‘Dancing with the Stars’ 20 spotlight: Will Riker Lynch, Allison Holker rock out this season?
We will start this specific “Dancing with the Stars” spotlight article with an admission: We had no idea before this past week who Riker Lynch was. Clearly, he is a big deal to many out there, given that he has more than 700,000 Twitter followers. Also, their most-recent music video (which we’ve also included below for reference) has more than four million views. This is probably just a generational thing, so don’t worry R5 fans: This is not meant as a slam!
So when it comes to his dancing, what should you be looking out for above all else? Just expect for him to be an entertaining presence on the show. He’s young, he’s experienced at performing, and he has dancing in his family. One thing should be noted here is that Julianne and Derek Hough are second cousins; dance moves are not necessarily hereditary, but there is a family history here.
Name – Riker Lynch
Age – 23
Claim to fame – Being the bassist in the band R5. He was also one of the Warblers on “Glee” for many years, even if he did not have too substantial a part on the show.
Partner – Allison Holker. This is the second consecutive season for Allison, who was originally known for “So You Think You Can Dance.” When it comes to having a partner with potential, she certainly should be rather happy right now.
Strengths – Clearly, Riker has the energy to be a good dancer. He’s accomplished quite a bit for 23, and he should be fairly driven. While we don’t know his dance background at all, doing choreography on “Glee” is at least somewhat similar. Remember here that Amber Riley did win the season that she was on this season. Also, timing here is important to note: There is only one tour date listed on R5’s website that will take him out of Los Angeles during the competition.
Weaknesses – The majority of the show’s viewers are older people, and unless he can get everyone one of his Twitter followers to vote for him, it may not matter too much how many he has. Bethany Mota is probably a good comparison here; he has a good internet base, but whether or not they translate to television support is to be seen. You have to remember here that many of these followers may be in other parts of the world.
Prediction – Unless Riker brings it with his personality and scores 10’s through most of the final weeks, he’s going to have a hard time winning given the show’s voting block. With this being said, he should go fairly deep into the competition. He’s too talented to go home early, and that should give some viewers a chance to know him.
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