Jana Kramer Eliminated on First Night of ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Finale
Jana Kramer and her dance partner Gleb Savchenko were eliminated from Dancing With the Stars on Monday night (Nov. 21), the first night of the Season 23 finale. Overall, they played fourth in the competition.
Kramer and Savchenko were competing against James Hinchcliffe and Sharna Burgess, Calvin Johnson and Lindsay Arnold and Laurie Hernandez and Val Chmerkovskiy -- the season's final four teams -- for the DWTS Mirrorball Trophy. After performing two routines on Monday night, they were eliminated based on the judges' scores and fan votes from the previous week.
"This has been amazing," Kramer said after her and Savchenko's elimination was revealed. "Those people up there [the final three teams] so deserve to be there ... It was our time."
Calling the Dancing With the Stars experience "so much fun," Kramer praised Savchenko for all he's done for her since the show began: "He's been the most incredible partner," the singer gushed, "and I've just learned so much about myself."
Kramer and Savchenko impressed the DWTS judges and viewers week after week, but their time on the TV dancing competition was not without incident: During their first performance, Kramer sprained her intercostal muscle, a muscle in her rib cage, and later in the season, Savchenko injured his knee. The dance partners also battled the flu the weekend before the finale episode.
Kramer followed in the footsteps of fellow country stars Wynonna Judd, Kellie Pickler, Chuck Wicks, Sara Evans and Billy Ray Cyrus, all of whom have previously competed on Dancing With the Stars. Kramer began her run on the show shortly after she and husband Michael Caussin separated in late August; during her time on DWTS, Kramer revealed that he cheated on her, and also opened up about the abusive relationship she had with her first husband, Michael Gambino, who nearly killed her.
Country Stars Who Have Appeared on Dancing With the Stars
Country Stars Share Their Go-To Dance Moves