'GMA 40 for 40': Julianne Hough Reveals Her 'Dancing' Frontrunners
Hough calls Season 21 "one of the tightest competitions" in "DWTS" history.
— -- Season 21 of “Dancing With the Stars” is down to just four finalists and judge Julianne Hough says while the competition is tight, she has two frontrunners to take home the Mirrorball trophy.
“My frontrunner would probably be Bindi or Nick,” Hough, 27, told ABC News’ Gio Benitez in an early-morning interview during the "GMA" 40-hour livestream marathon, referring to stars Bindi Irwin and Nick Carter.
Irwin is partnered with Hough’s brother, Derek Hough, while Backstreet Boys band member Nick Carter is partnered with Sharna Burgess.
Hough, who transitioned from “Dancing” pro to judge, called this season of the show “probably one of the tightest competitions” she’s seen in the show’s history, which means the other two finalists left in the competition are strong contenders too.
“At the same time Carlos has some great fans and, I mean, Alek has really had an amazing journey since he started too,” Hough said, referring to Big Time Rush singer Carlos PenaVega and U.S. Army National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos.
Hough spoke with “GMA” from Washington, D.C., where she was visiting her fiancé, hockey player Brooks Laich.
The two announced their engagement in August but Hough said they are not rushing when it comes to wedding planning.
“There hasn’t been too much so far,” Hough said, adding she will “take all the advice she can get,” even when it comes to picking her wedding dress. “We’re just kind of enjoying the process.”
“It’s still a long ways away,” she said of the wedding.
Hough has partnered with Strayer University in a campaign to change the definition of success in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and she says seeing success as only money- or fame-related is something she struggled with herself.
“I definitely had an experience a couple of years ago where nothing was quite good enough and I never really thought that I was successful and I had to really change what that meant to me personally,” Hough said. “We really want to have happiness be derived off of good relationships and attaining your goals that you set out for yourself rather than necessarily fame or money and all those things.”
