Now that they’ve made their Dancing With the Stars debuts, the contestants of Season 14 can banish their nerves and show the judges what they’re really made of.
Legendary soul singer Gladys Knight, 67, tied for fourth place on March 19 with 23/30 points. “I want the trophy,” she said on Access Hollywood Live Friday. “But if I don’t get it, I want to make the journey the best that I can make it.”
During his foxtrot routine, Family Matters alum Jaleel White, 35, had “an out-of-body experience,” he later told Us Weekly.
“My legs don’t feel like Jell-O anymore,” he explained. “The word that describes how I feel now is ‘capable.’ It’s nice. I put a smile on [judge Len Goodman]’s face, and that means more to me than the actual score. A number’s a number, but I know he’s a hard guy to please. No matter what happens in the competition, I know we’re capable of doing that again.”
With 26/30 points, White tied for first place with opera singer Katherine Jenkins, 31. “That was exquisite,” judge Bruno Tonioli raved of Jenkin’s foxtrot in the premiere episode. “The style was impeccable and the quality of movement was surreal.”
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Another standout was Cuban-American actor William Levy, 31. He and pro partner Cheryl Burke, 27, will perform the quickstep on the March 26 show.
“Everything’s really hard now,” Levy told Us after his debut performance. “I’ve got to just work on myself to be a better dancer, you know? Hopefully she can get me to be better next week.”
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