Jenna Dewan had a very special, surprise guest on her side on Tuesday night’s (Nov. 10) Dancing With the Stars. The Step Up star and her professional dance partner paid tribute to the Grammy Night theme by dancing to Janet Jackson‘s Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 “All For You,” which won best dance recording at the 2002 Grammy Awards.
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In the intro video, Dewan said she was “so excited” for her performance because she recalled dancing with *NSYNC at the Grammy Awards in 2002 and how much that gig meant to her. “It was amazing and it’s the top awards show that you can ever perform at,” she said. Then she heaped praise on Jackson, noting that working for Janet was “the start of my career,” recalling that she danced in two videos for the singer — “Doesn’t Really Matter” and “All For You” — as well as being a backup dancer on her tours. “This is a full-circle moment.”
The circle remained unbroken when Jackson made an unannounced cameo on the show after Dewan’s high-energy routine to “All For You,” when the singer showed up in a loving message honoring her former dancer. “I am so excited. I cannot wait to watch you perform tonight,” said Jackson, wearing oversized round glasses, a black hoodie and a black and white “Funkbox NYC” ball cap in a video of the moment posted by E! News.
“You’re performing to ‘All For You.’ I feel so honored. ‘All For You!,” Jackson, 60, added with a smile. “I really do feel honored though. I know you’re going to do an incredible job. Weren’t those such fun times we had back then during those days, the All For You tour? I miss you, I love you, I can’t wait to see you tonight, like I said, you’re going to do an incredible job, I know it.”
After scoring a perfect 40 last week for their quickstep to the Beauty and the Beast classic “Be Our Guest” on Disney Night, Dewan and partner Val Chmerkovskiy hit the stage for a jazz routine to “All For You” featuring acrobatic lifts, spins and the kind crisp, fluid choreo Dewan (and Jackson) are known for.
The pair got a score of 28 out of 30 from the judges with Carrie Ann Inaba saying it felt like “no time has passed at all … I expected greatness and you delivered.” In the end, though, despite landing the second-highest score of the night and winning their dance battle against Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik, Dewan and Chmerkovskiy were eliminated at show’s end.
Next week’s semifinal show will feature the remaining couples dancing twice. DWTS airs live on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+ and streams the next day on Hulu.
Watch Dewan’s tribute to Janet below.
