Dewan scored 28 out of 30 for her 'All For You' routine but was eliminated at the end of the show.
Janet Jackson sent a surprise video message to Jenna Dewan during the Grammy Night episode of Dancing With the Stars on Nov. 10, telling the Step Up star she was "so excited" about the routine.
Dewan had been a backup dancer in Jackson's music videos for Doesn't Really Matter and All For You, and on her tours. In the message, Jackson began with "I cannot wait to watch you perform tonight," then looked back on their work together: "Weren't those such fun times we had back then during those days for the All for You Tour?"
Jackson added: "I miss you. I love you." She also asked Dewan to get together with her once she was back in L.A.: "Let's get together when I'm back in L.A."
Dewan and her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy performed a jazz routine to All For You. Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli gave them a total of 28 out of 30, and Inaba said "no time has passed at all … I expected greatness and you delivered." The score was the second-highest of the night, and the pair beat Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik in their dance battle. Even so, Dewan and Chmerkovskiy were eliminated at the end of the show.
Before her routine, Dewan told viewers in a video package what the night meant to her:
"Putting Grammys and Janet Jackson together, this is a full circle moment."
E! reported that Dewan was visibly moved by Jackson's kind words and wiped tears from her eyes.
Jackson has stepped away from the spotlight in recent years to raise her 9-year-old son, Eissa Al Mana, E! reported. It adds that she is always happy to connect with fans. "You never get tired of it," she told Today in 2022.
In next week's semifinal episode, the couples still in the competition will each perform two routines.
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