It’s week eight on Dancing with the Stars and with only two weeks, left I can’t help but be amazed with the five contestants that have made it this far. It’s no surprise Ricki Lake and JR Martinez are still in it, but they need to look out for Rob Kardashian. That kid, as Carrie-Ann said, is the ideal DWTS contestant: he started the show off not so great, but improved each and every week.

As the first dancer of the night, this was by far, his and Cheryl's best dance and had the entire ballroom on their feet. Though the introduction was a little awkward, the Kardashian picked it up the Quickstep quickly and managed to keep his butt in check, a complaint the judges had about his dancing in previous weeks. But as Bruno said, once that butt gets tucked in, everything would fall into place. Score: 27

Hope Solo was another one who I didn’t expect to make it this far. She’s been in the bottom two the most and the tension between her and Maks had run pretty high throughout the show. Tonight was different however, as Maks promised to be the nice and gentle coach for this week’s Quickstep. It paid off because it was Hope’s best performance according to the judges and as Len said, she fulfilled her potential. Score: 27

Ricki and partner Derek were next, slowing things down with a Waltz. But before we saw the dance, Ricki had a little chat with Jennifer Grey, Derek’s previous partner and DWTS champ. Maybe she got some tips because her shoulders were a bit more relaxed than previous weeks. The whole room felt magically transformed into Ricki’s own dream world and she glided effortlessly through her routine. Though Len wasn’t giving her a 10 this week, it didn’t stop Bruno from giving it away. Score: 28

Dancing the Tango was Nancy Grace and Tristan. Surprisingly, she wasn't sent home last week even though she received the lowest score. So this week, the two kicked it up a notch with some more bickering. Every week, we see the frustrations of their rehearsal and I'm surprised Tristan (or Nancy) hasn't lost it and thrown a fit. At least with the Tango, they got to show off their love/hate relationship on the DWTS ballroom and ended up with rave reviews from the judges. At least Carrie-Ann gave some useful feedback. Score: 24

Bringing in the rear was JR and Karina who dropped in the leaderboard standings last week. Would this be the night JR got his perfect score? This guy is a natural dancer, already getting standing ovations before the dance was even over. The couple were already dancing for joy before they were awarded their points because like the audience, they knew how perfect the dance was. As Bruno said, it was a musical Valentine Card. Score: 30

Instant Dance Round
For those not familiar with the Instant Round, the contestants are given a dance style but aren’t given the music until the actual show. They then have 20 minutes to perform with the new music before dancing live. The dance of the night was the energetic Jive. I found the judges a lot more forgiving with their feedback and scores for this round.
 
Rob and Cheryl were given "Maneater". Rocking some pretty fitted pinstripe pants that showed off Rob's assets, the pair looked nervous but managed to get through the dance. Not much kicks and flicks to please the judges, but the audience loved it. Score: 24

Dancing to Avril Lavigne's "The Best Damn Thing" were Hope and Maks. This athlete had some crazy, high-flying kicks -perfect for the Jive! Forget what the judges said before, this is by far the best dance Hope performed. Though Bruno and Carrie-Ann were not having it (they wished she extended her legs more and fixed her hands), the surprise of the night came from Len who, on his feet, shouted out how much he loved the performance. Score: 25

Ricki and Derek were given "Land of a Thousand Dances". While Derek had a ton of energy, it wasn't enough to mask Ricki's uncertainty of the demanding steps. They did well, just not the usual Ricki/Derek level that we're used to. Score: 24 

With "Upside Down", Nancy and Tristan took to the ballroom floor. It was a little shaky to begin with and Nancy looked more comfortable performing on the dance floor. But this momma of two got lost in the Jive choreo and to be honest, she just didn't stack up to the other contestants. And the judges knew it too. Like Cinderella and the clock striking midnight, Len said it was time for Nancy to head home. Score: 20 
 
And finally, with another shot at a perfect score was JR and Karina dancing to the ultimate jive song, Little Richard's "Tutti Frutti". Flawless, flawless, flawless! From the get-go the dance was energetic and it just kept on going throughout the dance. As Carrie-Ann said, there is no one coming close to these two tonight. Score: 30

So with the combine scores, JR leads the pack with a perfect score of 60, followed by Ricki with 52, Hope with 52, Rob with 51 and Nancy with 44. If we're going with no surprises and solely on judges scores, Nancy will be going home tomorrow. But I said that last week and David Arquette ended up leaving so, I'm leaving this up in the air.