples, although there were some changes, including two new dances, and an occasional dance-off between the bottom two couples, in order to determine who will be eliminated. The show was again hosted by Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris. Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba all returned as judges again this season.
Olympic gold-medal-winning gymnast Shawn Johnson won the competition at the age of 17, making her the youngest champion until Laurie Hernandez won in season 23 at 16. Shawn beat out Gilles Marini by less than 1%.
Couples
The 13 celebrities and professional dancers who competed were:| Celebrity | Notability | Professional partner | Result |
| Belinda Carlisle | Singer-songwriter | Jonathan Roberts | Eliminated 1st on March 17, 2009 |
| Denise Richards | Actress | Maksim Chmerkovskiy | Eliminated 2nd on March 24, 2009 |
| Holly Madison | Model & reality television star | Dmitry Chaplin | Eliminated 3rd on March 31, 2009 |
| Steve Wozniak | Apple Inc. co-founder | Karina Smirnoff | Eliminated 4th on March 31, 2009 |
| David Alan Grier | Actor & comedian | Kym Johnson | Eliminated 5th on April 7, 2009 |
| Steve-O | Stunt performer & actor | Lacey Schwimmer | Eliminated 6th on April 14, 2009 |
| Lawrence Taylor | Former NFL linebacker | Edyta Śliwińska | Eliminated 7th on April 21, 2009 |
| Chuck Wicks | Country music singer | Julianne Hough | Eliminated 8th on April 28, 2009 |
| Lil' Kim | Rapper | Derek Hough | Eliminated 9th on May 5, 2009 |
| Ty Murray | Rodeo cowboy | Chelsie Hightower | Eliminated 10th on May 12, 2009 |
| Melissa Rycroft | The Bachelor star | Tony Dovolani | Third place on May 19, 2009 |
| Gilles Marini | Model & actor | Cheryl Burke | Runner-up on May 19, 2009 |
| Shawn Johnson | Olympic artistic gymnast | Mark Ballas | Winner on May 19, 2009 |
Changes
Originally, the season was advertised as the first U.S. season where a husband and wife would compete against each other: rodeo champion Ty Murray and singer-songwriter Jewel. The two had married the previous year after a ten-year courtship. However, just prior to the series, Jewel fractured both her tibias and was unable to perform. She was replaced on the show by Playboy model Holly Madison. Murray chose to continue on the show, and Jewel appeared during the season as a special musical guest.Nancy O'Dell, the then co-host of Access Hollywood, was also originally announced to be on the show, but was forced to withdraw from the competition due to a torn meniscus, which required surgery. She was replaced by Melissa Rycroft, a former Dallas Cowboys cheerleader who won season 13 of The Bachelor. She only had two days to practice her first dance.
Overview
Week 1: Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke received for their cha-cha-cha. Although having only two days to practice for their Waltz, Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani tied for second place with Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas. Steve Wozniak and Karina Smirnoff received the lowest score of the night, a, for their cha-cha-cha.Week 2: Steve-O suffered a pulled back muscle while performing his salsa during dress rehearsal, and therefore could not perform live. Instead, the judges' scores were based on his pre-recorded dress rehearsal video, which earned him a, the lowest score of the night. Gilles Marini performed a quickstep, which earned him a, the highest score of the night. Once the scores from weeks one and two were combined, Gilles & Cheryl held the top spot with 51, Mellissa & Tony, were placed in second, with 49 points, and Shawn & Mark, in third with 47. Steve Wozniak and Belinda Carlisle were revealed to be in the bottom two. They both participated in a dance-off, and they both scored. In the end, Belinda & Jonathan were eliminated.
Week 3: Shawn & Mark, Melissa & Tony, and Gilles & Cheryl all scored, making a three-way tie. David Alan Grier improved greatly from his score of 17 the previous week, to a score of the next week. Steve Wozniak & Karina Smirnoff received the second lowest score in the history of the show for their Samba: . Still, Wozniak managed to escape the bottom two and avoided the dance-off. Denise & Maks and Holly & Dmitry were revealed to be in the bottom two, and they would be participating in the dance-off. Holly improved her score by one point, receiving 18, while Denise improved by four points, receiving a 20. However, Denise Richards was eliminated. This was the second time Maksim Chmerkovskiy was eliminated after a samba, since Tia Carrere in season two.
Week 4: Gilles & Cheryl received the first of the season for their Argentine tango, tying him with Sabrina Bryan in season five for the earliest awarded, until they were beaten by Janel Parrish and Bethany Mota in season 19, when they both achieved a score of in week 3. Melissa & Tony came in second, receiving a for their Lindy Hop, while Lil' Kim & Derek came in third, receiving a for their Argentine tango. Steve & Karina received the lowest score, a on their Argentine tango. Holly & Dmitry, Steve & Karina, and Steve-O & Lacey were revealed to be in the bottom three. In the end, Holly Madison and Steve Wozniak were eliminated in the show's only mid-season double elimination.
Week 5: Once again, Gilles & Cheryl climbed to first place, with a score of for their Paso doble. They were also the only couple to receive 10s. Shawn & Mark & Lil' Kim & Derek, both came in second place, receiving for their Vienesse Waltzes. Steve-O & Lacey Schwimmer received the lowest scores of the night, a for their Viennese Waltz, yet they still managed to escape the bottom two and the dance-off. David & Kym and Lawrence & Edyta were revealed to be in the bottom two and the dance-off. David danced his Viennese Waltz and improved his score by two points to a, while Lawrence did not improve his Paso doble receiving a. However, David Alan Grier was eliminated.
Week 6: For the first time since the start of the competition, Gilles did not receive the highest score. Lil' Kim & Derek had the highest score, with a for their Jive. Steve-O and Lacey received the lowest score of the night, for their Rumba. Len Goodman gave them a 4, and Carrie Ann gave them a 7. Such a difference between judges' scores is rare. Furthermore, 4 is the lowest Week 6 score in the history of the show. They were subsequently eliminated.
Week 7: The stars were given the chance to design the costumes for their dances. Also occurring for this week, was the first group dance of the season dedicated to the 1960s. Melissa & Tony took the top of the leaderboard for the second time with a near perfect. Lawrence Taylor & Edyta Śliwińska ended up with the lowest score, a for their Waltz, and they were later eliminated.
Week 8: Melissa suffered a hairline fracture in her ribs, and could not perform her Jive live. Instead, the judges' scores were based on her rehearsal video. She received the lowest score of the night, a. Lil' Kim & Derek received the highest score, a for their Paso doble. Team Tango managed to beat Team Mambo with a to Team Mambo's. Melissa's spot in the Team Mambo was filled in by Lacey Schwimmer who learned the dance in less than a day. Lacey and Tony were ignored during the scoring; however, the team score was added to Melissa's individual score. Chuck Wicks was eliminated in what Tom Bergeron called "the most shocking elimination this season".
Week 9: Despite her sustained injury, Melissa & Tony scored a perfect for their Samba, the second perfect score of the season. This, combined with their score of for the Viennese Waltz landed them in the top spot, with a total of. Ty and Chelsie landed in the bottom with a total score of, scoring a for their Argentine tango and a for their Rumba. However, Lil' Kim was eliminated. This elimination was met by boos from the audience and the judges gasping.
Week 10: Shawn and Mark received their first for their Argentine tango. Gilles and Cheryl received a perfect for their Waltz and Salsa. This was the first time since season five that a perfect 60 has been achieved in the semi-finals as well as the first time since season five that a 30 alone was achieved in the semi-finals. Ty Murray and Chelsie were at the bottom of the leaderboard with a, receiving for their Viennese Waltz and for their Samba, and were eliminated.
Week 11: Gilles received a perfect score of for the Group Paso doble. Shawn and Mark were the only couple to receive a perfect score for the Freestyle round. Shawn's combined score of 88 gave her the highest score of the night, tied with Gilles; the first time in eight weeks. Mark became the third, and only male, two-time champion. Shawn, Gilles, and Melissa are the only three couples to get perfect 30s this season, they were also the part of four dancers to maintain above a judges score of 7 with Gilles receiving nothing below an 8 and Shawn receiving only one 7. Shawn and Gilles were the only couples not to be in the bottom two or at least not under the red light. Shawn is the fourth female winner, and additionally the sixth winner to get a perfect 30 on the freestyle.
Scoring chart
Average score chart
This table only counts for dances scored on a traditional 30-points scale.| Rank by average | Place | Couple | Total points | Number of dances | Average |
| 1 | 2 | Gilles & Cheryl | 449 | 16 | 28.1 |
| 2 | 1 | Shawn & Mark | 431 | 16 | 26.9 |
| 3 | 3 | Melissa & Tony | 430 | 16 | 26.9 |
| 4 | 5 | Lil' Kim & Derek | 284 | 11 | 25.8 |
| 5 | 6 | Chuck & Julianne | 209 | 9 | 23.2 |
| 6 | 4 | Ty & Chelsie | 291 | 13 | 22.4 |
| 7 | 9 | David & Kym | 104 | 5 | 20.8 |
| 8 | 7 | Lawrence & Edyta | 138 | 7 | 19.7 |
| 9 | 12 | Denise & Maksim | 55 | 3 | 18.3 |
| 10 | 13 | Belinda & Jonathan | 35 | 2 | 17.5 |
| 11 | 11 | Holly & Dmitry | 69 | 4 | 17.3 |
| 12 | 8 | Steve-O & Lacey | 95 | 6 | 15.8 |
| 13 | 10 | Steve & Karina | 52 | 4 | 13.0 |
Highest and lowest scoring dances
The best and worst performances in each dance according to the judges' marks are as follows:| Dance | Highest scored dancer | Highest score | Lowest scored dancer | Lowest score |
| Cha-cha-cha | Shawn Johnson | 30 | Steve Wozniak | 13 |
| Jive | Lil' Kim | 28 | Ty Murray | 18 |
| Rumba | Melissa Rycroft Gilles Marini | 27 | Steve-O | 16 |
| Paso doble | Gilles Marini | 30 | Lawrence Taylor | 20 |
| Samba | Melissa Rycroft | 30 | Steve Wozniak | 10 |
| Waltz | Gilles Marini | 30 | Steve-O Belinda Carlisle | 17 |
| Quickstep | Melissa Rycroft | 28 | Steve Wozniak | 17 |
| Foxtrot | Gilles Marini | 29 | Steve-O | 15 |
| Argentine tango | Gilles Marini Shawn Johnson | 30 | Steve Wozniak | 12 |
| Viennese Waltz | Gilles Marini Melissa Rycroft | 27 | Steve-O | 18 |
| Salsa | Gilles Marini | 30 | Steve-O | 14 |
| Lindy Hop | Melissa Rycroft | 29 | Steve-O | 15 |
| Freestyle | Shawn Johnson | 30 | Melissa Rycroft | 27 |
David Alan Grier, Denise Richards, Chuck Wicks and Holly Madison did not land on this
Couples' highest and lowest scoring dance
| Couples | Best dances | Worst dances |
| Shawn & Mark | Argentine tango, Freestyle & Cha-cha-cha | Waltz |
| Giles & Cheryl | Argentine tango, Waltz, Salsa, & Paso doble | Cha-cha-cha |
| Melissa & Tony | Samba | Jive |
| Ty & Chelsie | Team Tango | Cha-cha-cha |
| Lil' Kim & Derek | Jive & Paso doble | Cha-cha-cha |
| Chuck & Julianne | Samba | Waltz & Salsa |
| Lawrence & Edyta | Jive | Cha-cha-cha |
| Steve-O & Lacey | Viennese Waltz | Salsa |
| David & Kym | Foxtrot & Viennese Waltz | Salsa |
| Steve & Karina | Quickstep x2 | Samba |
| Holly & Dmitry | Cha-cha-cha, Quickstep & Samba | Argentine tango |
| Denise & Maks | Quickstep | Samba |
| Belinda & Jonathan | Salsa | Waltz & Salsa |
Weekly scores and songs
Unless indicated otherwise, individual judges scores in the charts below are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.Week 1
;Running Order| Couple | Score | Style | Music |
| Lil' Kim & Derek | 21 | Cha-cha-cha | "Nasty"—Janet Jackson |
| Belinda & Jonathan | 17 | Waltz | "What the World Needs Now Is Love"—Jackie DeShannon |
| Lawrence & Edyta | 16 | Cha-cha-cha | "25 Miles"—Edwin Starr |
| Steve-O & Lacey | 17 | Waltz | "Vito's Waltz"—101 Strings Orchestra |
| Gilles & Cheryl | 24 | Cha-cha-cha | "Addicted to Love"—Robert Palmer |
| Chuck & Julianne | 20 | Waltz | "Are You Lonesome Tonight?"—Elvis Presley |
| Holly & Dmitry | 18 | Cha-cha-cha | "Just Dance"—Lady Gaga |
| Ty & Chelsie | 14 | Cha-cha-cha | "Train in Vain"—The Clash |
| Shawn & Mark | 23 | Waltz | "It is You "—Dana Glover |
| Steve & Karina | 13 | Cha-cha-cha | "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet"—Bachman-Turner Overdrive |
| David & Kym | 19 | Waltz | "You Light Up My Life"—Debby Boone |
| Denise & Maksim | 18 | Cha-cha-cha | "Nothin' but a Good Time"—Poison |
| Melissa & Tony | 23 | Waltz | "Moon River"—Andy Williams |
Week 2
;Running OrderWeek 3
;Running OrderWeek 4
;Running Order| Couple | Score | Style | Music | Result |
| David & Kym | 22 | Lindy Hop | "Bandstand Boogie"—Barry Manilow | Safe |
| Lil' Kim & Derek | 27 | Argentine tango | "Taquito Militar"—Conjunto Tipico Del Tango | Safe |
| Chuck & Julianne | 22 | Lindy Hop | "Summertime Blues"—Brian Setzer | Safe |
| Lawrence & Edyta | 19 | Argentine tango | "Suite Punta Del Este"—Ástor Piazzolla | Safe |
| Ty & Chelsie | 25 | Lindy Hop | "You and Me and the Bottle Makes 3 Tonight "—Big Bad Voodoo Daddy | Safe |
| Steve & Karina | 12 | Argentine tango | "Cité Tango"—Gotan Project | Eliminated |
| Melissa & Tony | 29 | Lindy Hop | "Brown Derby Jump"—Cherry Poppin' Daddies | Safe |
| Holly & Dmitry | 16 | Argentine tango | "Libertango"—Bond | Eliminated |
| Steve-O & Lacey | 15 | Lindy Hop | "Dance Little Sister"—The Rolling Stones | Bottom three |
| Gilles & Cheryl | 30 | Argentine tango | "Assassin's Tango"—John Powell | Safe |
| Shawn & Mark | 25 | Lindy Hop | "Ready Teddy!"—Little Richard | Safe |
Week 5
;Running OrderWeek 6
;Running Order| Couple | Score | Style | Music | Result |
| Ty & Chelsie | 18 | Jive | "The Girl's Gone Wild"—Travis Tritt | Last to be called safe |
| Shawn & Mark | 26 | Rumba | "Slow Dancing in a Burning Room"—John Mayer | Safe |
| Lawrence & Edyta | 22 | Jive | "Ain't That Peculiar"—Marvin Gaye | Safe |
| Melissa & Tony | 27 | Rumba | "If I Were a Boy"—Beyoncé | Safe |
| Lil' Kim & Derek | 28 | Jive | "Jailhouse Rock"—Elvis Presley | Safe |
| Steve-O & Lacey | 16 | Rumba | "Fall for You"—Secondhand Serenade | Eliminated |
| Gilles & Cheryl | 26 | Jive | "Dance, Dance"—Fall Out Boy | Safe |
| Chuck & Julianne | 23 | Rumba | "She Will Be Loved"—Maroon 5 | Safe |
Week 7
;Running OrderWeek 8
;Running orderWeek 9
;Running order| Couple | Score | Style | Music | Result |
| Shawn & Mark | 27 | Quickstep | "Friend Like Me"—Robin Williams | Safe |
| Shawn & Mark | 29 | Paso doble | "Gotta Get thru This"—Daniel Bedingfield | Safe |
| Ty & Chelsie | 25 | Argentine tango | "Amor Que Se Baila"—Otros Aires Electronic Tango Orchestra | Bottom two |
| Ty & Chelsie | 21 | Rumba | "Free Fallin'"—Tom Petty | Bottom two |
| Lil' Kim & Derek | 25 | Waltz | "When I Need You"—Leo Sayer | Eliminated |
| Lil' Kim & Derek | 27 | Salsa | "Por Arriba, Por Abajo"—Ricky Martin | Eliminated |
| Gilles & Cheryl | 29 | Foxtrot | "Fever"—Peggy Lee | Safe |
| Gilles & Cheryl | 27 | Rumba | "Sexual Healing"—Marvin Gaye | Safe |
| Melissa & Tony | 27 | Viennese Waltz | "Angel"—Sarah McLachlan | Safe |
| Melissa & Tony | 30 | Samba | "Jaleo"—Ricky Martin | Safe |
Week 10
;Running order| Couple | Score | Style | Music | Result |
| Melissa & Tony | 28 | Quickstep | "I Got Rhythm"—Ella Fitzgerald | Last to be called safe |
| Melissa & Tony | 27 | Cha-cha-cha | "Save the Last Dance for Me"—Ben E. King | Last to be called safe |
| Gilles & Cheryl | 30 | Waltz | "Come Away with Me"—Norah Jones | Safe |
| Gilles & Cheryl | 30 | Salsa | "I Know You Want Me "—Pitbull | Safe |
| Shawn & Mark | 30 | Argentine tango | "Asi Se Baila El Tango"—Bailongo | Safe |
| Shawn & Mark | 26 | Jive | "Reet Petite"—Jackie Wilson | Safe |
| Ty & Chelsie | 25 | Viennese Waltz | "Tuesday's Gone"—Lynyrd Skynyrd | Eliminated |
| Ty & Chelsie | 23 | Samba | "Concrete and Clay"—Unit 4 + 2 | Eliminated |
Week 11: Final
; Running Order| Couple | Score | Style | Music |
| Shawn & Mark | 28 | Paso doble | "So What"—Pink |
| Melissa & Tony | 29 | Paso doble | "So What"—Pink |
| Gilles & Cheryl | 30 | Paso doble | "So What"—Pink |
| Shawn & Mark | 30 | Freestyle | "Do Your Thing"—Basement Jaxx |
| Melissa & Tony | 27 | Freestyle | "Gonna Make You Sweat "—C+C Music Factory |
| Gilles & Cheryl | 28 | Freestyle | "Flashdance "—Irene Cara |
; Running Order
| Couple | Score | Style | Music | Result |
| Shawn & Mark | 30 | Cha-cha-cha | "P.Y.T. "—Michael Jackson | Winner |
| Melissa & Tony | 30 | Samba | "Jaleo"—Ricky Martin | Third place |
| Gilles & Cheryl | 30 | Argentine tango | "Assassin's Tango"—John Powell | Runner-up |
Dance chart
The celebrities and professional partners danced one of these routines for each corresponding week.- Week 1: Cha-cha-cha or waltz
- Week 2: Salsa or quickstep
- Week 3: Samba or foxtrot
- Week 4: Lindy hop or Argentine tango
- Week 5: Paso doble or Viennese waltz
- Week 6: Jive or Rumba
- Week 7: One unlearned dance and 1960s group dance
- Week 8: One unlearned dance and team dances
- Week 9: Two unlearned dances
- Week 10: Two unlearned dances
- Week 11 : Paso doble face-off and freestyle
- Week 11 : Favorite dance of the season
Professional dancer competition
- For the first week, six professionals will be paired into three couples and will compete in the first round with their chosen style of dance, either Latin or Ballroom. Of the six dancers, one male and one female will be eliminated based on fewest viewer votes.
- In the second week, the four remaining professionals will pair up and compete in whichever style dance they did not do the first week. The dancer with the lowest number of viewer votes, whether it be male or female, will be eliminated.
- In the third week, the three remaining professionals will teach a celebrity from a previous season, and the dancer with the lowest number of viewer votes will be eliminated.
- In the fourth week, the two professionals will pair up with a current pro and choreograph a Ballroom and a Latin routine. The dancer with the highest number of votes will win.
- Mayo Alanen
- Brent Borbon
- Afton DelGrosso
- Anna Demidova
- Genya Mazo
- Snow Urbin
The professional partners for Round 4 are:
- Kym Johnson
- Maksim Chmerkovskiy
| Date | Round | Pair | Dance | Song | Eliminated |
| April 21, 2009 | 1 | Brent & Afton | Cha-cha-cha | "Damaged"—Danity Kane | Brent Borbon & Snow Urbin |
| April 21, 2009 | 1 | Mayo & Anna | Waltz | "Weekend in New England"—Barry Manilow | Brent Borbon & Snow Urbin |
| April 21, 2009 | 1 | Genya & Snow | Rumba | "Stop and Stare"—OneRepublic | Brent Borbon & Snow Urbin |
| April 28, 2009 | 2 | Genya & Afton | Quickstep | "I'm Sitting on Top of the World"—Bobby Darin | Genya Mazo |
| April 28, 2009 | 2 | Mayo & Anna | Jive | "Wild One"—Jerry Lee Lewis | Genya Mazo |
| May 5, 2009 | 3 | Afton & Cody | Samba | "Dance Like This"—Wyclef Jean feat. Claudette Ortiz | Afton DelGrosso |
| May 5, 2009 | 3 | Mayo & Lisa | Quickstep | "Walking on Sunshine"—Katrina and the Waves | Afton DelGrosso |
| May 5, 2009 | 3 | Anna & Maurice | Tango | "La Yumba"—Lalo Schiffrin | Afton DelGrosso |
| May 12, 2009 | 4 | Mayo & Kym | Tango | "Jalousie"—Alfred Hause's Tango Orchestra | Mayo Alanen |
| May 12, 2009 | 4 | Mayo & Kym | Cha-cha-cha | "Shake Your Groove Thing"—Peaches & Herb | Mayo Alanen |
| May 12, 2009 | 4 | Anna & Maksim | Quickstep | "Almost Like Being in Love"—Frank Sinatra | Mayo Alanen |
| May 12, 2009 | 4 | Anna & Maksim | Samba | "Crayons"—Donna Summer feat. Ziggy Marley | Mayo Alanen |
The winner, guaranteed a spot as a pro in season nine, is Anna Demidova.
Musical guests
Macy's Stars of Dance
- For the May 12 "Design a Dance" performance, viewers had voted in the weeks beforehand about what style dance they wanted, what song they wanted the dance to, and what professionals they wanted to do the dance. Also, Dancing with the Stars held an online contest where viewers could submit their drawings for outfits for the performance. The winner was Rebecca Farmer from New York City. Her designs were turned into the outfits for the performers, and she won a trip to the show.