Dancing With the Stars Throws Out Online Votes After Premiere Glitch
Online voting collapsed minutes into the Season 35 premiere of Dancing With the Stars on 15 September, forcing producers to scrap every online vote and decide the first night on text messages alone.
Hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro told viewers after the second dance that online voting was down. Audiences could only vote by text. After the third performance, they went further: any online votes that had gone through would be thrown out, Variety reported.
That left text voting to carry the night. Viewers normally can back their favourite couples online at dwtsvote.abc.com and by SMS, according to the show's voting guide. For the premiere, they were told to text a designated keyword to 21523 during the live broadcast.
The distinction mattered for two couples with similar names. To vote for Conner Leavitt or Connor Wood, viewers needed to text Conner L or Connor W respectively.
The premiere is split across two nights. Tuesday featured the male celebrities with one elimination, and Wednesday features the female celebrities with one elimination. The live shows air at 8/7c on ABC and Disney+.
Tuesday's leaderboard started low. Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson opened with a Cha-Cha to “Mr. Big Stuff” by Jean Knight and scored 10/30. Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman followed with a Salsa to “Whoomp! There It Is” by Tag Team for 12/30.
Jackson Olson and Emma Slater danced a Cha-Cha to “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls for 15/30. Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess led the four scored routines reported so far, with a Tango to “Are You Gonna Go My Way” by Lenny Kravitz for 17/30.
Four more couples also danced on night one. Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart performed a Quickstep to “Tell Her About It” by Billy Joel. Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach danced a Tango to “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson.
Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson performed a Cha-Cha to “Let’s Groove” by Earth, Wind & Fire. Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold closed the listed line-up with a Cha-Cha to “I Like It, I Love It” by Tim McGraw.
ABC describes the series as one in which celebrities perform choreographed dance routines judged by a panel of ballroom experts. Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli are listed as judges on the network’s official show page.
Season 35 was already billed with an elimination twist described as unexpected and not done before, Today reported ahead of the launch.
For fans, this means Tuesday’s result rests entirely on text votes and the judges’ scores. One male celebrity leaves after night one.
