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 another tense elimination vote.

Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas delivered the standout result in the available live scorecard, earning 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.

DWTS Mariah Carey Night full scores

Only a few points separated much of the field, making viewer voting especially important. Here are the scores reported during 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”
• 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 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.

The score did not automatically mean elimination. DWTS combines judges’ scores with viewer votes, allowing audience support to significantly affect the final result.

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.

DWTS Elimination Results After Mariah Carey Night

The final Mariah Carey Night elimination was not established in the live information available for this report. The result should not be inferred from the leaderboard because judges’ scores are combined with public voting.

That unpredictability was clear the previous week when Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart were eliminated during Yacht Rock Night despite another couple receiving a lower judges’ score.

Voting could change the leaderboard outcome

Viewers can cast up to 10 votes per couple, per eligible voting method, including online and text voting. Voting takes place during the live East Coast broadcast and closes shortly after the final performance, meaning West Coast viewers must vote before watching the later television airing if they want their votes counted.

The night also featured Ciara Miller dancing to “Emotions,” Tatyana Ali to “Fantasy,” Connor Wood to “Touch My Body,” Julia Stiles to “Vision of Love,” Jackson Olson to “Without You” and Amber Glenn to “Hero.”

Season 35 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC and Disney+, with episodes available on Hulu the following day.

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