Former Lions great Calvin Johnson makes it to final 3 on ‘DWTS’

Monday’s episode saw Jana Kramer getting eliminated, and the finale now comprises of Hernandez and Val Chmerkovskiy, Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess, and Calvin Johnson Jr. and Lindsay Arnold.

It’s down to just four couples now on Dancing With The Stars. Laurie Hernandez, James Hinchcliffe, Calvin Johnson Jr. or Jana Kramer? They were cut from the competition after turning in two performances, placing fourth overall in the competition based on the scores from the judges as well as fan voting from the prior week.

Earlier in the night, former National Football League star Johnson tackled a Viennese Waltz, after which Len Goodman (recently returned from England) said he was the most-improved contestant in the finals. (That said, she commented on the outfit too.) As previously stated, they too earned a ideal 40 for this one. She soldiered on, did a lot of high kicks and lifts and had to prep for a finale where she’s in the same breath as people who left 10 weeks ago. Len said there was never a question that Calvin could entertain and tonight he proved he could dance.

After her surprising elimination, Jana posted a tribute to her pro partner on Instagram, saying that he will be a friend for life. Sound out in the comments below and let us know your thoughts! Jana earned 35 points.

This week’s finale will feature the four remaining couples performing two final routines in hopes of securing America’s vote before Tuesday’s finale. Len loved the concept and Carrie Ann Inaba called it stunning, though they noticed a little hiccup. Reporter: This awe dumb day ending with a ideal score for Laurie Hernandez.

While they only scored 35/40 points in the first round, their high-energy freestyle, which incorporated treadmills, was off-the-charts entertaining. “So much energy you can send a rocket ship to the moon”, Bruno gushed.

With Laurie’s outstanding athletic ability, the twosome was strong out of the gate, tying James for first place with 31 points on the premiere.

Coming in second on the leaderboard was James and Sharna, who did a redemption foxtrot that was headed for a flawless score when Sharna had a tiny stumble.

Inspired by Hinchcliffe’s often-mentioned horrifying auto accident that almost took his life 18 months ago, the couple’s freestyle was set to “Beethoven’s 5 Secrets”, with additional audio featuring Hinchcliffe narrating the story of his own near-death experience and his will to survive. Len called the effervescent number choreographed to Ben Rector’s Brand New “a joyful experience to watch”. Contemporary and interpretive dance will always be an elusive beast for me, but I just can’t help but think this didn’t showcase James’ strengths even if it was incredibly personal.