AJ McLean has some pretty strong opinions about his time on Dancing With the Stars.
The Backstreet Boys singer, 47, shared his thoughts during a panel appearance at 90s Con in Hartford, Conn., on Sunday, March 30.
When he and Wilson Phillips singer Chynna Phillips were asked about their individual experiences on the reality dance competition show, McLean joked, “I wanted to kill myself!”
McLean, who was partnered with professional dancer Cheryl Burke, explained, “She's a sweetheart, but I know all the pros want to win, so they're pretty harsh, and their methods… I thought I was cheating by, when we were done with camera rehearsal, going to a dance studio after that to keep learning because there's no way to learn in four hours, so I thought I was doing something behind the scenes that was bad, but everybody was doing it.”
He continued, “I would be in this dance place till 3 [o’clock] in the morning every night, and I was losing my mind, but the two things I got out of it… One, I learned a lot about myself. I boosted my self-esteem, which I lacked for my whole life, and I got in the best shape of my life, and that put me on this journey that I am on now where I've lost 35 pounds in the last three years. I literally said, ‘No dad bod here. It's not happening. I refuse.’ But it was an experience.”
Then the singer explained why he feels he got the short end of the stick on DWTS given its poor timing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My season sucked because it was the first show back during COVID, so we had no audience, and I need an audience,” McLean said. “I need to feel the energy. We had canned claps, canned everything, and the season right after me, the audience [was] back.”
As for Phillips' experience alongside pro Tony Dovolani on DWTS for Season 13, she explained, “My first three dances were fantastic, and then my fourth dance, I completely forgot the moves, and I didn't think I was gonna get knocked off for that, but unfortunately I did, and I went into my trailer, and I was literally sobbing, and my best friend grabbed my leg and she goes, you know what, Chynna, you can't put a swan in the circus.”
McLean appeared on Season 29 of Dancing With the Stars in 2020 and was the eighth contestant eliminated. The Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe and Artem Chigvintsev took home the Mirrorball Trophy, while Catfish host Nev Schulman and Jenna Johnson were named runners-up. Nelly and Daniella Karagach finished in third place, with Justina Machado and Sasha Farber in fourth.
