Heavy Sabrina Bryan campaigned for her All-Star DWTS spot.
A two-time former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant recently opened up about the intense process she experienced getting onto DWTS a second time. Sabrina Bryan competed in season 5 and the season 15. The second season was the show’s first “All-Stars” season and aired in 2012.
Bryan’s All-Star participation, however, almost didn’t happen.
Here’s what you need to know:
Sabrina Bryan Wasn’t Initially Asked to do Season 15 of DWTS
Bryan joined former “Dancing with the Stars” professional dancer Cheryl Burke for the March 24 episode of Burke’s “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast.
The ladies covered a lot of ground during the podcast episode. When Burke brought up the All-Stars season, Bryan surprised her by sharing how her participation came to be.
“They didn’t ask me,” Bryan revealed of that season. She told Burke, “Girl, I had to go through a whole political campaign to get on the show.”
Bryan shared that when casting for that season took place, she was in Las Vegas doing a show with Joey Fatone and Lacey Schwimmer.
One day, Fatone shared the news he had been asked to do All-Stars. Bryan admitted that for a while, she kept her phone close to her, eager to get a call too.
However, as Bryan heard more and more about which other people had been cast, it seemed to her that they were only asking former finalists.
“I remember crying to my manager going, there’s just no way, I’m never going to get a spot,” she recalled. Then, she got a phone call from the “Dancing with the Stars” casting person.
“I remember her phone, her name comes up in my phone and I’m like, my gosh, I’m shaking.” That’s when she was offered the chance to get a 13th spot on the All-Stars season.
“What we want to do is a big campaign. We want to get people really involved before the show even starts,” Bryan was told.
The show put up three former contestants and had “Dancing with the Stars” fans vote on which of the three got the spot. Bryan noted Carson Kressley and Kyle Massey rounded out the group of three.
Bryan Worked Hard to Win the Spot
“We each did these commercials of why you should vote,” Bryan recalled. “We do this whole campaign and…we did a ‘Good Morning America’ thing,” she added.
Bryan noted she thought the idea was a great one on the show’s part. However, she admitted, “I just wish I didn’t have to do it.”
“I started legitimately campaigning. I did all these videos,” she explained. She utilized “Team Sabrina,” which she thinks is how she won the spot.
Bryan explained that Team Sabrina was a dedicated group of fans who had tried to get her brought back after her shocking elimination in season 5.
Team Sabrina “got on the ball,” Bryan shared. “I swear it was Team Sabrina that got me on the show,” she added.
After the voting ended, she was told the votes for her were “incredible” and had been since the day the voting began.
Bryan got the final “Dancing with the Stars” spot. Unfortunately, she didn’t necessarily didn’t enjoy the process of getting it. Bryan also admitted she didn’t enjoy the All-Stars season as much as her first experience.
“I felt like I had so much pressure,” she admitted. Bryan noted it wasn’t her partner, Louis van Amstel, who created that feeling. Rather, it was the fact she only got on because of the votes, instead of being asked by the show.
“I was so tired that whole season because I couldn’t sleep. I was just really, just nervous that I wasn’t going to live up to this expectation that I had set in season 5,” she admitted.
Sadly, Bryan was hit with a surprise elimination during All-Stars, similar to what she experienced with season 5. As The Daily Mail noted, Bryan was eliminated the same night she scored the season’s first perfect score.