DWTS Mariah Carey Night Results: Full Scores and Who Went Home

LOS ANGELES — “Dancing With the Stars” turned its ballroom into a Mariah Carey celebration Tuesday night, with 12 remaining Season 35 couples performing to some of the singer’s biggest hits as the competition produced its first 9 of the season and ended with Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong being eliminated.

Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas topped the leaderboard with 25 out of 30 for their waltz to “If It’s Over.” Carrie Ann Inaba awarded Higgins the season’s first 9, putting the pair narrowly ahead of a crowded group of contenders.

But one of the night’s biggest surprises came at the other end of the show. Despite earning their best score of the season, Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong did not receive enough combined support from judges’ scores and viewer votes to continue in the competition.

DWTS Mariah Carey Night full scores

Only a few points separated much of the field, making viewer voting especially important. Here are the scores from Mariah Carey Night:

• Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas: 25/30 — Waltz, “If It’s Over”
• Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach: 24/30 — Rumba, “Anytime You Need a Friend”
• Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson: 24/30 — Tango, “It’s Like That”
• Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy: 24/30 — Rumba, “My All”
• Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov: 23/30 — Rumba, “Hero”
• Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong: 21/30 — Jazz, “Emotions” — Eliminated
• Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess: 21/30 — Foxtrot, “#Beautiful”
• Jackson Olson and Emma Slater: 21/30 — Waltz, “Without You”
• Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa: 21/30 — Viennese Waltz, “Vision of Love”
• Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik: 20/30 — Jazz, “Fantasy”
• Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold: 19/30 — Rumba, “Touch My Body”
• Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson: 13/30 — Samba, “Obsessed”

ABC’s official Mariah Carey Night announcement confirmed the couples, dance styles and Carey songs selected for the episode.

Maura Higgins gets the season’s first 9

Higgins and Ballas’ traditional waltz became the scoring breakthrough of the night. Inaba said the performance moved her emotionally, while Derek Hough praised its classic ballroom approach and Bruno Tonioli highlighted Higgins’ musicality.

Ezra Frech, Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Dewan followed with 24/30 each, leaving four couples separated by a single point at the top.

Harry Shum Jr. returns to a familiar Mariah Carey song

Shum had an unusual connection to “It’s Like That”: he appeared in the original Mariah Carey music video. Partner Jenna Johnson joked that his moves from the video would not translate to their tango, but the pair impressed the judges and collected three 8s.

The Mariah Carey special comes during a busy period for entertainment television. Swikblog has also covered Taylor Swift’s SNL cameo with Dakota Johnson, another recent television moment attracting pop-culture attention.

Guillermo Rodriguez gets the night’s lowest score

Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson landed at the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard with 13/30 for their samba to “Obsessed.” Rodriguez had also been balancing rehearsals with travel to New York to film “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from Brooklyn.

Hough said the performance did not fully resemble a samba, while Inaba questioned where Rodriguez’s usual joy had gone. Her comments prompted loud boos from parts of the ballroom audience.

Despite receiving the night’s lowest judges’ score, Rodriguez and Carson survived the elimination after viewer votes were combined with the judges’ marks.

Tyler Cameron’s emotional tribute to his mother

Tyler Cameron delivered one of the episode’s most personal moments before performing a foxtrot to “#Beautiful” with Sharna Burgess.

Cameron spoke about losing his mother to a brain aneurysm in 2020 and said DWTS was a show she had dreamed of seeing him compete on. Their performance earned 21/30 and visibly moved Hough during his critique.

For readers following major music and celebrity events, Swikblog’s coverage of the 2026 MTV VMAs winners and major moments also tracks the artists and performances driving this year’s entertainment conversation.

Ciara Miller eliminated after Mariah Carey Night

Ciara Miller and professional partner Brandon Armstrong were eliminated at the end of Mariah Carey Night, reducing the Season 35 field from 12 couples to 11.

Miller had opened the night with a jazz routine to “Emotions,” earning 21 out of 30. The performance was praised as an improvement and represented the pair’s highest score of the competition, making their exit one of the episode’s biggest surprises.

As the results were announced, Miller and Armstrong, Jackson Olson and Emma Slater, and Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson were the final three couples awaiting their fate. Miller and Armstrong were ultimately announced as the couple leaving the ballroom.

After the result, Miller expressed gratitude to Armstrong and described her time on the show as an experience of a lifetime. Armstrong also praised Miller’s progress, saying she had continued to improve each week.

The result underlined how judges’ scores alone do not determine who stays. Miller finished six points ahead of Rodriguez on the judges’ leaderboard but was still eliminated once viewer voting was factored into the result.

Viewer votes shake up the DWTS leaderboard

DWTS combines judges’ scores with public voting, meaning a strong judges’ score does not guarantee safety and a low-scoring couple can remain in the competition with enough viewer support.

That unpredictability has already shaped Season 35. Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart were eliminated during the previous Yacht Rock Night despite another couple receiving a lower judges’ score.

Mariah Carey Night also featured Amber Glenn dancing to “Hero,” Tatyana Ali to “Fantasy,” Connor Wood to “Touch My Body,” Julia Stiles to “Vision of Love” and Jackson Olson to “Without You.”

With Miller and Armstrong eliminated, 11 couples remain in contention for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. Season 35 continues Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC and Disney+, with episodes available on Hulu the following day.

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