Image Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

Karina Smirnoff had to crack the whip on J.R. Martinez to get him into sexy mode for Dancing with the Stars Monday, but her actions paid off big time: The always consistent pair pulled their highest score of the season with a 28 (two 9s and their first 10) for a samba to Gloria Estefan’s “Conga.”

Carrie Ann Inaba called it ”friggin’ amazing.”

“It’s funny, she kept telling me, ‘Be sexy here! Be masculine!’ and I would do something and she’s like, ‘That’s not sexy! That’s
not masculine!’” Martinez — whose first initials stand for Jose Rene – told reporters afterwards. “And I was like, ‘I don’t know how to be sexy!’  I really don’t. It’s not my thing.  I don’t think I’m a sexy and masculine type of guy, but tonight, it was fun. ”It’s great to be on top, but the fact that we got our first 10 of the season was really cool.” READ FULL STORY »

Good news for those amateur hoofers who end up at bottom of the leaderboard each week: You’re not always the most obvious target for elimination. No where was that more apparent than during Tuesday’s results episode of Dancing with the Stars, when one of the B (C? D?) Listers who earned a middle-of-the-pack score on Monday ended up having to pack a bag on Tuesday. (Way to dodge a bullet, Chaz!)

To read the parting words from the latest goodbye gal or guy, head to the jump. READ FULL STORY »

Image Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

War vet-turned-soap star J.R. Martinez earned one of the longest standing ovations in recent memory on Dancing with the Stars Monday when he opened up about the severe injuries he sustained while stationed in Iraq.

As part of personal story week, the All My Children star explained how he suffered burns to 40% of his body in 2003 after his Humvee hit a landmine while serving as an Army infantryman. His emotional story was followed by a moving rumba with partner Karina Smirnoff — which prompted a teary-eyed Carrie Ann Inaba to say “you touched us all.” READ FULL STORY »

Image Credit: Craig Sjodin/ABC

Judging from the rehearsal package on Dancing with the Stars Monday, getting soccer star Hope Solo to bring her sexy back was like pulling teeth for partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy. But, come show time, the pro soccer player brought it big time by wearing a sexpot outfit and performing a very sassy move (at least for her): She lifted her dress! “This was totally her,” Chmerkovskiy told reporters afterwards. “I just said to do something sexy and she did it.”

Though their number earned 24 out of 30 points, Judge Len Goodman still called it too provocative. “Let’s all be honest here,” Solo said after the show. “I like to wear sweats and hooded sweatshirts. My sexiness is different than what the judges want to see. I have my confidence and I have my confidence in what I do. But this is not what I do.” READ FULL STORY »

With a bottom-of-the-leaderboard score of 17 and a sore knee to boot, Chaz Bono looked as if he was heading home on Tuesday. But fans ultimately had more love for the son of Cher and less so for another (far less famous) celebrity. For some parting words from the week 2 eliminated contestant, go to the jump.

READ FULL STORY »