Taylor Hanson and pro partner Britt Stewart were eliminated from Dancing With the Stars Season 35 after Yacht Rock Night, which aired live on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026. Their foxtrot to What a Fool Believes by The Doobie Brothers scored 18/30, and the combined judges-plus-viewer total sent them home.
Who went home: Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart. They were the fourth celebrity exit of Season 35, after Conner Leavitt, Sarah Jane Nader, and Giada De Laurentiis.
This Bamfuzzle explainer covers the overnight elimination, full Yacht Rock Night scores, every dance and song, the bottom couples, judge notes, and what airs next on ABC and Disney+.
TL;DR
- TV Insider, TODAY, Us Weekly, and Just Jared (Sept. 29, 2026): Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart are out after Yacht Rock Night.
- Their foxtrot to What a Fool Believes (The Doobie Brothers) earned 18/30 from judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli.
- Amber Glenn / Pasha Pashkov and Harry Shum Jr. / Jenna Johnson tied atop the leaderboard at 24/30.
- Bottom couples in the final reveal lane included Guillermo Rodriguez / Witney Carson, Jackson Olson / Emma Slater, and Hanson / Stewart, per Page Six and TV Insider.
- Theme night: Yacht Rock. Hosts: Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough. Judges: Hough, Inaba, Tonioli.
- Prior exit: Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten left after Viral Hits Night (Week 2).
- Next episode (Oct. 6): Mariah Carey Night, per TODAY.
- Show airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, next-day on Hulu.
Who was eliminated on DWTS Yacht Rock Night? Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart, after an 18/30 foxtrot to What a Fool Believes.
Who was eliminated on DWTS Yacht Rock Night?
Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart were eliminated.
The Season 35 Week 3 episode was the show’s first Yacht Rock Night. Thirteen couples danced to soft-rock classics from the mid-1970s and 1980s. After scores and live viewer votes were combined, hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough announced Hanson and Stewart as the couple going home.
Hanson, of the band Hanson, told Stewart the run had been “everything” and that she showed him things he did not think were possible. Stewart replied that she was grateful to have him in her life and thanked him for the work. Coverage from TODAY and Us Weekly described both as stunned, with Stewart getting emotional on the floor.
Just Jared notes Hanson became the fourth celebrity eliminated this season. Earlier exits were Conner Leavitt, Sarah Jane Nader, and chef Giada De Laurentiis (with Alan Bersten) after Viral Hits Night.
DWTS Yacht Rock Night scores breakdown
Judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli scored each routine out of 30. Viewer votes, up to 10 per couple per voting method during the East Coast window, decide the final ranking with those scores. The lowest combined total leaves.
Full Yacht Rock Night scoreboard, as reported by TODAY and aligned with The Hollywood Reporter and Us Weekly:
| Couple | Dance | Song | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov | Foxtrot | Hold the Line (Toto) | 24/30 |
| Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson | Jive | You Make My Dreams (Come True) (Hall & Oates) | 24/30 |
| Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas | Quickstep | Turn Your Love Around (George Benson) | 22/30 |
| Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik | Quickstep | Maneater (Hall & Oates) | 21/30 |
| Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy | Samba | Africa (Toto) | 21/30 |
| Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach | Foxtrot | Just the Two of Us (Grover Washington Jr. ft. Bill Withers) | 21/30 |
| Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold | Foxtrot | Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac) | 20/30 |
| Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa | Salsa | I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) (Hall & Oates) | 19/30 |
| Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart | Foxtrot | What a Fool Believes (The Doobie Brothers) | 18/30 (eliminated) |
| Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong | Cha cha | Never Too Much (Luther Vandross) | 18/30 |
| Jackson Olson and Emma Slater | Paso doble | Easy Lover (Philip Bailey & Phil Collins) | 18/30 |
| Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess | Jive | Still the One (Orleans) | 17/30 |
| Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson | Foxtrot | Escape (The Piña Colada Song) (Rupert Holmes) | 15/30 |
Leaderboard: Amber Glenn and Harry Shum Jr. tied at 24/30, the season’s highest judges’ scores so far.
Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart dance explained
Hanson and Stewart danced a foxtrot to What a Fool Believes by The Doobie Brothers. All three judges gave 6s, for 18/30.
TV Insider’s judge notes:
- Inaba liked the lyrical, poetic quality, and told Hanson to engage his core so he would not stumble out of frame.
- Hough called it Hanson’s best dance of the season and praised the frame, heel leads, and how Hanson took notes week to week.
- Tonioli wanted more drive through the floor.
An 18 is mid-pack on Yacht Rock Night, not the lowest judges’ score. Guillermo Rodriguez sat at 15/30, and Tyler Cameron at 17/30. Elimination still landed on Hanson and Stewart because DWTS ranks by judges plus viewers, not judges alone. A mid judges’ number with a thinner vote total can finish below a lower-scoring couple that still has a loud fan base.
That vote math is the same structural reality TV pressure that shows up when fans argue about edits and contracts on other franchises. Bamfuzzle’s reality TV contract details guide is the adjacent explainer if you want the business side of why vote blocs and casting deals matter as much as technique.
Who topped Yacht Rock Night?
Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov (24/30)
Olympian Amber Glenn opened the show with a foxtrot to Toto’s Hold the Line. Despite a bloody-nose rehearsal scare for Pashkov (Us Weekly), the pair earned three 8s.
“And the ice queen does it again, wow! … You turned this ballroom into your own personal ice rink.” (Derek Hough, via Us Weekly / TV Insider)
Tonioli compared the dance to “a glass of the finest champagne” and praised the lilt and sway. Inaba pointed to week-to-week growth. Hollywood Reporter called 24/30 the highest tally of Season 35 to that point. Harry Shum Jr. later matched it.
Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson (24/30)
Glee alum Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson danced a jive to Hall & Oates’ You Make My Dreams (Come True). Three 8s tied them with Glenn.
Judge notes (TV Insider): Tonioli called it theatrical and “sailing right up to Broadway.” Inaba praised the sync on a slower jive. Hough called it a proper jive and a statement performance.
Hall & Oates powered three Yacht Rock routines (Shum, Tatyana Ali’s Maneater quickstep, Julia Stiles’ I Can’t Go for That salsa). Toto got two (Hold the Line, Jenna Dewan’s Africa samba).
Bottom couples and how the elimination played out
Before the final reveal, Ribeiro and Hough walked the room through safe couples. Per TV Insider, the last three names still standing in the reveal lane were:
- Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson
- Jackson Olson and Emma Slater
- Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart
Page Six reported the same danger lane ahead of the elimination. Rodriguez had the night’s lowest judges’ score (15/30) on a foxtrot to Escape (The Piña Colada Song), ending with a shirt reveal that read “Dancing for the people.” Olson scored 18/30 on a paso doble to Easy Lover. Hanson also scored 18/30.
The couple sent home was Hanson and Stewart. Rodriguez and Olson stayed. That is the classic DWTS twist: lowest judges’ score is not automatic elimination when viewer votes reshape the combined ranking.
If you follow how reality productions package tension for live audiences, Bamfuzzle’s what is frankenbiting explainer sits next to this: live scoring nights are less about sneaky edits than about vote windows, but the show still sequences reveals for maximum suspense.
Every Yacht Rock Night dance and song
A quick couple-by-couple pass for searchers asking “what did each star dance to?”:
Top tier
- Amber Glenn / Pasha Pashkov: foxtrot, Hold the Line (Toto), 24/30
- Harry Shum Jr. / Jenna Johnson: jive, You Make My Dreams (Come True) (Hall & Oates), 24/30
- Maura Higgins / Mark Ballas: quickstep, Turn Your Love Around (George Benson), 22/30 (Higgins earned her first 8 of the season from Tonioli, per Hollywood Reporter)
Solid middle
- Tatyana Ali / Jan Ravnik: quickstep, Maneater (Hall & Oates), 21/30
- Jenna Dewan / Val Chmerkovskiy: samba, Africa (Toto), 21/30
- Ezra Frech / Daniella Karagach: foxtrot, Just the Two of Us (Grover Washington Jr. ft. Bill Withers), 21/30
- Connor Wood / Rylee Arnold: foxtrot, Everywhere (Fleetwood Mac), 20/30
- Julia Stiles / Ezra Sosa: salsa, I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do) (Hall & Oates), 19/30 (Stiles worked through a rib injury in rehearsals, per Page Six)
Danger zone
- Taylor Hanson / Britt Stewart: foxtrot, What a Fool Believes (The Doobie Brothers), 18/30, eliminated
- Ciara Miller / Brandon Armstrong: cha cha, Never Too Much (Luther Vandross), 18/30
- Jackson Olson / Emma Slater: paso doble, Easy Lover (Philip Bailey & Phil Collins), 18/30
- Tyler Cameron / Sharna Burgess: jive, Still the One (Orleans), 17/30 (timing notes from the judges)
- Guillermo Rodriguez / Witney Carson: foxtrot, Escape (The Piña Colada Song) (Rupert Holmes), 15/30
ABC framed the night as “smooth grooves, soft-rock classics and iconic hits that defined the yacht rock era.” That playlist is why Discover queries overnight mixed “yacht rock night scores” with “who went home on DWTS.”
Season 35 context: who is left and who already left
After Yacht Rock Night, Hollywood Reporter lists these celebrities still competing for the mirrorball: Tatyana Ali, Tyler Cameron, Jenna Dewan, Ezra Frech, Amber Glenn, Maura Higgins, Ciara Miller, Jackson Olson, Guillermo Rodriguez, Harry Shum Jr., Julia Stiles, and Connor Wood.
Prior eliminations, per Page Six and Hollywood Reporter:
- Conner Leavitt (The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives)
- Sarah Jane Nader
- Giada De Laurentiis (Viral Hits Night, Week 2, with Alan Bersten)
- Taylor Hanson (Yacht Rock Night, Week 3, with Britt Stewart)
Week 3 also kept the regular judging panel of Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Bruno Tonioli, with Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough hosting. That hosting pair has been the Season 35 voice for theme explainers and elimination reveals.
For readers who track how big reality franchises schedule summer and fall launches around each other, Bamfuzzle’s summer 2026 reality TV premiere roundup maps the wider calendar that DWTS still sits inside every fall.
Why Yacht Rock Night became a Discover story
Three reasons this clears a morning-after Discover bar on Sept. 30:
- A named celebrity exit. Hanson is a recognizable pop figure. “Taylor Hanson eliminated” is a cleaner query than a generic scores dump.
- Trending social language. Overnight U.S. conversation around
#dwtsand Britt Stewart’s name keeps the elimination in the same search window as scores and recaps. - Complete, conflicting-curious data. Fans want the leaderboard (Glenn and Shum at 24), the bottom three, and the explanation for why an 18 left while a 15 stayed. That is FAQ-shaped content, not a thin news blurb.
Entertainment recaps like this also sit next to the money questions fans always ask about reality TV. If you are comparing how other shows pay talent versus how DWTS structures pro/celeb pairings, Bamfuzzle’s Vanderpump Rules cast salary breakdown and Traitors production budget piece are the adjacent reads.
Judge highlights beyond the top and bottom
A few mid-pack notes that matter for Week 4 predictions:
- Maura Higgins climbed back toward the top with a 22/30 quickstep. Hollywood Reporter flagged her first 8 of the season.
- Tatyana Ali earned three 7s (21/30). Hough called it her best dance; Inaba called the choreography dynamic and polished.
- Jenna Dewan stayed strong at 21/30 on a content-heavy samba, with notes to trust the process and not push every moment.
- Ezra Frech closed the night with three 7s (21/30). Inaba’s praise was personal: she said Frech makes the panel better judges and better people.
- Julia Stiles improved the room’s mood after a rough prior week and a rib issue, landing 19/30 on salsa.
None of those scores, alone, decide next week. Viewer votes still rewrite the combined board every Tuesday.
What is next on Dancing With the Stars?
Next episode: Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026. Theme: Mariah Carey Night.
TODAY reports the remaining couples will dance to Mariah Carey’s biggest hits. Same window: 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, then Hulu the following day.
What to watch for heading into Mariah Carey Night:
- Whether Guillermo Rodriguez’s fan-vote strategy keeps covering low judges’ numbers
- Whether Amber Glenn or Harry Shum Jr. can hold the 24-point ceiling once the songbook shifts from yacht rock to Carey catalog ballads and uptempos
- Whether any of the 18-point cluster (Ciara Miller, Jackson Olson) slips into the next bottom group without Hanson as a buffer
Voting rules remain the same: live votes during the East Coast airing, ending shortly after the final performance. West Coast viewers who want their votes counted need the earlier Pacific window Hollywood Reporter outlined (roughly 5 p.m. to about 6:45 p.m. PT).
FAQ
Who went home on DWTS tonight (Yacht Rock Night)?
Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart. Confirmed by TV Insider, TODAY, Us Weekly, Just Jared, Page Six, and The Hollywood Reporter on Sept. 29, 2026.
What did Taylor Hanson score on Yacht Rock Night?
18/30 for a foxtrot to What a Fool Believes by The Doobie Brothers (three 6s).
Who had the highest score on DWTS Yacht Rock Night?
Amber Glenn / Pasha Pashkov and Harry Shum Jr. / Jenna Johnson, tied at 24/30.
Who was in the bottom three?
The final reveal lane included Guillermo Rodriguez / Witney Carson, Jackson Olson / Emma Slater, and Taylor Hanson / Britt Stewart. Hanson and Stewart were eliminated.
Was Giada De Laurentiis eliminated this week?
No. Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten left the week before, on Viral Hits Night.
When is the next DWTS episode and what is the theme?
Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, Mariah Carey Night, per TODAY. ABC / Disney+ at 8 p.m. ET.
Who are the DWTS Season 35 hosts and judges?
Hosts: Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough. Judges: Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli.
DWTS Yacht Rock Night: the Discover takeaway
The overnight story is simple:
- Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart are out after Yacht Rock Night
- Their foxtrot scored 18/30; viewer votes finished the exit
- Amber Glenn and Harry Shum Jr. owned the leaderboard at 24/30
- Guillermo Rodriguez survived the lowest judges’ score of the night
- Mariah Carey Night is next on Oct. 6
That is why “DWTS Taylor Hanson eliminated,” “Yacht Rock Night scores,” and “who went home on DWTS” clear Bamfuzzle’s hot bar on the morning of Sept. 30, 2026. No near-dupe lives on bamfuzzle.com or in this Discover hub.
For more reality-TV business and format context while you wait for Week 4 clips, keep these Bamfuzzle pages open: reality TV contract details, Vanderpump Rules cast salary, summer 2026 reality TV premiere, and Traitors production budget.
