Jimmie Allen Escapes First Elimination With Emotional Performance on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ [Watch]
Jimmie Allen and dancing pro partner Emma Slater rolled into Week 2 of Dancing With the Stars' Season 30 with the rumba, escaping elimination with a performance that Allen really connected to emotionally.
The dance style is characterized by its subtle hip side-to-side movement, married with the simple footwork of two quick side steps and a slow step forward. This week, Allen danced to a song very familiar to him — his own “Make Me Want To."
Allen and Slater were both dressed in assorted notes of purple. Before they began their footwork, fans learned why this song is so important to the country singer.
“Make Me Want To” appears on Allen’s album Mercury Lane, which is titled after the street where he grew up. Allen’s pre-dance video featured the singer emotionally recounting how his mother held his family together when she struggled to make ends meet. The singer brought fans in on a pivotal moment in his life, when his mother had them all camp out in the living room. He did not know until later that his mother had done that to keep her children warm because they were without electricity at the time.
Overall, the judges were impressed with Allen’s stage presence. They all echoed that they felt the emotion oozing out of the singer and into the dance moves, making the number much more than just a dance.
Judge Len Goodman reminded the singer that the overall goal of the show is to improve each week, and he encouraged the singer that he was on the right track.
Allen scored a 27 out of 40.
Fans were quick to turn to social media, expressing all of the emotions they felt while Allen gave his heartfelt dance performance.
Allen escaped Week 2's elimination, with Cobra Kai star Martin Kove being the first to be eliminated during Season 30.
Dancing With the Stars airs on Mondays on ABC at 8PM ET.
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