Blu Hydrangea has continued their stellar Dancing with the Stars streak, this time performing a Barbie-themed Salsa to Dua Lipa’s ‘Dance the Night’. Together with their pro partner Simone Arena, who channelled just the right amount of Kenergy, the Belfast drag star recorded 25 points, the second-highest score of this season’s Movie Week.
The routine included an impressively quick costume change, which saw the pair transform from rollerskating Barbie and Ken, into disco Barbie and Ken. Simone rocked a long white fur coat, similar to Ryan Gosling’s in the iconic film, while Blu dazzled in a sparkly jumpsuit.
Judge Arthur Gourounlian was full of praise for the performance, giving it a 9 and saying, “That was a hot Salsa, I loved it. You went for it. That was classy and sassy”.
“I was so privileged to be invited to the dream house party,” he added.
Scoring the duo an 8, Loraine Barry said, “What a production! You had the claps and the stamping of the feet and you surprised us with that cartwheel lift. The ending blew me away.”
Brian Redmond praised the drag artist for not looking out of place among the professional dancers, but added, “this was a Salsa and there was zero hip action. Please get them moving.” He gave them an 8 nonetheless.
Only David Whelan and Salome Chachua finished higher than Blu and Simone, recording the season’s highest score to date: 27 points.
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Blu Hydrangea, also known as Joshua Cargill, is one of the frontrunners in the competition and, speaking to reporters ahead of their Barbie performance, they revealed that for a drag act, impressing the judges and public takes more than just the dance routine.
“There’s a lot more that goes on… like finding where the best place for when my mic pack is, figuring out if I need to wear pads this week,” they laughed.
Blu also admitted that they had received a small amount of hate since joining the show.
“It’s been the first time I did get some negative feedback, like people saying, ‘I can’t stand him’…I was also told I was a ‘freak show’, you know, stuff like that.”
The star, who previously won RuPaul’s Drag Race UK vs The World, continued: “I would normally take part in shows that have queer audiences. I kind of realised going on this show that it is going to be a wider audience of people who might not understand people like me.
“I just understand that these people are very intense. They’re not willing to open their mind or listen to other people’s point of views. And there’s nothing I can do to change that,” they added.
However, the 27-year-old defiantly stated, “I love being on the show. Even if I was getting lots of hate I would still be doing it as it is important for my community. I think you don’t get these opportunities very often…It’s important for me to show what it is like as a queer person living in Ireland.”
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The next episode of Dancing with the Stars Ireland airs on RTÉ One on Sunday, February 4, with last night’s available to watch on RTÉ Player. Fans can support Blu Hydrangea by calling 1513 71 71 01 for Irish residents or 0901 133 11 01 for people in Northern Ireland. Alternatively, viewers can text BLU to 53125 to cast their vote.
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