Premiere | Dancing with the Stars

Dancing with the Stars Official Podcast

The premiere episode of the Dancing with the Stars Official Podcast kicks off Season 34 with host Joey Grazdei joined by co-hosts Julianne H

Key takeaways

• This season features an unusually high level of dance proficiency from both seasoned celebrities and newcomers, creating intense competition unlike any previous season.

Main topics

• Season 34 premiere highlights
• Behind-the-scenes dynamics and live performance challenges

Notable quotes

"I don't know who's going to win. I know, it's really true. And this year, it's the same statement, just with a lot more contestants." – Alfonso Ribeiro

Conclusion

The premiere episode sets an electrifying tone for Season 34, emphasizing heightened

Transcript preview

Speaker 5 (0:00) Early morning on a Manhattan sidewalk, a shooting caught on surveillance video. Speaker 6 (0:05) It was an assassination-style killing, and everybody saw it. Speaker 5 (0:10) A new podcast series from ABC Audio in 2020 goes inside this captivating case. I'm ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmeyer. Listen to Burden of Proof, Luigi Mangione, wherever you get your podcasts. Speaker 7 (0:27) Well, hello there. I'm Joey Grazde, your host for the Dancing with the Stars official podcast. And you're reigning Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy champion. And you are in luck because I'm spilling all the tea this season. We're going to be recapping all the best moments from the show, chatting with special guests, filling you in on all the backstage secrets, and answering all of your Bernie questions. I'll be letting you in on an exclusive that you will only be getting right here. I'm going to tell you what all the themes are for this season, so you do not want to miss that. I don't know about you guys, but I love getting all the behind-scenes intel of how this show is made. Speaking of how this show is made, we have two very important guests with us right now. They are the hosts of Dancing with the Stars. Give it up for Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro. Thank you, thank you. Speaker 7 (1:26) I'm happy you guys are here. We got a lot to talk about tonight. This was an amazing first episode. Alphonso, I'm going to start with you. What is the vibe of this season right now? Well, I'll tell you, the vibe right Speaker 6 (1:35) now is competition, right? I think that at the end of the day, it's a different vibe than any other season I can remember where there's this many people who could absolutely win. And I remember saying that last season. This is the first time it's like, I don't know who's going to win. I know, it's really true. And this year, it's the same statement, just with a lot more contestants. And they all brought it. I mean, listen, Robert, at the end there, just delivered a routine that I didn't think he had, right? I Speaker 4 (2:08) don't think anybody had that. Derek said it. That's probably the best. Speaker 7 (2:13) Be careful here. First. Was that Speaker 4 (2:14) right? The best first dance Speaker 7 (2:16) of a season? You see his response? He's got something to say about that. I Speaker 6 (2:20) got all nine. Speaker 7 (2:21) I remember that. Is that? My first. My first. Yeah, Speaker 4 (2:25) but that's best scores. That doesn't mean best dance. No, Speaker 7 (2:27) no, no. Speaker 6 (2:27) Hey, you better stop it. Hey, you're supposed to be my friend. Speaker 4 (2:31) I am your friend. I love you. But that still doesn't mean best dance. Shut up. Shut up. You better Speaker 6 (2:36) stop. Speaker 4 (2:37) It Speaker 6 (2:37) was great. It was great. Well, it was also a jive. It was also a Whitney. So, you know, at the end of the day, that's just Whitney does. That's what Whitney does on week one. There you go. But, you know, just such a great, great opening show. The cast is phenomenal. I mean, really just incredible dancers. And, you know, it's interesting to me because there's always this constant battle in the, let's say, social media world where people are like, the show is supposed to be people who can't dance. And I'm like, that would get boring at times, right? What you want is you want some great people. People who are competitive. Speaker 4 (3:12) Yeah, Speaker 6 (3:13) you want great people and you want some newbies, right? You want to see the journey and different journeys. If everyone had the same journey. What would be interesting about that? Right. Like seeing different people go through different journeys, different starting spots and ending hopefully at the same spot is pretty incredible. And I think that's what makes like lately what has made this show a really great show and was pulling people in is the fact that like those performances, that's not week one. Yeah, that's not weak. Those are not week one performances, but they delivered and it's great and it's compelling television. Speaker 7 (3:47) I love it. Julianne, I'm Speaker 6 (3:48) going Speaker 7 (3:48) to come to you because I love you guys are obviously both great dancers, but I love that you have the professional dancer background for you tonight. Did you feel like that was the most experience you've seen out of a full celebrity cast for dancing wise? Speaker 4 (4:01) 100%. And I knew that it was going to happen before we even premiered tonight because. I'm a fan of a lot of the celebrities, and I've seen them on TikTok or dancing, and you can tell when somebody is just in their body, even if they're not technical dancers, you can see if somebody's going to be more free or if they're going to be a little stiff. Speaker 7 (4:22) And Speaker 4 (4:23) sometimes they surprise you, but I knew the level of competition was going to be outrageous. And I will say, even though the level of dancing from back when I was a pro might not have been... you know, as top tier, I will say that there is an energy of what it felt like when we were pros back then, because there was this, this youth and this actual competitiveness there. It kind of, no offense, but it kind of got a little soft and everybody was like, so kind and everybody wants everybody to win. And by the way, it's still like that it's family, but there's always, you know, a little competition and family. And I think the competition now. I think the pros are getting more competitive again. I think we've got some new blood in here again. So I feel that there is like this nostalgic energy, but with this like modern take. And I think that's why our show is bigger than it's ever been now. Yeah. Yeah. Speaker 7 (5:22) You can feel it. There's a, when you walk around on the day on the before, like I love looking at the pros and they're looking around, they're a little wide eyed or people pay attention. And when the scores come out, they're like paying attention. Like, so where's that? Where am I? Speaker 6 (5:34) It's fun Speaker 7 (5:35) to see that they are really getting competitive this season, but it's coming from the dancers too. Alfonso, I have to ask you because there was obviously something that happened tonight that I think everyone saw at home with Bruno and the score. What were your thoughts on that one that happened in real time? And can you give a little insight on what happened? Well, I Speaker 6 (5:51) was like, Bruno, gosh, Bruno. Speaker 7 (5:53) Bruno, Speaker 6 (5:53) if it was ever going to happen, it happens to Bruno. You know, shocking because obviously we didn't know which way they were going to go. Which is why we had to, at the start of the next act, basically explain why we had to take his eight, even though he intended it to be a seven. Right. I mean, it is dark at that table. And I mean, you know better than anyone, like you're having to punch in those scores. And sometimes there was a time when. Oh, Speaker 4 (6:20) no, I was still on it when we were just writing it. Right, Speaker 6 (6:22) right, right. I did it over in the UK where they did have that same system. And it's. You're like, and if you accidentally hit it, so there's a way to erase it. Okay. So if you accidentally hit the score, there's another button that erases that score and allows you to put what you intended. But because he never entered his score, he might have switched it when he entered it. Because if you remember, I don't know if you guys remember, but when I was like, Bruno, you need to enter your Speaker 3 (6:55) score. Speaker 6 (6:55) Enter your score, yeah. Speaker 4 (6:56) Right. And he forgot Speaker 6 (6:57) to confirm it, which meant that he then hit it again last minute, probably hit the wrong button. And there you go. I Speaker 4 (7:06) wonder if it was also because there was more or there was less time because, you know, Carrie Ann would have been speaking in that moment. So, you know, figure out that the score is so because I. Up in the skybox, I was like, it is chaotic down there. What is going on between Derek and Bruno right now? Like fumbling on the paddles and stuff. But I loved it. That's what makes Dancing with the Stars on a live show so fun. Is when that stuff happens. Yes. But I Speaker 6 (7:32) think that's where Carrie Ann being the first one always gave Derek and Bruno the ability to go, oh gosh, where is my... Totally. The time. Right? The time. That's what you're saying, right? But they were always... They were in trouble every time. And then one time... I don't know. You couldn't see this on camera. But Bruno goes, hey, come here. So I go over to him and he's telling me something in my ear. Right. And then it's like, and let's get your scores. And I'm still basically at the table. He hasn't grabbed a paddle. Nothing. Speaker 7 (8:02) I'm going, now you're getting, you're pulling me Speaker 6 (8:05) into your nonsense. I love it. Speaker 7 (8:06) But that's what, that is the beauty of live television. We love it. It's so fun. I love it. Well, I'm going to come back to you one more time, Julianne, on. Give me someone tonight. Someone that you just were surprised by. Someone that you maybe had a lot of expectations for. But I want someone that really kind of took you tonight. So Speaker 4 (8:22) I loved Elaine. Speaker 7 (8:23) Yes. Speaker 4 (8:24) Elaine was just magnetic. And I mean, I know she's a dancer, but her legs, the way that she moved her arms. I agreed with Derek. It's like it was like two millimeters away from being fully extended on both the knees and the arms. But I mean. Beautiful. I feel like a lot of people were expecting Alex Earl to be great, and she delivered. She was fantastic. I also was obsessed with Baron. Yeah, so he blew me away. Also, one of the things that really stood out to me, and I think that this is so important, especially in today's generation, I loved when Lauren, when I asked... if what she does because she's a performer, if that made