Our first submittal is on Derek Hough and is by Sabrina – and no, I didn’t put her up to it. Remember, we’ll be taking essays probably up through the beginning of the season and we don’t have too many rules.

Derek Hough: Dancing Royalty

Two words. Derek. Hough. This man is so incredibly talented! He sings, plays guitar, dances, and is an amazingly creative choreographer with three Emmy Nominations and two mirror ball trophies to prove it!

He is a true competitor and always tries to make his partners look their best. He has sustained an uncountable number of injuries during his time on the show and he always suffers through them without complaint, for his partners sake. When, on rare occasion, he makes a mistake he will always own up to it without passing the blame onto someone else. And he is never overly proud when he succeeds. If you watch back tapes of previous seasons when Julianne or Mark won, he was just as happy for their success as he is when he wins- a true competitor.

No matter how popular he has gotten in the last few years he is still incredibly humble. Other professionals on the show tend to thrive off of fame, and when someone else is in the spotlight they seem to fight to get the attention back on them. Derek can simply smile and be happy for his friends whether they are competitors or not. He is a genuinely nice, down-to-earth guy who doesn’t let rumors affect him and can be funny without coming across cocky or annoying.

He has been the source of most of the shows memorable moments; Not only with the amazing dances, though. Just thinking about him saying the words, “I’m rough, I’m tough, I’m Derek Hough,” and then loosing it and cracking up always puts a smile on my face. Has anyone else on the show fallen of the confessionals bench more than Derek? Each time he does you can’t help but laugh! Swung into a dance on a rope? What about used his partner as a human guitar? Nope. Only Derek! Who else would even attempt to steal the mirror ball trophy while dressed as an escaped convict?

Some of Tom’s best one-liners have poked fun at Derek. “Last night, Johanna brought us our first topless dance of the season. To bad it was her partner, Derek, who got naked and now he has the flu.” “After the show, I’m going to go out and get me one of those Derek Hough Injuries!” “Last season, we thought we challenged him by assigning a futuristic Paso. He got a perfect score. So we thought we would give him something even harder, a Paso from the 50’s! He did it again. So next season, he will have to do a quickstep. From the Renaissance!” “Derek Hough, the spandex Tarzan!” “So tonight we have learned that in the future we are going to dance really well but we will look ridiculous!” “We are pleased to announce that Derek’s hair as been approved as a bird sanctuary…”

You obviously can’t write an article about how amazing Derek Hough is without mentioning his So-close-to-perfect-its-almost-scary good looks. Blonde hair that can go from casual to formal, or Elvis to alien, keeps the hair and make-up artists on their toes and women of any age longing to run their fingers through it. He has a laugh that makes you want to laugh along with him and all it takes is one blink of those long lashes and the piercing blue eyes that can be so sensual and intense on the dance floor transform into the playful glittering eyes of that ornery little boy who will always be tempted to pull water balloons from behind his back to throw at you.

He is the two time winner of DWTS. There have been three Design a Dance competitions that he was eligible to participate in and has served as leading male in two, one of which earned him an Emmy Nomination for outstanding choreography. The past two seasons, Dancing With The Stars has featured a Dance Marathon, both of which Derek and his partner have won. His breathtaking vocals were featured on a track on Julianne’s first record. He and Mark also have their own band, The Ballas Hough Band, which has released an album and performed as a musical guest on the show.

Stunning good looks, a voice that will melt your heart, dance moves that will get that melted heart pounding, and one of the most charming, charismatic personalities you will ever find, what else could you possibly need to be considered Dancing With The Stars Royalty? Oh, wait! Did I mention he has abs too?!