"Dancing with the Stars" kicked off its first ever All-Star season with two hours of overly glittery costumes, awkward cover songs, aggressive judges, and, of course, 13 "celebrities" desperate to prove that they are the true all-star of the show. Overall, the stars delivered, with minimal fumbling and a few actually enjoyable routines.
So who were the true stars of evening? And who left something to be desired? Find out below.
The Dance of the Night:
Emmit Smith and Cheryl Burke: NFL player and Season 3 "DWTS" champ Emmit and partner Cheryl brought down the house with their charismatic Cha Cha. The duo clearly had the time of their lives on stage and shook their hips all the way to a score of 24.5, the highest of the night! Even hard-to-please Len declared it the "best dance of the evening."
Score: 24.5
The Standouts:
Giles Marini and Peta Murgatroyd: The judges had nothing but praise for Giles and Peta's old-Hollywood style foxtrot, calling it poetic, sophisticated, and gorgeous. Carrie Ann in particular loved the number and admitted to Giles that she had missed him on the stage.
Score: 24
Sabrina Bryan and Louis Van Amstel: After her controversial elimination in Season 5, expectations were high for fan-favorite Sabrina, who was voted into the "All-Stars" cast. Although she was clearly feeling the pressure during rehearsal, she managed to pull off her Cha Cha (set to a somewhat questionable One Direction cover) with ease. Though she could've been cleaner, the judges and fans alike are clearly happy to have her back.
Score: 22.5
Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough: As the youngest "All-Star," Shawn and Derek decided to play up her age with a cutesy foxtrot and it actually worked for them. "That's what 'All-Star season' is all about!," Carrie Ann exclaimed.
Score: 22
Apolo Ohno and Karina Smirnoff: Olympic speed skater Apolo and partner Karina kept the night colorful with a seemingly rave-inspired Cha Cha. Carrie Ann gave him the highest of compliments, declaring him to be 3000 times more sexy. This seems a bit extreme, but we'll take her word for it.
Score: 22
The Good:
Helio Castroneves and Chelsie Hightower: Helio's charisma was his saving grace in his somewhat messy foxtrot with Chelsie. Although he was "a joy to watch," according to Len, Bruno felt that he messed up the feet quite a bit.
Score: 21.5
Drew Lachey and Anna Trebunskaya: Season 2 winner Drew was anxious to prove that he could hang with the contestants from the so-called improved and more advanced recent seasons. And he pulled it off ... Mostly. Though a bit rigid, Carrie Ann thinks he's improved greatly and Bruno thought he and Anna looked like they had been dancing together forever.
Score: 21.5
Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy: Kelly, who was the champion of the six-week first season of "DWTS," was all nerves when it came to the Cha Cha, which her season didn't include. She need not have worried thought: Her and Val's "insane chemistry" earned them high praise from the judges.
Score: 21.5
Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: Melissa and Tony, who placed in third in the eighth season, are in it to win it this time around. Though Bruno thinks they need to work on their frame, Melissa's exquisite lines might just take them to the top.
Score: 21
The Mediocre:
Joey Fatone and Kym Johnson: Joey and Kym kicked off the evening with an enthusiastic, if somewhat messy, Cha Cha. Plus, it was set to "PYT", so that's a definite plus. Score: 20.5
Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas: Although she didn't receive the highest score, Bristol won the award for most improved. Carrie Ann called the new and improved Bristol "confident and sassy," which basically means she finally learned to move her hips.
Score: 19.5
Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy: It's hard to remember anything about this performance other than Kirstie's awkward smooch-attack on host and Emmy-winner Tom Bergeron following their routine. There was probably also a decent foxtrot somewhere in the mix.
Score: 19
The Uncomfortable
Pamela Anderson and Tristan MacManus: Oh, Pamela. Pamela Anderson, desperate to prove herself after her relatively early elimination in Season 10, earned the lowest score of the night for her uncomfortable Cha Cha with partner Tristan. Even harder to watch than the actual routine was Pamela's obvious devastation. We're still rooting for you Pamela!
Score: 17
What was your favorite performance of the night? Who do you think will get eliminated on Tuesday night? Sound off in the comments.
"Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars" airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8pm ET on ABC.