Actress Amber Riley landed the highest debut score ever on Dancing With The Stars season 17 when it premiered Monday.

The Glee actress and singer landed the honor of tying the highest score with a previous champion after she performed the Cha-cha-cha with Derek Hough. After the pair wowed the crowd with their performance, judge Bruno Tonioli told her, "You are the tigress of season 17!"

"That's how you take it, that's how you shake it," he added.

"You turned that Cha-cha out!" Carrie Ann Inaba told her, and fellow judge Len Goodman said he impressed her.

"Week 1 and you come out and dance like that...incredible!" he said, adding, "Full out, flat out, fabulous!"

The judges each gave Riley a score of 9 points for a total score of 27 out of 30. The score she earned helped her tie for highest score in a premiere episode of the show with previous contestants Kristi Yamaguchi and Aaron Carter. Yamaguchi won her season.

Riley told Hough at their first meeting that dancing for her is a "dream deferred." Growing up she wanted a career as a singer or a dancer, but her parents couldn't afford both lessons so she stuck to singing. During rehearsals she told the cameras she looks forward to being an inspiration for young plus-size women like herself. Hough told the cameras he and Riley have a great connection because she has so much energy and great charisma.

Hough is a four-time winner of the dancing competition and the reigning champion.

Dancing With The Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. EST/7 Central. Season 17 marks the first that there will not be a two-night season where the second night is the results show. ABC will air DWTS only on Mondays and each week a contestant will be eliminated at the end of the night.

Here is the list of the competitors on season 17 and their partners:

Jersey Shore reality star Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi with Sasha Farber

Actress Valerie Harper and Tristan MacManus

Saved By the Bell and Showgirls star Elizabeth Berkley with Valentin Chmerkovskiy

Glee star Amber Riley with Derek Hough

Former NFL player/ESPN Analyst Keyshawn Johnson with Sharna Burgess

High School Musical star Corbin Bleu with Karina Smirnoff

King of Queens star Leah Remini with Tony Dovolani

The Voice correspondent Christina Milian with Mark Ballas

Bill Nye "The Science Guy" with Tyne Stecklein

Pretty Little Liars actor Brant Daugherty with Peta Murgatroyd

Jack Osbourne with Cheryl Burke

Blue Collar Comedy's Bill Engvall with Emma Slate

Watch Amber Riley dance the Cha-cha-cha on the premiere of season 17 of Dancing With The Stars below.

Tags
Dancing With the Stars Season 17, Dancing with the stars 2013