Rashad Jennings brought the tears to Dancing With the Stars. The football player and his dance partner Emma Slater did a contemporary dance to Katy Perry's "Unconditionally" for Most Memorable Year Night and received 39 out of 40 from the judges. Yes, three 10s during week four of the competition.
"To be honest, the scores were the last thing on my mind," Emma told E! News after their performance moved pretty much everyone in the ballroom, including Rashad's parents, to tears. "We just really wanted to do this dance justice for the story. I wanted to embrace Most Memorable Year and Rashad just did so much better than I thought anybody could do."
Mission accomplished, Rashad! The running back said it felt "really good" to do the dance to honor his father, while his father and whole family were there.
"It felt really good to do this number and to dance for my father, and having my whole family here—mom, dad, both of my brothers—the people that were there before all of this…It's just a dream, to be able to play in the NFL," he said. "All the things that happened, the people that can attest—because a lot of people just see me now—but to have the homegrown, loving family, the reason that I've been able to have unconditional and expression there is what really, really was my tens."
The taped package was a concern for both Emma and Rashad because they knew it would stir things up.
"I had no choice, but to hear it and I started crying," Rashad told us. "Truly that was an emotional dance. It didn't feel like I was dancing. I honestly felt like I was translating a message. It takes you back. It takes you back to what actually transpired in your life."
Take a peek at his moving performance above.
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays, 8 p.m. on ABC.