Former Talent Show Contestants on ‘DWTS’ Have One SURPRISING Thing in Common
ABC Reading Time: 3 minutes
Dancing With the Stars just announced its cast for season 28 this week! And talent show fans can rejoice because Lauren Alaina from American Idol and Ally Brooke from The X Factor‘s Fifth Harmony are both competing!
But they’re not the first former talent show contestants to appear on the show. Looking at their track records, they won’t be the last either! Here is our surprising discovery about how these contestants fare on DWTS.
Kellie Pickler (Season 16)
Kellie Pickler was the first talent show contestant to appear on DTWS, after finishing in 6th place on season five of American Idol. In the years after her Idol win, she made a name for herself by releasing four studio albums, having songs hit the top of the charts, and winning multiple CMT Music Awards. But when Kelli partnered with pro Derek Hough, she had her most successful run yet! The pair went on to win the mirror ball trophy, narrowly beating out strong competitor Zendaya.
Normani Kordei (Season 24)
Normani Kordei rose to fame as part of the girl group Fifth Harmony on The X Factor. Yes, this is the same group that new DWTS cast member Ally Brooke is in! Normani has since made a name for herself as a solo artist, with hits like “Dancing With a Stranger” and “Motivation.” But before that, she competed on season 24 of Dancing With the Stars with pro Valentin Chmerkovskiy. The duo was a favorite to win and even received the highest total points and average score of any couple on the show that season. Even so, Normani and Val made it to the Finals, finishing in third place.
Lindsey Stirling (Season 25)
Lindsey Stirling (who is from my hometown of Gilbert, Arizona, and went to my high school…no big deal!) made her big break as a violinist on season five of America’s Got Talent. After that, she found success releasing music, touring the world, and building her subscriber count on YouTube. So when she competed with Mark Ballas on Dancing With the Stars, the result was an all-around win for her. Though the couple didn’t end up taking home the mirror ball trophy, they did make it all the way to second place behind actor and singer Jordan Fisher.
Lauren Alaina & Ally Brooke (Season 28)
So what does all this mean for new cast members Lauren Alaina and Ally Brooke? Well, if you haven’t put together the connection yet, the worst any past talent show contestant has ever done is third place! Lauren and Ally will hope to continue that streak. After all, every single talent show contestant who’s been on the show has made it to the Finals.
One simple explanation is this: the audience for talent competition shows and DWTS is similar. They are also well-versed in voting! If someone did well in a talent show and earned a lot of fans who vote, then they’re likely to bring those fans right on over to DWTS. So in theory, and with their backgrounds in music, it’s looking promising for Lauren and Ally! But they’ll have some tough competition from stars like The Bachelorette‘s Hannah Brown, former NBA player Lamar Odom, and Mary Wilson from the Supremes, to name a few.
Dancing With the Stars returns to ABC on September 16th. Stay tuned for all the recaps on our site and YouTube channel!
