MYA AND DMITRY CHAPLIN TOP THE 'DANCING WITH THE STARS' LEADER BOARD

Another week on Dancing With the Stars found Len back on the DWTS judging panel -- and the celebrities preforming close to the level of previous weeks.

The only real surprise of the evening was the previously near-perfect Aaron Carter and partner Karina Smirnoff. While Carter's dancing was on a par with most DWTS competitors, he had set the bar high for himself and was expected to be flawless. But the rumba proved not to be quite Carter's cup of tea. His dance moves were admirable, but unnatural and exaggerated. Judge Bruno Tonioli opined that the performance lacked "fluidity." Carrie Ann Inaba thought that it was exaggerated, but otherwise a "good job." And Len Goodman felt that it lacked "musicality." The pair garnered 8, 6, 7 scores for a total of 21, placing them fourth and tied with entertainer Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson who also found the rumba more of a challenge than their previous dance styles.



Topping the leader board were singer Mya and her partner Dmitry Chaplin. The rumba gave this couple no problems as they performed a sexy routine that brought a thunderous applause from fans. Carrie Ann loved the "fluidity" of their performance. Len was a bit grumpy in his assessment, but Bruno quickly chimed in, saying, that the performance had undoubtedly put a lot of Americans "in the mood for love." Their efforts brought two perfect scores of 10 -- and a 7 from Len, totaling 27.

Second place was captured by swimmer Natalie Coughlin and partner Alec Mazo. While during rehearsal the young Natalie was challenged to look into her partner's eyes and perform a sexy routine, once they hit the competition dance floor she knew exactly what to do -- and she did it. Slow and sexy -- perhaps the pair's best performance thus far. Carrie called the dance "dramatic," and Len praised the "leg action." Bruno turned theatrical in terming it "stratospheric!" Scores were 9, 8, and 9 -- for a total of 26, just one point behind Mya and Dmitry.

Finishing third were model Joanna Krupa and Derek Hough. In an unusual opening, Hough grabbed a rope and made his swinging entrance Tarzan-style. Carrie Ann said that Joanna was "fearless" in performing the samba -- and "super sexy." Len agreed -- adding that "it had quality stamped all over it." And Bruno echoed their sentiments. The 7, 8, and 8 scores delivered a 23 total.

The lowest ranked couple of the evening was football great Michael Irvin and partner Anna Demidova -- dancing a samba. Carrie Ann thought that Irvin was "dancing too small" -- and Len and Bruno considered the performance "disappointing." Their scores were 5, 4, 5, for a low 14 points.

And finishing only one point higher was the couple -- former Sen. Tom DeLay and Cheryl Burke. While their dance may not have captivated the audience, DeLay won the respect of DWTS fans -- completing the entire routine despite suffering stress fractures in both feet! DeLay had been advised by his doctors and the show's producers to leave the competition -- but he said that he likes challenges and was determined to dance. DeLay captured high praise for his courage -- along with scores of 6, 4, and 5 -- for 15 points.

Other scores for the evening:
Mark Dacascos and Lacey Schwimmer -- 18
Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas -- 19
Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower -- 20
Debi Mazar and Maksim Chmerkovskiy -- 17
Chuck Liddell and Anna Trebunskaya -- 17
Kelly Osborne and Louis Van Amstel -- 20