“Dancing With the Stars” Season 35 Premiere Highlights Female Celebrities: Scores and Eliminations Revealed Live

The 35th season of “Dancing With the Stars” (DWTS) showcased its anticipated two-night premiere, highlighting female celebrities on Wednesday after the male contestants performed the previous evening. This season continues the show’s tradition of pairing well-known figures from various fields, including reality television, athletics, and acting, to compete in the beloved dance competition.

The premiere saw a lineup of notable female contestants such as Tatyana Ali from “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis, Olympic gold medalist Amber Glenn, and actress Julia Stiles. Each participant danced to a number-one hit from the year of their birth, adding a nostalgic touch to their performances. The first elimination of the season occurred at the end of the Wednesday show, with Sarah Jane Nader departing the competition after being partnered with rookie pro Hailey Bills.

Amber Glenn and her partner Pasha Pashkov achieved the highest score on Wednesday night, earning 18 out of 30 points, only to be matched by Stiles and her partner Ezra Sosa, who were performing a quickstep to Dolly Parton’s iconic track “9 to 5.” However, Maura Higgins, dancing alongside Mark Ballas, surged ahead later in the episode to earn the night’s top score of 21 out of 30, establishing herself as a formidable competitor in the early stages of the season.

The male contestants competed a night earlier, with Harry Shum Jr. emerging at the top of the leaderboard, scoring 21 points alongside partnered dancer Jenna Johnson. The first elimination of the season came swiftly for Conner Leavitt, who, despite his efforts, was unable to secure enough viewer support to advance.

Early ratings for the season premiere were promising, with approximately 6.67 million viewers, reflecting a significant increase from the previous year’s premiere. This marks the most-watched premiere since the show’s 29th season, indicating a resurgence in the program’s popularity.

Technical difficulties marred the live voting experience, as online platforms crashed, prompting hosts to rely on text voting to accommodate viewers. DWTS maintains a unique voting mechanism where the couple with the lowest combined total of judges’ scores and audience votes is eliminated at the conclusion of each episode, fostering audience engagement.

“Dancing With the Stars” continues to air on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 8 p.m., simulcasting on ABC and streaming on Disney+ the following day.

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