‘Dancing with the Stars’ 20, week 2 rankings: Rumer Willis, Nastia Liukin, Riker Lynch current leaders
After one week of “Dancing with the Stars,” we’ve got a pretty interesting field. There were a few people who genuinely surprised us through the opening week of the show, just as there were also some others who were not as great as we expected them to be. It’s too early to say whether or not this will be a great season, but we at least have a nice group of at least seven or eight celebrities we could see making it as far as a final five. This show is always better when there is at least a little bit of parity.
One thing that we should make very clear right now is this: Just because you ranked high in the judges’ scoreboard doesn’t mean that you rank high on our own leaderboard. We also consider perceived popularity, potential, and your celebrity partner.
12. Charlotte McKinney and Keo Motsepe – We hope they’re not eliminated, since it would stink to see Keo out first again. Unfortunately, she not only tied for the lowest score week one, but she also is one of the least-known people on the season.
11. Redfoo and Emma Slater – He’s well-known enough to at least survive right now, even though he possesses seemingly little dance ability aside from his new “juicy wiggle” thing that he’s got going on at the moment.
10. Patti LaBelle and Artem Chigvintsev – Despite the effusive praise from the judges, there was nothing in here that screamed “I will be a great dancer.” She’ll be very likable, but probably struggle with a few of the steps.
9. Michael Sam & Peta Murgatroyd – He’s not a complete disaster on the dance floor, but we don’t think he’ll have a huge NFL voting block out there, and aside from that, there wasn’t enough spark in his first routine.
8. Suzanne Somers and Tony Dovolani – Suzanne could last longer than many of us think. She’s a reasonably good dancer, and more than that, she seems completely game to have a little bit of fun at her own expense. That is super-important this season.
7. Chris Soules and Witney Carson – Chris was far better than we thought he would be going into the premiere. However, that does not make him a sudden dance revelation destined to take home a few trophies.
6. Robert Herjavec and Kym Johnson – We would have dropped our jaw had you said that Robert would have the fourth-best score in the first week. We love his personality and we also love “Shark Tank”; the problem is that a guy as wealthy as him doesn’t have as great a narrative as some of the people above him here.
5. Willow Shields and Mark Ballas – Willow may get slightly lower numbers for this past week due to starting out the show, but even if she finishes near the bottom, we don’t see her going home for a while.
4. Noah Galloway and Sharna Burgess – There’s no way he leaves in the next two weeks off of that emotional opening routine. We’re still not sure if he is going to be a great dancer, but that inspirational story is a powerful one.
3. Riker Lynch and Allison Holker – His scores will help to make up for a smaller traditional fan size in the early going. We know he has a ton of Twitter followers, but he’ll need to pick up some new fans along the way to have a chance at winning.
2. Nastia Liukin and Derek Hough – While she wasn’t the best in premiere week, we still feel like it’s pretty likely Nastia is going to be hoisting the Mirrorball Trophy at the end of this. The only thing that could hold her back is that both she and Derek have a lot going on.
1. Rumer Willis and Val Chmerkovskiy – We worry about her following, but at the same time this was so much better than most of the other dancers that it’s hard to really even draw that big of a comparison one way or the other. As of right now, she has a pretty clear edge.
Who is your favorite of the dancers right now? Share some of your quick thoughts with a comment, and head over here to see some of the present song choices and dance styles! Also, sign up to get some other TV scoop worth dancing over via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)