JoJo Siwa leaves Dancing with the Stars judges in tears with dance tribute to late relative
JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson. (YouTube/Dancing with the Stars)
JoJo Siwa has made it to the finals of Dancing with the Stars after a pair of perfect scores.
The Dance Moms alum and her dance partner, Jenna Johnson, clinched their spot in the finals with a mesmerising contemporary dance to Lewis Capaldi’s “Before You Go”.
This was their second dance of the evening, with the first being an Argentine Tango that earned perfect scores.
Siwa’s contemporary dance was dedicated to her grandfather who passed away earlier this year. During a rehearsal video that aired during the episode, the influencer was crying with her grandmother as she said: “We just want to do grandpa proud.”
Both Siwa’s grandmother, Joni, and the judges were in tears watching the passionate performance, which Siwa had teased last week would be “something really personal”.
Judge Derek Hough said it was “the best contemporary dance we have ever see on the show,” while Bruno Tonioli said: “There were moments you sent me to dance heaven, you were like two angels.” The pair earned another perfect score, giving them 80 out of a possible 80 on the night.
Prior to the semi-finals, Johnson said of the dance: “I feel like our word this week is emotion. I don’t feel like we’ve seen necessarily that side [of Siwa]. I feel like you always get to see bubbly, fun, spunky, out there JoJo. We’re tapping into something really personal this week. I’m really excited for everyone to see it.”
JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson have consistently taken home very high scores throughout Dancing with the Stars, and are now in with a fighting chance of winning the series.
The 18-year-old said she wanted to be in the finals “more than anything”. She beat out Olympic gold medallist Suni lee and The Office star Melora Hardin to make it to next week.
The final will see Siwa competing against celebrity fitness trainer Amanda Kloots, NBA star Iman Shumpert, and Peloton trainer Cody Rigsby for the Mirrorball Trophy.
Siwa is best-known for being an online personality on YouTube and Tik Tok, and came out as part of the LGBT+ community earlier this year, revealing that she was in a relationship with Kylie Prew. They have since broken up, with Siwa confirming the news in early November, explaining on the This Is Paris podcast that it was primarily because of Siwa’s “hectic schedule”. However, the pair remain friends.
Dancing with the Stars will air its finale on November 22 at 8pm Eastern Time.
