Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy Eliminated in Dancing With the Stars Grammy Night Shock

Grammy Night ended in a shock on Dancing With the Stars on Tuesday. Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy were eliminated from Season 35 at about 10:01 p.m. ET on Nov 10, 2026, closing Week 9 of the competition on ABC and Disney Plus. Seven couples performed at the start of the night, in the first Grammy Night in the history of the show, and six of them moved on. The semifinals follow on Nov 17, 2026, with the finale on Nov 24, 2026.

A top score was not enough

Dewan and Chmerkovskiy did not leave on a weak dance. Their jazz routine to Janet Jackson's "All For You" earned 28 points from the judges, and they added two dance off points by beating Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik in a cha cha, for a total of 30. That tied them for the second best score of the night. They still finished in the bottom two, alongside Ali and Ravnik, and the combined viewer votes sent Dewan and Chmerkovskiy home. USA Today called the result a major shocker.

Dewan took the result in stride. Speaking after the elimination, she said: "I had a great time and I loved getting to share that with the world. Honestly, all love." She also spoke about dancing again and sharing her joy with her family every single night.

How the rest of the night scored

Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson topped the leaderboard with 31 points. Their salsa to "Die With a Smile" scored 29, and they received two bonus points because they held dance off immunity after posting the highest cumulative score of the season on Disney Night. Johnson revealed that she broke her nose during camera blocking and danced anyway.

Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov finished on 30 points, scoring 28 for their paso doble and winning the rumba dance off, which Brandy and Monica performed live for. Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas reached 29 points, with 27 for their Argentine tango and two more for winning their cha cha dance off against Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold. Higgins danced through a rib injury. Sheryl Crow performed live for one cha cha, and Maren Morris performed "The Middle" for the other.

Three couples ended the night on 27 points: Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, Ali and Ravnik, whose tango to "Boom Boom Pow" was a season best for Ali, and Wood and Arnold.

Who is left

The six couples through to the semifinals are Shum Jr. and Johnson, Glenn and Pashkov, Frech and Karagach, Higgins and Ballas, Wood and Arnold, and Ali and Ravnik. Dewan and Chmerkovskiy leave one week short of that round, after posting one of the highest scores of the night.