Before I get too far, I should probably admit I’d be watching this even if Howie wasn’t on it. My mom, was a massive Patrick Swayze fan, and by massive I mean growing up we had every movie of his on VHS which got replaced by DVDs that I now have. It’s pretty impressive. So when you throw in Dirty Dancing, one of my favorite eighties movies with a Backstreet Boy and I’ll admit I was pretty excited about it. Despite my late blogging. That’s more because I had to work cause you know, real life. Thankfully we have technology and it wasn’t hard to watch it later.
Now this show only goes for four episodes and there’s only eight contestants, four women and four men.We have Corbin Bleu from High School Musical, WWE Diva Brie Bella, comedian Anjelah Johnson, talk show host Loni Love, NFL player Antonio Gates, celebrity chef Cat Cora, and Bachelorette star Tyler Cameron joining our Boy Howie. Obviously the dance experience is all over the place, just like it is on shows like Dancing With The Stars. And while I still want to see Howie (and Kevin for that matter) do that show someday, I like that he did this show first. It’s different and channeling that sense of nostalgia I think a lot of us what in a pandemic world.
In fact it hit so strongly that I ended up putting on the movie on after watching while I write this. The way it will cut in scenes from the classic movie before letting them renact moments or try to channel their inner Baby or Johnny. The idea of this show is a tribute competition of sorts. They’re at the site of Kellerman’s from the movie, and in each challenge they’ll be trying to really capture the spirit of the characters and see who does it best while still managing to put their own unique flair to it.
What’s a little crazy, or feels that way is how fast the show moves. After they throw everyone into a mini challenge of sorts without any prep because well, Baby had no practice before Johnny danced with her that first time. And based on that, they paired everyone off. Howie got paired with Anjelah and when they went to dance together later I liked their chemistry. Howie just went for it. Because that’s who he is, he’s a performer, he dives in and just goes. It shouldn’t be that surprising.
Also her reaction after they got paired up? Adorable. “I get to dance with a Backstreet Boy!” Girl, you are all of us.
In terms of experience, Corbin probably has the most being on broadway which is closest to this kind of dancing. Howie is second to that just because he’s danced practically his entire life even though it’s a different kind. I wonder if anyone gets any real help on this show? Because the skills are so spaced apart. That’s sort of odd to me. No, Baby didn’t have any experience but she had Johnny and Penny teaching her.
While Howie was rehearsing with her and talking about himself to the cameras, I realized he’s probably the most well known of the cast besides, well probably Corbin. Personally speaking anyway. I’m likely biased cause I don’t watch nor care about any Bachelor or Bachelorette cast members. But as he’s talking about himself, there was something that broke my longtime fangirl heart.
You probably know me best as one of the members of the Backstreet Boys. But I’m not the blonde one, I’m not the one with tattoos, I’m Howie…
He goes on to say he doesn’t think people knows who he is on his own. Howie. HOWIE. First off there’s a lot of people who don’t even know who Nick is (who was shown when he said the blonde one, Brian fans…just to clarify.) outside of BSB. Trust me, I know. Non-Fans just don’t pay attention and it’s annoying. Second! Your fans absolutely know and we love you. I know you’re trying to joke about this but hearing that hurt. And in all honesty I’m happy it’s you doing this show because this sort of niche thing is just right for you. It’s different and unexpected for our “wholesome” Backstreet Boy, who we love for being that way.
Now when they did their routines twenty four hours later, because I need to get to this so this post isn’t a million miles long, it was pretty good! The chemistry was solid and both while outside their comfort zones, moved like they were comfortable. Their biggest slip up happened when it came to the lift, but really I’m glad Howie isn’t shooting out of the gate. I’d rather he get better and better than have a strong start and fall off – something I think will be the case for Tyler. At the end the cast themselves had to choose the best Baby and the best Johnny. Not sure I agreed with either choice (Cat and Tyler). If I’m being unbiased I would’ve said Corbin based on the challenge dance.
I think Howie will continue to grow and really that’s all we can ask for. That’s all I want for him, to show the world who he is and be confident in how aweome he is. Next week they’ll start eliminating couples. Not that I’m worried, really. I think he’ll be just fine. But either way, I’ll see you next week for the next episode!
Let me know what you thought of the episode below!
The Dark Side 