With the new season of “Dancing With The Stars” heating up, we can’t help but to notice a few standout cast members that we’ve got our eyes on. “Glee” star, Amber Riley is definitely one of them. The young starlet rose to fame playing Mercedes Jones on the hit television show, “Glee”, and is taking her career to a new height as a “Dancing With The Stars” contestant. Paired with pro dancer, Derek Hough, Riley will show us exactly what she’s working with as she debuts her dance skills to all of America.
Now, if you’re a fan of “Glee” then you the girl can SANG but the question is, can she dance?! After watching a few episodes of “DWTS” and catching Amber Riley and her partner in action, it’s clear that Amber can do more than a simple two step! Amber, we’ve got our eyes on you and here are five reasons why we’re on Amber Riley watch!
1. She’s Paired With Derek Hough – Winner of DWTS Four Times!
Amber Riley is paired with one of the best dancers/choreographers on DWTS, Derek Hough. He’s already won the contest a total of four times (and the only cast member to hold that record)! For that reason, she’s already in the winner’s circle by default and will definitely rise to the top! On a recent episode of DWTS, Amber and her partner got fancy during “Latin Night” when they danced “The Jive” and received 24 points! Amber wrote her excitement about her high score in her Paradeblog stating, “It feels overwhelming to have won three 9s on the first night! It’s really, really exciting. I’m happy with the scores, but at the same time, I feel like this has jump-started me to work even harder in rehearsals. Honestly, I didn’t think people would pay much attention to me! All I wanted was to do a good job.”
It looks like this duo is on the right track to the number one spot already!
Although I don’t know Amber personally, she seems to have a phenomenal personality and positive spirit. In a recent interview with PEOPLE magazine, Riley stated that this competition has taught her to push her limits and that she could do more than she thought she could. She then went on to say, “Derek keeps me from getting negative. When I get to that place, he’s good at redirecting me. Even in my everyday life, I can learn from that.”
I don’t know about you, but those words are quite an inspiration and can be applied to more than just this DWTS competition! Pushing to the limit is something I’m sure each of us experience in our everyday lives, and when we finally find that we can do what we’ve set our minds too, we learn that we can do way more than we thought! Let me go write this down on my vision board, LOL.
The “Cha Cha” looks like its probably one of the hardest dances out (and no, I’m not talking about the “Cha Cha Slide”) and on opening night of DWTS, Amber and Derek NAILED IT! She made it look quite easy and effortless and apparently the judges agreed because they awarded Amber and Derek a high score of 27 – the highest scoring duo of the night! I don’t now about you, but I’ve got my money on Amber and Derek!
Watch their “Cha Cha” performance below:
4. The Judges Love Her Already
It’s obvious that Amber Riley is already a fan favorite and it looks as if the judges have noticed how amazing Amber is as well! Each night Amber and Derek have taken the dance floor so far, the judges seem utterly impressed by the duo’s dance moves and high energy! On week two, the judges gave Amber and Derek a total score of 24, just 3 points shy of their first high score on week one. Each judge had nothing but positive words to give Amber and Derek’s performance. One stated, “you continue to wow us!” while another stated, “raging torrent!” Bravo, Amber!
5. She’s Got Superhero-like Powers: Working On “Glee” & DWTS At The Same Time!
Not only is Amber currently slaying on the dance floor, she’s still killing her role as Mercedes on “Glee” – at the same time! If anyone knows about having a busy schedule in Hollywood, it’s got to be Amber Riley. Working long hours on “Glee” and now putting in at least four hours each day to practice with Derek for DWTS makes Amber quite the busy bee! At least all of her performing on “Glee” will help her continue to wow us on the DTWS stage! I’m tired just thinking about Amber’s busy schedule! Sheesh!
