Every week, millions of people turn to Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) to watch celebrities step out of their comfort zone, complete complicated choreography, and compete for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. Except there’s one part of the competition that makes me question how much of this show is actually about dancing: the voting system. At this point, it feels like DWTS is less of a dance competition and more so a popularity contest.
I like how this show combines judges scores with votes from viewers at home to determine which couples continue in the competition. On paper this seems fair, because the judges evaluate their dancing, while the audience gets to support the couples they enjoy watching. However, the viewers aren’t voting for the best dancer. Most of the time, they are voting for their favorite celebrity.
you don’t need to be the best dancer to have the biggest fanbase
One of the many elements of DWTS that make it so exciting to watch are the varying degrees of fame each of the celebrity participants possess. Some are actors like Harry Shum Jr., known for his role in the show Glee, or Julia Stiles in 10 Things I Hate About You. Others are athletes like Amber Glenn, an ice skater, or Ezra Frech, the Paralympian or even reality show stars, like Tyler Cameron from The Bachelorette or Maura Higgins from Love Island. Some have spent decades building a career and a dedicated fanbase, others are less familiar to the average viewer. Either way, the competition doesn’t start at the same place for everyone and some celebs are far more well known than others.
Assuming two celebrities have received equal marks from the judges, while one has millions of followers and one is not even known to the audience, whose chances are higher for getting more votes in the voting round? The celebrity with the established fanbase because people like them more.
That’s where it gets tricky because a contestant can already have an audience prior to dancing their very first dance. They will be voting for them due to their passion for acting, music, or even sports, which has nothing much to do with dancing. I don’t necessarily blame them honestly for doing that, because if I have been following someone for years, I would be more invested in their journey than a contestant I had never heard of before.
the judges and audience are looking for different things
The judges are looking at technique, timing, musicality, choreography, posture, performance, and more. Viewers at home are looking for something much broader, like the celebrity’s personality, their story, how they improved, the partnership between the celebrity and the pro, or even if they’re entertaining.
These ideas don’t measure dance ability, which makes the voting system interesting. The judges and audience aren’t really answering the same question here. The judges are asking “How well do you dance?” while the audience is asking “Did I enjoy watching you?” which are two very different questions. To me, this is a bad thing because the audience vote does not reflect dance ability. A contestant could be popular, have a strong personality and receive votes even though they aren’t the best dancer. However, a contestant that is a good dancer but not the best personality can leave after week 3. This means that the competition is about popularity and entertainment and not skill.
improvement matters more than technique
My favorite thing about DWTS is watching the contestants improve. Someone can start the season receiving fours or fives and work their way into the sevens and eights. For example, Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik came back with a six and two sevens in week 4, after receiving three fours on their first performance, an 8-point improvement. But it will make the process of voting complex since a contestant who may have been initially performing poorly could get support from the viewers because they wish to see them do well. But an already excellent contestant may lack an emotional angle.
Guillermo Rodriquez and Whitney Carson are also a perfect example of a couple that have continued to improve throughout the episodes. Guillermo has struggled more with the judges’ scores than any other contestant this season. A lot of viewers still want to see him continue, but his scores have not shown the same consistent improvement throughout the competition.
This is where the popularity aspect of this show becomes hard to ignore. Viewers don’t vote for Guillermo because he is the best out of everyone in the competition; they vote for him because of his personality or to see what dances he will do next. It shows the voting system measures more than just dance ability. Being entertaining and likable keeps a contestant in the competition even when scores aren’t showing improvement.
so, is dwts really a popularity contest?
I don’t think DWTS is completely a popularity contest, but I do think the audience vote makes popularity a much bigger part of the competition than we realize. When viewers vote, we don’t ask ourselves “who was the best dancer tonight?” Instead they ask “who do I want to see next week?” An example could be the celebrity they have loved for years, or the contestant that made them laugh or the one they become invested in.
This is what makes the show fun to watch because we aren’t just watching dancers compete: we are watching celebrities learn something completely new, overcome challenges, form friendships, and become performers in front of millions of people. So, the person who gets the most votes isn’t always going to be the person who danced the best. However, popularity is a part of the competition, because the audience still gets a say in who stays and goes.