Rumer Willis Sings And Valentin Chmerkovskiy Plays Violin On ‘Dancing With The Stars’
Rumer Willis and Valentin Chmerkovskiy have proven their prowess on the dance floor. Those skills got them to the finals on Dancing with the Stars. They are pulling out all the stops for their final three performances: two on Monday night and one on Tuesday’s finale.
Monday’s freestyle will be particularly special, as Rumer and Val are making Britney Spears’ “Toxic” truly their own. The team re-recorded the song, with Val on violin and Rumer on lead vocals. Val expressed his thanks to renowned songwriter and producer Linda Perry for her assistance on Twitter Monday afternoon.
Can’t wait for you all to hear @TheRue‘s version of #toxic tonight – thank you @RealLindaPerry #teamvalenrue #dwts pic.twitter.com/fA00zX7Tde
— Valentin (@iamValC) May 18, 2015
According to Us Weekly, the song will be up on iTunes for Dancing with the Stars fans — or anyone else — to download after the program. A source told the magazine anticipation is high for the performance, especially for Rumer and Val.
“Linda Perry produced the song, and it’s a really sexy, cool arrangement of Britney’s famous tune. They are super excited about it — it sounds absolutely amazing. Rumer’s thrilled to finally share it with the world!”
Val also posted a sneak preview of the song on his Twitter feed. Rumer’s strong vocals and his distinctive violin are heard in the 10-second clip.
Ready…tomorrow! #dwts #teamvalenrue #toxic @DancingABC @TheRue pic.twitter.com/KXq0RubvZY
— Valentin (@iamValC) May 17, 2015
Entertainment Tonight reported Saturday that Rumer is dealing with a serious injury that has affected her practice. She suffered bruised ribs while training for last week’s judges’ choice dance. While Val has urged her to see a doctor, according to the clip provided to ET, she has chosen to push through it.
“I just need to catch my breath. It’s hard to take a deep breath, so I just need a second, and I’ll be okay.”
Val might have a leg-up during the finals of Dancing with the Stars because, as CarterMatt pointed out, he’s the only one out of the three remaining professionals — Sharna Burgess and Allison Holker are the other two — to have made it this far in the competition.
While Burgess and Noah Galloway have not had consistent high scores, fan votes carried them through. Rumer’s journey from insecurity to self-confidence has likewise endeared her to the judges and the viewing audience. Riker Lynch may have a large fan following due to his boy band status and has enjoyed praise from the judges.
Dancing with the Stars airs at 8 p.m. Monday. The two-hour season finale airs at 9 p.m. Tuesday.
[Rumer Willis and Valentin Chmerkovskiy image courtesy of Valentin Chmerkovskiy/Instagram]