This is it everybody! The semi-finals! Only four couples remaining as we go into the last two weeks of Dancing with the Stars competition. Are you ready for the excitement? The drama? The over-enthusiastic Bruno comments?

Hope so, because they're all coming at us in the performance show of week 9.

What to expect this week? Well, we're going to get double dances from the remaining competitors, doubling the pressure and work required from each pair. Some may rise to the challenge, while others might start to crumble under the rather extreme pressure of the semi-final dances.

How did we get here? Week 8's exhilarating (and surprisingly impressive) Instant Dances brought both great performances and the elimination of Kurt Warner. Did you miss any of it? Not to worry -- BuddyTV has got you covered with the week 8 live recap, performance rankings and results recap.

Have you read all that? Still need more? May I suggest the Dancing with the Stars personality quiz?

But enough about what's in the past. It's time to look to the future! And what a future it is, with the sad elimination of one remaining pair before the finals. Will it be Kyle, Bristol, Brandy or Jennifer? Honestly, the way eliminations have been going lately, I haven't got the foggiest idea.

I guess we'll just have to watch! Here we go!

They're all coming in. Um, what's with the corsets? Costume people, why? Why??? Except for Jennifer, who seems to be wearing nothing but a wee bit of fringe. Ooh! Solos for the celebrities! That could be... interesting?

Looks like we're going to move into dances right away, with Brandy and Maks. And if you forgot about Maks losing his temper, the show will remind you.

Brandy and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dancing the paso doble

Judges' Opinions:
Len: "You came out 100 percent! You gave it everything you got."
Bruno: "I was going to scream, 'Stop! Stop! Somebody's going to get hurt!'" "You went so much into it that some of the finesse went kind of a little bit..."
Carrie Ann: "I've never seen you more connected to your character than you were this week."

My Opinion: Oh a pissed-off dance. They should be good at this. But the camera really ought to move back a little so we can actually see it. Brandy's solo bit was nice, although maybe a little too much like what we would expect to see at one of her shows. Paso dobles always look a little odd to me, but this one seems pretty good. Not liking the music choice -- it does nothing. Still a very good dance, in my camera-confused eyes. Maks got lipstick on his nose how exactly? And an anti-bullying PSA...

Scores: 9+9+9 = 27

Moving straight on to another dance (you know, after the commercial), this one by Jennifer and Derek. Derek seems to like that fringe...

Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough
Dancing the cha-cha

Judges' Opinions:
Len: "You combined good technique with a really high performance level."
Bruno: "That really was a luminous, vibrant, sexy cha-cha-cha!" "Your feet placement was excellent! Fantastic."
Carrie Ann: "I've been waiting all season to see Jennifer Grey do a solo cha-cha!"

My Opinion: Jennifer's giving the judges a little extra action. Wonder if that affects the score? Although if this beginning is any indication, she hardly needs the extra boost. This is very, very good looking. No one could possibly look more like they just want to be dancing than that. Very positive, after the first "positive" rehearsal montage in weeks. That was just plain great. And Jamie Lee Curtis goes wild!

Scores: 10+10+10 = 30

Whitney Houston, Sarah Palin, Jamie Lee Curtis and Louis Gossett? Not a collection of names I ever expected to hear in one sentence.

Bristol has scary silver shoulder pads this week. I truly wonder about the costumers on the show sometimes.

Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas
Dancing the paso doble

Judges' Opinions:
Len: "Bristol the Pistol, you fired a few blanks. But tonight, all guns blazing!"
Bruno: "The little lamb is turning into a tigress!"
Carrie Ann: "What was that? You were on fire." "You just come out and nail it!"

My Opinion: Apparently, the producers have decided that Bristol is to have the "negative rehearsal" this week. I guess it's nice to give Jennifer a week off. Solo time. Good whipping of the dress, but she didn't do too much else. Bristol definitely doesn't look angry enough for this. I think she's getting the steps, although the dress makes it hard to tell. That was OK. Not their greatest dance, but hey, it's the paso doble. It never looks right to me. And I guess that's the case, since the judges loved it. What is with me and the paso doble???

Scores: 9+9+9 = 27

Whatever. The technical details of dancing are so not my thing.

Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer
Dancing the samba

Judges' Opinions:
Len: "I think you've got a bionic bum... You had more bounce-to-the-ounce than anybody this season."
Bruno: "You truly are a bouncing bundle of joy!" "You are irresistible!"
Carrie Ann: "You have some bounce, my God. I have never seen so much pelvic action ever!"

My Opinion: "You're the last man-child standing!" - Lacey
I love Kyle and Lacey's relationship. The routine is fun. I never knew the samba included a moonwalk. Not complaining though. It's good to start a dance with me giggling. Again with the weird, not-helping music. Liking the dance anyway, so I guess that's a good thing. Kyle looks really good tonight. And fun. As always. Can we just let Kyle be in the finals now?

Scores: 10+9+10 = 29

Yay... or something. We get to look into people's pasts! Turns out Brandy sang at an early age. You'd never guess it, right? Bad stuff happened too.

Time for the dance!

Brandy and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Dancing the Argentine tango

Judges' Opinions:
Len: "You moved in and out of those lifts with effortless ease... But the thing I loved the most was that you created an atmosphere."
Bruno: "Languid! Voluptuous! Full of flavor! Great emotional depth!" "Right in! Yes Len!"
Carrie Ann: "You had a little bit of trouble in the first dance... But the trouble is gone my dear."

My Opinion: I like the set. Not that such things matter to the judges. But I like the set. I also like tangos. This is a pretty one. Less angry than some, but that might be a good thing after the furious paso doble. Very smooth-looking there. And more judge-desk action!

Scores: 10+10+10 = 30

And we have another perfect score! Pretty darn good.

Time to hear all about Jennifer Grey now. Acting and family and stuff. Good grief, has everybody on this show been in a fatal car accident?

Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough
Dancing the waltz

Judges' Opinions:
Len: "Be still my beating heart. You know, sometimes a whisper can speak louder than a shout."
Bruno: "This was a gem of a waltz!" "The quality of movement you produce is stunning."
Carrie Ann: "Through dancing we can actually see people's souls." "It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen."

My Opinion: Ooh! One of those pretty spinning dances! I like spins. It's so hard to say whether a waltz is excellent or just good, since it's slower than the others. It looks awfully nice though. Double spin! And ending with a music box-ballerina spin! A little dizzy now, but in a good way. Pretty!

Scores: 10+10+10 = 30

Now we get to hear the story of Bristol. Did she actually play football then? Why don't you answer the important questions, show?!? Um, Sarah Palin wasn't in the audience the first week. Bad editing there. (Yes I'm going to pick on the Dancing with the Stars editors tonight. So there.)

Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas
Dancing the waltz

Judges' Opinions:
Len: "There's a vulnerability about your dancing. This had a haunting feeling about it."
Bruno: "There was something really, as Len said, haunting." "Out of all the people in this season, you really had a journey."
Carrie Ann: "There were moments and longer moments again where I sort of feel you drifted out."

My Opinion: Another waltz. They should have varied this a bit for me. Because that's the point, right? Anyway, it's looking fairly good, as much as I can tell with the waltz. Maybe not enough emotion consistently. The emotion's definitely there at certain points, but then it sort of seems to fade. Oh, we got tonight's Mark-nose-to-nose move there! Wouldn't be a proper show without it.

Scores: 8+9+9 = 26

Not that anyone cares, but I totally called those scores after the comments.

Time to hear about Kyle now! Seriously, he can't have had time for anything horrible and dramatic yet, right? Awwww... Cute little boy Kyle!

Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer
Dancing the Argentine tango

Judges' Opinions:
Len: "You are a star! Honestly, in 11 seasons, I don't think anyone has ever come out and performed with such attack, with such enthusiasm as you!"
Bruno: "I love that you can switch in and out between fun and drama!"
Carrie Ann: "Remember a guy named Emmett Smith? That's who you remind me of!"

My Opinion: Hey it's the song from Slumdog Millionaire! I guess this is like a tango. Kyle can lift Lacey, in case anybody was wondering after the rehearsal video. This is good, although I'm not enjoying it as much as the first dance. The tango really isn't the dance to showcase Kyle's personality. He does seem to be getting the steps though. Good, just not as good as before.

Scores: 10+9+10 = 29

Lacey: "He was like the little brother I never asked for."

And I officially have no idea who they're going to eliminate this week. A lot of pretty amazing dances all around. Whoever goes, it is definitely going to be close.

Going out with a bang is a good thing, but wow!

So what do you think? Who isn't going to make it to the finals, and who will be battling it out next week? What was your favorite dance? Let us know in the comments below, and see you again tomorrow for the semi-final results!!!