Kyle Massey Stands Out and Surprises on 'Dancing with the Stars' Season 11 Premiere

Jennifer Grey may have scored highest, but Disney Channel's Kyle Massey stood out among the celebrity contestants in the Dancing With the Stars Season 11 premiere. Dancing the Cha Cha with partner Lacey Schwimmer to 3OH!3's "First Kiss," Massey showed plenty of dance talent, personality, and fearlessness on the dance floor.

Even the ever-persnickety judge Len Goodman smiled and confessed, "I liked it," though he chided the couple for the use of props in at the beginning of the dance. "That was entertainment," gushed Bruno Tonioli, "that was showmanship." And Carrie Ann Inaba declared Massey "officially my first crush of Season 11."

Of all the season 11 contestants, Kyle Massey has the least amount of exposure, perhaps because he is also the youngest competitor. If you don't have children who watch the Disney Channel, or if you're not a preteen yourself, chances are you've never heard of Kyle Massey, but for having just turned 19 in August, he already boasts a notable career in commercials and television. He stars as Corey Baxter on the Disney Channel's Cory in the House, a spin-off of his first role in Disney's That's So Raven.

For this season's Dancing With the Stars, Massey has come out of the gate running, but he faces challenging competition. Other standouts in the Season 11 premiere were Jennifer Grey's emotional Viennese Waltz to "These Arms of Mine," Brandy's romantic Viennese Waltz that Carrie Ann said had "beautiful lines," and NBA champion Rick Fox's elegant Viennese Waltz, in which Len thought he "danced with great elegance, with a smoothness" despite his towering height over partner Cheryl Burke.

On the low end of last night's scores were Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino who only had five days to practice his Cha Cha, David "The Hoff" Hasselhoff, whose Cha Cha prompted Len to hilariously assure him it was "never to early to panic," and comedian Margaret "Fierce Face" Cho, who mistakenly implemented confusing comedy bits into a routine that started out well.

Tonight's elimination sends the first competitor home. Kyle Massey may not have the widest fan base of this season's contestants, but his first performance will hopefully keep him in the competition until he inevitably acquires one.

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