October 7, 2026

Mariah Carey did not appear in person for "Dancing With the Stars" Season 35's Mariah Carey Night on Oct. 6, despite an entire episode built around her catalog. She featured only through a pre-recorded video message that opened the show, telling contestants she couldn't wait to see her songs performed and that she would be "watching from afar." The show's regular judging panel of Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli, and Derek Hough handled the scoring, with no guest judge added for the theme week, confirming she had no in-person role in the broadcast.

Pre-episode coverage, including from Hello! Magazine, had flagged this as a real possibility, noting it was unclear whether Carey would appear live or simply send a taped message; the video-message outcome matched that caveat. The episode still generated news beyond the dances: producers used the broadcast to announce a 2027 arena tour featuring many of the show's professional dancers.

The community had leaned heavily toward expecting Carey to appear in person, with 83% predicting yes, making this one of the week's larger gaps between audience expectation and the actual broadcast. The outcome reflects a recurring pattern on these tribute nights, where an artist's catalog anchors the theme without requiring the artist's physical presence on set.

Ethiopia's federal government had not declared a state of emergency by Oct. 6, despite fighting intensifying across Tigray, Amhara, and Afar after a seven-group rebel alliance, including the Tigray People's Liberation Front, seized three federal airports in late September. Instead of invoking emergency powers, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government pursued a military response: federal troops and allied Tigrayan fighters recaptured Mekelle's main airport on Oct. 3-4, and the TPLF then said it had withdrawn from the regional capital, according to Al Jazeera.

The government's approach differed from 2021, when it declared a nationwide state of emergency as Tigrayan forces advanced toward Addis Ababa; this time, battlefield gains substituted for emergency powers. The conflict also drew in regional powers: Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia, and Sudan issued a joint declaration on Oct. 5 calling for political solutions and pushing back against several Ethiopian regional policies, including its pursuit of Red Sea access, as the war escalated. Addis Ababa has accused Egypt, Eritrea, and Sudan of backing the rebel alliance, which those governments have denied.

No votes were recorded on this question, so there is no community prediction to compare against the outcome. The military recapture of Mekelle, rather than a declared emergency, defined the government's posture through Oct. 6.

Judge Carrie Ann Inaba awarded a 9 to Maura Higgins and pro partner Mark Ballas for their waltz to "If It's Over" during "Dancing With the Stars" Season 35's Mariah Carey Night on Oct. 6, the first 9 handed out all season. The other two judges, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough, each scored the routine an 8, giving the couple a total of 25 out of 30, the best mark of the season to that point.

Several other pairs also scored well: Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach, Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson, and Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy each received 24 out of 30, among the season's strongest results. The milestone broke a four-week streak without a single 9 on any judge's card, a pattern outlets covering the season had noted as unusually tough scoring.

The community strongly anticipated this outcome, with 89% predicting a 9 would be awarded, and the result matched that expectation. The themed episode, built entirely around Mariah Carey's catalog, produced several of the season's top scores overall, suggesting both stronger performances from the remaining couples and a possible loosening of the judges' standards for the tribute week after a scoring-stingy start to the season.

Guillermo Rodriguez and partner Witney Carson survived "Dancing With the Stars" Season 35's Mariah Carey Night on Oct. 6, despite finishing at the bottom of the judges' leaderboard. Their samba to Carey's "Obsessed" drew the night's lowest score, in the mid-teens out of 30, continuing a pattern of weak scores offset by strong fan votes. Instead, Ciara Miller and pro partner Brandon Armstrong were eliminated after their jazz routine to "Emotions," which had actually earned Miller her best score of the season.

The combination of judges' points and viewer votes determines each week's bottom two, and viewers again chose to keep Rodriguez over a couple that scored higher with the judges, extending a pattern from earlier weeks. Hollywood Reporter and Deadline both described the result as another surprise elimination, since Miller's score outranked Rodriguez's going into the vote.

The community had leaned toward predicting Rodriguez's elimination, with 75% forecasting a yes, so this question resolved against the majority view. The episode fits a broader season arc: ABC's combined scoring-and-voting format has repeatedly spared lower-scoring contestants with devoted fanbases while cutting couples who performed better in the judges' eyes, a dynamic that has driven much of this season's social-media attention and debate about the show's format.