‘DWTS’ Season 31 Premiere: [Spoiler] Gets Eliminated in First Live Show on Disney+
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for the Dancing With the Stars Season 31 premiere.]
Well, it’s here. Dancing With the Stars Season 31 kicked off live on Disney+ on Monday, September 19. And the ad-free show wasted no time getting to its first performance from the season.
In honor of the show’s “premiere party,” all of the competitors were asked to prepare a routine to a song that makes them want to celebrate. Hitting the dance floor first was recording artist Jordin Sparks with her partner Brandon Armstrong. They danced a cha-cha to Whitney Houston‘s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and earned praise from the judges, who ultimately gave them a 26 out of 40. But how does voting work for Dancing With the Stars Season 31?
Fans can vote for their favorite pairings at DisneyPlus.com/vote. You’ll have to login to your Disney+ account to submit your votes, with the voting window open the moment the dancing begins each Monday. You can cast up to 10 votes per couple, and the selections can be edited up until the voting window closes after the final competitive performance (just click “save votes” each time you make a change). For the first time ever, viewers in Canada can vote for Dancing With the Stars through the same site (and as usual, viewers from Puerto Rico can also partake). Votes can also be submitted by text by texting the first name of the star (e.g. “SHANGELA,” or “WAYNE,” or “SELMA”) to 21523.
“Vote through your favorites throughout the show,” co-host Alfonso Ribeiro advised during the livestream, as the first couple would be eliminated at the end of the Season 31 premiere. “You get 10 votes per couple per voting method,” added co-host Tyra Banks.
Between the dances and judge feedback, Banks revealed there are going to be a lot of theme nights this season, the next being Elvis night. As for the judges, Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli sandwiched critiques between compliments. And for night one, they mostly stuck with compliments. And in lieu of commercial breaks, viewers got a visual break with mini performances from paired professionals.
Overall, the show barely felt different from the ABC iteration. Not having commercial breaks was a bit odd, but only because it was new. And some of the highlights of the night were the surprisingly skilled Bachelorette Gabby Windey, true showman Wayne Brady, the supercharged Shangela, and Selma Blair‘s (competing while living with multiple sclerosis) beautiful waltz that brought everyone to tears.
Here’s all of the performances from the Season 31 premiere of DWTS, in order of appearance, plus their total scores:
Jordin Sparks and Brandon Armstrong: 26/40
Sam Champion and Cheryl Burke: 20/40
Heidi D’Amelio and Artem Chigvintsev: 24/40
Daniel Durant and Britt Stewart: 27/40
Jessie James Decker and Alan Bersten: 20/40
Teresa Giudice and Pasha Pashkov: 20/40
Wayne Brady and Witney Carson: 29/40
Cheryl Ladd and Louis Van Amstel: 21/40
Vinny Guadagnino and Koko Iwasaki: 17/40
Shangela and Gleb Savchenko: 28/40
Trevor Donovan and Emma Slater: 21/40
Gabby Windey and Val Chmerkovskiy: 28/40
Joseph Baena and Daniella Karagach: 23/40
Jason Lewis and Peta Murgatroyd: 18/40
Selma Blair and Sasha Farber: 21/40
Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas: 32/40
Shangela and Gleb, Cheryl and Louis, Selma and Sasha, Jordin and Brandon, and Daniel and Britt were the first saved of the night. Jessie and Alan, Trevor and Emma, Wayne and Witney, Gabby and Val, Joseph and Daniella, Heidi and Artem, Charli and Mark, Vinny and Koko, and Sam and Cheryl followed.
The combined judges scores and votes sent Jason and Peta and Teresa and Pasha into the final two. The judges could only choose one couple, and in the end, they unanimously decided to save Teresa and Pasha, sending Jason and Peta home as the first cut of the season.
What did you think of the first-ever live competition show on a streaming service? For better or for worse, it certainly is the start of a new era.
Dancing With the Stars, Mondays, 8/7c, Disney+
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Conversation9 Comments
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Comments are closed on this story.
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G
I am sure Disney + is a great avenue but those of us on fixed incomes cannot pay for all these streaming apps to watch our favorite shows. I’m crushed to say the least. I already have been forced to purchase Netflix Prime Video, Paramount +, up faith and family, Apple TV, Hulu, and HBOMAX I get for free because I have ATT plus I pay for Directv because a want to be able to record shows that I can’t watch. It’s so disappointing to me. I get streaming if you can’t afford Spectrum or Directv but why should I suffer and have to pay all those streaming apps plus Directv. Whose idea was this? Well it sure isn’t the best for people on fixed incomes.
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R
You can afford Directv? Lol then you can pony up a few bucks a month for Disney+. They have offers all the time! It was just $1.99 a month if you already have Hulu. And Hulu cost only 99 cents a month for a whole year if you subscribed on Black Friday last year—it always has deals that day, so look out for that. I bet you’re paying full price for almost all your subscriptions. Start looking for discounts. And no one is “forcing” you to pay for any of this, despite your claim.
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C
This sucks if it ain't broke don't fix it DWTS should've stayed on ABCTV leave as is and they did the same thing with DOOL moving to Peacock
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G
you are going to loose a lot of viewers switching to a streaming station. It was just fine where it was like the saying say if it's not broken leave it alone. You need to get rid of Tara.
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B
I am NOT buying another channel. If I got everything I wanted my combined cable and internet would make $300. Not worth it. Enough is Enough. Not Watching.
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C
I think it sucks that Dancing with the Stars is not on ABC, not everyone can afford all the streaming apps. And some don’t understand it also.
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O
I’ ve watched dancing with the stars ever since it came on, I am really disappointed that you put it on a streaming channel and didn’t give the the viewers of regular TV any consideration that they can’t afford to pay for a streaming service. I know you can’t have the number of viewers that you had being on regular TV. I miss the show but I won’t pay for a streaming service older people on fixed incomes can’t afford this. Hope Tyra Banks is happy. Come back to regular TV.
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R
It would have been nice to share Selma’s story to the nation but you boxed her into a paid viewing situation when many families can’t afford to put healthy food on their tables and heat their homes. Selma and her beautiful dance should have been displayed for all, not just if you buy Disney Plus.
Disney used to bring people together but not so much now…extremely out of touch with the American reality. There is a lot of blindness going on in businesses that already have a lot….
Sad
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O
I am curious to see how the judging for Selma Blair is handled. Although I throughly enjoyed her waltz and am amazed at her strength and courage in dancing, she does not come up to the high standards expected of the other dancers, yet her scores were higher than some of the other celebrities. Is she being scored differently or less critically, and is that reasonable in a cash based competition?
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