[all] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven...
[rapidly] One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four...
[upbeat music playing]
Hey, guys, it's Kendall, and I'm looking back
at my journey on
Boom.
-Hi, everybody! -Hi!
Looking back at
it has shaped who I am today.
It has shaped who I was back then.
[Abby] You're auditioning for a spot
on the Abby Lee Dance Company's competition team.
I had no idea what I was getting myself into.
This is just amazing. Look, look where we are.
-[man] Marker. -[cheering and laughter]
[Jill] All I want is what's best for Kendall.
Hey! I wanted what was best for Kendall.
Truly, we didn't know what we were getting into.
This is gonna be exciting!
[Kendall]
and I am so proud to be a part of something so amazing.
[upbeat music playing]
[Abby]
I immediately took notice
of about five dancers.
During the audition, I was so nervous.
I had no idea what to expect.
[Abby] You all realize why you're here.
You're auditioning for a spot
on the Abby Lee Dance Company's competition team.
It is not to be taken lightly.
I didn't know a single girl at that studio,
I was all alone,
and I was basically thrown into the lion's den.
[Jill]
I noticed the tension on your face
that I never saw before.
So I-I get it that you were nervous.
Did you see tension in my face? 'Cause I was nervous too.
[Abby] This is it. Dance for your life.
♪ You know you love it, you know you need it ♪
[upbeat dance music playing]
[Abby]
Seven, eight, nine. Here we go.
I'm gonna let you go.
478, you're done.
276, you're done.
I immediately took notice
of about five dancers
that would be a nice fit.
Now I need to see them jump,
I need to see them turn, I need to see them kick.
Come on, girls! Give it to me!
That's not enough right now. Let's go!
But when you have tension, you, like...
tightly smile when you have tension
'cause you don't want people to know.
I didn't know how to hide that.
Kendall, I think you didn't realize
how life-changing that was gonna be.
[music fading]
[exhales] Relieved?
[soft, tense music playing]
201,
479,
sadly...
I have to let you go.
Thank you very much.
230, congratulations!
-[girls cheering] -[Kendall] Thank you!
Congratulations! Congratulations!
[Jill]
All of her hard work had paid off,
and I know what she's gonna do with this team,
and I know that they're gonna love her.
This is a legacy that you're joining.
She is now one of Abby's kids.
My life changed in a matter of... five seconds.
I'm Kendall. I'm eight years old.
And I just really believe in myself
that I can show Abby what I can do.
I think I'm worthy to be a part
of the Abby Lee Dance Company.
[Abby]
She was the right look. She's a cute little girl.
She fit in well with the kids.
She was the best choice for the team.
Perfect.
-Abby knew... -Scene.
She knew it when she saw Kendall.
She saw something...
-All right... -...that I see.
She saw it.
And here it is!
[laughter and chatter]
-[Abby] Kendall. -I was able
to put myself out there as an eight-year-old child.
[laughter]
Kendall, we need to fix the feet,
the turn-out, the back of the knees.
You still have a lot of work ahead of you, honey.
Honestly, I wasn't terrified of her
when I first joined the studio
just because I knew I had a lot to prove,
so I knew she was gonna be tough on me.
Now, Kendall, remember,
you are still on probation.
What you do out there today counts. Yes?
I'm not really sure what "probation" means.
I think she keeps saying "probation" just
'cause she wants me to bring it.
Once I was finally accepted onto the team,
I had a better grasp of who she was
and how she was going to react to something.
What did I tell you ten times?
Don't step in front of yourself.
You can see how pigeon-toed you are.
Step to the left.
I feel like I'm dealing with a five-year-old.
But I... Honestly, I just always had to watch my back.
[Abby] Really, Kendall? Kendall!
You know what? You're done.
The people that were in here dancing
are a thousand times better than you.
[Kendall]
you shouldn't hold yourself lower than anybody else,
because you're capable of it.
No matter who tells you you aren't,
one day, you'll be able to show everybody
that you are capable of anything.
I do not think there was one time
where the girls felt turned against each other.
We were in that together.
We ate together, we slept together,
we breathed together, we danced together.
We did everything together.
So when we were competing up against each other,
it did not faze us.
We knew there was gonna be a winner,
and we just went out there and danced.
We didn't let the pitting one another
against each other affect us.
-[applause] -[mouthing] Good job.
One, two, three!
[all] We are Abby Lee!
Four, five, six,
you should see our kicks!
Seven and eight!
[all] We are really great!
Nine and ten, we just won again!
[screaming excitedly]
I forgot about that.
Kendall, you are back on probation.
That's ridiculous, Abby!
There's a lot of studios out there
who would love what she does right.
And you know what, Abby?
We are going to one of those studios.
Listen, Kendall, I'm not putting up with this crap anymore.
I can't have you at a place...
Look at your little face.
-Why are you yelling at me? -All they do is tear you down.
-That probation is ridiculous. -[snickering]
You did nothing wrong.
-Yeah. -[Kendall sighs] I'm so mad
-that happened. -When we left, that's-that's...
That was epic, actually.
I never thought it would get to that point...
-Was it epic? -...with Abby, but--
-Well, how did you feel? -I was pissed off!
-I know, but you had to go. -You tore me away
from my friends, you tore me away
from the studio that I finally was accepted into,
and the teacher that finally saw my talent for once,
and the second that happened...
you booted me.
I don't want to go. I love to dance.
Well, because I didn't think she was seeing...
-I know. -...your true talent.
Yeah, and I see your side of it,
but at the time...
-Yeah, it was hard for you. -It was very, very hard.
-[Cathy]
from Abby's.
-Uh-huh.
I can't go back there.
And I really need a dance studio...
-I loved that car. -Your Pacifica?
I was wondering if you could take a look at Kendall
and tell me what you think of her talents
and if you could find a place for her on your team.
[Cathy]
then I am here for you,
but I need to be 100% sure
that all of your ties are severed from
Abby Lee Dance Company.
I think it was, honestly, kind of in spite of Abby.
Do you agree? I mean, it was her biggest rival.
You kind of did it in spite of Abby
because you knew Abby hated the Candy Apples.
I thought the grass was greener on the other side. It was not.
I definitely understand now why you did that
and why you took me out of that awful situation.
Obviously, as a child,
I did not want to leave my friends...
-[Jill]
because I still had so much to prove,
but as a grown adult,
I would've done the same thing, if not worse,
and have left... would've left weeks before that.
[Cathy] Hi!
-Welcome! -Well, thank you.
When Jill called
and wanted to bring Kendall over to the dance studio,
I was thrilled. I mean,
why wouldn't I be? It's a win-win situation.
I'm a little nervous to join the Candy Apples.
I haven't really seen their studio,
but I want to dance at a place where they actually respect me
and they like me as a dancer.
I mean, I think you can tell, just in my voice,
I was... really nervous and scared.
It was a brand-new studio.
You're not nervous, are you?
-No. -Okay, good.
Well, maybe a little, but that's okay.
Don't be nervous! Don't be nervous.
You don't have to be nervous. Come on.
It's interesting to see how welcoming Cathy was.
-Oh my God. -She was really nice to us.
I mean, she gave me a solo within the first ten minutes
of being in her studio.
That would never happen at Abby's.
This is great. This is exactly what I needed.
A little something that we're doing this weekend,
I don't want to put any pressure on you whatsoever.
I have an adorable little solo
that I think would be very fitting for her,
and the funny thing about it is,
dare I say, we're gonna go to Pittsburgh.
This week's Fire and Ice competition
just got a little bit more interesting.
That'll give you an opportunity
to just join in and be with us,
even though you won't be in a group number.
Cathy gives Kendall a solo right off the bat.
This is good.
It felt really good walking into that studio
and being appreciated and my talent finally being seen
without moms arguing and me dancing behind Maddie
and being the backup dancer and the second choice.
It was a breath of fresh air.
[Jill]
with Candy Apples.
I'm gonna be the one looking over my shoulder.
I'm afraid Christi and Kelly
might come after me with a shotgun.
-Hi, everybody! -[Abby] What are you doing here?
[Jill]
Do I think I'm gonna get Abby's attention? Yes.
Our next competitor comes to us from Candy Apples Dance Center.
[cheering and applause]
I think this solo was fine.
It didn't have anything exciting about it,
but I think the bigger picture was the fact
that I was going up against Abby.
It didn't need to be anything special.
It's just, I needed to be out on that stage
to prove a point to Abby
and to prove a point for Cathy.
I was just a little eight-year-old
pulled away from my dance studio,
given a solo,
probably learned it in two days,
went out on stage, competed against my own friends,
and I still won.
That's crazy that I was able to do that.
I think it's really empowering that I went through it
and I continued to go through that,
because this was only the beginning
of a very crazy roller coaster.
[woman] Yes, yes, yes.
I just wanted to be there because I wanted to dance.
[laughter]
Are you gonna turn my child away
knowing she's got talent and she belongs in this group?
I'm in the middle of a rehearsal!
-You know what? Rehearse. -I cannot believe this.
[dramatic music playing]
Hi, everyone.
Abby, can I talk to you?
[Abby]
Jill came in with a hot new hairdo
and a whole new wardrobe,
but it's still the same old Jill.
I made a mistake going to Candy Apples.
-You guys know that. -Practicing your death drop?
[Jill] It was a mistake,
and I would really like for you
to find a spot for Kendall on this team,
like you did once before.
I mean, I just got dragged out of that studio,
and now I was getting dragged back into the studio,
so of course I didn't know how Abby was going to react.
[Abby] I don't have time for this today.
-I understand that. -I have solos, a group.
We have a competition this weekend.
I want to be there with you. I think that Kendall
can fit right in this group.
She did it once before. She can do it again.
I knew the stakes were going to be higher,
and I had a lot more to prove.
I was, again, the new kid on the block,
and I was kind of the outcast,
and I was probably gonna be put back on probation.
But I was up for the challenge.
You are off your rocker.
[Jill] All I want is what's best for Kendall.
Hey! I wanted what was best for Kendall,
and you didn't give me time to do that.
I am furious with Jill.
How she thinks she's gonna walk back in here
and get this kid back on the team.
But it's not this girl's fault.
She's a great dancer. Let her rehearse.
Stick her on the end. It's not a big deal.
I think the lesson we both learned from this
is that when you want something, it's not gonna be easy.
-Yeah. -And we got...
we eventually got what we wanted.
I was back on the team.
[cheering]
[kissing sounds]
[indistinct chatter]
And I'm so glad that I have these girls.
[indistinct chatter]
Kiss, kiss, knee, knee, knock, knock.
Okay, love you guys.
[Abby]
and to top it off,
we are shooting
Kendall K's first music video.
This is just amazing. Look, look where we are.
-It is amazing. -Incredible.
[upbeat music playing]
The girls are gonna, like, kinda snake through the guys,
like down, like sexy, like they're climbing through them.
This is my music video, "Wear 'Em Out,"
that beat Taylor Swift's "Bad Blood."
For a day. [chuckles]
[man] Action!
["Wear 'Em Out" by Kendall K playing]
♪ Step on the stage, burn a hole in the floor ♪
♪ 'Cause you know I run this place ♪
♪ Left, right, left, strike a pose, oh-oh ♪
♪ Left, right, strike a pose, oh-oh ♪
Look at Ryleigh.
♪ Follow the leader ♪
And Chloe! [laughs]
♪ Left, right, left, strike a pose, oh-oh ♪
♪ Oh, oh, oh ♪
♪ Ladies, here we go, oh ♪
[Kendall laughs]
-That was fun. -Put your feet up on his leg
so that you're suspended.
Oh my God, he was struggling.
Faster! I said faster! What's the matter with you?!
Oh, God, look how they hated that.
[man] Cut.
["Wear 'Em Out" continues]
So good! That looks so good!
[cheering]
Kendall's video shoot went so well.
This was a day I will never forget.
I felt like the biggest celebrity on Earth.
I was filming in an airplane hangar
with all of my best friends,
my first single ever.
Everyone was pampering me and talking to me
like, "We want you to do this. We want you to do that."
It was the best day ever. I will never forget it.
And I was, what, 13 here?
I don't even think you were that old.
[Kendall]
That was the coolest day
probably of my life.
That's a great memory I have with Abby.
She put her heart and soul into my music career,
and especially that music video.
She wanted everything perfect,
and it was perfect.
-Yeah, it was great. -It was a huge success.
My relationship with Abby was definitely complicated at times.
It was hard not to want to resent her
for the things that she did and said to me, but...
the good always outweighs the bad.
I mean, this was a day that she put together for me.
For us. I mean, you enjoyed it too.
-I loved it. -You had both of your daughters
dancing in a music video.
Charlotte was there too.
You had all three of your daughters
dancing there in a music video.
Hey, guys, it's Kendall, and today,
we're gonna be answering some questions.
[Jill] Cheers!
To my little Kendall.
[laughter]
[indistinct singing]
I would consider myself an OG.
I know a lot of people don't consider myself an OG.
Thank you so much.
That was so fun.
Right after
I headed back to Pittsburgh, my hometown,
and it was kind of...
a big moment of my life.
I didn't really know what to do.
I wasn't in school.
I haven't been home in years.
I kind of felt stuck almost,
just because I didn't know
if anything else was going to happen
or if an opportunity like that was gonna come around again,
so I kind of sat there and looked back
on all of those years,
because my life during
went by so fast.
We're gonna make you look like a star,
we're gonna costume like a star,
and you're gonna dance like a star.
[Kendall]
I always had something to do.
I always had a schedule.
I was surrounded by cameras
and TV producers.
And then being back home in Pittsburgh,
I had nothing to do.
I had two completely different lives.
I was filming a TV show,
and then I was back in my hometown
being a normal 13-year-old girl
finally reunited with her dad and her sisters.
It's hard to get away from
because of how popular it is and how popular it was,
especially being in college right now.
A lot of people will come up to me like,
"Oh my God, let's take a picture. I loved you," or,
"You inspired me to start dancing,
and you inspired me to keep going."
I embrace it
and I will always embrace
because it's who I am. It's basically in my blood.
I just wanted to say thank you to the fans and the crew
and the cast for making
We would not be here without a single one of you,
and I am more grateful than you will ever understand.