“Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars” Premiere Recap: Everyone Seemed to Get Their Groove Back

They're finally back! Read on to see how the first episode went down.

The first-ever Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars cast brought the heat.

Viewers reunited with the air-brushed tans, sequins, fringe and familiar faces tonight as the premiere kicked off with what is sure to be one of the most competitive seasons ever!

However, there were a few changes. The judges were now able to give half points and the dancers had three weeks to prepare for tonight as opposed to two days. So was it beyond incredible?

No more Maksim Chmerkovskiy?!

Let's get straight to what happened...

Joey Fatone and Kym Johnson: "What was good has gotta be great, and what was great, has to be exceptional," judge Len Goodman, who loved watching their cha-cha, was so kind to remind us. The show openers left with a total of 20.5.

Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough: This former winner may have retired from gymnastics, but her competitive spirit lives on now through dance. With spectacular foxtrot technique, Shawn and Derek showed us "what All-Star season is all about," as Carrie Ann Inaba put it, and tallied a score of 22.

Ouch! Gilles already has a DWTS injury!

Sabrina Bryan and Louis Van Amstel: This fan-favorite felt the pressure to perform a perfect cha-cha tonight, and boy did she! "You came with a fire under your boot-ay," Inaba commented, but added that sometimes Sabrina can "overdance." This duo got 22.5.

Hlio Castroneves and Chelsie Hightower: It may have been a while since this guy took on the dance floor, but not much as changed. Goodman said their foxtrot was a "joy to watch," and the pair scored a 21.5.

Pamela Anderson and Tristan Macmanus: Put together a former Baywatch babe and a guy with an accent like that and you get a pretty hot combo, but unfortunately, their cha-cha fell flat. "There wasn't enough work there for me to praise you," Bruno Tonioli told them. They ultimately got a 17.

Kym Johnson lays down the ground rules for Joey Fatone

Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani: Right away, we remembered why Melissa made it to the finals--nothing has changed! "Your lines are gorgeous, your extensions are fabulous," Carrie said, and Bruno added, "You actually got stronger, sassier and sexier!" Their foxtrot earned them a 21.

Apolo Anton Ohno and Karina Smirnoff: "Is it just me or did you just get 3,000 times more sexy?" a blushing Inaba asked. All that cha-cha hip action pleased (at least one of) the judges, and the Olympian walked away with a 22.

Gilles Marini and Peta Murgatroyd: Inaba called their foxtrot, "poetic and gorgeous," and referenced last night's Emmy Awards when she said, "Jon Hamm didn't win last night because Gilles Marini had to come out and win it tonight." That's a possibility with a score like 24.

Carrie Ann Inaba says she's still still friends with ex-fianc

Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas: It's no shocker that Palin gets a little reserved, so to do the cha-cha, Mark told her to, "shake that ass, let it go nuts." And she did! Inaba said Bristol was the most improved and Len noted her newfound confidence. Ultimately, this pair walked away with a 19.5.

Drew Lachey and Anna Trebunskaya: Can Drew hang with the new and much more intense DWTS?! He's hoping to prove throughout season 15 that he can, and tonight's foxtrot was a good start. Although Len mentioned he was a bit rigid, Bruno added that "it looked like you guys danced with each other forever." The pair got a 21.5.

Kelly Monaco and Valentin Chmerkovskiy: First off, there's definitely some sexual tension here. Second of all, Kelly is so great! After winning season one, Monaco came back and showed she's still got it with the cha-cha. "You two have insane chemistry, it's ridiculous," Carrie told the twosome, who scored a 21.5.

Apolo talks Ryan Lochte and Bristol Palin

Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy: How sweet to see these two back together again. Kirstie's fierce personality took over right away, but her foxtrot needed "refining," according to Len. Regardless, Alley left the dance floor after planting a big smooch on host Tom Bergeron's lips. "That's for your Emmy," she yelled. Not sure how the kiss stacked up, but their dance got them a 19.

Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke: Behold, the leading score of the night! After performing "the last dance of the evening and the best," according to Len, Emmitt and Cheryl's cha-cha snagged a 24.5.

What did you think of tonight's premiere?! Sound off in the comments!

Look at how flashy all of Dancing With the Stars' Season 15: All-Stars look!

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