Dancing With The Stars: Katherine Jenkins Survives Salsa Blunder

Katherine Jenkins may have started this season of Dancing With The Stars as a relative unknown but the Welsh opera singer has danced her way into America's collective heart. Until last night (May 15, 2012), her performances had been solid. Not faultless, perhaps, but always impressive. Desperate to impress the judges further, with a perfect salsa routine, the disappointment was visible on Jenkins' face as she fluffed the end of the dance, turning her back in the process.

The damage to her back was not permanent and thankfully, the damage to her score was minimal, as she still managed to score a very respectable 27 points for the routine. Mark Ballas explained the root of Jenkins' disappointment. "That dance in rehearsal was flawless. We haven't had a bumpy run of that one. Out of all the ones we've done this season that's the one I've been saying, 'You'll get a perfect score for that'" he told People magazine. Given the blunder - and the fact that she was third (of three) of the leaderboard, it was a stroke of luck that viewers voted to keep her in the contest. Maria Menounos, who had earned a perfect score this week, was sent home in another surprise elimination.

Menounos was gracious in defeat, saying "I learned so many things. I learned how strong I was. I learned to persevere. We didn't know our dances yesterday until we got on the floor."