Shangela Shares Her Motivation To Win DWTS Ahead of Season 31 Premiere

Shangela is cha-cha-chaing her way into history.

How so? She's the first ever drag queen to compete on Dancing with the Stars, partnering with Gleb Savchenko for the show's upcoming 31st season. Though never technically trained in dance, in an exclusive interview with E! the star assures, "Trust me, I'm coming to put on a show."

That's a show we're looking forward to see. The performer also expressed her joy about the upcoming episodes saying, "First of all, I am thrilled and honored they asked me to be a part of this. It's called Dancing With The Stars—I just consider myself a working girl," she shared. "I'm in the group with stars, as well. Like Wayne Brady judged me on Rupaul's Drag Race back when I was on season three—that was like a decade ago—and told me at that time, 'Shangela I believe in you. I think you have star power.'"

Though she's clearly excited to be hanging with the stars on the dance floor, Shangela shares there's one special person she's looking forward to seeing more than anyone.

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"My mom. You know my mom just had surgery," she noted. "I was just in Dallas with her at the hospital. She said, 'I want you to go New York and I want you to go win.' So, I want my mom to be able to feel better and come to the show."

The drag star continued, "I would love for my grandma, my little nieces and nephew to come. Like that's who I really want to see in the audience because I really want to turn it for them."

We'll see how she makes it happen when Dancing With the Stars premieres live on Disney+ Sept. 19.

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