Dancing with the Stars eliminated Bonner Bolton and his professional partner Sharna Burgess during Monday night's Season 24 performance show on ABC.
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Sharna and the professional bull rider-turned-model became the eighth couple sent home from the ABC reality dancing competition based on the combination of Dancing with the Stars judges' scores and home viewer votes they had received during last week's episode.
"I was very, very surprised at how far I went. I went further than I ever knew I would. I'm thankful for the journey I got to take. I found out how far I can really push myself and how much I can take," Bonner said following his ouster.
The other couple in jeopardy of elimination last night was NFL free agent Rashad Jennings and partner Emma Slater; however, they did not necessarily land in the bottom two based on judges' scores and America's votes.
Last week, Bonner and Sharna had landed in seventh -- and last -- place on the judges' leaderboard, while Rashad and Emma had tied for second place on the leaderboard with another couple.
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Monday night's broadcast featured the remaining five couples each performing two complete routines -- One to a song each pro dancer picked that best described his or her celebrity partner's personal journey as well as the infamous "Trio Round" in which a previously-eliminated pro partner or DWTS Troupe member joins each couple for a special supersized dance.
Once again, Fifth Harmony member Normani Kordei and partner Val Chmerkovskiy topped the night's leaderboard in first place after they received a total of 79 out of 80 possible points from Dancing with the Stars judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Julianne Hough.
Normani and Val first danced a contemporary routine to "Freedom" by Anthony Hamilton and Elayna Boynton to show Normani's strength after overcoming bullying on social media, and the routine received a perfect score of 40 points from the judges. The couple then followed that up with a jive featuring DWTS Troupe member Alan Bersten that earned an additional 39 points.
Rashad and Emma finished the night in second place with 75 total points. The pair initially earned 36 points for their jive to "Shake a Tail Feather" by Blues Brothers in honor of Rashad's uplifting and energetic spirit and personality, and then they added 39 points for their trio Argentine tango with DWTS pro Witney Carson.
Third place on the judges' leaderboard went to Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Simone Biles and partner Sasha Farber with 72 total points. Simone and Sasha first took the stage with a foxtrot to "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction because Sasha said there are many things that make Simone beautiful but she's unaware of them.
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After racking in 36 points for their first routine, Simone and Sasha followed that up with a paso doble routine featuring DWTS Troupe member Brittany Cherry that earned an additional 36 points.
Two-time World Series champion David Ross -- the first pro baseball player to ever compete on Dancing with the Stars -- and partner Lindsay Arnold were scored a total of 65 points by the judges for their waltz to "Humble and Kind" by Tim McGraw -- which paid tribute to David's parenting skills and love for his children -- as well as the "Trio Round."
For David and Lindsay's trio dance, the pair performed a paso doble with DWTS Troupe member Hayley Erbert that received 29 points from the judges.
And last but not least, Bonner and Sharna landed in fifth -- and last -- place on the judges' leaderboard with only 58 total points. The couple's initial Argentine tango to "Believer" by Imagine Dragons received 30 points from the judges, while their trio jazz dance with DWTS Troupe member Britt Stewart added 28 points to their score.
Bonner and Sharna had a tough week in rehearsals because their first performance was in memory of the former bull rider's near-fatal accident and how he unexpectedly survived. Bonner was getting frustrated he was forced to relive that horrible time in his life over and over again for the show. At one point, he walked out of a rehearsal, leaving Sharna behind.
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Next week, the remaining four couples will compete in Dancing with the Stars' Season 24 semifinals.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski