With all this down time from the Backstreet Boys, a few of the guys are finding ways to keep busy. While AJ and Nick are doing cons and boyband collaborations, Howie D joined #TheRealDirtyDancing, a reality dance competition highlighting the iconic movie Dirty Dancing.
This is a limited/short term series, but we are primed and ready for every second of Howie D on this show! Now anyone who knows me, knows I’m a sucker for a reality dance competition.
Throw in a Backstreet Boy and I’m set…I certainly can’t wait to see how far Howie can take it! I’m thinking we could have our first Dance Competition won by a BSB!
Each week we will be doing a recap of the show and sharing a few highlights of Howie D/s Dirty Dancing excellence.
Here’s our recap of week 1:
The basic premise of the show is a a little different from a typical dance competition. Amazing dancer, Stephen “Twitch” Boss is playing host in this alternate Dirty Dancing reality which takes place in the same location that the original movie was filmed. There are 8 celebrities who are paired up to reenact scenes as the main characters “Johnny” and “Baby”. Each week the pairs are given a dance sequence from the movie to recreate which they have 24 hours to prepare. They are judged on their performance and at the end of the competition, 2 couples will remain. Those couples will compete for the win by doing the final dance scene including the iconic lift. I have all my fingers and toes crossed that Howie D makes it to the end!
To start the competition, just like Baby in the movie, the celebrities are pulled into the dirty dancing scene without any preparation. There are a few fun flashbacks to the actual movie scences, before cutting to the current day and this celebrity cast. Howie quickly joins in, bumpin and grinding with his castmates, while Twitch observes the dance chemistry. Twitch used those observations to pair the castmates up. Pairings included comedian Loni Love with Bachelor alum Tyler Cameron, actor Corbin Bleu with celebrity chef Cat Cora, Football player Antonio Gates with WWE wrestler Brie Bella, and our very own Backstreet Boy Howie D with stand up comedian Anjelah Johnson. Watching Anjelah fangirl over a Backstreet Boy hit close to home…no question I’d be falling all over myself if I got to be his partner in a jogathan, let alone a Dirty Dancing competition!
Sprinkled in with the rehearsals are recreations of short scenes from the movie as well. In this episode, the guys are asked to recreate a moment when Johnny is heckled by the bartender. Watching Howie D kill that “pickle” line was epic…Watching him rehearse with his partner Anjelah was entertaining. If you missed watching them attempt their lift…you should really find a way to watch it. Gotta love the awkwardness that comes along with partner dancing.
When it came time for the performance, Twitch shared that each celebrity was competing individually, despite dancing with their partner. After the dances, the celebrity contestants chose the best “Baby” and the best “Johnny” of the night. The competition was stiff. Howie and Anjelah danced to “Be My Baby”.
While their dance was sexy and they pulled it off well, the lift didn’t go off at all…Had that lift gone off, Howie would have been the clear winner. The contestants mentioned he had swagger, passion, and as we know, he is obviously hot, just like Johnny in the movie. The best “Johhny” was announced as Tyler, (though I disagreed!) and the guys picked Cat as their best “Baby”.
That ended the first episode. We’re excited to see what next week brings us! Congratulations Howie D on a great first performance! We know you’ll stick that lift next time!
“The Real Dirty Dancing” airs on Fox for the next three weeks on Wednesdays at 9pm ET/8pm CT.