The second night of Dancing With the Stars season 35’s two-night premiere brought the female celebrity contestants into the ballroom — and ended with the first elimination of the season.
During the Wednesday, September 16, episode, each celebrity performed to a Billboard No. 1 song from the year they were born.
As with night one, judges made it clear they were leaving plenty of room for improvement.
Carrie Ann Inaba reminded the cast early in the episode that contestants would need to earn every point as the season progressed.
The night featured a mix of strong debuts and challenging first performances.
One of the biggest standouts was Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas, who performed a foxtrot to “Black Velvet” by Alannah Myles.
Their routine earned 21 out of 30, one of the highest scores of the night.
Valentin Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Dewan also delivered a strong tango to Blondie’s “Call Me,” earning 19 out of 30.
Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa performed a quickstep to Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5,” receiving 18 out of 30.
Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov also scored 18 out of 30 for their cha-cha to Santana and Rob Thomas’ “Smooth.”
Meanwhile, Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten earned 16 out of 30 for their tango to “Venus.”
Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong landed near the bottom of the leaderboard after receiving 15 out of 30 for their foxtrot to Whitney Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop).”
Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills performed a jive to Avril Lavigne’s “Sk8er Boi,” earning 14 out of 30.
The lowest judges’ score of the evening went to Jan Ravnik and Tatyana Ali, whose jive to “Knock on Wood” received 12 out of 30.
But judges’ scores weren’t the only factor determining who stayed in the competition.
At the end of the night, hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro revealed that Sarah Jane Nader and professional partner Hailey Bills had been eliminated.
Their departure officially marked the first exit from the season 35 competition following the two-night premiere.
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.
