Hanson joins the ballroom

Taylor Hanson is competing on Dancing With the Stars season 35, paired with six-time DWTS pro Britt Stewart. They're performing a quickstep to Billy Joel's "Tell Her About It" for the premiere.

A song from his birth year

Hanson selected "Tell Her About It" because the premiere theme celebrates number one hits from contestants' birth years. He was born in 1983, the year Billy Joel's song topped the charts.

Out of his comfort zone

Hanson admits he has no real dance experience and may have avoided it to be seen as a musician. But he's drawn to the elegance and romance of ballroom, which reminds him of Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.

“It really is an art form. It's very challenging. It puts you through the physical, mental, and emotional.”

The grueling physical toll

Rehearsals have shown Hanson that ballroom dancing demands far more than he expected. The physical, mental, and emotional demands of learning choreography from scratch have pushed him beyond his usual stage experience.

Building trust with Britt

Hanson compares the partnership with Stewart to songwriting collaborations. You meet someone and immediately drop your walls to create something together, requiring quick trust and vulnerability.

“This is very personal. You meet, you have to figure out your dynamic and learn to trust each other.”

Why people watch DWTS

Hanson believes viewers connect with the show because they watch diverse people navigate vulnerability and create new art forms together. It's one of the few programs that brings families together on the couch.

A different kind of exposure

Unlike his Masked Singer appearance with Hanson, this solo competition puts Hanson more exposed as a performer. But he's focused on the experience rather than winning the competition.