‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 35 Premiere Night 1 Scores: Who Was Voted Off?

Dancing with the Stars Season 35’s Tuesday night premiere was all about the boys. This year, the first evening featured the male celebs and their professional partners. If you’re waiting for the next day to catch the reality show streaming on Hulu, stop reading now — because spoilers from DWTS’s debut are next!

Jackson Olson and Emma Slater

Savannah Bananas’ Jackson Olson and his professional partner Emma Slater were the first to take the stage this season. The pair danced the cha cha to the Spice Girls’ “Wannabe.” Former pro and current judge Derek Hough kicked off the critique of the couple, saying, “It’s season 35, our expectations are super high. This season, you are going to have to earn every point.” And by every point, he meant 15/30.

Fans weren’t thrilled with the judge’s scores. When DWTS posted pics of the performance on Instagram, one wrote, “I understand they’re starting off with low scoring, but 5s is diabolical!”

Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess

The Bachelorette reality star, Tyler Cameron, and his pro, returning fan-favorite Sharna Burgess, danced a tango to Lenny Kravitz’s 1993 hit “Are You Gonna Go My Way.” So did things go their way?

The pair fared better than Olson and Slater, earning a 17/30. Fans flocked to DWTS’ Instagram post, commenting on Cameron’s “stiff” posture and a major mixup. Listen to the judge’s critique, and you’ll hear Hough accidentally call the celeb by the wrong name. “Did anyone else hear Derek call him Dylan?” asked one fan.

Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman

Reality star-adjacent celeb Conner Leavitt and his pro partner Adele Zaikman danced the salsa to Tag Team’s “Whoomp! There It Is.” The pair earned a meager 12/30, with Hough comparing Leavitt to Modern Family’s Phil Dunphy and saying, “I love it. It was goofy, playful; it was a whole lot of fun.”

DWTS fans bashed the performance on Instagram, commenting, “That looked like a dance meant to be in a dark comedy movie. Definitely not salsa,” and “That was probably the worst first dance I’ve seen in a while.”

Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson

Jimmy Kimmel Live’s Guillermo Rodriguez and his partner, pregnant pro Whitney Carson, danced the cha cha to Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big Stuff.” While Carrie Ann Inaba said the performance was “very entertaining,” the pair only scored a 10/30.

What did fans think? Commenters on Dancing with the Stars’ Instagram post gave Rodriguez the benefit of the doubt, echoing Hough’s assessment, “The effort was there.”

Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach

Paralympic gold medalist Ezra French and his pro Daniella Karagach danced the tango to Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone,” earning themselves a whopping 20/30 score.

Fans couldn’t stop gushing over the inspiring performance, “Tears. Just tears. As a disabled person myself, this representation is just epic to see,” raved one commenter on Instagram.

Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold

Comedian and podcaster Connor Wood and DWTS pro Rylee Arnold danced a country-inspired cha cha, getting a 16/30. Fans didn’t agree with the judge’s score, writing on Instagram, “He was lowballed,” and “I like it, I loved it, give me more of this!”

Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart

Former Hanson singer Taylor Hanson and his professional partner, Britt Stewart, danced an impressive quickstep. Inaba told the pair that Len Goodman would have said, “That was a proper quick step,” adding, “Keep your eyes on this one.” The pair earned a 16/30.

Even though fans thought his performance deserved a higher score, one noted, “Fansons broke the website!” And that means he could very well come out on top.

Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson

Controversy surrounding actor Harry Shum Jr.’s professional dancing experience left some fans wondering if he had an advantage. And while his style is dramatically different from what he’s expected to learn on DWTS, Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson earned a 21/30.

Who was voted off ‘DWTS’?

Two times as many fans voted this year as at last year’s season premiere. But in the end, Connor Leavitt and Adele Zaikman were the first to leave the show.