Season seven of ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

'' premiered on September 22, 2008, on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

network. Instead of twelve couples as in previous seasons, this was the first season to feature a lineup of thirteen couples. This season also introduced four new dances: the hustle,

jitterbug Jitterbug is a generalized term used to describe Swing (dance), swing dancing. It is often synonymous with the lindy hop dance but might include elements of the Jive (dance), jive, east coast swing, collegiate shag, Charleston (dance), charlesto ...

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

, and

West Coast Swing West Coast Swing is a partner dance with roots in Lindy Hop, characterized by an elastic look that results from its extension-compression technique of partner connection (dance), connection. It is danced primarily in a dance slot, slotted area on ...

. Model and host

Brooke Burke Brooke Lisa Burke (born September 8, 1971) is an American television and fitness personality, model, author, actress, and businesswoman. She is known for hosting the E! Network travel show '' Wild On!'' (1999–2002), CBS's ''Rock Star'' (2 ...

and

Derek Hough Derek Bruce Hough (; born May 17, 1985) is an American professional Latin dance, Latin and ballroom dancer, choreographer, actor and singer. From 2007 to 2016, Hough was a professional dancer on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC dance compe ...

were crowned the champions, while

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

defensive tackle

Warren Sapp Warren Carlos Sapp (born December 19, 1972) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He played college football ...

and Kym Johnson finished in second place, and

NSYNC NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

singer

Lance Bass James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, actor, and producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the Bass (voice type), bass singer for the boy band NSYNC. The band has sold over 70 million records, becoming one of ...

and Lacey Schwimmer finished third.

Cast

Couples

This season featured thirteen celebrity contestants. The official cast announcement was made on the morning of August 25, 2008, on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...

''.

Host and judges

Tom Bergeron Thomas Raymond Bergeron (born May 6, 1955) is an American television personality, comedian, and game show host, best known for hosting ''Breakfast Time'' from 1994 to 1997, '' Hollywood Squares'' from 1998 to 2004, '' America's Funniest Home Vid ...

and

Samantha Harris Samantha Harris (born Samantha Harris Shapiro; November 27, 1973) is an American television presenter, model, and entertainment reporter and actress, known as the co-host of seasons two through nine of ''Dancing with the Stars'' with Tom Berg ...

returned as the show's co-hosts.

Len Goodman Leonard Gordon Goodman (25 April 1944 – 22 April 2023) was an English professional ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance competition adjudicator. He appeared as head judge on the UK television programme ''Strictly Come Dancing'' – in w ...

Bruno Tonioli Bruno Tonioli (; born 25 November 1955) is a British-Italian television personality, choreographer and dancer. He has judged on the British television talent shows ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (2004–2019), ''DanceX'' (2007) and ''Britain's Got Ta ...

, and Carrie Ann Inaba returned as the judges, while

Michael Flatley Michael Ryan Flatley (born July 16, 1958) is an American former professional performer and choreographer of Irish dance. Flatley is credited with reinventing traditional Irish dance by incorporating new rhythms, syncopation, and upper body movem ...

appeared as a guest judge during week six.

Scoring chart

The highest score each week is indicated in with a dagger (), while the lowest score each week is indicated in with a double-dagger (). Color key: ;Notes

Weekly scores

''Individual judges scores in charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba,

.''

Week 1

On the first night, each couple performed either the cha-cha-cha or

foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

. On the second night, each couple performed either the

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

quickstep The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal ...

. Two couples were eliminated by the end of the second night. Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Night 1 ;Night 2

Week 2

Each couple performed either the

paso doble Pasodoble (Spanish language, Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This often wa ...

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...

. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 3

Each couple performed either the jive or

Viennese waltz Viennese waltz () is a genre of ballroom dance. At least four different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in ballroom dancing, dance ...

. Couples are listed in the order they performed. On October 3,

Misty May-Treanor Misty Elizabeth May-Treanor (; née May; born July 30, 1977) is an American retired professional beach volleyball player. She is a three-time Olympic gold medalist, and , was the most successful female beach volleyball player having won 112 tou ...

was injured during practice and received immediate medical attention. At the end of the episode that aired on Monday, October 6, she announced that she had ruptured her

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

, and thus had to withdraw from the competition. On the results show the next night, Tom Bergeron revealed that no one would be eliminated that week because of May-Treanor's withdrawal, and the week 3 scores would carry over to week 4. Rocco and Karina would have been eliminated had May-Treanor not withdrawn.

Week 4

Each couple performed either the

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 5

Each couple performed one of four dances newly introduced this season: the hustle,

, or

. Couples are listed in the order they performed. On Sunday, October 19,

was injured during the camera blocking for her jitterbug with partner

. She ended up going to the hospital on Monday, October 20, for treatment and x-rays. It was determined that she had severely bruised her foot, but as of Monday afternoon, an ABC spokesperson told ''People'' that Burke and Hough would still perform on that night's live show.

Week 6

''Individual judges scores in charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba,

, Bruno Tonioli.'' Each couple performed one unlearned dance, and participated in a group

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

dance. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 7

Each couple performed one unlearned dance and one team dance. Couples are listed in the order they performed. Approximately forty minutes after the October 21 results show,

Julianne Hough Julianne Alexandra Hough (; born July 20, 1988) is an American dancer, singer, actress and television personality. In 2007, she joined the cast of ABC's ''Dancing with the Stars'' as a professional dancer, winning two seasons with her celebrit ...

was taken by ambulance to the hospital for increasingly painful stomach pains. Initially, Hough said she was taking a day off from the group rehearsal to recover. However, on October 27, she was diagnosed with

endometriosis Endometriosis is a disease in which Tissue (biology), tissue similar to the endometrium, the lining of the uterus, grows in other places in the body, outside the uterus. It occurs in women and a limited number of other female mammals. Endomet ...

, had to undergo surgery to remove her

appendix Appendix (: appendices or appendixes) may refer to: __NOTOC__ In documents * Addendum, an addition made to a document by its author after its initial printing or publication * Bibliography, a systematic list of books and other works * Index (publis ...

on October 28, and that she would miss the competition until she recovered. As a result, her celebrity partner,

Cody Linley Cody Linley is an American actor and singer. He played a recurring role as Jake Ryan in the television series ''Hannah Montana'', and was a contestant on the seventh season of ''Dancing with the Stars'', in which he was partnered with Juliann ...

, was paired with

Edyta Śliwińska Edyta Śliwińska (; born May 6, 1981) is a Polish professional ballroom dancer who is starring in the stage show Dance Temptation. She is best known for her appearances on the American version of the reality television series ''Dancing with the S ...

for weeks 7 and 8 of the competition. On October 30, Lacey Schwimmer reported that she had

as well. It came after Julianne Hough's experience with the common, but painful, condition allowed Schwimmer to notice similar symptoms and be diagnosed at an early stage, enabling it to be treated without surgery or time away from the show.

Week 8

Each couple performed two unlearned dances. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 9

Each couple performed two unlearned dances. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

returned to the competition after missing the previous two weeks.

Week 10

On the first night, all three couples faced off in a group

, where they received individual scores from the judges, and performed their freestyle routines. On the second night, each couple performed their favorite routine from the season. Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Night 1 ;Night 2

Dance chart

The couples performed the following each week: * Week 1 (Night 1): One unlearned dance (cha-cha-cha or foxtrot) * Week 1 (Night 2): One unlearned dance (mambo or quickstep) * Week 2: One unlearned dance (paso doble or rumba) * Week 3: One unlearned dance (jive or Viennese waltz) * Week 4: One unlearned dance (samba or tango) * Week 5: One unlearned dance (hustle, jitterbug, salsa, or West Coast Swing) * Week 6: One unlearned dance & hip-hop group dance * Week 7: One unlearned dance & team dance * Week 8: Two unlearned dances * Week 9: Two unlearned dances * Week 10 (Night 1): Group samba & freestyle * Week 10 (Night 2): Favorite dance of the season Color key: ;Notes

References

External links

* {{Dancing with the Stars (United States) Dancing with the Stars (American TV series) 2008 American television seasons