‘Dancing with the Stars 16’ spotlight: Zendaya and Val Chmerkovskiy
With season 16 of “Dancing with the Stars” just over two weeks away, we’re kicking off this weekend something that has always been a favorite thing of ours to do: preview some of the celebrities that were brave enough to don sequins, subject themselves to great embarrassment, and enter the ballroom.
We’re doing these spotlights in alphabetical order by last name, and with that in mind we’re kicking things off here with a young lady who checks of one of the show’s favorite boxes in “Disney Channel star”: Zendaya. In being completely honest, we had no idea who she was before the announcement came out. But then again, we usually say this with the Disney names. Nonetheless, Zendaya (who has apparently pulled a Madonna and dropped her last name) is the show’s youngest-ever contestant at only 16 years old, but we can see her making it pretty far so long as her fans come out to vote.
Partner – Val Chmerkovskiy. Val is an interesting choice here given that he recently heated up the ballroom with Kelly Monaco, and given Coleman’s age, he is going to have to soften up and feature dances that show off a more innocent and fun side. With that being said, isn’t it going to be uncomfortable to see these two do a rumba?
Strengths – The obvious one here is that she stars on “Shake It Up!,” which is a show about dance. With that being said, she probably knows a thing or two about having rhythm. While being 16 always leads to questions about whether or not you can handle the intensity of the ballroom and the long hours, it on the flip side means that she should have a ton of energy.
Finally, being an actress should help Zendaya channel other characters during the dances, and she is used to performing in front of a live audience every week on her show.
Weaknesses – The biggest issue we could see Zendaya facing is merely that having all of this energy can lead to a lack of control, and we traditionally see young contestants go a little crazy and try to do too much. We don’t know her well enough to say whether or not she is mature enough for this competition, but being that she is a minor, she will be limited when it comes to how many hours she is legally allowed to work. This could work against them considering that the older celebrities can practice for as long as they like.
Prediction – Disney stars traditionally do make it pretty far on the show, with Roshon Fegan, Kyle Massey, and Chelsea Kane all making it past the first several weeks. We have a feeling that Zendaya will do the same, but she’ll probably be eliminated around fifth or sixth place for a familiar reason: this show tends to skew very old, and most of these people watching the show will have no idea who she is.
What’s your take on Zendaya? Be sure to vote in the poll below, and you can see the latest rumors about “Bachelor” Sean Lowe being on the cast here.
Photo: ABC