Dancing With The Stars was back on Monday night for the premiere of its 29th season.
The show looked considerably different, as longtime host Tom Bergeron was replaced by Tyra Banks and the dancers performed to an empty house due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
But the show’s use of prerecorded applause and clapping annoyed many fans at home, who had trouble hearing the judges and contestant over it.
Growing pains: Dancing With The Stars season 29 premiered on Monday, but many fans had trouble hearing it due to overly loud fake crowd noise; AJ McLean and Cheryl Burke pictured
The reception of the socially distanced, audience-free show may have been mixed, but multiple Twitter users were in agreement that the fake sound effects didn’t add anything of value.
Despite there not being a live studio audiences, sound designers for the series piped in pre-recorded applause, clapping and even booing.
‘It’s the fake clapping and booing for me,’ complained one Twitter user who included a photo of a woman with a card that read, ‘*scream quietly*.’
Another poster included a photo of Judge Judy looking peeved and wrote sarcastically, ‘This fake audience cheering, clapping, booing is so great.’
Not working: The reception of the socially distanced, audience-free show may have been mixed, but multiple Twitter users were in agreement that the fake sound effects didn’t add anything of value
Despite there not being a live studio audiences, sound designers for the series piped in pre-recorded applause, clapping and even booing
Awkward choice: One person pointed out the editorializing nature of the boos, since the show’s staff made the determination to add boos without audience participation
Too loud: One user calling herself Sarah said the artificial audience noise made it difficult to keep up
Another person pointed out the editorializing nature of the boos, since the show’s staff made the determination to add boos without audience participation.
‘I can’t with the boos lol,’ they wrote.
One user calling herself Sarah said the artificial audience noise made it difficult to keep up.
‘I can’t hear anything anyone is saying because of the fake audience noises,’ she posted.
Changes: Lauren Alyssa biggest complaint was that Tyra Banks had replaced Tom Bergeron, but she made sure to criticize the sound effects too
New blood: Tyra took over after longtime host Tom Bergeron was fired
Lauren Alyssa biggest complaint was that Tyra Banks had replaced Tom Bergeron, but she made sure to criticize the sound effects too.
‘Im sure #tombergeron wouldn’t be making #DWTS as awkward as #TyraBanks is making it right now…. and stop with the fake crowd continuously paying.
Gail Griffen praised the strong opening number and the professional dancers, while lamenting the loss of Bergeron and Erin Andrews, but she also found the ‘faux clapping & cheering’ to be ‘so annoying!’
Another user wrote that the home audience ‘can’t hear comments’ from the judges.
Good and bad: Gail Griffen praised the strong opening number and the professional dancers, while lamenting the loss of Bergeron and Erin Andrews, but she also found the ‘faux clapping & cheering’ to be ‘so annoying!’
Deafening: Another user wrote that the home audience ‘can’t hear comments’ from the judges
Old news: Fake sound effects are regularly pumped in to competitions and sporting events where good audio can’t be easily recorded, though they’re usually subtler than on DWTS; Justina Machado and Sasha Farber pictured
It’s unclear why the sound was so poor, though the live nature of the program may have made it difficult for sound engineers to find a good balance.
However, it’s not at all uncommon for live competitions to add in extra sound effects for more punch.
Many live sporting events, including the Olympics, feature canned sound effects, as its not possible to record the sound closely enough without disturbing the events.
In addition to newcomer Tyra Banks, season 29 has dancer Derek Hough making his debut as a judge, along with regulars Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.
The celebrity cast this season includes Backstreet Boys member AJ McLean, actors Anne Heche, Justina Machado and Skai Jackson, rapper Nelly and reality fixtures Nev Schulman and The Bachelor’s Kaitlyn Bristowe, among others.
Behind the desk: In addition to Tyra, Derek Hough is making his debut this season as a judge