Dancing with the Stars

After perfect performances saw J.R. Martinez cement his frontrunner status on Dancing With the Stars, the question was who would join him in the final four.

With J.R. amassing a huge lead and fan support, Ricki Lake remaining a virtual lock (no way she'd be out after just one off week that wasn't even that off, and with Derek Hough as a partner), it came down to these three contestants ...

Was last night the end of the line for Hope, Nancy, or Rob?

Hope Solo continues to improve, but would it be fast enough for fans as well as the judges' liking? Ditto Rob Kardashian ... and could Nancy Grace pull off an upset?

Bristol Palin made the finals of this program, which has seen many worthy dancers set home prematurely, so you never know. Which one of them got the heave-ho?

Follow the jump to find out here ...

Rob Kardashian is proving the Dancing With the Stars doubters wrong.

He got a bad rap at the beginning of the season for being aloof and just doing the show because mom Kris Jenner made him. But he has improved dramatically.

Kicking off Monday night's episode with an awesome quickstep, Rob proved he's a dark horse in the competition, an under-the-radar but serious contender.

Watch the routine that earned Rob and Cheryl Burke all nines below:

Rob Kardashian on Dancing With the Stars (Week 8 - Quickstep)

He finished with the fourth highest total out of five dancers, but Rob has a big cushion over Nancy Grace, so he should be in the clear on tonight's results show.

Beyond that, though, it may come down to Rob and Cheryl or Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Hope Solo for the final spot in the 13th season's three-team finale.

Rob scored a 24 on his second, instant jive dance. Watch it below:

Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Hope Solo looked to be falling apart just two weeks ago. Now they could have a good shot at the Dancing With the Stars finals.

Two weeks after Hope‘s “worst dance of the entire season,” which led to Maks' feud with Len and Derek Hough, she made the case that she’s a contender.

Solo's turned in her best performance to date last night and was awarded a season-high 27 points for her quickstep to Amy Winehouse’s hit “Valerie.”

Take a look at the pair's energetic routine below ...

Hope Solo on Dancing With the Stars (Week 8 - Quickstep)

“Tonight is a night of miracles rebooted, reenergized. Light, breezy, radiant. You’ve never moved so well,” Bruno Tonioli said, calling it "Your best dance yet!”

Carrie Ann Inaba was even more to the point. “Hope, come here,” she said. “I just want to give you a hug.” Believe it or not, Len even got in on the love.

“This was fantastic,” Goodman said. “It was everything a jive should be!” He then earned a kiss - yes, a kiss - from Maks after his praise of their jive.

Check out Hope and Maks' second effort here:

Thanks to Nancy Grace, Ricki Lake should advance to next week on Dancing With the Stars without a problem. Still, her confidence took a bit of a hit Monday night.

The front-runner didn't fare too well during her instant jive, earning her lowest score from the judges in weeks. Backstage afterward, she was clearly discouraged.

"Right now, my ego," she said when asked what hurt most.

Ricki Lake on Dancing With the Stars (Week 8 - Jive)

"I'm just covered in bruises, same old, same old. I don't want to complain," she said, adding "[J.R. Martinez] was amazing. My vote would be with him tonight."

Hard to argue with the talk show host there, given that he scored a perfect 60 out of 60, topping Ricki's tied-for-second 52 by quite a considerable margin.

Lake can take solace in the fact that J.R. had an off week last Monday while she shined, though. As long as she survives tonight's results show, it's a new game.

Watch her waltz from earlier in the night after the jump:

Last night's Dancing With the Stars was the J.R. Martinez show.

He had two chances to redeem himself from an off-week last Monday and boy did he deliver. If this continues, everyone else is dancing for second place.

Martinez scored, not one but two, perfect 30s - first for his waltz, then for his instant jive with Karina Smirnoff - the first dancer to do so in Season 13.

J.R. Martinez on Dancing With the Stars (Week 8 - Waltz)

“It was like a musical Valentine card,” DWTS judge Bruno Tonioli said. “You dance with your heart on your sleeve. Totally involved, totally dedicated.”

“This is a war on the floor,” Len Goodman added. “Each week is a battle. Last week you retreated a bit, but, like the soldier you are you came back, guns blazing.”

The Iraq War vet, soap opera actor and motivational speaker certainly has the inspiring story, fan support and dance moves to take home the Mirror Ball.

Can J.R. Martinez be stopped? We'll find out in the coming weeks, but it looks like the title could he his to lose. Watch his instant jive after the jump:

Nancy Grace likely jived her way off Dancing With the Stars last night.

Already a huge underdog to make it beyond the top five, the pressure started to get to her early on "Are you actually acting tired?" she snapped at Tristan MacManus.

"You don't have twins that get up at 5, you don't have a full-time job and I do!" MacManus' reply: "I'm tired of you." "I'm tired of you, too! So there!" she retorted.

They were mostly jokinh, but that still set the tone for their instant jive, which you can see below. Nancy clearly doesn't have enough left in the tank at this point:

Nancy Grace on Dancing With the Stars (Week 8 - Jive)

The pair failed to impress the judges, who awarded a mere 20 out of 30 points. There have been worse routines, but that was far below the rest of the Dancing With the Stars scores Monday. Earlier in the night, they earned 24 for their tango.

Follow the jump to watch that routine:

The eighth week of Dancing With the Stars' 13th season saw J.R. Martinez achieve perfection not just once, but twice, serving notice that he's in this to win it.

"Justin Bieber, I will never say never," he said after receiving all 10s.

J.R. looked pleased after his waltz, and for good reason. Then he capped off the insta-jives with another second flawless performance, giving him a 60 out of 60.

Yeah, he's safe tonight. Everyone else? Let's find out in THG's DWTS recap:

After a strong first performance that earned them 27 points, Hope Solo and Maksim Chmerkovskiy danced a jive that was energetic, bouncy and a bit out of control.

According to Bruno and Carrie Ann, anyway. Len Goodman, though? He left out of his seat in his attempt to emphasize just how "bloody brilliant" he thought they were.

Seriously. Then Maks actually walked over and kissed Len on the cheek in one of the fall's funniest and least likely moments, given his lingering feud with the judges.

Their combined score of 52 was good enough for a second-place tie with Ricki Lake and Derek Hough, who ruled the last two weeks but didn't quite step it up Monday.

The Dancing With the Stars field is down to five.

Who among the remaining hopefuls, who square off again tonight, stands the best chance of victory? Let's take a look at who's left standing, then put it to a vote ...

1. Nancy Grace will not win Dancing With the Stars.
2. Hope Solo has shown improvement throughout the season, and her best may be yet to come. Still, the judges seem underwhelmed (to the chagrin of Maksim Chmerkovskiy) and a surge to the finals will be a tall order.
3. Rob Kardashian has been the season's biggest surprise. He's been consistently solid and is very well-liked, despite (or because of?) his famous family. 
4. J.R. Martinez has been head-and-shoulders above the field this season ... except for one person lately. He's got the life story, the personality and the fan support. It'll all come down to whether he can overcome ...
5. Ricki Lake. After two straight weeks at the top, it looks like the title is hers to lose. One off week and J.R. could reemerge as the favorite, though.

Well? Who will win Dancing With the Stars?

The recent Dancing With the Stars feud between Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Derek Hough appears to indicate an increasingly heated rivalry and then some.

"They hate each other," a DWTS insider says.

Chmerkovskiy slammed Len Goodman on last week's show, then criticized Hough after he sided with the judge. Maks also referred to DWTS as "my show."

"I had a laugh about that," Hough said, then referred to a list of past champions at the studio: "I was just looking at the plaque upstairs and ... well, never mind."

Derek (with Ricki Lake) and Maks (with Hope Solo) are in this fall's final five.

That reply by three-time winner Hough (Chmerkovskiy has yet to hoist the Mirror Ball in 12 seasons; Both are alive right now) is just the latest chapter.

"The professional dance community is really small. The dancers have known one another their entire lives," says a source close to the smash hit show.

"Now that the group is famous, it's added a new level of competitiveness."

There's also the Julianne Hough factor.

This week's Dancing with the Stars results were a bit unfair to David Arquette, who did more than enough to stay in the competition at least one more week.

But rather than talking about how he should have outlasted Nancy Grace, he's taking the high road and praising the ABC show for the experience it gave him.

It's easy to see why, given that his seven-week run painted him in positive light, following a rough patch that had him making headlines for ... other reasons.

After a trip to rehab, a car accident, a separation from wife Courteney Cox, a fling with Jasmine Waltz and more details he'd just as soon forget, he now can.

David Arquette on Dancing With the Stars (Week 7)

"I learned a lot about myself on this show," the actor said after he and partner Kym Johnson were eliminated from the hit series on Tuesday night's program.

"I learned a lot about self-appreciation and finding joy in my life and doing things that are positive for me. Kym and I had the best time. We had a lot of fun."

Arquette, who says his votes are now going to fellow competitor J.R. Martinez, is "sad" about the dismissal, but is also looking on the bright side of leaving.

"I'm looking forward to spending time with friends, taking my daughter to school, going to ice skating with her, getting to play with her – just sleeping," he said.

"I woke up at 3:30 this morning, just amped up. It's just so much high pressure and stress. I'm looking forward to that lack of anxiety on Mondays."

Did David deserve to get the boot?