Josalyn Melendez
Season 33 of Dancing with the stars has broken records and grabbed the eyes of more viewers than ever before. Could this be because of the celebrities and their dancing abilities, or the prominence of each celebrity in their own nature. With its final weeks of competition ahead, will Dancing With The Stars wrap up with its reclamation of “most popular entertainment series” on live television?
Here’s What We Know:
At the start of Season 33, viewers found themselves watching a total of 13 couples battle it out on the dance floor with titles from many different backgrounds. With 6 weeks of competition completed, each couple has accumulated points scored by professional judges on a 10-point scale. At the end of the 6 weeks, here are the rankings for all couples with bonus points and guest judge scoring taken into account:
- *Still in Contention for Competition
- Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong 234/273 (avg 8.6)*
- Danny Amendola and Witney Carson 216/273 (avg 7.9)*
- Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach 204/273 (avg 7.5)*
- Ilona Maher and Alan Bernstein 203/273 (avg 7.4)*
- Joey Grazaidei and Jenna Johnson 233/273 (avg 8.5)*
- Stephen Nederocisk and Rylee Arnold 214/273 (avg 7.8)*
- Jen Tran and Sasha Farber 214/273 (avg 7.8) Eliminated Week 6
- Phaedra Parks and Val Chmerkovskiy 176/240 (avg 7.3) Eliminated Week 5
- Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko131/180 (avg 7.2) Eliminated Week 4
- Eric Roberts and Britt Stewart 76/140 (avg 5.4) Eliminated Week 3
- Reginald VelJohnson and Emma Slater 73/140 (avg 5.2) Eliminated Week 3
- Tori Spelling and Pasha Pashkov 36/60 (avg 6.0) Eliminated Week 2
- Anna Delvey and Ezra Sosa 35/60 (avg 5.8) Eliminated Week 2
Fan voting, another crucial aspect to couples’ survival, has seen an uproar this season over any other. With the series’ highly anticipated Disney Night, close to 5 million viewers tuned in to watch, and a total of 14 million votes were cast– more than any other votes recorded in a single episode in the series history (ABC Entertainment).
For reference, fans over the age of 18 can cast up to 10 votes per couple, via one of the two voting methods– The ABC App or via text message. One singular viewer can cast up to 20 votes per couple, which at the time of Disney Night, would have totaled 160 votes from one individual.
This season more than ever, fans of each celebrity are showing out for their favorite dancers. Based on the averages of each couple, you can see just how crucial voting is, aside from judges’ votes. Reginald VelJohnson, a fan favorite, averaged the lowest total judges scores with an average of 5.2 points, but managed to stay in the competition for 4 episodes, outstaying two competitors that averaged a full point higher than the Die Hard star.
Fans Seek More Consistent Episode Release and More Rigorous Judging
With the 2024 Election, ABC Network found themselves in a rut when deciding who gets primetime coverage. With the Presidential and Vice-Presidential Debates, and Election Day coverage, celebrities had to hang up their shoes more than once this season to allow the network to cover in Dancing With The Stars primetime spot.
Fans were upset to see the lack of episodes due to the presidential election, wondering if there could have been an alternative for the competition series.
“I just wish they had figured out a way to still have an episode, even if it was on another channel,” said Dempsey Lajoie, who has watched all season long.
Judging has also seemed to be on viewers’ minds as well. With 3 guest judges in 3 consecutive episodes, longtime viewers of the show are confused to see judging criteria (or the lack thereof) this season. Carrie Ann Inaba, who has been on the show since its inception, has been speculated to appear unusually graceful this season, overscoring many couples, and handing out five perfect 10s in one episode.
Long time Dancing With The Stars professional Cheryl Burke has noticed this change and is questioning to see just how producers continue for this to happen.
“I just want to know why this season over others she [Carrie Ann] decides to give the worst people high scores. I remember when they would give out threes and fours for the first few weeks, now couples have to stay at 8s before producers give the go-ahead to give out tens,” Burke said on her podcast.
My Ranking:
As a dancer for 18 years, I have watched countless seasons of Dancing With the Stars. I’ve seen couples come and go, overextend their stay or leave too soon. Here is my opinion on who should be in the top three based on their performance in the season thus far:
- Joey Grazaidei and Jenna Johnson: with the second highest averaged points of all couples, I think Joey is a frontrunner male in this competition. With scores consistently improving every week, without a doubt is he going to see the Final episode. His fanbase is strong enough, just coming off the most recent season of the Bachelor, and with no prior dance experience is my winner.
- Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong: The Pretty Little Liars star shot off like a rocket in the beginning of the season and has held a consistent first place standing for every episode since then. With prior dance experience, it is hard to compare her talents to the rest of the contestants. I think she will fall in the finale due to a lack of fanbase but will put up a fight from now until then.
- Danny Amendola and Witney Carson: The former New England Patriot has truly impressed me this season. Still not fully there in terms of performance quality, but sure has shown that with a great partner and fast feet, dancing is for everyone. Ranked the second highest male in the competition as of week 6, Amendola has yet to break through. Once he shows true emotion and realizes his talent, he is a force to be reckoned with.
The final six celebrities; Chandler Kinney (Actress), Danny Amendola (2 Time Super Bowl Champion), Dwight Howard (NBA All Star), Ilona Maher (USA Olympic Rugby Player), Joey Grazaidei (Bachelor), and Stephen Nederocisk (USA Olympic Gymnast) will continue to compete for the Len Goodman Mirrorball on Tuesday November 12th, where the show will celebrate 500 episodes in program history, with the stars having to recreate iconic dances from the shows history.
