Dancing with the Stars: Season 11, Week 1, Votes Off the Hoff

Week 1 of Season 11 of Dancing with the Stars started off with a bang that was full of surprises and a few expected results. Monday, September 20 was the ABC two-hour season premiere and Tuesday, September 21 was the results show.

After each week's shows, I will provide a list of the judges scoring, followed by who was voted off and ending it with my own scoring and commentary. I am not a professional dance critic, so I am basing my opinion on what I think is entertaining to me and if I make any technical mistakes, remember that I don't really care because what's entertaining to me might not be entertaining to you.

Judges Scoring

Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovolani Total - 19: Carrie Ann - 6, Len - 7, Bruno - 6
Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya Total - 19: Carrie Ann - 7, Len - 5, Bruno - 7
Kyle Massey and Lacy Schwimmer Total - 23: Carrie Ann - 8, Len - 7, Bruno - 8
Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke Total - 22: Carrie Ann - 8, Len - 7, Bruno - 7
Margaret Cho and Louis Van Amstel Total - 15: Carrie Ann - 5, Len - 5, Bruno - 5
Brandy and Maksim Chmerkovskiy Total - 23: Carrie Ann - 7, Len - 8, Bruno - 8
Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas Total - 18: Carrie Ann - 6, Len - 6, Bruno - 6
Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas Total - 18: Carrie Ann - 6, Len - 6, Bruno - 6
Michael Bolton and Chelsie Hightower Total - 16: Carrie Ann - 6, Len - 5, Bruno - 5
Mike The Situation Sorrentino and Karina Smirnoff Total - 15: Carrie Ann - 5, Len - 5, Bruno - 5
Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough Total - 24: Carrie Ann - 8, Len - 8, Bruno - 8
David Hasselhoff and Kym Johnson Total - 15: Carrie Ann - 5, Len - 5, Bruno - 5

Voted Off

David Hasselhoff and Kym Johnson

It was no surprise that the Hoff was voted off first.

The results show also featured musical guests Santana, Daughtry and India.Arie.

My Scoring & Commentary

Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovolani

Cha Cha Cha. Patridge did great and the upbeat song really complemented their dance. She was sexy, fun and had good moves. Dovolani brought out the best in her performance. I really want to see more her. I thought the judges were too tough on her. My vote 8/10.

Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya

Viennese waltz. I think Warner did a good performance but not great. He seemed pretty smooth but slightly stiff which prevented him from being completely graceful, so I agree with Len. Trebunskaya carry the performance but Warner did well for a football player and not a dancer. I thought it was enough to take him to the next round. My vote 6/10.

Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer

Cha Cha Cha. I think that Massey was spectacular. He was fun, funny, entertaining and really kept up well with Schwimmer. When I first heard that he would be on Dancing with the Stars, I really had no expectations for him and I just wrote him off. After this performance, I am rooting for him. I agree with the judges and the fans in the audience. My vote 8/10.

Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke

Viennese waltz. I think that Fox put out a great performance. He was smooth and his dance moves flow well with a grace that was missing from Warner's performance. Burke complimented his performance well, considering the height difference. My vote 8/10.

Margaret Cho and Louis Van Amstel

Viennese Waltz. I had no idea what to expect with Cho but I didn't expect this. She started out dancing well for the first 20-30 seconds then it got weird and Cho decided to add comedy into her act when she whipped out these wing things and twirled about, getting tangled a few times and ending the performance with a bit of clumsiness. I disagree with the judges somewhat because Cho did the weirdness purposely. She can dance seriously if you wanted to -- I'm not sure why Amstel agreed to do the comedy bit because it hurt her performance in the eyes of the judges but it's up to the fans to carry her. My vote 7/10.

Brandy and Maks Chmerkovskiy

Viennese waltz. I expected Brandy to put out a good performance and she put out a great one. She looked like a professional dancer but I am not a professional dance critic. I just felt like it was some sort of scene from a fairytale, like Cinderella. The judges then she stepped a bit too hard at times but I didn't really see it. I expect her to make it to the finals, especially with Chmerkovskiy training her. My vote 9/10.

Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas

Cha Cha Cha. Bristol Palin is the reason I am watching Dancing with the Stars because I wanted her to lose badly. Boy was I surprised! I expected a boring performance but Palin did spectacular -- she hit all her steps with a smooth flow. The highlight for me was Palin's sexy legs, woohoo! I know that her mother, Sarah Palin, with her political influence and followers will play a major part in Bristol Palin's moving on the next few rounds but, as good as she was here for never dancing before, I don't think she has enough talent to make it to the finals. I think she will make it another 2 rounds before being voted off, unless the Tea Party's poster child contestant's followers really kick it up a notch with the voting. I could see Sarah Palin's influence with the secretary-like dress Bristol started her performance with before stripping it off to reveal a sexy red dress that showed a ton of sexy leg. Ballas taught her well so far. My vote 7/10.

Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas

Cha Cha Cha. I've heard conflicting things about Henderson -- from her being a ballroom dancer to having a little dance experience, so I really wasn't sure what to expect. She's 76 but doesn't look it and is kind of cute from a distance -- the cute song probably influenced this as well as her bright eyes which is probably due to her makeup and maybe some kind of drugs, like caffeine. She danced well for 76 but was a bit stiff at times and it showed in her good but lackluster performance. She will probably get the Brady Bunch vote for another round or 2 but I can't see her getting much further, even with the expert training from Ballas. My vote 6/10.

Michael Bolton and Chelsie Hightower

Viennese waltz. I thought Bolton would've put in a bad performance but he did pretty well with a lot of potential. He had the steps down but seemed a bit stiff which caused Hightower to lead quite a bit. I don't think he was as awkward as others are saying but I can see some people thinking that. I see him making it another 2 rounds before getting voted off. My vote 7/10.

The Situation and Karina Smirnoff

Cha Cha Cha. I have never seen Jersey Shore, so I can't be biased but I have heard stories about Mike The Situation Sorrentino being rude and cocky. However, after seeing his personality in his interviews on this show, he seems like a nice with a ton of confidence in himself. He combined some kind of 70s/80s disco with his dance which really lost points with the judges -- I think it just added a layer of his own personality. Overall, I thought his performance really showed charisma and fun that entertain me and that is what I care about. He probably won't make it to the finals but his fan base will probably keep him going several rounds, especially if Smirnoff can tame down his personality. My vote 8/10.

Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough

Viennese waltz. The Dirty Dancing star Grey definitely played the emotion card with several references to her now deceased costar, Patrick Swayze and their choice of the song selection accompanying dance, "These Arms of Mine," from the movie. But, regardless of her past movie popularity, she did a terrific performance -- just as good, if not better than Brandy's performance. She is a natural dancer that really does show her emotion with her graceful dance steps. Really, I thought she was better than her trainer, Hough, whose body shape I find a bit strange. I think the finals will be Grey versus Brandy. My vote 9/10.

David Hasselhoff and Kym Johnson

Cha Cha Cha. Everyone expected Hasselhoff to be awful and he really was. He moved like he had arthritis in his whole body or maybe like he just took a laxative. Basically, he shook around a little bit thinking that he was sexy while Johnson did almost all of the dancing herself. He is just getting too old to think he is sexy except for maybe residents in a nursing home. The judges summed up my opinion of Hasselhoff's performance: Len "it's never too early to panic" and Bruno "potpourri of insanity." I knew he would be the first to be voted off -- vote off the Hoff was my opinion after this performance. The only way they could have made it further might be in Germany but definitely not America! My vote 4/10.

Be sure to watch the next episode of Dancing with the Stars on Monday, September 27th on ABC at 8 PM Eastern for 2 hours and then the next episode on Tuesday, September 21 at 9 PM Eastern. Who do you think will be voted off next? I'm going to go with Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya, at least until next week's performances.