‘Dancing With the Stars’: AJ McLean Breaks His Silence on Joining Season 29

AJ McLean is speaking out for the first time since Dancing With the Stars announced the Backstreet Boys member would be joining the upcoming Season 29. McLean is the second member of the celebrity lineup to be announced after former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe became the first competitor to be confirmed in June.

The former boy band member took to Twitter Thursday to amp up the BSB Army, thanking DWTS and ABC for giving him the chance to compete for the Mirrorball Trophy, as well as wife Rochelle and their two daughters, 7-year-old Ava and 3-year-old Lyric, for letting him go off on this new adventure. “I’m doing it ALL for you,” he concluded, adding in another tweet, “Get ready, BSB Army, this is going to be a wild ride. LET’S DO THIS!!!!!!”

McLean also appeared on Good Morning America Thursday, where he noted that his life as a pop star won’t be much help on the ballroom floor. “I mean, this is a little bit of a different style of dancing than what I used to do growing up,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve been dancing since I was about 6 years old, but this is gonna be a little bit different. …There’s definitely no Foxtrot in the past 27 years, I can promise you that.” For his daughters, the eldest of whom is a competitive dancer, having their dad perform on DWTS is a dream come true. “They’re both just elated,” he said. “So it’s gonna be awesome for them to watch daddy just cuttin’ a jig on TV.”

McLean won’t be the first Backstreet Boys member to compete on Dancing With the Stars, as bandmate Nick Carter came in second on Season 21 alongside pro Sharna Burgess. “No pressure right?” he joked of living up to the high standard set by Carter. “You know, I actually reached out to Nick about four days ago, just to get some kind of insight on what to expect during the course of the season. He both supported me, as well as terrified me a little bit.” Carter told McLean that while the schedule would be “rough,” if he paced himself for a “marathon, not a sprint,” he would nail it. “I’m gonna do the best I can and hopefully take home that Mirrorball,” the performer said.