“Dancing With the Stars” is changing the mood of the ballroom for Week 2. After opening Season 35 with nostalgic No. 1 songs from the celebrities’ birth years, the 14 remaining couples will now take on Viral Hits Night, featuring songs and moments that have exploded across the internet.
The new episode airs Tuesday, September 22, with Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough returning as co-hosts. Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli will once again judge the performances as the competition for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy continues.
Week 2 comes after a dramatic two-night premiere that began with 16 celebrity contestants. Conner Leavitt and Adele Zaikman were eliminated on the first night, while Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills became the second couple sent home.
That leaves 14 partnerships competing on Viral Hits Night, and the song choices range from recent social-media favorites to older tracks that have found new audiences online. The couples will perform everything from tangos and foxtrots to salsas, cha-chas and a Viennese waltz.
Harry Shum Jr. and Jenna Johnson will follow their strong premiere with a Viennese waltz to the Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris.” After earning 21 points for their opening cha-cha, they enter Week 2 with considerable attention surrounding what they can deliver next.
Maura Higgins and Mark Ballas also scored 21 during their first performance. For Viral Hits Night, they will completely change direction with a cha-cha to Earth, Wind & Fire’s “September,” giving Higgins another opportunity to show that her impressive debut was not a one-night surprise.
Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy will perform a jive to KATSEYE’s “Animal,” while Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa have been assigned a tango to Teddy Swims’ “The Door.” Both actresses delivered strong opening performances, making their Week 2 routines especially interesting to watch.
Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach will bring a cha-cha to Flo Rida’s “Low,” while Amber Glenn and Pasha Pashkov will perform a tango to “All the Things She Said.” Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart, meanwhile, will dance a cha-cha to DNCE’s “Cake by the Ocean.”
Several other contestants face major changes in style. Tyler Cameron and Sharna Burgess will perform a salsa to The Kid LAROI’s “Girls,” while Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik will slow things down with a foxtrot to Billie Eilish’s emotional “What Was I Made For?”
Ciara Miller and Brandon Armstrong will tackle a tango to “No Broke Boys,” and Jackson Olson and Emma Slater will perform a foxtrot to Gracie Abrams’ “That’s So True.” Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten are also preparing a salsa for their second appearance in the ballroom.
Guillermo Rodriguez and Witney Carson may have one of the biggest challenges after finishing at the bottom of the judges’ leaderboard during the premiere. They will return with a paso doble to Rihanna’s “Where Have You Been,” giving Guillermo an opportunity to show improvement after his 10-point opening performance. Connor Wood and Rylee Arnold will also take on a tango, dancing to sombr’s “12 to 12.”
The stakes will rise because viewer votes will once again be combined with the judges’ scores to determine who remains in the competition. With the safety of premiere week gone and every couple now performing on the same night, one breakout routine—or one difficult performance—could dramatically change the leaderboard.
Viral Hits Night therefore promises to test the remaining celebrities in a completely different way. From Harry and Maura trying to build on their strong starts to Guillermo and Tatyana looking for major improvement, Week 2 could begin separating the early contenders from the couples fighting simply to survive another elimination.
