Las Vegas Weekly

September 21, 2009 · 7:29 PM

Donny and Chuck duke it out on Season 9 premiere of DWTS

By Robin Leach

Kym Johnson and Donny Osmond.

Photo: ABC TV

SPOILER ALERT: Please do not read any further if you want to get the full surprise and drama of watching the West Coast tape-delayed broadcast of ABC’s top-rated Dancing With the Stars. But come back after the show to compare notes with us!

ABC’s mega-pack, three-day, five-hour, 16-contestant, Season 9 premiere of Dancing With the Stars got underway live tonight from Hollywood. Our hometown heroes Chuck Liddell danced second and Donny Osmond went fifth, and Las Vegas regular Kelly Osbourne will dance last tomorrow night.

Chuck was obviously tentative and unsmiling until his foxtrot with Anna Trebunskaya ended and he fist pumped the air. The judges were not kind to our UFC champion and awarded only 16 points out of a possible 30, with the 6 coming from Carrie Ann Inaba and 5 apiece from Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman. Nowhere near the KO we expected, but Len said, “much promise, but get in touch with your feminine side to smooth it out.”

Flamingo headliner Donny danced the foxtrot with pro partner Kym Johnson, and the audience erupted with cheers for his every move. Even though he looked a little uptight and nervous through their shimmy shake and Kym’s twirls, the audience loved them. The judges cautioned, though, that it was too theatrical and not proper ballroom dancing. Guess they aren’t crazy about Las Vegas glamour and glitz because they gave Donny and Kym only a total of 20 points (7, 6 and 7).

Photo: ABC TV

Chuck Liddell and Anna Trebunskaya.

Other scores for the debut night: Ashley Hamilton, as we predicted, received the second-lowest score of the night, just 15 with partner Edyta Sliwinska, with Len awarding only 4 points! Michael Irvin held the lowest by night’s end with a 13 while partnered with newcomer Anna Demidova. Iron Chef host Mark Dacascos danced with partner Lacey Schwimmer, and the karate and kung-fu fighting moves received 21, with all three judges scoring 7 apiece to the audience’s obvious disagreement.

Snowboarder Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower scored 19, which proves you can excel on the slopes but not impress on the dance floor. Aaron Carter & Karina Smirnoff went first and almost took a tumble at the end of his cha cha cha! The judges gave them a score of 22, with votes of 7 from Carrie Ann, 8 from Bruno and 7 from Len, giving them the lead for the night.

Check back to Vegas DeLuxe in the morning for our recap and photo gallery.

Robin Leach has been a journalist for more than 50 years and has spent the past decade giving readers the inside scoop on Las Vegas, the world’s premier platinum playground.

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