Lindsey Stirling Eyes A New Trophy After Losing ‘DWTS’ Mirrorball

Lindsey Stirling has her eye on a very big prize. The classically trained violinist and former Dancing with the Stars contestant, who partnered with Mark Ballas and finished in second place behind mirrorball champion Jordan Fisher on the 25th season of the ABC celebrity dancing show, is up for a Daytime Emmy Award, Gold Derby reports.

Stirling was nominated for Best Musical Performance in a Daytime Program for her performance of “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy” on Live with Kelly and Ryan last fall. Stirling appeared on the show in December to promote her Christmas album Warmer in the Winter, where she wowed the audience with her instrumental skills and dance moves.

This is only the third time the Best Musical Performance in a Daytime Program Daytime Emmy will be given out at the Daytime Emmy Awards, and the first two times the award went to the casts of Broadway shows (The Color Purple in 2017 and Dear Evan Hansen in 2018). This year, Stirling is up against the cast of The Band’s Visit, who appeared on the Today show last year. She’ll also go head to head with Adrienne and Israel Houghton, Ashley McBryde, and Ben Rector for the high-profile Daytime Emmy Award.

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One year before her amazing performance on Live, Lindsey Stirling appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2017 in the show’s 25th season. While she and pro partner Mark Ballas fell short of the coveted mirrorball trophy, they delivered some of the most memorable dances of that season. Stirling returned to the DWTS stage last year to perform a trio dance with eventual Season 27 winners Bobby Bones and Sharna Burgess.

While Stirling, who has been playing the violin since she was 5-years-old, fell just short of winning Dancing with the Stars, she had less success on America’s Got Talent. According to Good Housekeeping, the future Emmy nominee made it to the show’s semifinals round back in 2010 but received harsh commentary from then-judges Piers Morgan and Sharon Osbourne. Morgan told the future superstar she “missed a lot of notes” and her performance sounded like “a bunch of rats being strangled,” while Osbourne predicted Lindsey didn’t have enough talent to “fill a theater in Vegas.”

Stirling later told Forbes that she was “humiliated” and “absolutely devastated” by the experience and wasn’t sure she could ever get on a stage again because she felt so embarrassed. Luckily, she got over it and not only landed as a Dancing with the Stars runner-up but is now a contender for a Daytime Emmy honor.

You can see former Dancing with the Stars contestant Lindsey Stirling’s Emmy-nominated performance on Live With Kelly and Ryan below.

The 2019 Daytime Emmy Award winners will be announced on May 5.