Jordan Fisher is feeling a little bit of pressure.
The past year has seen him release a new CD, steal hearts (and fans) as Doodie in the live TV broadcast of “Grease” and co-star for a time in a little Broadway show called “Hamilton.”
But now, as one of the celebrities on the 25th season of “Dancing With the Stars” on ABC, the game is really on, and Fisher wants to win it with his professional partner on the show, Lindsay Arnold.
“She’s gone from fourth to third to second, so the next logical step is to win the Mirrorball,” Fisher said of the trophy given to the winning couple on the popular series, which premieres Sept. 18 on ABC. “I feel like Lindsay deserves to win the show.”
To make that happen, Fisher must prevail against a celebrity cast that also includes paralympic swimmer Victoria Arlen, WWE wrestler Nikki Bella, “Shark Tank” star Barbara Corcoran, former NBA player Derek Fisher, singer Debbie Gibson, singer Nick Lachey and his wife, Vanessa, actor Frankie Muniz, former NFL player Terrell Owens, actress Sasha Pieterse, “Property Brothers” stars Drew Scott and violinist Lindsey Stirling.
With their professional partners, the celebrities will compete each week with different styles of dance, with eliminations determined by judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman and Bruno Tolioni, as well as viewer votes.
Fisher, who grew up in Birmingham and appeared in productions at Red Mountain Theatre Company, said he and Arnold have been busy rehearsing their first dance, a tango to Shawn Mendes’ “There Nothing Holding Me Back.”
“I’ve never felt more uncoordinated in my life, doing ballroom dancing,” Fisher says. “I have muscles I never knew I had.”
Those who have seen Fisher’s smooth moves on stage at RMTC might think he’s a natural for “DWTS,” but Fisher says otherwise.
“Nothing about this show feels natural,” he says with a laugh. “Lindsay is awesome, and we have a great time. The friendship is awesome, and she’s fantastic. But other than that, it’s me learning to do these incredibly difficult sequences of events for ballroom. Nothing about it is normal.”
Fisher is amazed that some of the “DWTS” cast knows who he is, though at 23, he has “Hamilton,” songs on the “Moana” soundtrack, his own CD, “Grease” and Disney’s “Teen Beach Movie” and ABC Family’s “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” behind him.
“It is a bit of a trip meeting some of these people that I’ve known quite a while, and they say, ‘Oh, I loved “Grease,”’ or, ‘I have kids who watch the Disney Channel and love you,’” he says. “I’m so grateful that people care and like the work. It blows my mind, and I don’t want it to stop.”
It was after last year’s “Grease Live!” that Fisher was approached by “DWTS,” but touring behind the release of his self-titled CD got in the way.
“Then it just came back around, and the timing was perfect,” he says. “I’m putting out a new single on Oct. 6, “Mess,” with a video to follow.”
Fisher has only met once with the full cast of “DWTS,” but he already has nothing but good things to say about the competition.
“I’m already proud of everybody doing the show,” he says. “The competition aspect is really with yourself, how much are you willing to work, and how badly do you want to excel and grow and experience the challenges and failures. For me, I’m just excited to be a part of it.”
Still, it’s “100 percent the plan to win,” Fisher says, and he’s relying on fans in Alabama to vote for him and Arnold each week. “This is one of the few shows where America’s votes really, truly, authentically count. If you want to keep us on you’ve got to vote.”
You’ll be voting for team #fishuponastar, a name Fisher and Arnold came up with after a Facebook Live chat with fans.
Right now, the team is just taking the dances as they come.
“I imagine I’ll become more conditioned as we go on,” Fisher says. “We’re looking forward to it.”
