Dancing with the Stars – Season 20 Odds (Episode 1)

Dancing With the Stars kicked off its new season last night with plenty of bootie-shaking surprises. This marks the popular reality show’s 20th season (and 10th anniversary).

A couple weeks ago, we took a look at the early odds for each celebrity contestant and their current professional partner. We didn’t have a lot to go on then, except past trends (e.g. professional athletes are good at dancing) and conventional wisdom (e.g. the Hough’s relatives are also probably good at dancing).

But after just one episode, a few surprises jumped out, some of which were notable for the wrong reasons.

Here are the updated odds on each dance team:

Dancing with the Stars Season 20 Odds (after Episode 1):

Nastia Liukin (with Derek Hough): 5/2

• If we’ve learned anything over the past decade, first week scores don’t necessarily indicate mirrorball winning couples. That said, Olympic artistic gymnast Nastia Liukin and professional Derek Hough remain favorites with last night’s foxtrot score of 30.

Rumer Willis (with Valentin Chmerkovskiy): 13/2

• Originally listed at 30/1 before the competition started, Willis proved her dance-floor bona fides foxtrotting to Hozier’s “Take Me to Church.” The oldest daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore will be a force to be reckoned with this season.

Robert Herjavec (with Kym Johnson): 9/1

• It turns out Shark Tank panelist Robert Herjavec is attacking his “Dancing With the Stars” appearance with the same verve and passion he exhibits in business. The match-up with the all-business Kym Johnson was impressive on the couple’s cha-cha-cha. Consider us Herjavec believers!

Willow Shields (with Mark Ballas): 11/1

• Even though 14-year-old Willow Shields and partner Mark Ballas didn’t score well, the “Hunger Games” actress showed promise, and as the youngest contestant ever to appear on the show, she’ll likely be one of the fastest learners DwtS has ever seen.

Riker Lynch (with Allison Holker): 14/1

• Yes, R5 singer Riker Lynch surprised many with his jive dance of “What I Like About You,” but partner Allison Holker obviously has her hands full with the raw dancer, who isn’t as preternaturally gifted as his cousins Derek and Julianne Hough.

Michael Sam (with Peta Murgatroyd): 15/1

• Perhaps the axiom that athletes perform well on DwtS needs to be revised: athletes who are retired or have job security perform well on DwtS. It was obvious that Michael Sam is spending too much time training for football – a sport in which he is currently unemployed – and not enough focusing on the cha-cha-cha.

Chris Soules (with Whitney Carson): 16/1

• Soules was the last celebrity to be announced and didn’t factor into our pre-show odds. Similar to Willard from Footloose, Soules (of The Bachelor fame) danced to the movie’s title track with Whitney Carson. The jive dance came off as hackneyed, but he’s got a great partner in Carson and could rebound in the coming weeks.

Charlotte McKinney (with Keo Motsepe): 17/1

• Model-actress Charlotte McKinney doesn’t appear to have the same passion for dancing that she does for hamburgers. Nor is there enough duct tape in the world for her to win the mirrorball trophy. The couple’s jive was clunky and they’re tied for last place. Motsepe could once again be in store for an early exit.

RedFoo (with Emma Slater): 18/1

• Looking like a young(er) Adam Duritz, LMFAO’s RedFoo didn’t pull off the cha-cha-cha with a low score of 22 (tied for last with McKinney); however, Slater may still be able to salvage the couple’s run.

Suzanne Somers (with Tony Dovolani): 20/1

• It turns out the ThighMaster doesn’t help with dancing. Either that or Suzanne Somers has been slacking on her workouts! She and partner Tony Dovolani’s “Physical” display should have been titled “Abysmal”.

Patti LaBelle (with Artem Chigvintsev): 22/1

• If there’s a fan favorite going into the show, Patti LaBelle may be it. But at 70, her stamina will be an issue. (Unless she stole Suzanne Somers’ ThighMaster! It’s all starting to add up!)

Noah Galloway (with Sharna Burgess): 24/1

• Heartstrings aside, Noah Galloway is not going to win. He turned in a valiant and heroic performance with the cha-cha-cha but his inevitable elimination is all but guaranteed. At the end of the day, his warrior’s heart is accompanied by a warrior’s grace.

Check back next week when we reassess after Episode 2!

(Photo credit: Ailura (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 at (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/at/deed.en)], via Wikimedia Commons. Photo has been cropped.)