‘Rock the Block’: Ty Pennington Talks the ‘Dynamic’ and Celeb-Studded Duos of Season 7 (Exclusive)

Rock the Block is taking on Sin City for an extra lucky Season 7.

Ahead of the HGTV hit competition series’ return on April 13, host Ty Pennington opened up to PopCulture.com about the four “dynamic” teams taking on the Block, which for the first time are made up of one HGTV star and one celebrity contestant.

It will be Scott McGillivray (Renovation Resort Showdown) teaming up with singer and TV personality Brooke Hogan, as they face off against Taniya Nayak (Battle on the Beach) and 98 Degrees singer Drew Lachey, Mina Starsiak Hawk (Good Bones) and Super Bowl champion Vernon Davis, as well as Kim Wolfe (Why the Heck Did I Buy This House?) and Southern Charm alum Chelsea Meissner.

Over seven weeks, the pairings will be challenged to put their own design spin on identical homes with just a $275,000 budget, competing to see whose house earns the highest appraised property value and wins them the title, bragging rights, a named sign, and a donation on their behalf to No Kid Hungry.

“I think what’s great about this season is you really see four different teams and four different takes on a Vegas sort of ranch home, single story,” Pennington told PopCulture. “You’ve got so many different opportunities to create a great atmosphere in a city that’s built on entertaining. I mean, what sort of better spot to really amp up a TV show about design [is there] than Vegas? So yeah, I love it.”

When it comes to the big celebrity team twist of Season 7, Pennington said he was intrigued at the start of the season to see people work together for the first time. “That’s always gonna be good TV,” he explained. “But you’ve also got people who are learning, trying to find their way, working together for the first time, and they pull up some amazing stuff … and also some interesting stuff as well.”

Working with a new teammate in a situation that requires “quick decisions” and doesn’t allow second-guessing, Pennington said the duos got a crash course on collaboration.

McGillivray and Hogan might seem like “oil and water,” but Pennington said their differences turn into a “surprising” and successful partnership. “I didn’t expect them to be as good as they were,” he gushed.

Having Starsiak Hawk and Davis working together was another success, as the Good Bones star was “hell-bent” on making a point after her previous Rock the Block losses, and the NFL champion was looking to “prove himself” off the field.

With those teams competing against the “incredibly talented” duo of Nayak and Lachey and the “super creative” Wolf and Meisner, Pennington thinks audiences will be impressed with the caliber of competition Season 7 is bringing to the table.

“I was just like, ‘Wow!’” Pennington told PopCulture of the teams competing for the title. “I didn’t expect the duos to be so dynamic, but they are. You just couldn’t script this, it was just the way [that] sometimes the universe works, and you’re like, wow, all these teams have turned out to be like a really good pairing.”

Rock the Block Season 7 premieres on Monday, April 13, at 8 p.m. ET on HGTV.