1st celebrity cast off of 'Dancing'

[March 18, 2009]  LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The lead Go-Go is gone from "Dancing With the Stars."

Belinda Carlisle was the first celebrity eliminated from the eighth season of the hit ABC show. The 50-year-old singer and her professional partner, Jonathan Roberts, went toe to toe -- literally -- with fellow low-scoring couple Steve Wozniak and his partner, Karina Smirnoff, in the show's first dance-off.

Each duo repeated their Monday night dance for new scores from the judges. Each earned 17 points out of 30, but viewer votes kept Apple co-founder Wozniak on the show for another week.

Viewer votes are combined with judges' scores to determine which couple is eliminated each week. The new dance-off approach allows the two lowest-scoring couples to earn extra points from judges for command performances of their best dance. Viewer votes still count for 50 percent of each couple's final score, host Tom Bergeron said.

Head judge Len Goodman criticized Carlisle's salsa Monday for its lack of "hip action." She improved Tuesday, he said, but lost her footwork as a result.

Carlisle said she did the best she could.

"I had a great time," she said. "I learned how to dance and I wish I could have done better for Jonathan, because he's a great teacher."

Carlisle came into Tuesday's results show with 35 points out of 60. Wozniak was in last place with 30 points.

Reality star Steve-O returned to the program after missing Monday's show because of a last-minute back injury. The 34-year-old said doctors cleared him to dance again.

Former contestant Jewel, who dropped out of the competition because of injuries she sustained during pre-show training, returned to the ballroom to sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow." The 34-year-old pop star, who fractured both legs, performed sitting down.

Her husband, rodeo champ Ty Murray, is a contestant on the show.

Besides Wozniak, Murray and Steve-O, remaining competitors include rapper Lil Kim, former football star Lawrence Taylor, Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson, country singer Chuck Wicks, reality stars Melissa Rycroft and Holly Madison, and actors David Alan Grier, Gilles Marini and Denise Richards.

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On the Net:

http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/

[Associated Press; By SANDY COHEN]

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