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"After wrapping his fourth world tour, Big Time Rush singer James Maslow easily could've napped for a week straight. But the 23-year-old heartthrob took that momentum and cranked it up: The day he came home from the BTR Live Tour was also his first day of rehearsal for the 18th season of Dancing with the Stars.\n\nWhen the show premieres tonight, we'll get a peek at a new chapter in James's life: He'll no longer be performing pop tunes flanked by bandmates Kendall Schmidt, Carlos Pena Jr., and Logan Henderson; instead, he'll be lithely foxtrotting across the dance floor, guided by pro partner Peta Murgatroyd. His boy band instincts aren't completely gone, though. \"Learning choreography so last-minute, like we often did with BTR, definitely has helped me in terms of picking up steps and having to learn things quickly,\" James says.\n\nAlso helping him out? His ever-growing biceps, which happen to be perfect for deftly lifting his dance partner. \"Physicality is definitely beneficial in this show,\" admits James, who's been dedicated to grueling four-hour daily practices. But a few fumbles might happen anyway. James and Peta's first dance style is notoriously tricky: \"You've got legs going between legs, and if one of those things happens, it can potentially screw up the whole dance,\" he explains. Plus, outside the bubble of the rehearsal rooms, anything can happen. \"It changes the dynamic when you've got an audience and, in the back of your head, the knowledge that 20 million people are watching from home,\" he adds.\n\nLuckily, James has a pal joining him in the quest for that mirror-ball trophy: Aussie crooner Cody Simpson, who opened for BTR two summers ago. \"He's a good kid, but he better bring his A game,\" James laughs.\n\nIt's clear that James is thinking long term, as he plans to feed all this DWTS buzz into his up-and-coming solo career. He's been quietly writing songs throughout his Big Time Rush days, and he says to expect a single \"in some way, of some sort\" in the next couple months. Another reason he's lacing up his dancing shoes? To give back. \"One thing I genuinely love about BTR is that the music and the TV show always had a positive message: 'If you want to do something, you can do it,'\" he says. DWTS, obviously, provides a much larger platform\u2014remember those 20 million viewers?\n\nIn fact, #TeamJeta, as they've been anointed, just took a crew down to the San Diego School of Creative Arts to film James teaching a master class for dance and theater students. Echoing the teachers who encouraged him to work hard and believe in himself years ago, James spread an empowering message to the youngsters at his old stomping grounds: You guys got this. \"If I can help one person move along and take that risk to audition and go do something and make a career out of it, then I'm happy,\" he says. With that mature attitude\u2014and that charming smile he'll surely be flashing for the DWTS cameras\u2014James certainly has our vote."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/james-maslow-dancing-with-the-stars>