The 32nd season of Dancing With the Stars has brought on tons of newness in all types of areas—see: Emma Slater dishing on what it’s like to work with her ex Sasha Farber, Mauricio Umansky dodging romance rumors, and yes, an entire night dedicated to the one and only Taylor Swift). The latest form of DWTS content, though, comes from Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix.
On November 7, contestants joined forces on different teams as they danced to songs with iconic music videos from Gwen Stefani‘s “Hollaback Girl” to the Backstreet Boys‘ “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back).” Team 4 Everybody, which consisted of Ariana, Jason Mraz, Alyson Hannigan, and Barry Williams, performed the latter, and the Bravo star gushed about the boy band in a post-show interview with People.
“The Backstreet Boys was my first concert ever, and I went with my dad’s work friend’s family because there was only one ticket and we were all the way at the nosebleeds,” Ariana dished, revealing that she got to meet AJ McLean during DWTS rehearsals. “And I have these horrible photos of the show and I showed AJ.”
And, in true ~fangirl~ fashion, Ariana admitted that she had a run-in with a BSB member years before her DWTS group performance. “I actually chased Nick Carter through the airport once as a child,” she told the outlet. Casual!
After crashing DWTS rehearsals, AJ appeared on Cheryl Burke’s Sex, Lies and Spray Tans podcast, and talked about Ariana’s “full freakout” when they met for the first time.
“When I walked in the room, none of them had any idea,” he told Cheryl. “She like almost collapsed. She’s so sweet.”
He continued, “She showed me—and this is for all the Gen Zs out there that don’t know what a photograph is. It’s an actual printed photograph. She had printed photos from the Millennium tour. She carries them with her. Which is so sweet. Well, she also had them for her [interviews] and some of her stuff for her package so she had them not knowing I was going to be there.”
Who knew that chasing one Backstreet Boy through an airport could lead to a full-circle meeting with another? I’m truly loving this for Ariana. 🥹
ICYMI, watch DWTS Team 4 Everybody’s full dance to the Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)” below:
Assistant News Editor
Sam is an assistant news editor at Cosmo, covering all things pop culture, entertainment, and celebrity news. She previously covered those same topics along with health, lifestyle, and beauty at Seventeen. When she isn’t draping her cheeks in blush, you can probably find her live-tweeting awards shows or making SwiftToks.
