Say hello to season 25 of Dancing With The Stars!
On Monday night’s premiere of the dance competition series, couples Lindsey Stirling and Mark Ballas and Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold were clear standouts while Frankie Muniz‘s story about his broken back captured the audience’s heart.
Let’s start there.
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The Malcom in the Middle star revealed he suffered a major injury during his time as a professional race car driver.
He told his partner Whitney Carson during the episode:
“I had a crash and broke my back and injured my hands and ribs.”
The 31-year-old later opened up to People about how the accident affects his DWTS rehearsals:
“I think we talk about my injuries every day because I have a creaky, old body. I’m 31 but feel like I have the creaky, old body of a 71-year-old. But I’m doing whatever it takes to take care of my body so I can continue dancing. I’ve raced Indy cars, I’ve played every sport, I consider myself a pretty athletic person, but I’m so sore. I’m so dead. I’m in the sauna, I’m icing. Everything that I’m doing every minute of the day is to make me a better dancer in this competition and make it to the end.”
Carson commented on Frankie’s perseverance:
“This guy is amazing. He’s so hard working and wants to do the best that he can. We’re having a blast.”
The pair finished with a pretty solid score of 19 on Monday after performing a foxtrot that the judges loved.
Ch-ch-check out other highlights from the premiere episode (below)!
— Lindsey Stirling and Mark Ballas delivered a “crisp” and “clean” cha cha that was declared the best of the night. They earned a score of 22.
— Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold rocked the socks off a tango that also got them a score of 22, tying for first place.
— Vanessa Lachey and Maksim Chmerkovskiy weren’t far behind after an impressive cha cha that left them with a score of 21.
— Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev literally had a body-slamming tango. They got a 20.
— The rest of the lineup:
Victoria Arlen and Val Chmerkovskiy: 19/30
Derek Fisher and Sharna Burgess: 18/30
Nick Lachey and Peta Murgatroyd: 18/30
Sasha Pieterse and Gleb Savchenko: 18/30
Debbie Gibson and Alan Bernstein: 17/30
Drew Scott and Emma Slater: 16/30
Terrell Owens and Cheryl Burke: 15/30
Barbara Corcoran and Keo Meostepe: 14/30
Who was UR favorite of the night?? SOUND OFF in the comments (below)!