Dancing with the Stars: Episode #11.6

Read recap of the previous night's performances Wasn't Michael Bolton eliminated last week? Yup, the Bolt man was back, but this time doing what he does best — singing. In fact, he was there to save the day. "Britain's Got Talent" sensation Susan Boyle was supposed to sing, but her doctors said no due to a throat infection. So the balladeer stepped in, performing a beautiful rendition of "Hallelujah," accompanied by a children's choir and, on the dance floor, Anna Trebunskaya and her husband Jonathan Roberts. Also featured tonight was an impressive performance by grammy winning pop and R&B singer/songwriter Ne-yo, singing his new single "One in a Million." And sure, tensions were high tonight because someone's getting axed, but the big battle of the evening was between Mark Ballas and Maks' brother Val Chmerkovskiy. The two have had a long-time rivalry in ballroom competitions over the years, and tonight they faced off... not just as dancers, but as musicians. Val wielded his violin and Mark was armed with his guitar, viciously rocking Britney Spears' "Toxic." The conflict continued on the dance floor with Val paired with Lacey Schwimmer, and Mark dancing with Tanisha Belnap. Who won? That's up to you to decide. (But we're sure if you asked either of them, they'd say they did.) We also visited former champ Donny Osmond in Las Vegas where he interviewed folks on the street to find out who they thought was the best star this season. And speaking of this season's competition, the night began with Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Karina Smirnoff being asked to dance the encore, with their bold and unusual time-traveling Foxtrot to Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow." But Mike didn't find out until later in the evening that he was safe. In the end it came down to the two teams with the lowest judges' scores from last night standing on the stage in the ominous red lights waiting to learn their fates: Bristol & Mark, and Margaret & Louis.  Tom proceeded to read the final words, with that endless pause before the verdict... ...the team going home tonight is... Margaret & Louis. She said she was so proud to have been able to show that she is a dancer, and Tom shared how impressed he was to see that side of her. And with that Team van Cho danced their final dance, to the Rolling Stones "You Can't Always Get What You Want." Design a Dance You chose Billy Joel's "It's Still Rock and Roll To Me" as the song to be paired with the Cha Cha for the Design a Dance. Now it's time to vote for the two professional dancers! All twelve pro dancers from this season are on the ballot. You choose both the male and female partners.   Comments from Maria and Jim, live-blogging at He Said/She Said "Bruno was actually applauding for Michael Bolton tonight! Of course, that's because he was singing instead of dancing." -- Jim Read more and join the conversation at He Said/She Said