When Jessica King had to bow out of So You Think You Can Dance due to an injury, Comfort Fedoke was brought back to take her place. When Comfort landed in the bottom two last night, it seemed apparent that she would be eliminated – again. Yet, it was Kherington Payne who ended up getting the boot, a results show that surprised everyone from the judges to the audience to her fellow dancers. Kherington took it all in stride, telling BuddyTV that she had prepared herself just in case it ended up being her who had to go home. She lit up the stage for much of the competition but the judges started to worry, in recent weeks, that she had lost her fire. Today, Kherington spoke to BuddyTV in an exclusive interview and addressed the issue. She also let us know what Mary said to her after her elimination and gave her true feelings on former partner, Twitch Boss.
Below, you will find the complete transcript and mp3 of the interview.
Hey everybody, this is Gina from BuddyTV and today I’m talking to Kherington from So You Think You Can Dance. Well, that was pretty shocking last night, because I think everyone expected that Comfort was going to go home and then it was you. What was your reaction to what happened?
I put my mindset that whatever happens, happens. I wasn’t like “I’m not going to go home” or “I am going to go home.” I was hoping for the best but expecting for the worse. Like, “Okay, I’ll be able to get through this.”
Was it difficult for you to say goodbye to everybody even though you’re going to see them again when you go on tour?
Oh my god, that was the worst part, that’s like the part I’m going to miss the most. I got so close to all these people and I’m with them every single day. So yeah, I’m only going to be apart from them for like a month, but that month is going to be forever.
Well, they cut to Twitch last night when Cat said that you were going home, and he just looked so upset. His head was in his hands, he looked miserable. What was he like to work with as a partner, because it seems like you two got close?
He was awesome. I can’t even tell you, he was the sweetest, most genuine guy I’ve ever met. He was always there for me, we would have great talks about everything, about any troubles we were going through. He was a great partner, he was just a great person to work with.
Was it hard to switch partners after working with one person for so many weeks?
Oh yeah, it was really, really hard. Just because you have to start from scratch, like you’re building a relationship before you dance. Me and Twitch took a little bit of time, and you have to have the same chemistry in three days that you had with four or five weeks with that first partner. It was definitely tough in that manner, but it was nice to get a different feel with a different partner.
Well Mary seemed really shocked and saddened that you landed in the bottom last night. Did she say anything to you after you were eliminated?
She said that she was very proud of me and that she was sad for us to leave, because she was like our mama of the show. She’s always sad on Thursdays no matter what happens. But yeah, she told me she was very proud of me.
What kind of toll does a competition like this take on you physically and mentally, because it must be exhausting?
Oh my god, I don’t know how to put that into words. The exhaustion and emotional roller coaster that you go through this competition is incredible, it’s crazy. It definitely takes a toll on your body, it’s definitely mind over matter. You have to tell yourself, “No, I’m going to get through this, I will,” because your body like, “Nope, sorry, I won’t let you do this.” It’s telling you the opposite of what you want to do.
Do you think around the competition the last few weeks you’ve lost your fire at all or you slowed down a little bit, or do you think you’ve remained the same throughout?
I bet it looked like that because I had a rough couple of weeks the past two weeks with dances and the judges. But honestly, I didn’t. I kept going at it and I tried to keep my head up, and just realize that this is their opinions and I have to keep doing this because this is my dream, my ultimate goal in life. It might have seemed like that, but no, I didn’t.
What was with Lil’ C’s advice last night? It seemed like he didn’t feel you understood that he was just giving you constructive criticism, but I didn’t observe you seeming upset about it. Is there something we didn’t see?
No, in like the package thing I said something like, “The judges hate me!” But honestly, when the cameras are backstage and you go back there, that totally wasn’t me. I just go back there and let out my anger, because those dances are really frustrating and when you think you did really well and then they tell you that. So when he heard me say that, I was like I didn’t mean to say that you really hated me, but he was sort of telling me that it was constructive criticism. I totally understood that and I knew that.
Are there any couples or a specific dancer that you expect to see in the finale?
Honestly, I was thinking about that and it’s totally up in the air at this point. The competition is in America’s hands and you have no idea what they like. I couldn’t tell you.
Are you excited to go out on tour and meet your fans and get out on stage every night?
Oh my god, that’s going to be so much fun. I can’t even tell you how excited I am for that. It’s going to be awesome, totally awesome.
Well I can’t wait to see you on tour Kherington, I just wanted to thank you for your time.
Oh no, thank you.
– Gina Scarpa, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
