Dancing with the Stars is back, which means my Tuesdays = booked and busy. On their 34th season, DWTS has a loaded cast ranging from TikTok stars like Alix Earle to conservationists like Robert Irwin, and reality stars like Dylan Efron. They’ve hit every possible fanbase with their stars, and it’s showing as the show continuously breaks the voting records every episode.
But that hasn’t proven to be completely beneficial for them. In the most recent episode, Lauren Jauregui, one of the singers from Fifth Harmony, was sent home with her partner, Brandon Armstrong. Though her routine wasn’t the best, the score was still good for a 3rd week score, and many fans argue she only left based on not receiving enough fan votes, not due to judges’ scores. When we weigh the opinion of the audience, many of whom aren’t trained in ballroom dancing, it raises the question of fairness in who is getting sent home.
This season has also seen some of the highest beginning scores for a season. In my opinion, I dislike this a lot. I don’t agree with some of the stars being classically trained in the past, no matter how long ago it was. I like to watch stars who genuinely suck in the beginning, and then you watch them become better and more passionate. It’s what makes the show so heartfelt, which is part of the reason for the love for Andy Richter, who is paired with pro Emma Slater. Although he’s not the best in comparison to some of the other competitors, you can see his hard work and dedication to get better in every one of his dances so far. On the flip side, Hilaria Baldwin, who is paired with pro Gleb Savchenko, performs well each week, but literally used to compete in ballroom dance competitions in the past and even competed against current pros in the past.
So, what’s been your opinion: is Dancing with the Stars heading towards better times or worse with more adept stars and higher weight of fan votes?