Dancing with the Stars Show Review, March 9, 2009

Dancing with the Stars Season Eight premiered last night, and boy, was it a hit. There were several standout performances, two injured contestants who had to be replaced at the last moment, a country music couple-pretty much anything you could imagine.

Jewel and Nancy O'Dell were injured, and their replacements both did a great job at stepping in last minute to perform with a minimal amount of practice. Holly Madison and Melissa Rycroft were named the replacements. Melissa had a standout performance with Tony, scoring a 23/30-not too shabby considering the time she missed. Meanwhile, Holly did not have as strong of a performance, but she did exhibit some base skills that should allow her to stick around the show for a few weeks.

Here are the performances from Monday night's show that stood out to me.

Shawn Johnson and Mark

Shawn Johnson, the youngest competitor ever on Dancing with the Stars, did a stellar job at getting her performance off on the right foot. A gymnastics Olympian herself, she is going to be a real threat to many participants in this competition. If Shawn wasn't already popular enough across the United States, she is sure to build her already-bustling fan base with her appearance on the show. Shawn and Mark recorded a 23/30, one of the highest scores of the night.

Lil' Kim and Derek

The first performance of the night, Lil' Kim did a great job at getting the show off on the right foot. With Derek, Lil' Kim was able to post a first score of 21/30-an impressive opening score. Bruno kept on commenting on Lil' Kim's "tooshie," which undoubtedly made many viewers across the country feel uncomfortable, but this pairing has great upside.

Chuck Wicks and Julianne

Well, well, well-where to start with this group? Chuck and Julianne recorded a 20/30, but that score seemed a bit inflated in comparison with other pairings around them. The couple is the first couple to hit the dance floor on Dancing with the Stars, and it seemed that their pre-dance show focused more on their disagreements than their agreements. That being said-if they can continue to work together and improvise on their dancing styles, they should also be on this show for many weeks to come.

Source: http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars/index?pn=index