Sherri Shepherd was a crowd favorite but her popularity couldn’t save her from elimination after Rock Night. This was quite a jolt to the remaining contestants as they realized that they will have to step up their games even more in order to survive.

Latin Night marks the halfway point in the competition. Both the judges and the viewers are expected to be more critical than in previous weeks. The stars also strived to put their best on the dance floor to avoid the first “dance duel” where the two lowest scoring couples will have to dance it out for the judges on Elimination Night.

Carlos Santana and his band kicked off Latin Night and continued to perform throughout the night. With the stage set for Latin beats the stars came out to show their unique brands of “sexy” through their dance moves.

Judges: Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli

Melissa Gilbert: Actress
Maks Chmerkovskiy: Pro Partner

Week 5 / Salsa
Melissa was a lively siren on the dancefloor. She kept up with the pace of the energetic routine. Her footwork was crisp, she was good in hold and she nailed the stunts pretty well. However, there were some noticeable moments where she lost her focus and her footing resulting in some blank moments in the performance. It was a good Salsa but the glaring technical flaws kept it from being a perfect Salsa.

Judgment Call: All applauded her progress and her fight to conquer the Salsa. They loved the rhythm and the energy but critiqued Melissa on her lack of control.

Roshon Fegan: Actor / Dancer
Chelsie Hightower: Pro Partner

Week 5 / Salsa
My gosh! The precision in those rubbery legs of his is a marvel to behold. And he nailed the dips with Chelsie. No weak arms this week. Roshon displayed great vibrancy in his physical movements, perfect rhythm, sharp footwork and eye-popping gyrations and shimmies. If there's a Dance God up there he or she will not let Roshon fall into the “bottom two” this week.

Judgment Call: Bruno and Carrie Ann loved it but Len advised Roshon to tone it down just a little.

William Levy: Actor / Model
Cheryl Burke: Pro Partner

Week 5 / Argentine Tango
Wow. That was the first word that popped into my head at the close of William's Argentine Tango. William looked great. He worked the choreography like a pro as a solid leading man for Cheryl. And to add icing to the cake William was in perfect form as the dominating male figure on the floor as he totally took over Cheryl. Great holds, sexy lifts with no stumbling, and mesmerizing body control made this one of the most outstanding performances of the night. This was an incredible improvement over his sloppy Jive from Week 4. As for tonight, William lived up to the title of “Cuban Brad Pitt”.

Judgment Call: Two “10s” and a “9”. We'll see you next week, William.

Donald Driver: Pro Football Athlete
Peta Murgatroyd: Pro Partner

Week 5 / Argentine Tango
The slow, slow, quick tone of the routine was breathtaking. Donald would stroll with Peta in a smooth pace and then he would whip Peta into a hold or some death-defying lift of some sort. Donald's physical control was gorgeous and helped to set the sexy and sultry tone of the routine. If anything I wished he would've done a little more kick play with Peta and more “pointy toe” action. Otherwise, it was a strong performance.

Judgment Call: Carrie Ann loved it while Bruno and Len felt it was a bit flawed. Still, all found something amazing in it and Donald should make it to next week.

Gavin DeGraw: Singer / Songwriter
Karina Smirnoff: Pro Partner

Week 5 / Samba
Not sure if the comedic feel was unintentional or not but it actually seemed to work. It looked like Gavin was a goofy tourist trying to please the sultry island girl played by Karina. His pelvic rolls where a bit awkward, his footwork was okay and his arm extensions made me think of Saturday Night Fever but it was a lighthearted, fun and smile-inducing routine. Not sure if that will get him to next week but it was a decent effort.

Judgment Call: Well, Len dubbed it a “shamba” but Carrie Ann and Bruno added salve instead of salt to the wound by applauding Gavin for giving it the good ol' college try.

Maria Menounos: TV Host
Derek Hough: Pro Partner

Week 5 / Salsa
Technically, Maria appeared to be completely on point as she twirled, shimmied and allowed Derek to whip her body around through a variety of wild stunts. And seeing Derek's signature move of those wild arm twists was as awesome as always. As sharp as Maria's movements looked I didn't quite feel completely heated up by the number. Even the mid-dance kiss and the partial disrobing of Derek seemed to force the passion instead of letting it ooze out naturally. It looked perfect but Maria had the presence of a pretty car show model instead of a sultry dance diva.

Judgment Call: Carrie Ann felt the kiss was a bit much but agreed with the other judges that Maria is an amazing dancer and looked great in the Salsa.

Katherine Jenkins: Singer
Mark Ballas: Pro Partner

Week 5 / Argentine Tango
The scenario was amazingly acted with Mark trying to woo a suitcase wielding Katherine back into his arms. Katherine did a fabulous job carrying the role of fed up lover from beginning to end. She delivered on the passionate intensity combined with annoyance at Mark's continued attempts to keep her by his side. Coupled with some striking lunges, smoldering holds and wicked leg kicks Katherine's Argentine Tango was an incredible combo of drama and technique.

Judgment Call: All three judges were amazed by Katherine's thorough performance. The word perfection was uttered more than once as was the award of two “10” scores.

Gladys Knight: Singer
Tristan MacManus: Pro Partner

Week 5 / Samba
Okay, yes, Gladys is the “old lady” in the group and can't do all those incredible acrobatics that some of the younger and more limber female contenders can tackle. But, yet again, Gladys showed that you don't need to do backflips and splits to perform a competent dance number. I liked her dainty yet feisty footwork. Her solo shimmies were cute and she did very well in hold. The Samba “rolls” were a little stiff but she did pretty well for the rest of the number. It was simultaneously charming and cheeky.

Judgment Call: Echoes from weeks past, really. They didn't hate it but rather love that Gladys puts her own spin on her routines to suit her strengths. They acknowledge her limitations but admire her determination.

Jaleel White: Actor
Kym Johnson: Pro Partner

Week 5 – Samba
Jaleel made it a point to strengthen his hip swivels and body shimmies and it paid off because his Samba was quite sexy and alluring. He proved to be a very confident leading man for Kym as he grooved around the floor shaking his money maker but also adding some flair with improved footwork (reduced flatfooted-ness, yes!) and some hints of African-like arm flails. Despite some glitches in the choreography Jaleel delivered a very sultry Samba that heated up the dancefloor with tropical energy.

Judgment Call: All liked it despite some slip-ups in the footwork. Carrie Ann advised Jaleel to watch his free arm when out of hold.