'Dancing With the Stars' 2016: Watch Nyle DiMarco Score First '10' Of Season 22 [VIDEO]
Nyle DiMarco just earned the highest score of the season on Dancing With the Stars last night - check out his amazing performance.
It was Switch-Up Night on Dancing With the Stars, with the nine remaining celebs dancing with a different partner than their assigned one. DiMarco danced with Sharna Burgess for this routine, a Viennese waltz set to "I Get to Love You" by Ruelle.
The dance earned DiMarco a 10 out of 10 from head judge Len Goodman, which is a first so far this season. He ended up scoring 37 out of 40, helping solidify his frontrunner status.
Carrie Ann Inaba spoke of DiMarco's advantage in being able to express himself through his body, considering he is completely deaf. Goodman said the performance was like a "total eclipse," adding, "it don't turn up often but when it does, it's fantastic."
Bruno Tonioli and guest judge Maks Chmerkovskiy heaped more praise on DiMarco, with the former saying, "The magic of dance is alive within you."
There was a mix-up during the scoring, with Chmerkovskiy and Tonioli both putting up their "10" paddles, but it was quickly revealed that the two judges initially voted "9." To clarify, the judges turn in their scores to producers right after the celeb dances and before they give comments, allowing producers to put up graphics as the judges reveal their scores to the audience.
However, Chmerkovskiy and Tonioli were visibly confused upon seeing their "10"s turn into "9"s so who knows how things really went down.
Regardless, this likely proves that DiMarco is the one to beat moving forward in the competition. Despite his relative unknown status heading into the season, he has built up a strong fan base due to his sheer talent on the dance floor. That talent is made all the more impressive by the fact that he cannot hear the music at all.
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
Watch DiMarco's impressive performance in Monday night's show below:
