How Are the Judges Chosen for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Audition Process?

We are deep in our bingewatching hole of America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders after the second season dropped on Netflix last week. And though we’re racing through the episodes, there’s still one question that’s burning a hole in our brains from the first episode. Just how are the judges chosen for the audition panel?

The start of each season of America’s Sweethearts shows the hopeful candidates for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC) do solo auditions of a dance routine in front of their fellow competitors and a panel of judges. Even those who have previously been on the team must audition and then after this they will decide which of the girls will head onto training camp, which is still not a guarantee of a position.

So therefore you really want to impress at this initial audition. However, amongst the lineup of judges, which includes people from the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, former team members and representation from the Dallas Cowboys football team, there’s also a variety of rather surprising judges including a hairdresser, meteorologist, boot manufacturer, wellness and lifestyle thought leader and in the case of this year’s auditions country singer Kacey Musgraves.

And now two years into watching the show, viewers are a little confused over certain members of the judging panel and asking why they’re included. One person on X wrote: “DCC can’t get some better judges than an weatherman, pastor and boot designer??? Like were are the dance teachers, coaches hell I’ll even take pageant coaches!!!” While another said: “This panel of judges is beyond awful, BC WHY TF IS A MFN METEOROLOGIST JUDGING MY DANCING.” And another added: “I am starting s2 of #AmericasSweethearts the randomness of the judges making me laugh again. the WEATHER GUY.”

So how and why are the seemingly random panel of judges chosen? Well if you cast your mind back to the very first episode of the show, the director of the DCC, Kelli Finglass actually explained the thinking behind the judging choices.

She said: “I try to have the most diverse panel of judges, that can help us seek out the best teammates that we can with this job, that is so much more than a dance solo. We have judges that are members of our local media. We have hair professionals, makeup, of course dance professionals.”

During that first episode in 2024, Kelli spoke about one cooking influencer, Kevin Curry who was labelled as a “wellness and lifestyle thought leader” and was part of the judging panel. Even Kelli did admit she didn’t know what his job was. So why was he employed? Well she said Kevin has a “larger than life glow about him” and the judges as a collective “can recognize those ‘it’ qualities” which is why a variety of them are picked.

Over on Reddit, many fans have taken to the forum to discuss the surprising choices, with many defending the variety of people involved in the decision. One user who said they had previously auditioned for the NBA and NFL explained: “the job is more than just cheerleading. It’s making appearances and being able to to speak to journalists, the general public, etc. They also do TV shows, modeling, etc. They look for people who can gauge their appearance, appeal and personalities for other venues.”

As for the meteorologist Scott Padgett, well it turns out he actually has a dance background and competed in ballroom dancing while he was younger. He was also part of the cheer team while at Western Illinois University. Oh, and he was captain too.

Guess that answers that question then.

America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders is available on Netflix now.

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