What To Know
- Joey Graziadei revealed to TV Insider who he thinks is the current frontrunner for Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars.
- He also shared his prediction about an unexpected contestant who he believes will make the finale.
- Graziadei, who is making his acting debut in The Holiday Spark, won Season 33 of DWTS in 2024.
Joey Graziadei won Season 33 of Dancing With the Stars, so he has some authority when it comes to weighing in on the current competition. The Bachelor alum, who is making his acting debut in Roku’s The Holiday Spark, revealed who his top pick for Season 35 is at the moment.
“You have so many people that I think are living up to the moment and embracing the experience,” he told TV Insider. “And then you have people that have incredible dance experience that I just can’t wait too see what they do. My sneaky frontrunner right now is still Amber [Glenn] and Pasha [Pashkov], though.”
Graziadei called Glenn’s Dedication Night dance with her sister “the best dance I’ve seen on the show,” adding, “I was blown away by that one.”
Disney/Eric McCandless
Of course, he’s also “pulling” for his former pro partner, Jenna Johnson, who’s partnered with Harry Shum Jr. this season. The duo earned perfect scores for their last two dances. “I think they have a real shot this year, which is exciting,” Graziadei added.
He also reiterated Derek Hough‘s recent hot take that Connor Wood will go far in the competition. “I will put that out here right now. I will almost guarantee that he makes the finale,” Graziadei said. “I think he can. I think that he’s the perfect blend of his dancing has gotten better and I would be shocked if he doesn’t have the votes. He seems, online, to have a really big army behind him and Rylee [Arnold]. He’s doing it so well.”
Comparing Wood’s journey to his own, Graziadei also said, “I think people can see he’s committed and they can see how much he’s getting better. He is what the show is about, and that’s kind of the route that I fell under. No one expected me to be good and I got better throughout.”
While Graziadei was away filming The Traitors for a few of this season’s Live Shows, he was able to attend Super Bowl Night. He noted that Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy’s paso doble that night “might’ve been one of the better [ones] I’ve seen in a very long time,” and said Ezra Frech and Daniella Karagach‘s salsa was “incredible.”
“This season, I think one of my favorite things is there is a lot of variety,” Graziadei explained. “I don’t really know what’s going to happen. I think there are frontrunners. You can tell from the scoring and there’s also really, really talented dancers that have experience that are on the show.”
Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC and Disney+
The Holiday Spark, Streaming Now, Roku
