Dancing with the Stars came back for its 34th season last week. As usual, the cast is made up of a random mix of C-list actors, reality TV stars, athletes, and influencers, with the occasional musician thrown in. This season’s cast members include Dylan Efron, Hilaria Baldwin, Danielle Fishel, Jordan Chiles, and Andy Richter. There’s also a woman on there named Jen Affleck and I did a triple take before I realized she was a reality TV/MomTok star and not one of Ben’s ex-wives.
While there are no bedazzled ankle monitors this year, a clear favorite has emerged. We’re only two weeks in but Robert Irwin, son of Steve (RIP), has been winning over the judges’ and fans’ hearts. For their premiere dance, Robert and his partner, Whitney Carson, performed an incredible jungle-themed jive to Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild.” They continued to dazzle on week two with a tango set to “Move Your Feet” by Junior Senior.
After last week’s Dancing with the Stars premiere, it was pretty dang unanimous among viewers that Robert Irwin is Season 34’s MVP. His first number — a dazzling jive — earned BIG praise from judge Derek Hough, who said that Irwin had just delivered “the best first dance” in the show’s history.
And in the second episode for “One-anthem Wonders” night, Robert pump, pumped it up with an another electrifying turn on the dance floor, this time with a tango to “Move Your Feet.” The dance earworm — by one-anthem wonder Danish pop duo Junior Senior — came out in 2002, before Irwin was even born.
Robert not only brought the technicality to his tango, but he also treated the audience to some playful showmanship, breaking into a pop-and-lock inspired dance break. He and his pro partner Witney Carson are two for two today with unforgettable performances this season and have quickly become the frontrunners to take the entire thing.
Bruno gushed that Irwin is absolutely “in leading man mode.” The crowd was on their feet in a resounding ovation, which isn’t easy to get so early in a season.
Carrie Ann Inaba, who was back at the judge’s table after being ill for last week’s premiere, praised his masterfully-executed tango and his charisma, which is the ballroom superpower you just can’t teach.
Hough’s feedback was a one word mic-drop: “Crikey!”
The DWTS internet judges at home also had some big praise for Irwin from their couches, declaring him the king of the dance floor, 10 out of 10 with no notes.
While I thought their tango was great, Robert and Whitney’s jive was just so, so good! It was fun and really showed off how talented Robert is. I’m rooting for him, too. Part of it is emotional, but another large part is purely being impressed by his skills. I like how Dancing with the Stars is shows off its contestants’ personalities, even if they’re not the best dancers. For example, Andy Richter’s cha cha dance wasn’t great, but you could tell that he was having fun, which sometimes makes the difference. It’s the same with Dylan Efron. That man is clearly having a great time gyrating.
As for the rest, Hilaria Baldwin’s performances have been mid, but nothing special. Jordan Chiles is going to be some stiff competition for Robert, though! She’s quite excellent, and her Chaînés Turns during week two were impressive. Whitney Leavitt, who is also a Secret Lives of Mormon Wives cast member was also pretty good. Anyway, to bring it back to America’s new favorite Australian, here’s a link to a feel-good clip of a 13-year-old Robert Irwin playing with snakes and black bears on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon in 2012. He truly is his father’s son.
https://www.youtube.com/movie?v=Q2NHturyCVM
https://www.youtube.com/movie?v=1lFYf9L5PyE
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