Dancing With the Stars was plunged into chaos on Tuesday night when the online voting system crashed, causing hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro to scramble for a solution on-air.
The show kicked off its season premiere with an opening number performed by the pro dancers, followed by Jackson Olson's dance and Tyler Cameron's turn on the floor.
© Disney via Getty ImagesAfter Tyler left the stage with his dance partner, Sharna Burgess, Julianne informed the audience that ABC's voting site had crashed, and urged fans to vote via text.
"A quick update for everyone who is voting at home," she shared. "This is coming through live right now: Voting on ABC is currently down live…make sure that you guys are texting for everyone. We will keep you posted as the night goes on."
© Disney via Getty ImagesWhen fans attempted to vote online, they were met with a message that read: "Error 503 Too Many Variants". Later in the night, Alfonso updated the audience on the system crash, sharing that online votes would no longer count on the night.
"For tonight, and tonight only, we are throwing out online votes," he explained. "Did we break it with the voting? This is kind of rad!" Julianne chimed in as her co-host added: "We're breaking stuff around here."
Inside season 35
The newest season of DWTS boasts an all-star cast, including figure skater Amber Glenn, reality TV star Ciara Miller, comedian Connor Wood, Paralympian Ezra French, chef Giada De Laurentiis, actor Harry Shum Jr., baseball player Jackson Olson, dancer Jenna Dewan, actress Julia Stiles, TV personality Maura Higgins, and musician Taylor Hanson, as well as several others.
Julianne opened up about her predictions for the season and shared that there were some "dark horses" in the mix in 2026.
© Julianne Hough"I'm Switzerland, because I'm one of the hosts of the show, and I want them to be able to come to me and feel very safe," the 38-year-old told Us Weekly. "But I will say that I think there are some dark horses."
"I think that everybody's going to have their own special, unique quality," she continued. "And as we know, the show is not just about the dancing. It is about the vulnerability. It's about connection. It's about opening yourself up so that everybody can be a part of your journey."
The legacy of DWTS
© Getty ImagesShe then spoke on the impact of the show and how it has changed people's minds about professional dancing.
"I think over the last 20 years, Dancing With the Stars has genuinely educated the general population on what good dancing is, and we want to see good dancing," Julianne explained. "You know, last year, there was amazing dancing, so we should have amazing dancing again."
© Disney via Getty ImagesDWTS is switching it up for season 35, with the male stars competing on Tuesday night and the female stars performing on Wednesday night.
The first to be eliminated was Connor Leavitt, the husband of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt, who competed on DWTS in season 34 and placed sixth with her partner, Mark Ballas.
