The daughter of Steve Irwin and the Backstreet Boys member top the leaderboard following their first dances of the season on Monday night.
- Sep 15, 2015
AceShowbiz - The competition officially began on "Dancing with the Stars" season 21. The 13 pairs took the stage for the first time Monday night, September 14 and they were easily divived between those who showed potential and those with less than adequate dancing skills.
Bindi Irwin and Nick Carter were among those who stood out in the season kick-off. The daughter of late "Crocodile Hunter" star Steve Irwin danced an energetic jive with Derek Hough and got rave reviews from the judges. "That was the best performance of the night!" Julianne Hough declared, while Bruno Tonioli loved her charm. The 17-year-old earned 24 out of 30 points.
Nick also earned 24 points, placing him on top of the current leaderboard along with Bindi. He danced a cha cha with Sharna Burgess, who is a huge fan of Backstreet Boys, for the last performance of the night. Carrie Ann Inaba thought he didn't start out strong, but he "kicked it back in and then [he] killed it." Bruno believes Nick will be back "next week and the week after that."
Tamar Braxton delivered another solid performance. Dancing an energetic quickstep dance with Valentin Chmerkovskiy, she was lauded by Bruno for showing "high octane, high volume, high class." Carrie Ann and Julianne said the singer did a good job for week one. She earned 23 points.
Carlos Pena Jr. danced a jive with Witney Carson. Julianne said he's solid and strong, but wanted to see more energy. Bruno, meanwhile, advised him to work on his feet. He also got 23 points.
His wife Alexa Vega trailed close behind with 22 points. She also did a jive with her partner Mark Ballas. "Hot, sexy, and wild Latina," Bruno gushed. Carrie Ann also said she's "so sexy," but told the actress to watch her arm.
Hayes Grier and Andy Grammer were tied with 21 points each. The former danced a cha cha with Emma Slater. While the judges praised his natural ability, they reminded him to stay focused and to open his eyes. Andy, meanwhile, danced a foxtrot with Allison Holker. Carrie Ann urged him to get a better connection with his partner, but Julianne disagreed with her fellow judge, saying, "I thought your connection was wonderful, you do need some work on your shoulders though."
On the other hand, Victor Espinoza, Paula Deen, Gary Busey, Chaka Khan and Kim Zolciak still have a lot to learn. Victor opened the show dancing a salsa with Karina Smirnoff, but the judges said it was like no salsa. He earned 15 points.
Celebrity chef Paula also earned 15 points for her quickstep with Louis Van Amstel. Carrie saw "a lot of potential" in Paula, particularly with her neck, but "the rest of it didn't really come together." Julianne and Bruno told her to loosen up her hold on Louis a little bit.
Gary was clearly not a great dancer, but the judges said he's entertaining and wanted to see him again on the show. His cha cha with Anna Trebunskaya was scored 15 by the judges.
Chaka Khan and Keo Motsepe danced a cha cha to her hit song. It was bad, but the judges were really nice to her as they respected her status as the Queen of Funk. They advised her to focus on the choreography and the technique. She earned 13 points for her first dance.
Kim Zolciak landed on the bottom of the scoreboard with 12 points following her salsa with Tony Dovolani. The judges urged her to not hold back when she returns next week.
