Las Vegas Weekly

May 3, 2010 · 7:26 PM

One couple scores Season 10’s first perfect 30 on DWTS

By Robin Leach

Derek Hough and Nicole Scherzinger on Week 6 of Dancing With the Stars.

Photo: Adam Larkey/ABC TV

It was an emotional night on Dancing With the Stars as judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli finally handed out a perfect score of 30! Two-time pro dancer champion Cheryl Burke celebrated her birthday, and her partner Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco bought her major bling. And Pussycat Dolls beauty Nicole Scherzinger explained the sad story behind the song Derek Hough and she danced to for her aunt in the audience.

SPOILER ALERT: Please do not read any further if you want to watch the West Coast tape-delayed broadcast of Dancing With the Stars without anything revealed. Consider this my one and only friendly warning! But come back after the show to see if you agree with my observations.

I’m wondering if the bickering between ESPN host Erin Andrews and our Le Reve choreographer Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who danced the quick step, was real or a staged stunt. Erin complained about Maks’ bare-chested costumes, and he threatened to rip off his pants on the telecast. And he did, but it safely revealed another pair underneath. (Incidentally, Le Reve celebrates its fifth anniversary at the Wynn this weekend.)

It was a beautiful diamond necklace that Chad purchased for Cheryl, and the DWTS cameras lit up with its sparkles during their Viennese waltz. Since Cheryl later in the show called Chad “babe,” it’s certain to send tongues wagging that they are now a bona-fide twosome.

Members of Nicole’s family were in the audience when she danced her slow waltz with our hometown hero Derek. She explained that they chose Debbie Boone’s “You Light Up My Life” because it is her aunt’s favorite song and she battles Down syndrome. Carrie Ann said while voting that Nicole was the best celebrity dancer in all 10 seasons of the show.

But it was Olympic golden boy Evan Lysacek and partner Anna Trebunskaya’s Argentine tango that not only floored the judges but also redeemed his subpar performance last week when he found himself up for elimination. This time he wasn’t thinking about bronze or silver; he wanted gold and got it with a perfect 30!

Going into the cha-cha challenge, the bottom of the board was the expected grouping of actress and former Planet Hollywood headliner Pamela Anderson with Damian Whitewood at 24 points and Chad and Cheryl tied with actress and comedian Niecy Nash and Louis Van Amstel at 25 points each. That could mean Pamela and Niecy could duke it out on tomorrow’s elimination, and that’s a verdict that will come down to TV viewers who cast the deciding vote.

Up at the top, it was Evan and Anna with the impressive 30, followed by Nicole and Derek and Erin and Maks tied at 27 points apiece. Nicole, Pamela and Chad selected the Lady Gaga and Beyonce hit “Telephone” for their cha-cha, and it received 27 points from the judges. Rivals Erin, Niecy and Evan danced the cha-cha to Madonna’s “Holiday” and garnered 24 points, which really shook up the race and the scores in the closing minutes of tonight’s show.

The night’s final rankings are Nicole and Derek and Evan and Anna tied for first at 54 points, followed by Chad and Cheryl with 52 votes. Pamela and Damian and Erin and Maks have 51 apiece, and Niecy and Louis are at the bottom with 49 and thus facing the wrath of viewers tomorrow exactly as we predicted.

We’ll be back tomorrow with all the dance-floor action photos and then again tomorrow night with a spoiler-alert story of just who gets sent home.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.

Follow Vegas DeLuxe on Twitter at Twitter.com/vegasdeluxe.

Follow VDLX Editor Don Chareunsy on Twitter at Twitter.com/VDLXEditorDon.

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