Derek Hough Talks “Marilu’s Moment” and Music Issues in His DWTS 23, Week 5 Blog
Derek’s blog this week is a bit shorter than normal, but it’s full of all kinds of somewhat revealing comments. The biggest is the music issues. It’s something we’ve always known, but readers often ask us about the music. Well, he pretty much lays it out. He’s much kinder than I am, since I tend to think that there really isn’t THAT much “mis-communicating” and more like “orchestrating”. 🙂 Remember – reality TV show. As for the middle paragraph I quoted – there are a few pros who should take some notes on this. Perhaps some fans too.
The funny thing is, I found the song we danced to, “Surprise Yourself” by Jack Garratt, and the producers wanted to use a different song. I asked why and they were like, “No one knows it.” But I stood my ground. It was the perfect song for Marilu and the dance. Plus, even if the song is not well known, people might search for it afterward and make it well known. It only helps everyone. We got so many messages afterward asking us what the song was. It was the same thing with my freestyle with Kellie Pickler — no one knew that song either, but everyone asked afterward about it.
After having that breakthrough, I think it kind of takes the pressure off of us. I know it does for me personally. I feel like a broken record, but I really just wanted her to experience that joy. I think Marilu is no longer scared of disappointing me! All jokes aside, we talked about it. I said I understand and I said, “This is your experience. This is your journey. I’m here to help. I’m here to serve. This is yours. I want you to own it.” I think she gets it now and we’re good. I don’t want her to be scared of me! I am probably the least scary person in the world!
We had a little song drama this week too. There was some miscommunication and we thought we had a salsa because our song is so salsa-like. So for all of Tuesday, we were prepping a salsa, and then they were like, “No, you have a cha-cha.” We’re calling it a “chalsa.” The song is so salsa that I feel like I have to incorporate some salsa moves into it. Plus, it’s Latin Week, so we want to make it fun and vibrant.