James Maslow on the DWTS Finale: I Think Its Going to Be Close Between Amy, Meryl, and Candace
Another one from @ParadeMagazine http://t.co/BdxoXrISwO Thanks guys!
- James Maslow (@jamesmaslow) May 20, 2014
By JAMES MASLOW
Performing the tango and freestyle
This week was pretty stressful, I’m not going to lie. It was hard to not only do two dances, but two dances with the level of technicality and difficulty we put into them. They were two of my favorite performances throughout the entire season. I think the tango was one of the strongest ballroom dances I did all season and the freestyle was insane. I landed every crazy trick that I wanted to attempt and was nervous about attempting. We envisioned this huge, gigantic, crazy performance and we did it, so I’m incredibly proud.
At the end of the day, whether I went home weeks ago, last night, or even if it was today, as long as I was proud of the performances I did I think that’s the most important thing. Nobody’s going to remember the scores, yes, they might remember the mirror ball win, but aside from that, they’re going to remember the best, most memorable dances. So I wanted the freestyle to do something different, something nobody had ever done before on the show, and I think we did that.
Saying Goodbye
I’m still dancing tonight, so it’s a much better feeling to go last night [than earlier in the season], I’m still a part of it and doing everything with the final four. It’s a good place to be, having said that though, I was a little surprised that we didn’t move on to the top three. But you know what? I’m ok with it. I’m competitive, so of course I’m a little let down-I would have liked the opportunity to continue to compete today and really have a chance for that mirror ball. The way I look at it, I would have rather liked to win or go out exactly as I did: on top with people still rooting for me. Things happen for a reason.
I think that it’s going to be close [between the final three]. It’s proof, with me leaving that it’s not necessarily going to be about the best dancer or the best performances as much as a combination of that and who the people at home are rooting for and pulling for. It’s hard to say who’s going to win at this point. I’m not going to throw my weight behind anybody.
Working with Peta all season
I think my favorite thing about Peta was the level of competitiveness that she had. I was surprised to be matched with a partner that was as competitive as I was. I think the competitiveness drove us to do as well as we did and it’s fantastic to have a partner you become that good of friends with as well. I’m not sure if that’s normal or not, I’m sure other people have become good friends with their partners, but Peta and I have something pretty special.
For the send-off package, they probably asked her that question for about two hours before they got that sound bite! You know, I’m not counting [dating Peta after the show] out. She’s an amazing girl and the biggest reason we haven’t blatantly said one way or the other is that I’m a private person and she is becoming more of a private person. We’ve given a lot of our personal lives to the audience and to our fans and there’s certain things you need to keep to yourself. My relationships throughout my life are one of the things I’m going to keep private from the world. It has nothing to do with hiding it from fans or being embarrassed or not being proud, I just need to retain a little bit of privacy for my life. She’s fantastic, we may date, we may not, I don’t even have a definitive answer for you now, but I think it’s fair to ask that we keep that stuff to ourselves.
And now time for your questions from Twitter:
@MegLew75 asks: What are your plans after #DWTS? Vacation or do you have another project coming up?
I’m trying to do both! I have so many things that I’m working on that I’m so excited for. The first one, I’m filming a recurring role on a Sony Crackle project called Sequestered and I haven’t been able to talk about it until recently. It’s coming out in the fall and I’m very excited about it. Jesse Bradford is the lead and there’s some other amazing actors in it. I think it’s going to be a fantastic show and I’m looking forward to it. I’m also working with some fantastic new songwriters on some new music. I’m not going to rush to put something out, but it will be in the relatively near future.
@MissSAADELOVE asks: Describe your DWTS journey in three words.
Exciting, exhausting, and I’m going to hyphenate these last three: well-worth-it.