Scherzinger Shines in Season Premiere of 'Dancing With the Stars'

'Dancing with the Stars' kicked off its 10th season last night on ABC with 11 stars hoping to make a big impression from the get go.  While tabloid queen Kate Gosselin vowed to prove to her children that she could dance, Kate and partner Tony Dovolani fell short of perfect with a score of only 16 from the judges.

Technical standout of the evening was Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger an her partner Derek Hough, who shined with a graceful Viennese Waltz.  Taking home the highest score of the night, 25 out of 30, the pair proved that they are the couple to beat this season.

Other noteable performances included Pamela Andersons's sexy interpretation of "Gimme All Your Lovin", which left judges nearly speechless. Men's figureskater Evan Lysacek and partner Anna Trebunskaya recieved 23 points for teir Viennese Waltz which was surpassed only by Nicole and Derek.  Astronaut Buzz Aldrin and soap star Aiden Turner struggled last night, each receiving 14 and 15 points respectively.

 All 11 teams showcase their fancy footwork on Mondays, at 8:00-10:00 PM with no eliminations in first week of the competition. In week two, all of the couples will return and try to outshine each other once again in a two-hour show, Monday, March 29 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET). The couple with the lowest combined judges' scores and public votes for both performances will be sent home on Tuesday, March 30 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) in the season premiere of "Dancing with the Stars the Results Show."

Viewers may cast their votes for their favorite teams via phone on Monday night during and up to 30 minutes after the "Dancing with the Stars" performance shows. AT&T customers may also text message their votes by texting the word "VOTE" and entering the number that corresponds to the team they want to support (message and data rates may apply). Viewers may also vote online at www.abc.com starting from the opening of each episode on the East Coast and until 12:00 Noon, ET the following day.

Hosted by Tom Bergeron ("America's Funniest Home Videos"), the celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which will be judged by renowned Ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba, who all return for their tenth season together.

"Dancing with the Stars" is the U.S. version of the international smash hit series, "Strictly Come Dancing." This version is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Conrad Green serves as executive producer and Rob Wade is co-executive producer. Alex Rudzinski directs. "Dancing with the Stars" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

BBC Worldwide is the main commercial arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). In the U.S., BBC Worldwide Productions, one of BBC Worldwide's seven core businesses, is based in Los Angeles and New York. It is responsible for the smash hit "Dancing with the Stars" and develops scripted and non-scripted projects for U.S. cable and broadcast networks.