Dancing with the Stars: Athletes sees two heartbreaking eliminations on Night 1
In a new live voting twist, Dancing with the Stars: Athletes witnessed two heartbreaking eliminations on Night 1 itself.
As season 26 of Dancing with the Stars kicked off, viewers saw the all athlete season contestants dance for the very first time and fans were able to vote in real time.
This resulted in a double elimination at the end of the show.
On the night of the premiere, fans had to say their goodbyes to Johnny Damon and Emma Slater, and Jamie Anderson and partner Artem Chigvintsev
Johnny and Emma did the foxtrot to 'Centerfield' by John Fogerty.
"Footwork, posture, framing, timing; was it effortless? No, but it will get better," said judge Bruno Tonioli. Damon and Emma managed to score an 18 out of 30.
Snowboarder Jamie Anderson and Artem Chigvintsev did a classic Viennese Waltz to a song by late DJ Avicii. Judge Len said it may have been a bit too skippy but loved her personality. Judge Bruno felt like she was like Elsa in Frozen but looked as though she had hit a slippery ice patch. Jamie and Artem scored 19 out of 30.
Adam Rippon and Jenna Johnson stole the show with a Cha Cha to the song 'Sissy That Walk' by RuPaul. Judge Len Goodman said, "That was GOOD. It was crisp. The whole thing was full of Cha Cha content. Well done."
Judge Carrie Ann added, "You were born to do this show." Rippon and Johnson scored the highest score of the night which was a victorious 24 out of 30.
Contestants Josh Norman and Sharna Burgess danced the Cha Cha to the song 'Finesse' by Bruno Mars and also scored a huge 24 out of 30.
Notorious figure skater Tonya Harding and Sasha Farber did the Foxtrot to 'When You Believe' by Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey which impressed the judges. Carrie Ann said, "The mind, body, music connection you just displayed blew me away." Tonya and Sasha were able to score a 23 out of 30 making them the second highest.
Chris Mazdzer and Witney Carson managed to score a 21 out of 30 for their sexy salsa to the song 'Mr. Put It Down' by Ricky Martin featuring Pitbull.