This past Monday, the much-anticipated two-hour premiere of
Dancing With The Stars Season 8 aired in its full stage makeup and sequined glory, and boy was it an eyeful! The earliest stages of every season are always hectic, as host and judge commentary are cut short and dancers are practically shoved onstage to ensure enough time for all 13 unseasoned pairs to perform; meanwhile backstage commentator
Samantha Harris appears progressively more awkward throughout the night as she clumsily searches her brain for more original questions for each panting contestant awaiting their scores. However, Season 8's premiere was considerably even
more frenetic than usual, as contestants
Holly Madison and
Melissa Rycroft were announced as the last-minute replacements for injured drop-outs
Jewel and
Nancy O'Dell, and were pressured to perform with less than a week of preparation behind them. While audiences love to see certain stars shine, like graceful
Shawn Johnson, studly but little-known "Sex And The City" star
Gilles Marini, and the unexpectedly poised
Lil' Kim, viewers also take pleasure in seeing others clunk around the floor Cloris Leachman style, like Apple whiz
Steve Wozniak and
Belinda Carlisle did this time around. Our favorite pro dancers faithfully lived up to expectations --
Edyta looking enviably toned as ever in her usual barely-there costumes and
Maksim, in true "bad boy" form, already making his partner cry within the first couple weeks of practice (I think that might be a record, even for him). And then there were the costumes. Oh, the costumes -- you just never know what the stars will be sashaying across the dance floor in next, or just how far they'll take the Cha-Cha as an excuse to wear the most ridiculous or risque outfits on national television. I'll admit -- if I had a body like
Kym Johnson's, there are plenty of onstage outfits I wish I had an excuse to wear just so I could strut down the street in an obscene display of self-confidence, but others were straight-up too "snazzy" for their own good. Vote below for which premiere outfit you think made the gaudiest first impression!
