By Brianna Brinker, Arts & Culture Editor
The classic hit TV show, “Dancing with the Stars” is getting more viewers and votes than ever before! The first season came out in 2005 and 21 years later, it has had a sudden spike in popularity and just broke the record for the most votes in the history of the show. The premiere of season 35 got 6.7 million views!
If you are not a superfan, “Dancing with the Stars” is an American reality series involving pro dancers coaching celebrities on how to dance ballroom style. The stars consist of celebrities such as athletes, musicians, content creators, actors, and many more. The stars learn different types of dances each week, such as the tango, the foxtrot, the jive, quickstep, waltz, etc., and must perform in front of a live audience, including millions of people watching from home.
Every Tuesday night, America gets to vote for their favorite couples, and whoever gets the least number of votes combined with the judges’ scores gets eliminated until there is one winning couple.
“Dancing with the Stars” has become significantly more popular and has gained the audience of Gen Z. TikTok has an influence on the show through many different trends such as trying to recreate crazy dance moves from the performances which then become “viral.” Another trend consists of ranking the dance couples based on their performances in a pyramid and giving their opinions.
Jessilyn Peppers, a senior majoring in digital communications, says, “I think ‘Dancing with the Stars’ has gained so much popularity because they’ve done a great job bringing in social media influencers and people who are popular at the moment. It introduces the show to new audiences who might not have watched it before.”
Some people create their own judging paddles and judge the dances based on their thoughts, others try and predict the winners and order of elimination before they watch the new season, and some fans create their dream cast in hopes that their favorite stars with be on the show in the future.
Another popular idea that multiple people have done is host watch parties for “Dancing with the Stars.” They film themselves shopping for supplies that match the sparkly disco ball theme of the show.
“It’s awesome to see the choreography make its way onto social media and have people try the dances themselves. It makes the show even more fun because the experience doesn’t end when the episode is over, people get to participate in the trends and share their own versions online,” says Peppers.
The pro dancer, Rylee Arnold, joined season 32 at only 18 years old. She brought in the Gen Z audience and is very loved by America. This season, a new Gen Z dancer has joined as a pro, Haily Bills who is only 20 years old and the niece of famous pro dancer, Jenna Johnson.
Last season, they brought on their first influencer, Alix Earle. The TikTok-famous social media personality’s inclusion as of the stars also brought in more viewers from TikTok who followed her. She made it all the way to the finals.
Fans are very vocal on their thoughts and express them all over social media. With being in the digital age, social media, especially TikTok, has made “Dancing with the Stars” even more popular than it was before!
Every week now, there are moments from the weekly episodes that go viral on TikTok and Instagram. A lot of clips from the show have even turned into viral memes, such as one of the hosts of “Dancing with the Stars,” Julianne Hough saying “Thanks, Alfonso,” has blown up the internet that people recreate and find funny.
“The ‘Thanks, Alfonso’ trend is hilarious! I love how people have taken that moment and turned it into something funny on TikTok,” says Peppers.
Even the pros use TikTok as a platform to gain America’s votes by making fun shorts. They use it to make viral videos and show the relationship between the pro and the star.
Each episode has a theme to make it more exciting. For example, one season 35 episode themes consist of “Mariah Carey Night” in which the couples danced to her hit songs. Other themes they stay consistent with are “Disney Night,” “Dedication Night,” and a Halloween-themed episode.
As season 35 continues, look out for new trends, viral moments, and maybe even try to recreate a dance move! It makes the show more fun and interactive. Every Tuesday night, “Dancing with the Stars” airs and gives fans excitement and brings people together to watch the new episode live. Its popularity has risen than ever before and continues to do so.
