By , ,
Published May 02, 2016
On Monday night's dramatic edition of "Dancing with the Stars," Bindi Irwin danced once while wearing a blindfold, and again while wearing a blonde wig and received two perfect scores – while Tamar Braxton, who was hospitalized with pneumonia on Monday, barely made it to the show in time to perform one dance.
Both stars survived elimination, as Alexa PenaVega was ousted, but it was Irwin who again looked like the one to beat in Week 9.
The judges gave The Crocodile Kid and partner Derek Hough a perfect 30 for their Viennese Waltz, part of which Irwin performed blindfolded. Later in the night, when each couple had to pair up with one other dance couple for side-by-side duets, Irwin and Hough scored another 30 for their "Chicago" number (with PenaVega and Mark Ballas).
After the show, Irwin, 17, still wearing her blonde Roxie Hart wig, told reporters, "It was really fun. I've grown up and I haven't exactly watched many movies at all because there were other things to do. 'Chicago' was one of those movies that I had seen and I had seen the Broadway show."
The two couples and their partners went to New York to see "Chicago" on Broadway and get ideas for their incredible routine—but Irwin had to admit she was clueless about the show's famed choreographer Bob Fosse.
Hough laughed, "Everybody was like, 'You don't know who Bob Fosse is, Bindi?' And she goes, 'Guys, I live in a zoo! I literally live under a rock.' "
Irwin told FOX411 of using the blindfold, "It was terrifying! When you can't see anything, your balance is totally off and you don't realize that and so, to do that, we walked on the stage and I didn't even know if I was facing the right way. I was like, 'Derek, am I facing front?' It was a little bit scary but it's all about believing and trying your best and after we finished, I couldn't stop shaking."
Meanwhile, Braxton had to be rushed to the hospital after her dress rehearsal. "The Real" co-host (who raised eyebrows earlier this season when rehearsal footage showed her saying, "I'm probably the best dancer in the competition"), was still being treated when Monday's live show began.
Later, when Braxton still hadn't returned from the hospital, host Tom Bergeron made the stunning announcement that Braxton would be judged on taped dress rehearsal footage for her first dance with partner Val Chmerkovskiy.
Judge Bruno Tonioli noted a "lot of mistakes" and she got a paltry score of 22.
Later, however, the drama played out live as Braxton rushed to the studio just in time for her and Chmerkovskiy could perform their Beatles Cirque du Soleil-style number with duet team Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess. They nabbed 30 points before Bergeron told Braxton on camera that had she not shown up for the second dance, the network lawyers said she would have had to be eliminated.
Braxton didn't attend the post-show press line, but Carter and Burgess told reporters about the stressful situation.
"Everybody had this flu that's going around and poor Tamar has had it hit her so hard," Burgess said.
As viewers saw on the show, Braxton has had a busy travel schedule lately and Burgess noted, "I don't think that woman has slept. I don't know how she keeps going ... to come here and refuse to be disqualified ... I'm so proud of her. It's just been a nightmare week."
Backstreet Boy Carter, who got a 28 for his earlier individual dance, told FOX411 about their team effort, "When we found out she was on her way back [from the hospital] you go through so many emotions ... a minute or two before the performance, she comes out ... and she looks extremely sick and Val tells me, 'I need you to take care of her. I need you to be a leading man.' "
And he was, helping to save Braxton's season.
Also on Monday, train hero Alek Skarlatos got his chest waxed by some of the "DWTS" dancers so he could look sexy for his salsa with partner Lindsay Arnold.
Skarlatos, who received a 24 score (he also got 24 for his duet dance with Arnold, Carlos PenaVega and Witney Carson), said, "I've been in worse situations. Being surrounded by women and getting my chest waxed was not that bad of a situation. I would do it again."
The military man laughed to FOX411 that Arnold looks surprised every week they survive in the competition. But he wasn't even in the bottom two, as the sobbing PenaVega was given her ballroom walking papers.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/dancing-with-the-stars-recap-bindi-blindfolded-tamar-hospitalized-on-dramatic-night