Brandon Armstrong | |
|---|---|
| Born | Brandon Kelly Armstrong June 5, 1994 San Francisco, California, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2006–present |
| Television | Dancing with the Stars |
| Spouse | Brylee Ivers (m. 2022) |
Brandon Kelly Armstrong (born June 5, 1994) [1] is an American professional Latin and ballroom dancer best known for his appearances on the reality competition series Dancing with the Stars . [2]
Brandon Kelly Armstrong was born on June 5, 1994, in San Francisco, California. He identifies as mixed race; he is half African American and half Polynesian. [3] Armstrong was adopted at birth by a white military family and was raised Mormon in Napa, California. [4] He moved to Lehi, Utah and began dancing when he was twelve years old; [5] he trained with Corky Ballas, Shirley Ballas, and Mark Ballas. [4] [6] After graduating from high school, Armstrong served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Little Rock, Arkansas and Memphis, Tennessee. [4]
Armstrong started working on the reality competition series Dancing with the Stars as a troupe member on season 24, and remained in that role until season 26. [7] He was promoted to pro in season 27 and was partnered with singer-songwriter Tinashe. [8] [9] Despite consistently receiving high scores and praise from the judges, they were eliminated during the fourth week of competition on October 15, 2018, finishing in tenth place. [10] [11]
In season 28, Armstrong was partnered with Mary Wilson of the Supremes. [12] They were the first couple to be eliminated from the season, finishing in twelfth place; Armstrong's lowest placement to date. [13] In season 29, Armstrong was partnered with television host Jeannie Mai. [14] They withdrew from the competition on November 2, 2020, after Mai was hospitalized for epiglottitis. [15] [16] In season 30, Armstrong was partnered with actress Kenya Moore. [17] They were eliminated during the sixth week of competition on October 25, 2021, finishing in tenth place. [18]
In season 31, Armstrong was partnered with singer-songwriter and actress Jordin Sparks. [19] They were eliminated during the seventh week of competition on October 31, 2022, finishing in ninth place. [20] For season 32, Armstrong was partnered with social media personality and singer Lele Pons. [21] They were eliminated during the seventh week of competition on November 7, 2023, finishing in eighth place. [22]
Armstrong had a breakthrough performance in season 33 with his partner, television actress and singer Chandler Kinney. [23] Despite inconsistent remarks from the judges, [24] especially from Carrie Ann Inaba and Derek Hough, [25] the couple earned both the highest cumulative points and the first perfect score, of the season. [26] [27] Armstrong and Kinney are the first Black couple in Dancing with the Stars history to advance to the finale. [28] [29] Their freestyle routine to "Hellzapoppin'" and "Move On Up" was the show's first performance to feature an ensemble cast of all-Black dancers. [30] Armstrong and Kinney ultimately finished in third place on November 26, 2024; Armstrong's highest placement to date. [31]
| Season | Partner | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 27 | Tinashe | 10th |
| 28 | Mary Wilson | 12th |
| 29 | Jeannie Mai | 9th |
| 30 | Kenya Moore | 10th |
| 31 | Jordin Sparks | 9th |
| 32 | Lele Pons | 8th |
| 33 | Chandler Kinney | 3rd |
Celebrity partner: Tinashe
| Week | Dance / Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Jive / "I'm a Lady" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 23 | No elimination |
| 2 | Argentine tango / "New Drop. New York" | 9 | 8 | 9 | 26 | No elimination |
| Cha-cha / "Circus" | 9 | 8 | 9 | 26 | Safe | |
| 3 | Rumba / "2 On" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Bottom two |
| 4 | Tango / "Hit Me with Your Best Shot" | 9 | 8 | 9 | 26 | Eliminated |
Celebrity partner: Mary Wilson
| Week | Dance / Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Foxtrot / "Baby Love" | 6 | 5 | 6 | 17 | No elimination |
| 2 | Cha-cha / "Think" | 5 | 5 | 5 | 15 | Eliminated [32] |
Celebrity partner: Jeannie Mai
| Week | Dance / Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Hough | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Salsa / "Tell It to My Heart" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | No elimination |
| 2 | Cha-cha / "Roses" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | Safe |
| 3 | Viennese waltz / "Married Life" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | Safe |
| 4 | Tango / "Seven Nation Army" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | Safe |
| 5 | Jazz / "Like a Virgin" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | Safe |
| 6 | Rumba / "You Gotta Be" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 | Safe |
| 7 | Paso doble / "Maneater" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 25 | Bottom two (later withdrew) [15] |
Celebrity partner: Kenya Moore
| Week | Dance / Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Hough | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Foxtrot / "Kiss Me More" | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 26 | No elimination |
| 2 | Cha-cha / "Hot Stuff" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 24 | Safe |
| 3 | Tango / "Womanizer" | 7 | 7 | N/A1 | 7 | 21 | Bottom two |
| 4 | Contemporary / "How Far I'll Go" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 29 | No elimination |
| Viennese waltz / "Dangerous Woman" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Bottom three | |
| 5 | Rumba / "There Are Worse Things I Could Do" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 6 | Argentine tango / "Take My Breath" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | Eliminated |
1 Derek Hough was absent so score was given out of 30.
Celebrity partner: Jordin Sparks
| Week | Dance / Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Hough | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Cha-cha / "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 26 | Safe |
| 2 | Quickstep / "Hound Dog" | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 27 | Safe |
| 3 | Rumba / "Licence to Kill" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 29 | Safe |
| 4 | Jazz / "Remember Me" | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 34 | Safe |
| 5 (Night 1) | Salsa / "Let's Get Married (ReMarquable Remix)" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 33 | Safe |
| 5 (Night 2) | Contemporary / "No Air" Hustle & Lindy Hop Marathon / "Hot Stuff" & "Jump, Jive an' Wail" | 9 Awarded | 8 3 | 9 Extra | 9 Points | 35 38 | Safe |
| 6 | Foxtrot / "You Make Me Feel So Young" | 9 | 8 | 91 / 8 | 9 | 43 | Safe |
| 7 | Tango / "Oogie Boogie's Song" Team Freestyle / "The Witches Are Back" | 9 8 | 9 8 | 9 9 | 9 8 | 36 33 | Eliminated |
1 Score given by guest judge Michael Buble.
Celebrity partner: Chandler Kinney
| Week | Dance / Song | Theme | Judges' score | Total | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Hough | Tonioli | Guest | |||||
| 1 | Tango / "Hot to Go!" | Premiere | 8 | 7 | 8 | 23 | No elimination | |
| 2 | Rumba / "What Was I Made For?" | Oscars | 8 | 8 | 8 | 24 | Safe | |
| 3 | Cha-cha / "It's Tricky" | Soul Train | 9 | 9 | 9 | 91 | 36 | No elimination |
| 4 | Jive / "We're Not Gonna Take It" | Hair Metal | 8 | 8 | 8 | 92 | 33 | Safe |
| 5 | Contemporary / "I Hope You Dance" | Dedication | 8 | 8 | 8 | 83 | 32 | Safe |
| 6 | Paso doble / "We Own the Night" | Disney | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Safe | |
| Team Freestyle / "I 2 I" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | ||||
| 7 | Viennese waltz / "Secret" | Halloween Nightmares | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | Safe | |
| 8 | Argentine tango / "Para Te" | 500th Episode Celebration | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | Safe | |
| Instant Cha-cha / "Apple" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | ||||
| 9 | Salsa / "Spicy Margarita" | Semifinals | 10 | 9 | 10 | 29 | No elimination | |
| Foxtrot / "Too Sweet" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 29 | ||||
| 10 | Jive / "APT" | Finals | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | 3rd place | |
| Freestyle / "Hellzapoppin" & "Move On Up" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | ||||
1 Score awarded by guest judge Rosie Perez
2 Score awarded by guest judge Gene Simmons
3 Score awarded by guest judge Mark Ballas
Armstrong began dating social media manager Brylee Ivers in 2021 after meeting through Instagram. [33] They got engaged on March 7, 2022, [34] [35] and were married on July 30, 2022, in the mountains of Draper, Utah. [36] [37]