Dancing with the Stars (American season 20)
Season twenty of Dancing with the Stars premiered on March 16, 2015, and concluded on May 19, 2015.
This season marked the ten-year anniversary of the show. In honor of the anniversary, the winners, Rumer Willis and Valentin Chmerkovskiy, received a special 10th Anniversary golden Mirrorball Trophy. The runners-up were Riker Lynch and Allison Holker, while Noah Galloway and Sharna Burgess came in third.
Cast
Couples
Ten professional partners were revealed on February 11, 2015, on Good Morning America. Professionals from last season not returning include Cheryl Burke and Karina Smirnoff. Kym Johnson returns as a professional dancer after taking three seasons off to judge the Australian version of the show.Eleven of the celebrity competitors and their professional partners were revealed on Good Morning America on February 24, 2015. Witney Carson's celebrity partner was reported to be Chris Soules from The Bachelor on March 4, 2015; this was confirmed six days later, after that show's finale, by Good Morning America. At the age of 14, Willow Shields is the youngest contestant ever to compete on the show.
| Celebrity | Notability | Professional partner | Status | Ref |
| Redfoo | LMFAO singer, producer & rapper | Emma Slater | Eliminated 1st on March 23, 2015 | |
| Charlotte McKinney | Model & actress | Keo Motsepe | Eliminated 2nd on March 30, 2015 | |
| Michael Sam | Former NFL defensive end | Peta Murgatroyd | Eliminated 3rd on April 6, 2015 | |
| Suzanne Somers | Television actress & author | Tony Dovolani | Eliminated 4th on April 13, 2015 | |
| Patti LaBelle | Soul singer | Artem Chigvintsev | Eliminated 5th on April 20, 2015 | |
| Willow Shields | The Hunger Games actress | Mark Ballas | Eliminated 6th on April 27, 2015 | |
| Robert Herjavec | Shark Tank panelist & businessman | Kym Johnson | Eliminated 7th on May 5, 2015 | |
| Chris Soules | The Bachelor star | Witney Carson | Eliminated 8th on May 5, 2015 | |
| Nastia Liukin | Olympic artistic gymnast | Derek Hough Sasha Farber | Eliminated 9th on May 12, 2015 | |
| Noah Galloway | Former soldier & personal trainer | Sharna Burgess | Third place on May 19, 2015 | |
| R5 singer & actor | Runner-up on May 19, 2015 | |||
| Film & television actress | Winner on May 19, 2015 |
Host and judges
returns as host alongside Erin Andrews. Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Julianne Hough, and Bruno Tonioli return as judges.Dance troupe
Joining Lindsay Arnold, Sasha Farber, Henry Byalikov and Jenna Johnson in the troupe this season are Brittany Cherry and Alan Bersten.Scoring charts
Average score chart
This table only counts for dances scored on a 40-point scale. The dances from the second round in week 9, which were out of 30, were changed to count out of 40 for this table:| Rank by average | Place | Couple | Total points | Number of dances | Average |
| 1 | Riker & Allison | 560 | 15 | 37.3 | |
| 2 | Rumer & Val | 555 | 15 | 37.0 | |
| 3 | Nastia & Derek | 439 | 12 | 36.6 | |
| 4 | Willow & Mark | 272 | 8 | 34.0 | |
| 5 | Noah & Sharna | 494 | 15 | 32.9 | |
| 6 | Robert & Kym | 303 | 10 | 30.3 | |
| 7 | Chris & Witney | 294 | 10 | 29.4 | |
| 8 | Patti & Artem | 200 | 7 | 28.6 | |
| 9 | 10 | Michael & Peta | 108 | 4 | 27.0 |
| 10 | Suzanne & Tony | 134 | 5 | 26.8 | |
| 11 | 12 | Redfoo & Emma | 53 | 2 | 26.5 |
| 12 | 11 | Charlotte & Keo | 70 | 3 | 23.3 |
Highest and lowest scoring performances
The best and worst performances in each dance according to the judges' 40-point scale are as follows:| Dance | Highest scored dancer | Highest score | Lowest scored dancer | Lowest score |
| Cha-cha-cha | Rumer Willis | 32 | Chris Soules | 21 |
| Jive | Nastia Liukin | 40 | Charlotte McKinney | 22 |
| Foxtrot | Rumer Willis | 40 | Patti LaBelle | 25 |
| Argentine tango | Riker Lynch | 40 | Chris Soules | 28 |
| Samba | Rumer Willis | 39 | Suzanne Somers | 25 |
| Rumba | Rumer Willis | 40 | Charlotte McKinney | 22 |
| Salsa | Riker Lynch Willow Shields | 34 | Michael Sam | 24 |
| Paso doble | Rumer Willis Noah Galloway Riker Lynch | 40 | Chris Soules | 30 |
| Tango | Riker Lynch Nastia Liukin | 34 | Noah Galloway | 31 |
| Waltz | Rumer Willis | 35 | Patti LaBelle | 27 |
| Jazz | Riker Lynch | 39 | Suzanne Somers | 28 |
| Contemporary | Riker Lynch Rumer Willis | 40 | Noah Galloway | 32 |
| Quickstep | Nastia Liukin | 40 | Robert Herjavec | 24 |
| Viennese Waltz | Nastia Liukin | 40 | Chris Soules | 31 |
| Team dance | Nastia Liukin Willow Shields Robert Herjavec Noah Galloway Rumer Willis Riker Lynch Patti Labelle Chris Soules | 39 | — | — |
| Charleston | Nastia Liukin | 38 | — | — |
| Freestyle | Noah Galloway Riker Lynch Rumer Willis | 40 | — | — |
| Fusion dance | Riker Lynch Rumer Willis | 40 | Noah Galloway | 36 |
Couples' highest and lowest scoring dances
Scores are based upon a potential 40-point maximum. Dances from the second round of week 9 were changed from being out of 30 to being out of 40.| Couples | Highest scoring dance | Lowest scoring dance |
| Rumer & Val | Rumba, Paso doble, Contemporary, Foxtrot, Freestyle & Foxtrot/Paso doble fusion | Foxtrot, Cha-cha-cha & Jazz |
| Riker & Allison | Contemporary, Argentine Tango, Paso doble, Freestyle & Salsa/Quickstep fusion | Jive |
| Noah & Sharna | Paso doble & freestyle | Cha-cha-cha |
| Nastia & Derek | Jive, Quickstep & Viennese Waltz | Foxtrot |
| Chris & Witney | Contemporary | Cha-cha-cha |
| Robert & Kym | Waltz | Quickstep |
| Willow & Mark | Contemporary | Cha-cha-cha |
| Patti & Artem | Jazz | Cha-cha-cha |
| Suzanne & Tony | Jive, Foxtrot & Jazz | Cha-cha-cha & Samba |
| Michael & Peta | Rumba | Salsa |
| Charlotte & Keo | Cha-cha-cha | Jive & Rumba |
| Redfoo & Emma | Jive | Cha-cha-cha |
Weekly scores
Individual judges' scores in the charts below are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Julianne Hough, Bruno Tonioli.Week 1: Spring 2015 Season Premiere
Couples performed the cha-cha-cha, foxtrot or jive.;Running order
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music |
| Willow & Mark | 25 | Cha-cha-cha | "Lips Are Movin"—Meghan Trainor |
| Robert & Kym | 28 | Cha-cha-cha | "Bills"—LunchMoney Lewis |
| Riker & Allison | 31 | Jive | "What I Like About You"—The Romantics |
| Charlotte & Keo | 22 | Jive | "Shake a Tail Feather"—The Blues Brothers |
| Patti & Artem | 25 | Foxtrot | "Lady Marmalade"—Labelle |
| Chris & Witney | 26 | Jive | "Footloose"—Kenny Loggins |
| Michael & Peta | 26 | Cha-cha-cha | "Uptown Funk"—Mark Ronson feat. Bruno Mars |
| Nastia & Derek | 30 | Foxtrot | "New York, New York "—Ray Quinn feat. Ultra Love |
| Redfoo & Emma | 22 | Cha-cha-cha | "Juicy Wiggle"—Redfoo |
| Noah & Sharna | 26 | Cha-cha-cha | "I Lived"—OneRepublic |
| Suzanne & Tony | 25 | Cha-cha-cha | "Physical"—Olivia Newton-John |
| Rumer & Val | 32 | Foxtrot | "Take Me to Church"—Hozier |
Week 2: #MyJamMonday
Couples performed unlearned dances to some of their favorite songs; Argentine tango, rumba, salsa and samba are introduced.;Running order
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Chris & Witney | 21 | Cha-cha-cha | "Time of Our Lives"―Pitbull & Ne-Yo | Safe |
| Suzanne & Tony | 28 | Jive | "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On"―Jerry Lee Lewis | Last to be called safe |
| Robert & Kym | 28 | Foxtrot | "You Make Me Feel So Young"—Michael Bublé | Safe |
| Charlotte & Keo | 26 | Cha-cha-cha | "California Gurls"—Katy Perry feat. Snoop Dogg | Safe |
| Michael & Peta | 28 | Foxtrot | "Working My Way Back to You"—The Spinners | Safe |
| Rumer & Val | 32 | Cha-cha-cha | "Rumour Has It"—Adele | Safe |
| Redfoo & Emma | 31 | Jive | "My Sharona"—The Knack | Eliminated |
| Willow & Mark | 32 | Argentine tango | "Somebody That I Used to Know"—Gotye feat. Kimbra | Safe |
| Noah & Sharna | 27 | Samba | "Homegrown Honey"—Darius Rucker | Safe |
| Nastia & Derek | 34 | Rumba | "Thinking Out Loud"—Ed Sheeran | Safe |
| Riker & Allison | 32 | Foxtrot | "Sugar"—Maroon 5 | Safe |
| Patti & Artem | 28 | Salsa | "In da Club"—50 Cent | Safe |
Week 3: Latin Night
Couples performed unlearned Latin-themed dances; paso doble is introduced.;Running order
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Rumer & Val | 33 | Salsa | "Turn the Beat Around"—Gloria Estefan | Safe |
| Charlotte & Keo | 22 | Rumba | "Empire"—Shakira | Eliminated |
| Michael & Peta | 24 | Salsa | "Celebrate"—Pitbull | Safe |
| Riker & Allison | 34 | Salsa | "Limbo"—Daddy Yankee | Safe |
| Suzanne & Tony | 25 | Samba | "Copacabana"—Barry Manilow | Safe |
| Chris & Witney | 28 | Argentine tango | "Dangerous"—David Guetta feat. Sam Martin | Last to be called safe |
| Robert & Kym | 29 | Rumba | "How Long Will I Love You?"—Ellie Goulding | Safe |
| Patti & Artem | 22 | Cha-cha-cha | "Oye 2014"—Santana feat. Pitbull | Safe |
| Willow & Mark | 32 | Paso doble | "Hanuman"—Rodrigo y Gabriela with John Tempesta | Safe |
| Noah & Sharna | 30 | Argentine tango | "Rather Be"—Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne | Safe |
| Nastia & Derek | 34 | Samba | "Chillando Goma"—Fulanito | Safe |
Week 4: Most Memorable Year
Couples performed one unlearned dance to celebrate the most memorable years of their lives; contemporary, jazz, tango and waltz are introduced.;Running order
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Nastia & Derek | 36 | Argentine tango | "Variations on Dark Eyes"—Lara St. John | Safe |
| Michael & Peta | 30 | Rumba | "Not My Father's Son"—from Kinky Boots | Eliminated |
| Riker & Allison | 34 | Tango | "Shut Up and Dance"—Walk the Moon | Last to be called safe |
| Robert & Kym | 34 | Waltz | "The Last Waltz"—Engelbert Humperdinck | Safe |
| Chris & Witney | 27 | Rumba | "The Book of Love"—Gavin James | Safe |
| Patti & Artem | 30 | Jazz | "Dan Swit Me"—Patti LaBelle | Safe |
| Rumer & Val | 35 | Waltz | "Turning Tables"—Adele | Safe |
| Suzanne & Tony | 28 | Foxtrot | "Three's Company, Too"—Ray Charles & Julia Rinker | Safe |
| Willow & Mark | 39 | Contemporary | "Atlas"—Coldplay | Safe |
| Noah & Sharna | 32 | Contemporary | "American Soldier"—Toby Keith | Safe |
Week 5: Disney Night
Couples performed one unlearned dance to a song from a Disney film; quickstep is introduced.;Running order
| Couple | Score | Dance | Music | Disney film | Result |
| Suzanne & Tony | 28 | Jazz | "He's a Tramp"—Peggy Lee | Lady and the Tramp | Eliminated |
| Robert & Kym | 24 | Quickstep | "Step in Time"—Dick Van Dyke | Mary Poppins | Safe |
| Patti & Artem | 27 | Waltz | "When You Wish upon a Star"—Cliff Edwards | Pinocchio | Safe |
| Willow & Mark | 34 | Foxtrot | "Alice's Theme"—Danny Elfman | Alice in Wonderland | Safe |
| Chris & Witney | 27 | Quickstep | "Zero to Hero"—Ariana Grande | Hercules | Last to be called safe |
| Noah & Sharna | 28 | Foxtrot | "A Whole New World"—Brad Kane and Lea Salonga | Aladdin | Safe |
| Riker & Allison | 38 | Paso doble | "He's a Pirate"—Klaus Badelt | Safe | |
| Rumer & Val | 39 | Samba | "Poor Unfortunate Souls"—Pat Carroll | The Little Mermaid | Safe |
| Nastia & Derek | 38 | Jazz | "Love Is an Open Door"—Kristen Bell and Santino Fontana | Frozen | Safe |
Week 6: Spring Break Night
Couples perform one unlearned dance and a team dance; Viennese Waltz is introduced.;Running order
Week 7: Eras Night
Couples performed one unlearned dance representing a different historical era; the couple with the highest score earned an immunity from elimination, while the rest of the couples participated in dance-offs for extra points; Charleston is introduced.;Running order
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Era | Music | Result |
| Riker & Allison | 37 | Quickstep | 1920s | "Wiggle"—Scott Bradlee & Postmodern Jukebox | Safe |
| Chris & Witney | 31 | Foxtrot | 1940s | "Five Minutes More"—Frank Sinatra | Safe |
| Rumer & Val | 35 | Jive | 1960s | "Dear Future Husband"—Meghan Trainor | Last to be called safe |
| Noah & Sharna | 36 | Jazz | 1970s | "Super Bad"—James Brown | Safe |
| Robert & Kym | 31 | Argentine tango | 1980s | "Word Up!"—Cameo | Safe |
| Nastia & Sasha | 38 | Charleston | Modern | "Honey, I'm Good."—Andy Grammer | Safe |
| Willow & Mark | 37 | Jazz | Futuristic | "Electric Feel"—MGMT | Eliminated |
For each dance-off, the couple with the highest remaining score picked the opponent against whom they wanted to dance; the chosen opponent was allowed to pick the dance style. The winner of each dance-off earned two points. For winning immunity, Nastia & Sasha received a three-point bonus.
| Couple | Judges' votes | Dance | Music | Result |
| Willow & Mark | Willow, Willow, Willow, Willow | Salsa | "Temperature"—Sean Paul | Winner |
| Riker & Allison | Willow, Willow, Willow, Willow | Salsa | "Temperature"—Sean Paul | Loser |
| Noah & Sharna | Robert, Noah, Noah, Robert | Cha-cha-cha | "Dance with Me"—Kelly Clarkson | Winner |
| Robert & Kym | Robert, Noah, Noah, Robert | Cha-cha-cha | "Dance with Me"—Kelly Clarkson | Loser |
| Rumer & Val | Rumer, Rumer, Rumer, Rumer | Foxtrot | "Orange Colored Sky"—Nat King Cole | Winner |
| Chris & Witney | Rumer, Rumer, Rumer, Rumer | Foxtrot | "Orange Colored Sky"—Nat King Cole | Loser |
Week 8: America's Choice
Couples performed a routine to an unlearned dance and song that was chosen by the public, as well as a trio dance involving an eliminated pro or a member of the dance troupe. This week saw the return of the results show on Tuesday night, which will return for the remainder of the season.;Running order
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Noah & Sharna | 31 | Tango | "Geronimo"—Sheppard | Safe |
| Noah & Sharna | 32 | Salsa | "Mr. Put It Down"—Ricky Martin feat. Pitbull | Safe |
| Chris & Witney | 34 | Contemporary | "Lay Me Down"—Sam Smith | Eliminated |
| Chris & Witney | 30 | Paso doble | "Outside"—Calvin Harris feat. Ellie Goulding | Eliminated |
| Riker & Allison | 39 | Viennese Waltz | "What Now"—Rihanna | Last to be called safe |
| Riker & Allison | 39 | Jazz | "A Little Party Never Killed Nobody "—Fergie, Q-Tip & GoonRock | Last to be called safe |
| Robert & Kym | 33 | Contemporary | "Champagne Kisses"—Jessie Ware | Eliminated |
| Robert & Kym | 29 | Samba | "Cinema Italiano"—Kate Hudson | Eliminated |
| Nastia & Sasha | 36 | Paso doble | "Centuries"—Fall Out Boy | Safe |
| Nastia & Sasha | 40 | Jive | "Diane Young"—Vampire Weekend | Safe |
| Rumer & Val | 40 | Rumba | "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"—Doris Day | Safe |
| Rumer & Val | 40 | Paso doble | "Scott & Fran's Paso Doble"—David Hirschfelder & The Bogo Pogo Orchestra | Safe |
Week 9: The Semi - Finals
Couples performed a routine to an unlearned dance, as well as a routine coached and styled by one of the four judges. To avoid favoritism, the judges did not score the couple they coached, so the second round dances received a total score out of 30 instead of the usual 40 points.Additionally, during the show, Bergeron revealed that, for the first time in the show's history, the semifinalists had all had at least one week at the top of the combined leaderboard.
;Running order
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Rumer & Val | 38 | Viennese Waltz | "Earned It"—The Weeknd | Last to be called safe |
| Rumer & Val | 30 | Contemporary | "Theme from Swan Lake, Op. 20"—Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky | Last to be called safe |
| Noah & Sharna | 36 | Viennese Waltz | "The Time of My Life"—David Cook | Safe |
| Noah & Sharna | 30 | Paso doble | "Unstoppable"—E.S. Posthumus | Safe |
| Riker & Allison | 40 | Contemporary | "Work Song"—Hozier | Safe |
| Riker & Allison | 30 | Argentine tango | "Für Elise"—District 78 | Safe |
| Nastia & Sasha | 40 | Quickstep | "Feelin' Good"—Christina Grimmie | Eliminated |
| Nastia & Derek | 30 | Viennese Waltz | "Fall for You"—Leela James | Eliminated |
Week 10: The Finals
On the first night, couples danced to a dance previously performed, as well as a freestyle routine.On the second night, the remaining couples performed a fusion challenge, having only 24 hours to prepare for the dance.
;Running order
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music |
| Noah & Sharna | 32 | Argentine tango | "Rather Be"—Clean Bandit feat. Jess Glynne |
| Noah & Sharna | 40 | Freestyle | "Titanium"—David Guetta feat. Sia "Fix You"—Coldplay |
| Riker & Allison | 40 | Paso doble | "He's a Pirate"—Klaus Badelt |
| Riker & Allison | 40 | Freestyle | "I Won't Dance "—Fred Astaire |
| Rumer & Val | 40 | Foxtrot | "Take Me to Church"—Hozier |
| Rumer & Val | 40 | Freestyle | "Toxic"—Rumer Willis |
;Running order
| Couple | Score | Dance | Music | Result |
| Noah & Sharna | 36 | Argentine tango Cha-cha-cha | "Surrender"—Cash Cash feat. Julia Michaels | Third place |
| Riker & Allison | 40 | Salsa Quickstep | "Classic"— MKTO | Runner-up |
| Rumer & Val | 40 | Foxtrot Paso doble | "Take You Higher"— Goodwill & Hook n Sling | Winner |
Dance chart
The celebrities and professional partners danced one of these routines for each corresponding week:- Week 1: Cha-cha-cha, foxtrot or jive
- Week 2: One unlearned dance
- Week 3: One unlearned dance
- Week 4: One unlearned dance
- Week 5: One unlearned dance
- Week 6: One unlearned dance and team dances
- Week 7: One unlearned dance and dance-offs
- Week 8: One unlearned dance and trio dance
- Week 9: One unlearned dance and judges' choice
- Week 10 : Repeated dance and freestyle
- Week 10 : Fusion dance
Guest performances
Ratings
U.S. Nielsen Ratings
The season premiere of the twentieth season of Dancing with the Stars was viewed by 14.16 million viewers, 0.52 million greater than season 19.| Show | Episode | Air Date | Rating/Share 18–49 | Viewers | Weekly Rank | Source |
| 1 | "Week 1: Season Premiere" | March 16, 2015 | 2.1/7 | 14.16 | 7 | |
| 2 | "Week 2: My Jam Monday" | March 23, 2015 | 2.0/7 | 13.85 | 15 | |
| 3 | "Week 3: Latin Night" | March 30, 2015 | 2.1/7 | 13.76 | 8 | |
| 4 | "Week 4: Most Memorable Year" | April 6, 2015 | 2.0/6 | 13.75 | 12 | |
| 5 | "Week 5: Disney Night" | April 13, 2015 | 2.2/7 | 13.89 | 5 | |
| 6 | "Week 6: Spring Break Special" | April 20, 2015 | 2.1/6 | 13.42 | 10 | |
| 7 | "Week 7: Eras Night" | April 27, 2015 | 2.0/6 | 13.22 | 13 | |
| 8 | "10th Anniversary Special" | April 28, 2015 | 1.7/6 | 10.07 | 20 | |
| 9 | "Week 8: America's Choice" | May 4, 2015 | 1.9/6 | 12.43 | 11 | |
| 10 | "Week 8: America's Choice: The Results" | May 5, 2015 | 1.4/5 | 10.29 | <25 | |
| 11 | "Week 9: Semi-Finals" | May 11, 2015 | 2.2/7 | 13.48 | 6 | |
| 12 | "Week 9: Semi-Finals: The Results" | May 12, 2015 | 1.5/5 | 10.16 | 24 | |
| 13 | "Week 10: Finals: Night 1" | May 18, 2015 | 2.3/8 | 14.35 | 3 | |
| 14 | "Week 10: Finals: Night 2" | May 19, 2015 | 2.3/7 | 13.49 | 4 |