Kym Johnson and Ingo Rademacher

Craig Sjodin/ABC

It was frontrunner Zendaya who had the surprise slip-up on Monday night‘s Dancing with the Stars semi-finals, but at the end of the evening, it was Ingo Rademacher who ended up at the bottom of the leader board.

With the three other remaining contestants ending the night with near perfect scores, Rademacher, whom judge Carrie Ann Inaba called “the underdog,” was at a disadvantage with a mere 51 points out of 60 for his and partner Kym Johnson’s samba and Charleston.

On Tuesday, during DWTS‘s 300th episode, did Rademacher get the boot? Or was there a surprise elimination? Read on to find out.

In the end, it was Rademacher and Johnson after all.

“This has been an amazing experience. I thought I’d be done after two weeks,” he admits. “Kym has choreographed the most amazing routines … I’ve really got a ballroom frame now.”

Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba and Len Goodman

Bob D’Amico/ABC

Monday night’s Dancing with the Stars semi-finals got off to a lively start.

Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough’s Argentine tango was a routine that judge Carrie Ann Inaba called “perfection.”

The other two judges echoed similar sentiments and gave the pair 30 points out of 30.

Ingo Rademacher, who Inaba called “the underdog,” had judges only semi-impressed with the 24-point samba he completed with partner, Kym Johnson.

“I love your determination,” judge Bruno Tonioli told the actor. “[But] you’ve got to soften your legs … don’t lose timing.”

Next, Alexandra Raisman and partner Mark Ballas received their first perfect 30 of the season for a rumba that Tonioli said was done “perfectly, darling.”

Keeping the momentum going, Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff (who suffered an injury in rehearsals Sunday) also landed 30 points for their Argentine tango that left Inaba speechless and Tonioli gushing that it was “so slick and so clean … best performance ever from you.”

Closing out the first of two dance rounds was one of the season’s frontrunners, Zendaya and Val Chmerkovskiy, who uncharacteristically left judges unimpressed with their routine.

“That was kind of a mess,” Inaba said of their 25-point quickstep. “It kind of felt like you were dragging each other through the dance.”

Kicking off the second round of dances were Pickler and Hough, who danced a 28-point flamenco that didn’t match up to their flawless first rountine. Tonioli and Inaba critiqued the country starlet for tensing up.

Rademacher and Johnson, on the other hand, improved since their rocky first number.

“Fun, fun, fun,” Tonioli said of their 27-point Charleston, while Inaba added, “You hit a grand slam with that one.”

Completing their nights just one point shy of a perfect 60 were Raisman and Ballas for their tribal-themed Afro jazz dance, and Jones and Smirnoff for their Lindy Hop routine.

“I don’t think people know how hard of a dance that was,” Inaba said of Raisman’s number. “It was just fantastic!”

Of Jones, Inaba raved that he is the “number one entertainer of season 16.”

Zendaya and Chmerkovskiy redeemed themselves with an evening-ending hip-hop number that the Disney starlet had been anticipating all night.

Scoring a 30 for the high-energy routine, Tonioli said, “You’ve got to be kidding me. Get out of here … you were just, ugh, incredible … Zendaya forever!”

Cheryl Burke and Karina Smirnoff

Michael Simon/StarTraks

After Dancing with the Stars on Monday, Cheryl Burke celebrated her 29th birthday with the help of her fox-trotting friends.

Kelly Monaco, Karina Smirnoff and Kym Johnson were on hand for the celebration at Mixology 101 in Los Angeles, where they presented the birthday girl with a towering red velvet cake.

“Cheryl is one of my best friends,” Johnson told PEOPLE. “I loved being at Mixology to help her celebrate alongside these gorgeous ladies!”

Reflecting on the occasion, Burke said, “I’ve spent my entire twenties on DWTS. It was incredible to be able to celebrate 29 with my show family and friends,” adding, “I can’t wait to see what this year brings.”
– Michele Stueven

Alexandra Raisman and Mark Ballas

Craig Sjodin/ABC

The ballroom heated up on Monday night’s Latin-themed Dancing with the Stars.

Seven weeks into the competition, almost all of the remaining couples came up with impressive routines. But it was Alexandra Raisman and Mark Ballas who landed their first 10s of the season, with a salsa that Len Goodman – who gave the pair a nine – called, “tasty and refreshing.”

The pair got 10s from the other two judges, which put them at a total of 29 points out of 30. They also received an additional three points for winning a dance-off against Andy Dick and Sharna Burgess.

Raisman and Ballas tied with regular high-scoring duo, Derek Hough and Kellie Pickler, who wowed judges with their samba to Ricky Martin’s “Shake Your Bon Bon.”

But at the end of the night, even though Pickler and Hough were in a tie, they were the ones declared free from Tuesday night’s elimination because they had the highest cumulative score of the season.

Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff and Zendaya and Val Chmerkovskiy also tied with 27 points each. Jones and Smirnoff performed a salsa that Goodman called “first rate,” while Zendaya and Chmerkovskiy executed an impressive paso doble, though judge Carrie Ann Inaba said it was “missing was a little bit of the depth.”

The two couples teamed up against each other in the dance off, with Zendaya and Chmerkovskiy scoring the three extra points for their jive.

Sean Lowe, who struggled in the bottom two last week, bounced back this week, performing a sexy rumba with partner Peta Murgatroyd to Enrique Iglesias’s “Hero.” The pair earned 24 points on his fiancé Catherine Giudici’s birthday.

“Well, well, well, Sean, who’s the ‘Hero’ now?” Inaba said. “That was just wonderful.”

At the bottom of the leader board were Ingo Rademacher and Dick. The General Hospital star scored 22 points for a rumba with partner Kym Johnson that was panned for lack of good hip movement. Meanwhile, Dick earned just 17 points for his rumba, which, according to the scores, had even less hip action.

But Rademacher and Johnson won a dance-off against Murgatroyd and Lowe, landing three extra points for their rumba.

Results will be announced Tuesday!

Andy Dick and Sharna Burgess

Craig Sjodin/ABC

On Monday’s Dancing with the Stars, frontrunner Zendaya earned the first 10s of the season and Karina Smirnoff performed with ex-fiancé Maksim Chmerkovskiy for the first time since their split.

But for Andy Dick and D.L. Hughley the night was a repeat of hearing harsh critiques from the judges.

Dick made a statement with a Zoro-themed entrance during his paso doble with partner Sharna Burgess, but the rest of his dance was panned. Hughley, too, failed to impress the panel with his and Cheryl Burke‘s tango. Both couples finished the night at the bottom of the leader board with 18 points.

At the end of Tuesday’s elimination, did one of these couples go home? Read on to find out …

Andy and Sharna were declared safe but D.L. and Cheryl were in jeopardy, along with soap star Ingo Rademacher and Kym Johnson and boxer Victor Ortiz and Lindsay Arnold.

But the couple with the lowest combined scores and leaving the competition were D.L. and Cheryl.

“I’ve had a ball,” he said after hearing the news.

And when asked what he’ll miss about Dancing with the Stars, he said, “Just Cheryl.”

But the comedian couldn’t resist cracking a joke at the expense of judge Len Goodman, who had been hard on him throughout the season. “You need to work on your hip action,” he joked.