Dancing With The Stars‘ Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas dished on the show’s Season 35 premiere twist, including the history-making double eliminations and week one’s unique song theme.
The pair appeared on Get Real, where they discussed what viewers can expect from the show’s two-night premiere. Maura and Mark previously met while competing on The Traitors.
Elimination Twist
The Hulu podcast’s host revealed that the Season 35 premiere will feature a major first for DWTS: a celebrity will be eliminated after each night of the two-night premiere.
“One male celebrity and one female celebrity will be eliminated after each night of the two-night premiere,” the host announced.
The men will compete on Night 1, while the women will take the ballroom on Night 2. One celebrity from each group will then be eliminated.
While DWTS has used different elimination formats throughout its history, this will mark the first time a celebrity is eliminated after Night 1 of a two-night premiere.
Mark pointed out that the format puts the contestants into two separate groups rather than having the entire cast compete against one another.
“This is a first,” Mark said. “It’s not even an even playing field, right? It’s, like, the cast is split in half. They’re kind of like, ‘Boys over there, girls over here; one of you is going from each group.’ So, that’s a little different.”
In 2018, DWTS also aired a two-night premiere, but the first elimination didn’t happen until Night 2, when comedian Nikki Glaser was sent home.
Week One Theme — SPOILERS AHEAD!
Season 35’s contestants will perform to songs that were released in the year they were born.
Maura, who was born in 1989, will dance to Black Velvet by Alannah Myles. “It’s such a good song,” the Irish Love Island alum said. “I love that song, and my mother loves that song. She loves it.”
Mark revealed that the song is actually one of his favorite Week 1 songs he’s encountered during his DWTS tenure.
“Week 1 is always kind of like, ‘Oh, God, what song are we gonna get?'” Mark said. “When [Maura] told me it was that, I was like, ‘I love that.’ [It is] a really good song.”
The pair were assigned a foxtrot, and Mark immediately began envisioning the choreography. “As soon as I started listening to it, I was kinda like, ‘Oh, this is a good first impression for her,'” he teased. “I love the foxtrot. It’s a beautiful dance.”
Maura, however, admitted that she thinks the routine is “really hard.” She also jokingly called out Mark for increasing the song’s tempo during rehearsals. “[He] sped it up … three percent. If you don’t think that’s fast, you’re crazy,” she joked.
The remaining Season 35 premiere songs and dance styles have yet to be revealed.
DWTS season 35 kicks off with a two-night premiere on ABC and Disney+ Tuesday, September 15, and Wednesday, September 16, at 8 pm.
