JoJo Siwa conjures queer greased lightnin’ with captivating same-sex Dancing with the Stars foxtrot
JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson, the first same-sex pair on Dancing With the Stars, earned the first perfect score of the season with a stellar Grease performance. (YouTube/Dancing With the Stars)
JoJo Siwa earned the first perfect score of the season on Dancing with the Stars with a stunning Grease performance.
Siwa and her dance partner Jenna Johnson have consistently impressed the judges throughout the competition, but there was greased lightnin’ in the air this week.
Siwa channelled her inner Olivia Newton-John for a foxtrot to “Look At Me, I’m Sandra Dee (Reprise)”, taken from the classic 70s film.
The pair donned pink ensembles with Siwa’s inspired by Sandy’s trademark dress, and Jenna Johnson took a page from Frenchie’s Pink Ladies’ outfit. The emotionally charged routine left the judges in awe, earning them the first perfect score of the season.
https://youtu.be/VxiZEFEvnr0
Carrie Ann Inaba said the performance was nothing short of “perfection” while Derek Hough said it “was a moment”.
Len Goodman even gave the same-sex pair a standing ovation after the performance.
“You affected my brain with the quality of the technique,” he said. “You affected my heart with the artistry you produced. It was superb.”
Before the performance, Siwa confessed to the camera that she was “very self-conscious” this week. But, she said, Johnson gave her “the confidence and the courage to be more OK with myself”.
Johnson added she’d come to see Siwa as a little sister.
“This is the most connected I’ve ever felt with a partner,” Johnson said.
JoJo Siwa expanded upon how much Johnson’s support has meant to her in an emotional post on Instagram. She said she’s been through “thick and thicker in the last few weeks” and that Johnson had been “there for me every second that I need her to be”.
“This show would not be the same with anyone else,” Siwa wrote. “Tonight we shared the story of OUR friendship that we’ve gained over the last few weeks and I couldn’t be happier.”
She added that she’d “cried in the beginning, middle and end of this performance” because of this special moment between herself and the pro-dancer.
