PureDWTS Season 23 Week 5 – Media, Scores, And Interviews After The Show

What a great night of dancing and I’m so glad no was eliminated. My top 5 last night were: James & Sharna, Derek & Marilu, Jana & Gleb, Calvin & Lindsay, and Terra and Sasha. Speaking of Terra & Sasha, would you believe they were eliminated in rehearsals yesterday? Crazy. Lots of fun things to read on this week and next week below. Also, below are the scores if you’d like to review them again. Keep checking back. We may post more media and interviews later if more comes out.

James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess: 29/30
Marilu Henner and Derek Hough: 27/30
Jana Kramer and Gleb Savchenko: 26/30
Terra Jole and Sasha Farber: 27/30
Laurie Hernandez and Val Chmerkovskiy: 25/30
Calvin Johnson and Lindsay Arnold: 24/30
Maureen McCormick and Artem Chigvintsev: 24/30
Ryan Lochte and Cheryl Burke: 24/30
Amber Rose and Maks Chmerkovskiy: 24/30

From Glamour….

The couples didn’t know there wouldn’t be an elimination, especially because the producers staged a faux elimination during dress rehearsal (usually the couple eliminated in dress rehearsal isn’t the couple that’s eliminated during the live show). “We thought someone was going home,” admitted Gleb Savchenko. And why is that? “[Because] Sasha was eliminated in rehearsal!” laughed Gleb. While it hasn’t been announced if there will be a double elimination next week, Gleb thinks there won’t be, but it’s possible we’ll see one the week after that.

So what’s on tap next week? It will be Latin night in the ballroom, and Jana Kramer told me she can’t wait to turn up the heat. “I’m excited to get out there and be sassy! I’m going to be a little sass kitten.” (For the record, I reminded Jana that she’s pretty much been doing that all season long.)

On a more serious note, Jana said she was grateful for how Most Memorable Year week turned out, even if plenty of tears were shed. “I love the night because I feel like we’re all able to break down a wall. Gleb choreographed an amazing routine for my daughter.” As it turns out, Jana and Gleb actually wanted her daughter to be part of the dance, “but for safety reasons, we couldn’t,” Jana revealed.

While there’s still a few more months to go in 2016, Jana already knows one thing she’s grateful for: “I’ve learned how strong I am. I had no idea how strong I am until I had my daughter. I’m forever grateful for that little peanut because she’s given me so much light and strength that I never imagined I could ever have.”

Speaking of giving thanks, Canadian James Hinchcliffe celebrated his Thanksgiving a day early with his girlfriend and Sharna back east. “We all had some turkey last night and sweet potatoes, and I tried to have a mini commonwealth Thanksgiving!” Of course, as viewers now know, what James is most grateful for is his ability to walk away from that racing accident that left him fighting for his life. “I’m a very, very lucky guy and I know that,” he said backstage. “That’s the important thing—realizing it. And appreciating it.”

During last night’s show, Carrie Ann Inaba declared Team Stop ‘n Go the ones to beat, but James admitted that he “almost wish[es] she hadn’t said that!” Sharna echoed her partner’s sentiment: “It’s both [a blessing and a curse to hear that]. It tells you that the hard work is really paying off…but it’s also a curse because it’s a lot of pressure! We’re at the top of the leaderboard and that is damn hard to keep up.”

Still, now that DWTS is back to one night a week for the rest of the season, Sharna is looking forward to the extra prep time to keep them at the top. “To be honest, I don’t know how we did it with the double shows for all those seasons,” she admitted. “I miss that Tuesday as a rehearsal day or a prep day or even an off day. I think it will make it so much easier on everybody, just energy levels and being able to prepare and produce great routines.”

Of course, there’s another reason Sharna is looking forward to not having a show day tonight: “I don’t know how to get all these rhinestones off my face!” she joked of her sparkly look. “It’s glue on my face! I might still look like this next week. I don’t even know if I’m able to take it off [by myself]. I feel like I must have said I wanted to be dipped in glue and rolled around in Swarovski crystals!”

People has some recaps. Be sure to read their reports on the night.

From FOX411:

After the show, Val explained to reporters that it was a situation that had good consequences: “I think it’s refreshing. I pushed that conversation on purpose; I knew she was going to respond…she learns how to question authority.”

Hernandez said she liked “learning to communicate a little bit more. I do have a habit of bottling things up.”

Also having issues were longtime pro Maks and his celeb partner Amber Rose, who had an argument during camera blocking.

“Slow down, slow down,” he told her while doing a move.

Rose complained it was “twenty times harder” for her with heels on — and wiped away tears.

“This is hard!” she cried.

Maks replied, “Yes. It’s Dancing with the Stars!”

However, Rose was pleased after they scored 24 for their samba and told the cameras, “Maks is awesome.”

The most harrowing story on “most memorable year” night involved Indy car driver Hinchcliffe, who almost lost his life in a 2015 crash while in a practice race for the Indy 500.

After Hinchliffe’s car crashed into a wall at over 200 miles per hour, it disintegrated and a shard impaled in his upper left thigh, striking an artery.

“I replaced all of the blood in his body three times over,” Dr. Timothy Pohlman, who saved his life at the hospital, said.

Backstage, HIncliffe, the leader with a 29 score, told reporters the scary experience makes him “feel so lucky. I tell people, that accident was a freak accident in a lot of different ways. The accident itself, the injury that came as a result of it, and there were 20 things that had to go just wrong, at just the wrong time, for me to end up in that position. But there were a hundred things that had to go right for me to make it through that and rather than thinking about all the bad luck that went into that situation, I think of all the good luck and it really makes me honestly believe that when it’s your time, it’s your time, and for whatever reason, it wasn’t my time.”

“Little Women LA” star Terra Jole and partner Sasha Farber tied for second place by paying a contemporary dance tribute to her father, who died in 2013.

Jole said her dad supported her show business dreams and told her not to come home for his liver transplant hospitalization. He died of a heart attack the day he was supposed to be released after surgery.

Jole, who scored 27, told FOX411, “It’s hard not feeling guilty sometimes” about not being there but, “I feel like I can have closure.”

And here is an ABC7 recap, but, they used a lot of coverage from last week….

E Online:

Here is some DWTS All Access coverage thanks to Stormy….

Lastly, Entertainment Tonight interviewed a few of the couples as well. You can see their report here.

ETA: Here are a couple of Access Hollywood interviews…

You can also listen to Terra and Sasha here.

ETA2: A few more E Online interviews…

Extra:

More with Access Hollywood…