'Dancing with the Stars': Who went home and Bindi Irwin's success

Another celebrity contestant departed 'Dancing' as the season nears its end. Will it be a battle between Irwin and Nick Carter as the show moves forward?

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Vincent Yu/AP
'Dancing with the Stars' stars Bindi Irwin.

As another contestant left “Dancing With the Stars,” a stunt by conservationist Bindi Irwin may have made her the frontrunner for the ABC reality competition.

Actress Alexa PenaVega and her professional partner Mark Ballas were the newest contestants to leave the competition. The two had received high scores for their routines, but nevertheless departed the show.

The remaining celebrity contestants are now singer Tamar Braxton; Alek Skarlatos, who helped foil a train attack this summer; actor Carlos PenaVega, who is Alexa PenaVega’s husband; former Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter; and conservationist Bindi Irwin. 

Irwin, in particular, received praise from the judges this week. Both she and Alexa PenaVega received perfect scores of 30 from the panel for their routines, with PenaVega performing a contemporary routine with Ballas. Irwin performed a Viennese waltz with her partner Derek Hough but performed parts of it blindfolded. 

Meanwhile, Carter and his partner Sharna Burgess scored 28, Carlos PenaVega and his partner got a score of 27, Skarlatos and his partner Lindsay Arnold received a score of 24, and Braxton and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy got a score of 22.

In the next portion of the show, duos teamed up to perform routines, with the Skarlatos team and the Carlos PenaVega duo dancing together, Alexa PenaVega and her partner performing with Irwin and her partner, and Carter and his partner performing with Braxton and her partner. Alexa PenaVega and Irwin received a perfect score of 30, while the Carter/Braxton team got 27 and Skarlatos and Carlos PenaVega received a score of 24.

Can anyone beat Irwin as the competition moves forward? Carter has been a strong contender as well, but Irwin's performing parts of her dance blindfolded this week impressed the judges and no doubt impressed viewers as well. Meanwhile, Carter's scores with his partner Burgess were lower than Irwin's this week. However, Carter has scored well in the past. It may be a battle between the two as the show moves forward.

Irwin was already no doubt somewhat familiar to American TV viewers since she’s the daughter of the late Steve Irwin of “The Crocodile Hunter” fame. But besides appearing on “Dancing,” Irwin also works in the field of conservation. Her parents founded the Australian Zoo Wildlife Warriors organization and Irwin has worked extensively with it, receiving the Young Conservationist of the Year Award from Australian Geographic for her time spent with Wildlife Warriors.

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