Hot Mess with Alix Earle

Episode: "Rising From the Dead on DWTS"
Release Date: November 7, 2025

Overview

In this vibrant behind-the-scenes episode, Alix Earle takes listeners inside her preparation for a show-stopping Halloween performance on Dancing With The Stars (DWTS). Through candid, unscripted moments with her dance partner Val, production crew, and friends, Alix details the creative process, challenges, and celebrations that came with embodying a "Lady Gaga rising from the grave" concept—complete with extravagant costumes, sandpits, and a mashup of Billie Eilish and Lady Gaga references. Along the way, listeners witness emotional highs and lows, dance industry insights, and comedic chaos, all in Alix's signature unfiltered style.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Halloween Photo Shoot and Transformation

• Creative Process
  • The team discusses elaborate plans for this year's Halloween costume—a concept inspired by Lady Gaga’s concert sand pit routine, which actually originated from last year but was repurposed for now.
    • Alix: “This costume was actually supposed to be last year, but we're using it for this year. [...] It's been a year in the making.” [00:13]
• Lady Gaga Inspiration
  • Full commitment to the Gaga role, referencing her concert theatrics.
    • “We are crawling out of this sand pit, like she does in her concert. She does all these freaky, twitchy moves. We literally have, like, an 8x8 sandbox that we're both laying in. And I'm going full Gaga this Halloween.” [00:51]
  • Alix’s excitement shines:
    • “I love Lady Gaga so much, I'm gonna cry. This is so exciting.” [02:28]
• Vibes and Iconography
  • The team hypes each other up with "Love!", "Yes!", and “That’s hot,” as Alix models, referencing paparazzi shots and creative visions for the shoot. [02:10-02:18]

2. Challenges of Preparing for DWTS

• Dance Stress and Practice

  • Alix details learning three dance styles at once, a departure from the typical focus on just one.
    • “I feel like we haven't been able to dedicate the full four hours to our dance because we’ve been learning the three dances... That’s just a little spooky for this week.” [04:10]
  • Val, her partner, acknowledges increased pressure:
    • “I’d say this week was like the first. Like, the honeymoon is over, you know?” [06:29]

• Emotional Toll & Growth

  • Both admit to frustration and doubt:
    • Val: "A lot of times I look to her to validate my creative choices… I think that’s why we ran into that issue. I think I started questioning myself as far as choreography and teaching, and then that translated in her questioning herself as a dancer." [06:56]
  • Alix on technique:
    • “Usually you get the steps down, then you add more technique, more critiques on your frame, then you add the sauce... I feel like we just got the steps down okay.” [04:44]
  • Both emphasize learning from the tough week and the importance of meeting each other halfway.

• Body & Health

  • Alix discusses back pain and physical challenges:
    • “That's also been a struggle this week because that has not felt great with anything we've been doing... But weirdly, right now feels okay.” [12:28]

3. Choreography & Performance Strategy

• Marathon Dance, Improvisation & Crowd Work

  • The routine includes controlled chaos, playful elements, and real-time adjustments on the floor:
    • Val: “The whole thing is a fucking freestyle, I think. Oh, it's a control freestyle, huh?” [09:32]
    • Alix: “Yeah, like...Val's gonna flip out some move that I had no idea was coming, and then I'm gonna have to try and reciprocate.” [09:41]
  • Dance floor competitiveness is described—getting closest to the audience, peacocking, and territory dynamics:
    • Val: “Usually, yeah, you want to be the closest one to the audience because then the audience is cheering for you... I wouldn’t disrespect this couple’s relationship with the crowd, but I’m definitely right here, and I’m gonna make sure their eyeballs are looking this way.” [10:21–11:22]

• Theme Selection

  • Song choice and mashup of Billie Eilish and Lady Gaga explained:
    • “We were really torn about what to do for Halloween. […] We landed on Bury a Friend and were trying to think of a creative. And then [...] Lady Gaga has this cool reference. And that's how that came to be.” [11:22]

4. Fun & Food: Carl’s Jr. Tangent

• Light-hearted Breaks
  • Alix realizes she’s never had Carl’s Jr., launching into an enthusiastic taste test.
    • “I'm losing my Carl's Jr. Virginity. I'm so excited.” [13:19]
    • “This Cali XL burger is only here for a limited time, so get it before it’s gone because this is a 12 out of 10.” [15:23–15:45]

5. Costume & Makeup Madness

• Getting Ready

  • Final details about the costume, makeup, and that infamous “graveyard look”.
    • “We have this corset with these, like, crystallized bones that they put on, which are so cool. And then blood seeping out from when I die. Sleeves. I can't believe the hair. They did so good with the hair.” [18:52]

• Zombie or Just Hot?

  • On their look:
    • “Are you guys technically a zombie coming out of the door?” [20:29]
    • “No, we're—we're just hot people that are just coming out of the grave. Like, why is everybody trying to put us in a box? We're just super hot coming out of a grave. To tango.” [20:32]

6. Show Time: Dress Rehearsal, Performance, Celebrations

• Feedback & Last-Minute Corrections
  • Real-time coaching and candid frustration over getting details right, particularly camera placement:
    • “That's on me. You told me the wrong camera. Yes, you did." [18:01]
• Afterglow & Debrief
  • Post-dance adrenaline, pride, and party atmosphere.
    • Alix: “That was seriously, like, one of my favorite Halloween dances I've ever seen, period." [26:50]
    • Val: “That was something else.” [27:07]
    • Alix: "It was so good. Are you so happy? I had tears on my face. That was good. [...] I blacked out, too. I can dance. I was like, keep going.” [27:56]
  • First perfect score excitement:
    • "Yo, first ten." [29:16]
    • "First ten." [29:18]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On embracing the bizarre:
  • “I feel like doing something, like, freaky is, like, where I feel my best.” — Alix [00:51]
• On the pressure of creative collaboration:
  • “A lot of times I look to her to validate my creative choices… that translated in her questioning herself as a dancer.” — Val [06:56]
• On performance strategy:
  • “The whole thing is a fucking freestyle, I think. Oh, it's a control freestyle, huh?” — Val [09:32]
• Zombie vibes, redefined:
  • “We're just super hot coming out of a grave. Tatango." — Val [20:32]
• Post-performance euphoria:
  • “That was insane. The best thing ever. So good. Are you so happy? I had tears on my face.” — Alix [27:56]
• Celebrating a breakthrough:
  • “Yo, first ten.” — Crew [29:16]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Halloween Costume & Gaga Inspiration: [00:13–02:28]
• DWTS Training Struggles: [04:09–06:56]
• Choreo, Freestyle, and Competition: [09:19–11:22]
• Carl’s Jr. Food Break: [13:19–15:45]
• Makeup/Costume Final Touches: [15:47–18:52]
• Dress Rehearsal & Performance: [17:24–27:30]
• First Perfect Score & Debrief: [29:12–29:18]

Tone and Style

The episode’s language is lively, candid, and peppered with inside jokes, real-time encouragement, and unfiltered creative process banter. Alix is relatable, energetic, and vulnerable as she navigates both the intensity of dance training and the joys of creative self-expression, supported by a passionate and equally quirky team.

This summary delivers the heart and highlights of the episode, blending creative chaos, dance industry tension, and plenty of Halloween spectacle—making it a must-listen for DWTS fans, Alix stans, and anyone who loves seeing artistic ambition come to life.