"Dancing With The Stars" kicked off last night with an exciting season 21 premiere! Last night's show brought fans everything one could hope for in a season opener, and the new group of stars came ready to give it their all.
From Paula Deen's Southern charm, to a Backstreet Boy showing off his boy band moves, to a thoughtful dedication to the late Steve Irwin, the premiere had viewers feeling all the feels.
As for the final scores, we saw everything, from a 12 out of 30 to a 24 out of 30. Steve Irwin's daughter Bindi and Backstreet Boy Nick Carter came out on top with very high scores for the first night, while Kim Zolciak and Chaka Khan were unfortunately on the bottom, the judges telling them to come back next week more focused and determined.
Following Irwin and Carter came Tamar Braxton and Carlos PenaVega, both scoring 23 out of 30. Right behind them was none other than Carlos' wife, Alexa PenaVega, and American Hero Alek Skarlatos, with 22 out of 30. Andy Grammer and Hayes Grier each came close behind with 21 out of 30, while Paula Deen, Victor Espinoza and Gary Busey all made a decent drop and tied with 15 out of 30.
Irwin and her partner Derek Hough dance an energized Jive to "Crocodile Rock" in honor of her father, the Crocodile Hunter himself. Hough is a fan-favorite and has more Mirrorball Trophies than any other pro dancer, and from the looks of the first night, he has a good chance of gaining another this season. Irwin couldn't stop smiling as the judges gave the pair 8's across the board.
"If this was 30 years ago, I would want to be your best friend, because your energy was so contagious," judge Carrie Ann Inaba told Irwin. "The way you attacked every pointed tow was beautiful."
Carter and his partner Sharna Burgess wrapped up the night with an equally talented, creative and energizing performance as Irwin. They danced Cha Cha to Robin Thicke's "I Don't Like It, I Love It," and everyone truly did love it.
"Carry on like this, and I promise you Backstreet's Back next week, and the following week, and the following week, til the final," judge Bruno Tonioli excitingly told Carter, referring to the popular Backstreet Boys song "Backstreets Back."
Braxton and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy, who won last season, performed an amazing quickstep, considering how tough that choreography can be on a new dancer. With the duo already scoring highly in the first round, it seems Chmerkovskiy has a decent chance of coming out on top once again.
"You blew me away, just flat-out blew me away," Inaba told Braxton. "It is week one, that is one of the hardest dances to do."
As an actor and singer, Carlos PenaVega did have some prior dancing experience, and it showed as the "Big Time Rush" band member and his partner Witney Carson delivered a highly energetic jive to James Brown's "I Got You I Feel Good)" and blew the audience, and his wife, away. Judge Julianne Hough even told him he was the "most natural performer" they had seen on this season so far."
As for his wife, Alexa delivered an equally energetic jive with her partner Mark Ballas. Prior to the premiere, Alexa told People that she never realized how competitive her husband was until they started dancing for the show.
"He kept trying to compare our dances," she said. "And I had to keep reminding him that every teacher and every song is going to make the dances different. His jive has a very classical feel to it, and mine is a lot more edgy."
As an Army National Guardsman and American hero, Skarlatos may have been the most surprising of the night. As someone who is not technically a celebrity, but a star in his own, honorable way, people didn't really know what to expect from him as a dancer, but he proved anyone who had any doubts wrong. He and his partner Lindsay Arnold delivered a beautiful Foxtrot, and Inaba even said that the dance "took her breath away."
There will be no eliminations this week, but the 13 pairs will be back next week for a two-night event as we say goodbye to our first star. Click HERE to vote for your favorites!
