Despite the return of his professional partner to the competition, Hannah Montana actor Cody Linley and Julianne Hough became the tenth couple to be eliminated from the reality dance competition during last night's live results show broadcast on ABC.

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Linley and Hough were eliminated from the competition based on their combination of the judges' scores each couple had received for the two dances -- one in a style they had not performed all season and a second dance in one of the new dance styles the show added earlier this season -- they'd performed during Monday's performance show and home viewer votes cast immediately following the broadcast to determine which dance couples would make up the Top 3 and move onto the competition's final performance round.

"Oh my gosh, I mean words can't even explain the true amazing, growing, learning journey that I've had on this show. I can't show my appreciation any more to Julianne... I can't say thank you, it's just, I love her so much and this opportunity has been so amazing," Linley after Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron revealed his ouster over former NFL star Warren Sapp and his partner Kym Johnson, the only other couple still on-stage facing elimination.

Linley also addressed his fans, and thanked them for keeping him in the competition so long.

"The fan support that I feel when I go out, and just to know that maybe my dance can inspire someone to be happy, or to want to dance, or just bring entertainment to one person, it's an amazing feeling."

"I'm so proud of you, I've had such an amazing time with you," Hough told Linley before the couple took to the dance floor for their last dance. "This has probably been the biggest journey that any of the couples have had out here and I cannot wait to see what his opportunities are going to be after this show. He's gonna make it so far."

Linley and Hough's elimination means that Dancing with the Stars' three other semifinals couples -- Sapp and Johnson, former Rock Star host Brooke Burke and Derek Hough and singer Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer -- will compete in next week's seventh-season finale. They will each perform two routines, including one dance set to the same music for each couple, on next Monday's performance show. The seventh season champion will then be crowned during the following day's finale results show.

Dancing with the Stars judges Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba and Len Goodman had given Linley and Hough's first Monday night performance -- a military-themed Paso Doble -- a score of 22 and said that Linley had to step up his abilities if he wished to make it to the finals.

"Well that was different. It was the 'AWOL android' and the 'Queen of Mean.' and I'm gonna do the Paso Doble," Tonioli said. "I'm all for innovation, I like different things and I like inspired performances, but there has to be some sense of style in the dance. The Spanish [style] was nonexistent, the timing was poor. One of you [couples], you have to make it to the finals, and this is not good enough."

"It's so hard because for your determination it was definitely a 10," Inaba told Linley. "I can tell that every move you make is very difficult for you and I see the tension. But that's the problem at this point... I do think you did a really good job, but you gotta watch the hands, you got one more dance to come back out here, smooth it out."

"I'm afraid you're gonna get your marching orders I think, because it was not... it was not good I'm sorry," Goodman told Linley. "I saw two elements of Paso Doble. It was stiff, it was wooden, it just lacked dance quality for me."

The judges were more complimentary of Linley and Hough's salsa dance, which they gave a score of 24 -- however they were still critical of the fine details of Linley's dancing abilities.

"It was a lot of fun. What was just a hair lacking was a little bit of your musicality. You were just a little ahead of the beat at times," Inaba told Linley. "But I just love watching you dance, you just bring so much joy to this room. You're so much fun and you're so effervescent. But unfortunately we are looking for the final technique at this point and the musicality was a little off."

"I found the musicality to be pretty good, I think you came out with rhythm," Goodman said, disagreeing with Inaba. "You even got those hips working, it was fun... Well done."

"Well you really danced this one like a little cheeky devil," Tonioli told Linley. "You went for it, you had fun with it."

However, Tonioli also said that Linley had to work on the technical aspects of his dancing if he wished to get to the finals.

Bass and Schwimmer had finished in the top spot on Monday night's judges' leaderboard with a combined 57 out of 60 score for their two dances while Burke and Hough and Sapp and Johnson had tied for second place with scores of 49.

Linley and Hough finished last with a combined score of 46.

Dancing with the Stars' final seventh-season performance episode will air on Monday, November 24 at 8PM ET/PT. The season finale will air the following evening at 9PM ET/PT.
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