‘Dancing with the Stars 23’ spotlight: Can Vanilla Ice, Witney Carson freeze everyone in their tracks?
We’ve said this a few times over now, but Vanilla Ice seems like the sort of person who really should have been on “Dancing with the Stars” years ago. He’s a well-known performer behind one of the biggest hits of the early nineties, and he already has a significant reality TV resume. Yet, this season is his time, and we’ll get a good opportunity to see if music moves translate into ballroom-dance moves.
Before we continue, full disclosure: The rapper, whose real name is Robert Matthew Van Winkle, is the only contestant this season we’ve met before. We’ll try not to let that impact our read on him this season. (For the record, ABC has not released a promotional photo for him just yet, hence the logo at the top of the article.)
Claim to fame – Rapper, best known for “Ice Ice Baby.” He continues to be involved in music, but has also done a variety of other reality shows, including “The Vanilla Ice Project” and “Vanilla Ice Goes Amish.” He also appeared in the movie “The Ridiculous 6” as Mark Twain.
Partner – Witney Carson. She won the show with Alfonso Ribeiro, and she certainly knows what it takes. She’s one of those pros who really emphasizes trying to have fun in the ballroom, so hopefully she can bring that sort of spirit out of Ice.
Strengths – Typically, being musically inclined at least means that you have a good understanding of rhythm and beat. With that in mind, we think he’s fairly well-equipped for at least some of the technical aspects of doing the show. If he can also play up his musical legacy fairly early on in the season, he may be able to play to some of the voters who are nostalgic for the early nineties and remember jamming to his song.
Weaknesses – He’s not the most relevant of the performers in 2016, so of course he’ll have to do everything he can to stand out with his personality and his skills right away. Otherwise, he could be in danger of going home early. Also, he’s a little bit of an unknown in terms of playing a character as is needed for some dances; while he has acted before, we don’t necessarily consider him an actor.
Prediction – It would be fun to see him go fairly far just because we do think he has a lot of charisma and could really embrace this experience in ways few others could. Unfortunately, we’re worried for him in the early going given that we don’t think the average viewer of this show is much of a hip-hop fan. Also, being reasonably well-known doesn’t necessarily guarantee success; just look at David Hasselhoff, who inexplicably was sent home first on his season.
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