Dancing With the Stars just completed its Dedication Night episode last night, with deeply moving performances on the floor. The ten remaining pairs in the competition dedicated their routines to their family and friends, and emotions were high on the floor. The person being celebrated in these emotional routines also appeared on the ballroom floor with the contestants.
Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough evaluated the performances alongside guest judge and two-time Mirrorball winner Kym Johnson. Last week’s Disney Night saw Hilaria Baldwin and her pro-partner, Gleb Savchenko, leave the competition. However, no one was eliminated during the Dedication Night episode.
Dancing With the Stars Season 34: Contestants Who Went Home and Those Remaining
Dancing With the Stars Season 34 has completed five episodes, and four out of the fourteen competing pairs have gone home already. The show began airing on September 16, 2025, with Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough returning as the hosts of the show. The premiere week did not have any eliminations.
DWTS Week 2 Double Elimination
The second week of Dancing With the Stars saw the 14 pairs competing with each other in the One-Hit Wonders Night. The celebrity contestants and their pro-partners were supposed to move their legs to routines inspired by some of the most iconic one-hit wonders in music. In a shocking move, two pairs were eliminated after what Ribeiro later announced as record voting for the show.
Former NBA star and his pro partner, Britt Stewart, as well as actor Corey Feldman and his pro partner, Jenna Johnson, were eliminated from the show. Interestingly, Jenna Johnson and her celebrity partner Joey Graziadei were the winners of the last season.
DWTS Week 3 Elimination
The third week of the reality show was a TikTok Night, where celebrities and their pro partners danced to viral TikTok songs. All the contestants showcased strong performances, but it was Fifth Harmony member Lauren Jauregui and her pro partner Brandon Armstrong who packed their bags.
Jauregui wasn’t happy, especially after judge Carrie Ann Inaba told her that she really liked the way she moved (via Deadline). She gave her constructive criticism, sharing, “I think you have it in you. I want more of the life force to come out of you.”
However, when it came down to Jauregui, actor & comedian Andy Richter, and actress Elaine Hendrix, the former had to go. She shared that she felt “pissed.”
DWTS Week 4 Elimination
After week 4’s Disney Night round, it was Alec Baldwin’s wife Hilaria Baldwin and her pro partner, Gleb Savchenko, who were eliminated from the show. The pair did a Star Wars-inspired quickstep number, which didn’t work out for them well.
While they maintained mostly mid-range scores, the viewers’ votes didn’t turn out in their favor. Hilaria later put the blame on TikTok ‘mean girls’ during an interview with Us Weekly. When she was asked why she believed she was eliminated, she shared:
I’m very new to TikTok. I’ve only been on a couple months. It’s interesting because there’s a lot of mean girls. I guess what people were doing is they were having campaigns where they wouldn’t just vote for their favorite — because you can vote 10 times for a couple — they were voting for all the other couples except us, so they were boosting everybody else and trying to drown out my fan base.
She shared that while she was glad that her friends got to stay, she would have loved to dance more on the show. The duo earned a 23/30 for the Disney Night round from the judges.
DWTS Week 5 Elimination
The latest episode on October 14 saw some special performances, including Danielle Fishel’s dedication to her Boy Meets World co-star Bill Daniels, who played Mr. Feeny. She did a jive number with her pro-partner, Pasha Pashkov, to the theme song of her ’90s sitcom.
Robert Irwin, the son of the late Steve Irwin, dedicated his performance to his mother, Terri Irwin. Dylan Efron, reality star and brother of Zac Efron, dedicated his performance to his little sister Olivia Efron. He danced to Rewrite the Stars, the song from the 2017 film The Greatest Showman, performed by his brother and Zendaya.
Efron and his pro partner Daniella Karagach finished in first place on the leaderboard with 36 out of 40 points. Interestingly, no pairs were eliminated during this round. Here is the complete scoreboard after Dedication Night.
Dancing With the Stars will be back next week, with a Wicked-themed night. It is likely that one or two pairs will say goodbye to the competition next week.
Who Are the Favorites to Win Dancing With the Stars Season 34?
Some of the celebrity contestants of Dancing With the Stars have already won over the fans. While he isn’t a top contestant on the show and isn’t likely to win the competition, comedian Andy Richter has won over many hearts with his appearance on the show. He is the oldest contestant competing this season, but has been putting in his best efforts with young blood Emma Slater.
Despite being at the bottom of the leaderboard, audiences are loving him. He has consistently made it to the top ten of the show after voting. And he has pulled in record numbers of fan votes. You might know him best as the sidekick for Conan O’Brien on his late-night talk shows.
The producers of DWTS already had a favorite before the season started. Sources told The U.S. Sun that they are set to play on the “nostalgic factor” with Steve Irwin’s son, Robert Irwin. The source shared that the producers are “all in on” Irwin and his pro partner Witney Carson this season. The insider shared:
He’s that lovable, family-friendly, non-political figure they need right now. Robert looks and acts so much like Steve, and his story tugs at the heartstrings.
Irwin has been winning over more fans after he showed a side to him that was previously unfamiliar to his followers. However, Irwin isn’t the only one the producers are betting on.
They also allegedly consider The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt and her partner Mark Ballas as favorites. Leavitt already came with a lot of fan following into the show, and fans are loving her performances. According to some Reddit users, DWTS might pave a way for her Broadway debut (via Yahoo!).
Dancing With the Stars Season 34 Prize Money: How Much Does the Winner Get?
The celebrity contestants and their pro partners compete for the Mirrorball trophy. Their monetary earnings are mostly in terms of salaries for their appearances. According to Variety, everyone in the show cuts a check of $125,000 when they sign on for the show. This amount covers their rehearsal period and the first two weeks on air.
Those who make it to week 3 of the competition allegedly start earning money per episode on a sliding scale. It was confirmed by former winner Kaitlyn Bristowe, who shared on the Trading Secrets podcast:
You get a bonus every week that you make it. The final four are in the final episode, they all get paid the same… But your signing bonus, I think you can negotiate a bit, like, to sign to say you’re going on the show.
Variety reported back in 2019 that the contestants make a maximum of $295,000 if they make it to the finale of the show.
What do you think of the current season’s performances on Dancing With the Stars? Let us know in the comments below!
The next episode of Dancing With the Stars will air on October 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.
