Bindi Irwin at the premiere of 'Puss in Boots' on November 2011.
‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 21 kicked off with three judges instead of the usual four on Monday, Sept. 14. Len Goodman, the ballroom dancing guru bid farewell to the reality dancing competition after 20 seasons. Carrie Ann Inaba, Julianne Hough, and Bruno Tonioli remain on the show.
Backstreet Boys’ member Nick Carter and professional dancer Sharna Burgess were one of two duos who tied for 1st place on the series season premiere on Monday. Carter and Burgess, along with Bindi Irwin, the daughter of the late Steve Irwin and dancer Derek Hough received a straight set of 8/10 points from all three judges.
Carter and Burgess danced the cha-cha-cha to “I Don’t Like It, I Love It” by Flo Rida. Irwin and Hough danced the jive to “Crocodile Rock” by Elton John. Each team scored a total of 24 points, the highest scores of the evening.
Carlos PenaVega and Witney Carson tied for 2nd place with Tamar Braxton and Valentin Chmerkovskiy. The duos received a total of 23 points from the judges. PenaVega and Carson danced the jive to “I Got You (I Feel Good)” by James Brown. Braxton and Chmerkovskiy danced the quickstep to “Do Your Thing” by Basement Jaxx.
Alexa PenaVega and Mark Ballas tied for 3rd place with Alek Skarlatos and Lindsay Arnold. Both teams received 22 points from the three judges. PenaVegas and Ballas danced the jive to “Whistle (While You Work It)” by Katy Tiz. Skarlatos and Arnold danced the foxtrot to “Ten Feet Tall” by Afrojack.
Nick Carter performing on 'The Today Show' in New York on June 2011.
Andy Grammer and Allison Holker, along with Hayes Grier and Emma Slater scored 21 points. Grammer and Holker danced the cha-cha-cha to “Cheerleader’ by OMI. Grier and Slater danced the cha-cha-cha to “Marvin Gaye” by Charlie Puth.
Gary Busey and Anna Trebunskaya, Paula Deen and Louis van Amstel, and Victor Espinoza and Karina Smirnoff tied for 5th place with 15 points. Busey and Trebunskaya danced the cha-cha-cha to “Dancing in the Stree” by David Bowie. Deen and Amstel danced the quickstep to “Hey, Good Lookin’” by Carol Weisman. Espinoza and Smirnoff danced the salsa to “G.D.F.R.” by Flo Rida.
Chaka Khan and Keo Motsepe danced the cha-cha-cha to “I Feel for You” by Khan, resulting in 13 points. Kim Zolciak-Biermann and Tony Dovoliani danced the salsa to “Hey Mama” by David Guetta, placing last in the competition with 12 points.
The celebrities of Season 21 are singer Tamar Braxton, actor Gary Busey, singer Nick Carter, celebrity chef Paula Deen, horse jockey Victor Espinoza, singer Andy Grammer, vine star Hayes Grier, Wildlife conservationist Bindi Irwin, singer Chaka Khan, actress Alexa PenaVega, singer Carlos PenaVega, “Legion of Honour” recipient Alek Skarlatos, and reality TV star Kim Zolciak.
The professional dancers are Valentin Chmerkovskiy, Anna Trebunskaya, Sharna Burgess, Louis van Amstel, Karina Smirnoff, Allison Holker, Emma Slater, Derek Hough, Keo Motsepe, Mark Ballas, Witney Carson, Lindsay Arnold, and Tony Dovoliani.
‘DWTS’ is hosted by Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews. Week 1 was watched by 13.13 million viewers. Week 2, also known as Hometown Week airs on Monday, Sept. 21 at 8|7c and Tuesday, Sept. 22 at 9|8c. Each team will dance two unlearned dances.
