Dancing With the Stars returned on Monday night with the first ever All-Stars edition as former winners and favorites hit the dance floor to begin Season 15.
Returning DWTS favorites included past winners Kelly Monaco, Drew Lachey, Emmitt Smith, Apolo Anton Ohno, Hélio Castroneves, and Shawn Johnson. The rest of the all-stars were made up of fan favorites and celebrities from seasons past, including Kirstie Alley, Bristol Palin, Sabrina Bryan, Melissa Rycroft, Gilles Marini, Pamela Anderson, and Joey Fatone.
For Season 15 of Dancing with the Stars, fans saw one key change as the judges were allowed to half points to the contestants. We’re not too sure how that may impact the voting, but there was a lot to watch in the two-hour premiere of Dancing with the Stars All-Stars.
Joey Fatone and Kym Johnson: The couple danced a cha-cha to open the show and started strong despite a few minor missteps. Fatone and Johnson scored a relatively low 20.5 points. With the new scoring system, however, everyone was at risk.
Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough: Next up was Season 8 winner Shawn Johnson who hit the floor with new partner Derek Hough. Johnson and Hough danced a fabulous foxtrot, which prompted judge Carrie Ann Inaba to say that the pair is “what All-Star season is all about!”. Still, despite a strong routine, the duo only managed to score 22 points.
Sabrina Bryan and Louis Van Amstel: Although I still say that Sabrina Bryan was robbed in the fifth season, she made a great comeback on Monday with a lively cha-cha. The only downside, Inaba felt that Sabrina sometimes “over-dances” when she hits the ABC floor. Bryan and Van Amstel scored 22.5 points.
Hélio Castroneves and Chelsie Hightower: Dancing the foxtrot, the Season 5 winner was in fine form at the age of 37 with new partner Chelsie Hightower. Despite a ten season layoff over six years, Helio looked like a strong contender on Monday night. Although their score of 21.5 was relatively low, it’s likely Helio and Chelsie will score higher in the coming weeks.
Pamela Anderson and Tristan Macmanus: With so many past winners in competition, someone had to flop. Unfortunately, Anderson and Macmanus’s cha-cha failed to connect with the judges. When it came to feedback, Bruno Tonioli admitted that he didn’t see enough work put in to give them positive criticism. Sadly, he was right. Anderson and Macmanus scored 17 points.
Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: The judges loved the pair for their foxtrot. “Your lines are gorgeous, your extensions are fabulous,” Carrie told Rycroft and Dovolani. Bruno added, “You actually got stronger, sassier and sexier!” All of that for only 21 points? It should have been higher.
Apolo Anton Ohno and Karina Smirnoff: We knew that Carrie Ann Inaba would enjoy Apolo’s return to Dancing with the Stars. A front-runner to win, Apolo Anton Ohno looked great as an all-star. Ohno delivered, at least in Carrie’s eyes. Their cha-cha scored the duo 22.
Gilles Marini and Peta Murgatroyd: Gilles is a strong contender to take the Mirror Ball trophy this year. The pair earned the second highest score of the night with their beautifully executed foxtrot. With a score of 24 points, Gilles set the pace on Monday night.
Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas: How can you go wrong with Mark Ballas? Last season, Ballas brought out the sexy in Katherine Jenkins and did the same for Bristol on Monday during their cha-cha. Carrie said that Bristol was the most improved while Len Goodman complimented her newfound confidence. Palin and Ballas scored 19.5.
Drew Lachey and Anna Trebunskaya: Season 2 winner Drew Lachey proved that he still had winning moves on Monday with a foxtrot. Although Len thought Drew was somewhat rigid, Bruno was much more of a fan, admitting that Lachey and Trebunskaya looked like they’ve been dancing forever. Bruno’s sentiment obviously echoed with the judges for a score of 21.5 points.
Kelly Monaco and Valentin Chmerkovskiy: Seven years after winning the very first Dancing with the Stars, Kelly Monaco hasn’t lost a step. Kelly and Valentin got sexy with their cha-cha, which impressed Carrie Ann. “You two have insane chemistry,” said Inaba, “it’s ridiculous.” We agree. Still, a score of 21.5 points was too low.
Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy: Kirstie was back with Maks to begin their quest for the Mirror Ball trophy. Although their foxtrot wasn’t the stellar performance we wanted to see, Tom Bergeron got something out of it when Kirstie laid a smooch on the DWTS host for his Emmy win as Best Host . The kiss was a shock but their score of 19 wasn’t.
Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke: Season 3 winner Emmitt Smith was back in fine form on Monday with Cheryl Burke. It’s been a while since we’ve seen the former Dallas Cowboys running-back, but Smith didn’t miss a step away from the show. The pair ended the first DWTS night with the highest score for their near flawless cha-cha with 24.5 points.
Leaderboard after the premiere of Monday night’s Dancing with the Stars All-Stars:
- Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke – 24.5
- Gilles Marini and Peta Murgatroyd – 24
- Sabrina Bryan and Louis Van Amstel – 22.5
- Apolo Anton Ohno and Karina Smirnoff – 22
- Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough – 22
- Kelly Monaco and Valentin Chmerkovskiy – 21.5
- Hélio Castroneves and Chelsie Hightower – 21.5
- Drew Lachey and Anna Trebunskaya – 21.5
- Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani – 21
- Joey Fatone and Kym Johnson – 20.5
- Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas – 19.5
- Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy – 19
- Pamela Anderson and Tristan Macmanus – 17