Leaderboard Shakeup On “Dancing” Semifinals

Even in the semifinals, "DWTS" is full of surprises

It was a true leaderboard shakeup on Monday night as the four celebrities in the semifinals round of "Dancing with the Stars" tangoed, cha-cha-ed and even threw in a few acrobatic lifts hoping to make their way into Season 13's final shakedown.

He may have earned a perfect score on last week's "DWTS," but J.R. Martinez fell into third place on Monday evening, in part due to an ankle injury, which reoccurred during his first number on Monday's competition round.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'Dancing With The Stars' Season 13: Week 6 — Broadway

During J.R.'s paso doble with partner Karina Smirnoff, the army veteran-turned-actor twisted his ankle mid-dance. The pair earned just 23 points for the number, but the injury forced J.R. to grimace his way through the rest of the evening.

While he managed to hold it together for their second number — an Argentine tango (to a score of 27/30) — it was the relay cha cha that seemed to hurt the star the most, as he pocketed just 6 points with Karina for an overall total of 56/70.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'Dancing's' Derek Hough

While J.R. slipped, Ricki Lake managed to regain the leaderboard top spot with partner Derek Hough, with a host of nearly perfect dances.

The pair, who has been battling it out with J.R. and Karina for the top spot all season long, amazed the judges with their first number – a perfect scoring samba.

Ricki and Derek's Round 2 dance found them earning just one point shy of a second perfect score (it was actually Carrie Ann Inaba who gave the pair a 9), as Ricki showed off her most mature dance to date, a slick Argentine tango that left Len Goodman breathless.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: 'Dancing's' Marvelous Maksim Chmerkovskiy

"I don't think you know how good that was, because it was really, really good," he said.

Adding to their total was a second place finish in the cha cha relay and another 8 points for a final total of the night of 67/70 — and the top spot.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Ricki Lake Over The Years

Surprisingly, it was actually Rob Kardashian and Cheryl Burke who won that cha cha relay, with the reality star coming from behind to finish the night in second place.

In addition to their 10 judges points for their cha cha, Rob and Cheryl earned 28/30 for their first number, a samba that left Rob's mom, Kris Jenner, in tears.

Rob and Cheryl's second dance, an Argentine tango, also left the judges impressed to the tune of 27 points as Carrie Ann said it was "strong."

With Rob moving up, and even with J.R. slipping, Hope Solo and Maksim Chmerkoskiy still landed at the bottom of the leaderboard for dances that the judges suggested weren't up to par with their fellow semifinalists.

Their first dance, a paso doble, lost points (they earned just 21/30) for having too much aggression and not enough "finesse," according to Len.

As for their second performance, an Argentine tango that began with Hope sprawled across the judges' table, that number found them in higher favor, and earning 24 points from the judges, but Carrie Ann said their lifts weren't "quite there."

Finally, when compared side by side with their fellow competitors in the cha cha relay, Hope and Maks slipped into last place, earning just 4 points and a semifinal total of 49/70.

On Tuesday, one couple will be eliminated, reducing the celebrity numbers to just three remaining contenders for next week's finals.

Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:

PLAY IT NOW: J.R. Martinez Gets Ready For The 'Dancing' Semifinals
PLAY IT NOW: Karina Smirnoff Takes A Night Off Of 'Dancing'

More from Access: [ Dancing With the Stars Derek Hough Ricki Lake ]

Copyright NBCAH - Access Hollywood
Contact Us