Dancing's Derek Hough: We Were Not Expecting to Get a 27

Hey everyone!
Thanks for watching Monday!
I thought Monday was a great show and I'm super-proud of Amber. I think it was good for her as far as confidence. She's confident, but there's always that bit of insecurity. That experience of actually going out there and performing the premiere is invaluable because now you know what to expect.
I thought our cha-cha went very well. There are times when certain dances and certain music come together and it's just magic. I think that's what happened with Amber. It was timing. Everything just clicked. But we definitely were not expecting to get a 27. I was like, "Why?! Don't give us a 27!" In the moment, you're like, "That's amazing!" Then after a minute, you're like, "Oh, no. The bar is set so high now." A lot of the scores were high in general, which surprised me, but in some ways, I think that's good. The judges were scoring based upon what they were seeing and feeling right then and not because they felt they had to give a comparably lower score because it was the first week. There's this notion that high scores shouldn't be given out early in the season because there should be room for improvement, but it's never a steady climb up. Everyone has ups and downs, and I like that the judges were scoring in the moment. The flip side is, of course, high scores put pressure on everyone to at least maintain that level. But it's important to remember that the show is a long marathon that can take a lot of twists and turns.
I was impressed with everyone Monday. I thought Snooki was great. She has a lot of awareness and quality of movement in her body. Brant has a lot of potential. I think he's a darkhorse. Now that the premiere is out of the way, I think everyone will be better and more relaxed next week. We have the jive next. It's tiring because it takes so much stamina and it's tough to do over and over again, but Amber is getting it and doing great so far. I'm really digging our song, so I can't wait for you guys to see it.
It's been kind of crazy this week because I'm also in rehearsals for the Emmys. If you haven't heard, the Outstanding Choreography award is being presented on the main show for the first time ever and all the nominees are putting together a big number for the show with Neil Patrick Harris. It's such an amazing honor to be part of this and to be able to perform and choreograph on the TV industry's biggest night. It's all looking awesome. It's just one big number. Some of the nominees will be making an appearance and some won't be. I want to tell you all about it, but I can't! It's funny — the producers told us to tweet pictures and videos this week to get people excited, so we started doing that and then they're like, "OK, stop. We don't want to give everything away." But it's really cool. It's a nod to a lot of the shows that are nominated. It's really diverse and just the costumes alone will blow your mind.
I've been very fortunate to be nominated twice this year. It sounds so clichéd, but it really is an honor. I'm not worried or nervous. I've been getting a lot of amazing comments from people and those mean a lot. Honestly, it would be amazing if I were lucky enough to win, but I'm excited to see what happens either way. There are some incredible people nominated and they all deserve to win. And if I don't win, I'll be a two-time loser! It's happened to me before, so I'd be able to say that I'm a two-time loser twice! But the past times I've been nominated, I didn't really enjoy the whole experience. This time, I'm really taking everything in. Right now is one of those rare times where choreographers are well-known. Our work is typically in the background, but shows like Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance have really allowed people to connect to us and learn about us so much so that we can be on the Emmys ceremony. It's special.  
Hope you watch Sunday and Monday! Thanks for reading!
Derek