Rick Fox, Cheryl Burke rip it up on 'Dancing'

LOS ANGELES (Get a dance-by-dance recap of all the action in week three of 'Dancing With the Stars.')

But "The Hills" star Audrina Patridge had the most reason to yodel.

She and her partner, Tony Dovolani, came out on top in week three of "Dancing With the Stars."

The couple waltzed their way to first place. And with a score of 26 out of 30, they also got the first nine of the season.

Their routine was graceful and elegant, prompting head judge Len Goodman to say it reminded him of an old dance teacher's philosophy: walk with your feet, dance with your heart.

"It felt so good because all the judges said that they could tell what our emotions were and that we expressed the right emotions and felt that connection," Patridge said.

Jennifer Grey and partner Derek Hough reversed their teacher and student roles for the story part of their dance. Derek was the student, and he was hot for teacher. Their samba was also hot, and it earned them second place with triple eights.

"If we've got one thing going for us, we are consistent," Hough said.

But they weren't alone.

Rick Fox and Brandy made it a three-way tie.

Fox and his partner, Cheryl Burke, ripped up the stage -- and Burke literally ripped up Fox's shirt during their samba.

Brandy and Maksim Chmerkovskiy's routine reflected the movie, "The Bodyguard."

Judge Bruno Tonioli called her the comeback kid.

Right behind them were Kurt Warner and Kyle Massey with 23 points.

"This was kind of our tribute because it's (National) Breast Cancer Awareness Month," Warner said of his Foxtrot, which he and partner Anna Trebunskaya wore pink for. "It was to say, 'Hey, we're thinking about you and we're hoping the best.'"

While Massey was exceptional in getting into character, the judges said he needs to start focusing more on technique and footwork.

Meanwhile, Henderson and her partner, Corky Ballas, tied for seventh with 20 points after waltzing to "Edelweiss" from "The Sound of Music."

They sealed their number with a kiss.

"You know, that was spur of the moment," Ballas said. "That was not planned. It felt right to do it. I laid it on her and she reciprocated."

The judges praised the couple's story, but said they needed to raise their technique level.

Also tied for seventh were Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and his partner, Karina Smirnoff, with their Foxtrot.

Sorrentino and Smirnoff's time travel storyline got mixed reviews from the judges.

They were followed by Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas with 19 points.

Palin isn't an actress, but the judges said they want to see more expression in her dancing.

Margaret Cho and Louis van Amstel came in last place with 18 points. Their samba aimed at making a statement about gay pride.

"I pleased myself, you know," Cho said. "It's tough. It's such a different thing for me to be doing and I really worked on this, which is why I'm so disappointed that we didn't get higher scores."

(Get a dance-by-dance recap of all the action in week three of 'Dancing With the Stars.')

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