x
Breaking News
More () »

'Dancing With the Stars' Season 28 Kicks Off With Some Clear Frontrunners -- See Who's Leading the Pack!

'Dancing With the Stars' Season 28 Kicks Off With Some Clear Frontrunners -- See Who's Leading the Pack!
Credit: ABC/Justin Stephens

Dancing With the Stars returned Monday with a whole new look, a whole new cast and a whole new judging and voting system, and after two hours of non-stop dancing a few clear frontrunners have emerged.

For the first time ever, the pairings of celebs and pros wasn't revealed until it was time for them to take the stage for their first dance of the season during Monday's premiere. And after all 12 couples danced their hearts out, there emerged three clear stars who are leading the pack.

Performing the last dance of the night, James Van Der Beek and Emma Slater knocked their tango -- set to Imagine Dragons' "Whatever It Takes" -- out of the park. The pair earned 7s across the board for a total of 21 out of 30 and securing the top spot on the leaderboard.

The Bachelorette's Hannah Brown and her partner, Alan Bersten, kicked the show off on the right foot with a cha-cha set to "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston. The dance earned them 7s from Carrie Ann Inaba and Len Goodman, and a 6 from Bruno Tonioli, for a total of 20 out of 30.

In third place after week one is country singer Lauren Alaina and her partner, Gleb Savchenko. Their cha-cha set to Shania Twain's "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" earned them a 7 from Inaba and 6s from Goodman and Tonioli, for a total of 19 out of 30.

Bringing up the tail end of the scoreboard are former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer -- who earned a 12 out of 30 for his Salsa with partner Lindsay Arnold -- and in last place is Lamar Odom, with partner Peta Murgatroyd. Their Foxtrot only earned them 11 out of 30, with Odom receiving 3s from Goodman and Tonioli, which are some of the lowest scores in the history of the show.

Here's a final breakdown of where the couples stand after the first week of the competition:

James Van Der Beek and Emma Slater - 21
Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten - 20
Lauren Alaina and Gleb Savchenko - 19
Sailor Brinkley-Cook and Val Chmerkovskiy - 18
Karamo Brown and Jenna Johnson - 17
Mary Wilson and Pasha Pashkov - 17
Kel Mitchell and Witney Carson - 16
Ally Brooke and Sasha Farber - 16
Kate Flannery and Brandon Armstrong - 15
Ray Lewis and Cheryl Burke - 15
Sean Spicer and Lindsay Arnold - 12
Lamar Odom and Peta Murgatroyd - 11

This season also marks the first major voting overhaul in the show's scoring system in years. First of all, there were no eliminations in the first week -- nor was there any viewer voting!

For week one, only the judges' scores matter. Then, during the second week, both weeks' judges scores will be combined and then added to live voting, which is another new (and likely to be the most controversial) aspect to the system!

Viewer voting will be limited to live votes that are cast during the East Coast broadcast time frame. Meaning if you're watching on the West Coast, you are allowed to vote between 5 p.m. and 7p.m., but you'll be essentially voting on the previous week's dances, as you won't have seen the dances everyone on the East Coast is voting on.

So clearly, there are a lot of big changes, and fans will have to wait to see how that ends up impacting the competition.

Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

RELATED CONTENT:

Lamar Odom On Why He Doesn't Need 'DWTS' Tips From Rob and Kim Kardashian (Exclusive)

'DWTS' Judge Bruno Tonioli Gives First Look at Renovated Ballroom (Exclusive)

'The Office' Star Kate Flannery's 'DWTS' Rehearsal Diaries Are Wildly Inspiring Comedy Gold!

Hannah Brown on How 'DWTS' Is Bringing Back Her 'Insecurities': It's 'Messed With My Mind' (Exclusive)

 

Before You Leave, Check This Out