The wildly popular TV show “Dancing With the Stars” concluded its 34th season in late November. Since its debut in 2005, the show has combined celebrity glamour with dance competition, pairing each celebrity with a professional dancer, and having them compete each week to avoid elimination. Couples receive scores from judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, but fan votes play an equally important role in determining who stays and goes. Over the years, the balance between judges’ scores and fan votes has created dynamic outcomes.
For this season, Robert Irwin, an Australian wildlife conservationist, and his partner Witney Carson were declared winners of “DWTS” Season 34. On top of this remarkable achievement, at 21 years old, Irwin is the youngest male ever to win “Dancing With the Stars.”
“I’m very glad Robert won, because first of all, he definitely put in the work and effort and deserved the win,” freshman Annabelle Chai said. “Secondly, it was really cool that he was able to break so many records. I’m really happy for him.”
Although Irwin’s scores from the judges were slightly lower than others, millions of audience votes pushed him and his fellow competitors Alix Earle, Jordan Chiles, Dylan Efron, and Elaine Hendrix to the finale. The results emphasized that notability can outweigh technical skill, particularly in a season with this much fan influence.
Actor and comedian Andy Richter’s journey demonstrated the power of the fan vote. Despite consistently receiving the lowest scores from judges, he stayed in the competition until week nine due solely to the fan vote.
“I feel so happy that America voted for Andy Richter every week!…While he wasn’t at the same level as the other celebrities and did eliminate some great dancers, I think the way he captured America’s hearts really made him deserving of staying!” sophomore Jasmine Hernandez said.
“I think Andy Richter should have been eliminated MUCH earlier. Because the public kept him in so long, it was so unfair to other contestants who really deserved it, like Danielle Fishell and Jen Affleck who were evidently improving week after week,” junior Grace Kuskowski said. “Andy just kinda stood there while his partner did all the work. He was funny, I will give him that, but he definitely did not deserve the spot he had throughout the competition.”
Andy Richter’s experience is similar to Bobby Bones, “DWTS” Season 27 winner. Bones was frequently at the bottom of the leaderboard but stayed due to fan votes. Other competitors who performed better technically came short of the coveted Mirrorball trophy.
“I think the voting system is interesting as it does mix judges’ scores with audience voters. It tries to balance technical skill and audience engagement,” science teacher Ms. Bianco said. “Popularity can outweigh performance.”
Season 34 of “Dancing With The Stars” was filled with so many impressive dances and surprising outcomes. The show proves that anyone is able to do whatever they want if they work towards it. “Dancing With The Stars” will continue to bring fans of all ages back each year to cheer on more of their favorite stars.
