Derek Hough is not backing away from the unusually low numbers handed out during the Dancing With the Stars Season 35 premiere. If anything, he thinks the 3s, 4s and 5s could make the rest of the season’s scores more meaningful.
Hough addressed the reaction in a Sept. 17 interview, saying the judges are trying to change how contestants and viewers perceive the lower half of the 10-point scale. He wants it to become a legitimate early-season score, he told Us Weekly.
Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson received just 10 out of 30 for their cha-cha, with Hough and Bruno Tonioli each giving the routine a 3. On the second night, Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik finished with 12 out of 30 after all three judges gave their jive 4s.
Not everyone welcomed the tougher scale. Carson called Guillermo’s original scores “lame” after the premiere and later said the two 3s were “a little mean.” Hough, however, argues that keeping more of the scoring range available now will give stronger marks greater value once the celebrities improve.
Hough Wants an 8 to Feel Like an 8 Again
Hough said the judges can box themselves in when the scoring starts too high. “I think it’s changing the value of the numbers,” he told Us, describing the adjustment as a potential “shock to the system” for contestants and viewers accustomed to seeing the lower end of the scale used sparingly.
The practical advantage applies to the judges too. Hough said starting lower means they are no longer effectively “working with two numbers” as contestants begin improving. “And now when somebody gets an 8, it’s going to mean something,” he said. “I think that that’s really important.”
Hough stressed that the numbers are not intended as personal judgments of the celebrities. When he looked at how the contestants ultimately ranked relative to one another across the premiere, he said the placements “felt pretty accurate.” Hough called the cast talented, praised their different strengths and said higher scores later in the competition will carry more weight.
Guillermo’s 10 Became the Biggest Test of That Philosophy
He and Carson danced a cha-cha to Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big Stuff.” Hough acknowledged the effort but said the technique was not there, while Tonioli joked that Guillermo’s memorable body roll had little to do with the cha-cha.
Carrie Ann Inaba gave the routine a 4. Hough and Tonioli each gave it a 3, producing a total of 10 out of 30 as the ballroom audience booed the scores.
The result put Guillermo in rare company. Master P still holds the lowest 30-point score in DWTS history with an 8 for his Season 2 paso doble. Steve Wozniak later received a 10 for his Season 8 samba, meaning Guillermo became only the second celebrity after Wozniak to receive that total under the three-judge, 30-point format.
Carson defended her partner immediately after the premiere, saying they had spent substantial rehearsal time working on his timing and that he recovered when portions of the dance went off course. She became even more direct on the show’s official podcast. “I thought that was a little uncalled for,” Carson said of the two 3s, according to People. “I felt like the threes were a little bit mean.”
The Judges Warned the Cast Before the Low Scores Arrived
During the first premiere night, Hough told Jackson Olson after his cha-cha that the standard would be high from the beginning. “Our expectations are super high, you’re going to have to earn every single point,” Hough told him, adding that contestants should not be surprised by where the scores landed. Olson and Emma Slater then received three 5s for a total of 15 out of 30.
The same approach continued during the women’s premiere the following night. Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik opened with a jive that went off timing early, and Inaba explicitly reminded viewers that lower scores would leave room for growth. All three judges ultimately gave Ali a 4, leaving her at 12 out of 30.
The tougher scale also kept the top of both leaderboards relatively restrained. Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson led Night 1 with three 7s for a 21, while Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas matched that 21 on Night 2. No contestant received an 8, 9 or 10 during the two-night premiere.
The Tough Scores Did Not Hurt the Premiere’s Audience
The debate over the numbers arrived during a strong return for the long-running ABC competition. The first night of Season 35 drew 6.67 million total viewers across ABC and Disney+, according to ABC.
That was up 24% from the Season 34 premiere’s 5.38 million viewers and gave Dancing With the Stars its largest season-premiere audience in six years.
ABC also reported a 1.48 rating among adults 18-49, up 40% from the previous season’s 1.06 premiere rating and the show’s strongest premiere performance in that demographic in nine years.
After the two-night opening eliminated Conner Leavitt and Sarah Jane Nader, 14 couples remain. They return Sept. 22 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+ for “Viral Hits Night,” when Hough, Inaba and Tonioli will get their first chance to show whether the premiere’s wider scoring scale carries into Week 2.