Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough Are (Still) 'Dancing' 's Top Team

The Dirty Dancing star and her partner please the judges with an energetic jive

Published on September 28, 2010 08:05 AM

Jennifer Grey danced away with top honors for the second week in a row on Dancing With the Stars Monday. Her energetic jive with pro partner Derek Hough brought the audience to their feet, though the pair collapsed with exhaustion on the floor after their routine.

Judge Carrie Anna Inaba called Jennifer a “bionic bunny” and praised the performance as “amazing” from start to finish. Jennifer and Derek earned all eights from the judges, which prompted boos from the audience who hoped for at least one nine.

The crowd was equally displeased with the fate of singer Michael Bolton, whose jive to “Hound Dog” scored just 12 points. Bruno Tonioli called their routine “the worst jive I’ve ever seen.” When he held up a paddle with the number three for their efforts, Tom asked in shock, “We have a three?” Even Len Goodman encouraged Bruno to keep certain comments to himself, prompting Tom to warn, “Len being nicer? A sign of the apocalypse!”

The nights other low scorers included Margaret Cho and Louis Van Amstel and Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and Karina Smirnoff. Both pairs earned straight sixes from the judges. Bruno encouraged Margaret to keep things sharp, though the star said of her performance, “I gave this everything I had.”

The judges were even harsher with The Situation. Len called his quickstep with Karina “a series of unfortunate events.”

Landing near the top this week were Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer, Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas, and Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovolani, who promised during rehearsal last week that if their routine did not earn straight eights from the judges, he would wax his legs.

Unfortunately for the pro dancer, Bruno awarded their quickstep a seven – one point shy of keeping the hair on his legs.

What You Didn’t See

• America’s most famous hockey mom is a Dancing mom now! Sarah Palin and 6-year-old daughter Piper cheered on Bristol from the sidelines Monday night, sitting next to Shirley Ballas, Mark’s mom and Corky’s ex-wife. “It’s like my security blanket,” Bristol said of having her mom in the ballroom.

• Jennifer Grey may have looked confident in her sexy, gold-fringed dress for the jive, but she told PEOPLE backstage that looks can be deceiving. “I was embarrassed,” she said of the skimpy costume designed by Hough. “I thought, ‘Well, I have to embrace it, so I might as well start shaking.’ ”

• Kyle Massey may not be willing to give up junk food, but he says his body is changing nonetheless. “Before the show I could only do two push-ups,” he told PEOPLE backstage. “Then a couple days ago, I won a push-up contest and did 33.” The Disney star says he’s noticed a change in his endurance as well. “It really, really shows,” he said.

• The ballroom became a Bachelor party when Chris Harrison showed up with Brad Womack to announce the season 11 alum will return as the star of season 15. Also in the audience, Bachelor Pad winner Natalie Getz and Jonathan “The Weatherman” Novack.