One of the many shows to look forward to on the 2024 TV schedule this fall will be Dancing with the Stars for Season 33, which will see more contestants competing for the coveted Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. The previous season brought out a wide variety of stars, including Grammy-winning artist Jason Mraz, who placed second with tough partner Daniella Karagach. Despite making it all the way to the end, it turns out there was a time when Mraz actually tried to get himself eliminated.
The singer recently spoke with Modern Family alum Jesse Tyler Ferguson on his Dinner’s on Me podcast. It was during that conversation that Jason Mraz talked about the origin of his single, “I Feel Like Dancing,” revealing how he wanted to explore dancing more and find a new version of himself. He explained how he’s always having fans get up and dance at his concert, but he’s never seriously done that himself. Yet that tune led to him getting a call from DWTS:
Then the producers of Dancing with the Stars called and said, ‘Hey, we heard you feel like dancing. Are you serious about that?’ And I thought, ‘Wow, what an honor. What a great school to learn dancing fast.’ … It was the same. Every Tuesday night, we had to show up on the set and perform our dance that we created, and it was the hardest thing ever but so fun. … I did OK.
The "I'm Yours" performer definitely did more than OK, as he quickly became a fan-favorite. While the judges (who even got booed) were pretty harsh at times, that didn't stop Jason Mraz and Daniella Karagach from going all the way and almost to the top. They ultimately lost to lost Mirrorball Trophy winners Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy but, for Mraz, it was a shock just being in the game for so long. He initially had low expectations yet, once he realized he actually had a shot at making it to the finale, reality started to set in. So much so that he didn’t even want to be in the competition anymore:
I think if I had really wanted to win, now, looking back, I probably could have gone for it. But, honestly, I didn’t think I had a shot. So I went in thinking, ‘I’ll probably last two or three weeks.’ Well, two or three weeks in, I realized I’m probably going to be here the whole time, and I’m terrified. And I have to cancel all my plans for the entire rest of the year, and I’m missing my cat terribly. And I start telling my friends, ‘Stop voting for me! It’s like the only way I can get off this show is if I don’t get enough votes. And I even told the producers like, ‘I’m good. I can go home now, thank you so much for the honor.’ And they said, ‘We can’t do anything about you being here.’ So, the only thing that I could do is ask friends to vote for someone else.
Even though it is pretty ridiculous that Jason Mraz tried so hard to get out of DWTS, I can’t say I blame him. The series is probably really draining. On top of the constant rehearsals, there’s also the fact that it quite possibly could be something you’re doing for four or five months, basically to the end of the year. That means missing friends, missing family, canceling plans and maybe even passing up other professional opportunities.
However, having made it to the end and becoming a runner-up, his perspective has changed on the whole ordeal. Considering he tried his hardest to get eliminated and still made it to second place shows that he definitely had it in him. It’s possible that if he really did try a little bit harder with the dances, he could have taken home the trophy. And, later in his conversation with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, the musician revealed whether he'd compete on the show again:
And having made it all the way to the very end, made it to the buzzer, I look back and laugh and think, ‘Well, maybe if I’d actually given a shit.’ So, I would do it all over again if I could, and I would try really hard. Maybe, they’ll have a Dancing with the Stars All-Star season. I would go back.
Hopefully, there’s some All-Star season of DWTS in the future, because it would be fun to see Jason Mraz redeem himself. Of course, I'd hope that he wouldn't try to get himself eliminated again. At the very least, one would think that he learned a lot from his time on the series that he can continue to use for concerts and music videos.
While you wait for new episodes of Dancing with the Stars to premiere, grab a Disney+ subscription and stream Season 33 in its entirety now!
