Season 26 of Dancing with the Stars is going to fly by quickly since it’s only four weeks long. There is no grace period for the contestants in such a short season so every mistake counts, and these pairs can’t waste time when it comes to hyping up their fan bases or getting in their practice hours. Two pairs were eliminated during the premiere, and it is expected that two more will be sent home during the Week 2 DWTS episode airing on Monday, May 7. Who seems most likely to end up in jeopardy?
PureDWTS crunches the numbers every week, but they acknowledge that the structure of Season 26 throws things out of whack to an extent. The Week 2 Dancing with the Stars eliminations will be based on the overnight votes cast after the premiere and the judges’ scores doled out Monday night. That can make it hard to predict who is likely to be in jeopardy, especially when there’s a team dance in the mix already, too. However, there are some patterns that emerge based on those initial dances.
As soon as the Season 26 pairs were announced, many speculated that Olympic skaters Mirai Nagasu and Adam Rippon were likely to be mirror-ball trophy contenders. The bar is certainly set high for Mirai and Adam, but Washington Redskins NFL star Josh Norman has been considered by many to be a strong contender, too. Based on their initial dance, Josh and partner Sharna Burgess will likely be safe this week, too.
Some thought that contestants like Tonya Harding and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would be in trouble right away this spring on DWTS , but neither was eliminated during the premiere. Kareem’s low score with partner Lindsay Arnold could foreshadow a Week 2 elimination, but his strong fan base may pull him through with their votes . Tonya’s first performance with partner Sasha Farber was fairly strong, and some think that she may prove to be something of a spoiler during Dancing with the Stars: Athletes by outperforming early expectations.
While nothing is certain until the individual and team dances are done Monday night, it seems likely that Arike Ogunbowale and Gleb Savchenko are facing an uphill battle to stay safe. They are at a disadvantage given the restrictions Arike faces in promoting DWTS and despite her amazing NCAA tournament finish, she isn’t as well-known as some of the other contestants.
It looks likely that Jennie Finch Daigle and Keo Motsepe are going to have to fight hard to stay out of jeopardy, too. Jennie and Chris Mazdzer received matching scores in the premiere, but PureDWTS felt that Mazdzer’s fun, charming personality helped him stand out in comparison to Jennie’s lower-key personality.
DWTS fans will have to wait until Monday’s Week 2 performances to see who snags the top scores from the judges and who falls to the bottom of the leaderboard. However, it seems very likely that Jennie Finch Daigle and Keo Motsepe are going to be in some trouble when it comes to the next eliminations. Arike Ogunbowale and Gleb Savchenko likely face similar difficulties, but another low score could spell serious trouble for Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Will the next Dancing with the Stars eliminations contain any shockers? Things are not always predictable with this show and everybody will be anxious to tune in and see how Season 26 plays out.