Dancing With the Starsbegan airing in 2005, and remains at its peak. Pairing celebrity competitors with professional dancers so they can grow together as viewers vote to keep their favorites in the competition from week to week has proved a successful strategy for ABC.Part of the strength of the series is the panel of judges critiquing the contestants to help them to improve. Those who listen to the judges and apply their criticism of technique and form each week, tend to see their scores grow and the number of fans voting for them increases their chances of winningthe reality competition.
Season 33 is at the midway point and the cast of celebrities has been putting in a stellar effort to earn the fans' votes each week. Usually, when viewers think they spot a showmance on the series, it is a symptom of reading too much into the chemistry they see on the dance floor. But this season, fans are drooling over the behind-the-scenes romance betweenSports IllustratedmodelBrooks Naderand the belovedDWTSpro,Gleb Savchenko.Chandler Kinneyis giving youngZendayain Season 16 - her abilities have grown each week, as have the judges' expectations of her. And footballerDanny Armendolahas been endearingly committed to the process, and viewers can’t help but be smitten with his charisma and charm.
The judges will occasionally invite celebrity guest judges to join them and lend their perspectives to the contestants. ForSoul TrainNight, the judges invitedSoul Traindancer, choreographer, and Hollywood legend,Rosie Perez. It isn’t necessarily a pre-requisite that the celebrity guest judge will have this kind of dance background to offer to the contestants, but, generally, there is an understanding that what the judges say about the contestants is meant to help them advance in the competition. But forHair Metal Night, the contestants got more than they bargained for when legendary rocker and KISS front manGene Simmonsjoined the judges' panel, and he behaved, well, exactly how you might expect.
Gene Simmons Let His Rock Star Persona Dominate
The night was a risqué look into the world of hair metal, a sub-genre of heavy metal music known for its theatrics, and of course, the performer’s long and flowing locks. The contestants had to dig deep to find their inner rockers, to hit the stage ready to attack.The network pulled out all the stops to tie the evening into the musical genre, bookingJoel HoekstrafromWhite Snaketo perform guitar licks on stage. AndBret Michaels, front man of the bandPoison, called in to give Brooks a pep talk on rock and roll, since she is good friends with his daughter and knows the family well.
Dancing With the Stars Pro Dancer Reveals Why She Quit the Show
She’s in a much better place since her exit.
Rock and roll and hair metal are not exactly genres of music that are well known for good behavior, especially in the 70s and 80s era of sex, drugs, and trashed hotel rooms. Booking someone like Simmons to come onto the program was a risk, at best, for the family-friendly corporate brand of ABC.Given his brash personality, his age and the era he came from, how long he has been famous, and his ever-present rock star persona, Simmons was guaranteed to ruffle some feathers. But his critiques of the competitors were less than consistent, andviewers were quick to hop online and express their outrageover some of his less tame observations.
Gene’s Scoring Method Shocked Viewers
Simmons came onDWTSand behaved… well, almost exactly as you might expect. Was it surprising that when Armendola and Carson danced a steamy pasodoble toBon Jovi’s “Living on a Prayer,” Simmons' critique focused almost exclusively on flirting with Carson? No. Was it surprising that when Nader opened her number on a stripper pole and performed a steamy cha-cha toPoison’s “Nothing But a Good Time,” Simmons tried to give her a 10 out of 10? Also, no. I’ll note as well, was it surprising that Simmons threw the production for a loop by keying in a score of 9 before announcing he wanted to give her a 10?
These little peccadillos from an aging rock star were forgivable, if they also made the evening have a slightly clumsy energy from the judges' panel. However, the most offensive moment came during the panel’s critique of Kinney. The young performer gave another stellar performance in her jive number performed to “We’re Not Gonna Take It” byTwisted Sister.But when Simmons commented that Kinney had “fogged up” his glasses and she “moved him” with her “gyrations and so on,” it felt like a step too far, considering the more than 50 years that separates them in age, and the unprofessionalism of his comments overall when it came to the ladies on the dance floor. With the online outrage and the overall vibe of the evening, it feels like bringing Simmons onto the series was a risk that didn’t pay off.
Dancing With the Starsair on Tuesdays on ABC and can be streamed on Disney+
Dancing with the Stars
U.S. reality show based on the British series “Strictly Come Dancing,” where celebrities partner up with professional dancers and compete against each other in weekly elimination rounds to determine a winner.
Watch on Disney+
