TVGuide.com: Let's get this straight — Joe, Joey, Joseph... which name do you prefer?
Joey McIntyre: The stage name is Joey, but you can call me whatever you want.

TVG: Just checking. Hadn't you tried going by "Joe" at one point?
McIntyre: I never changed it. Don't believe the hype. [Laughs] You're not the first one to think that; maybe I need to put out a press release. But you can call me Joe. My mother calls me Joseph. It's all good.

TVG: What changed your mind?
McIntyre: The producers got on the phone, and they are very charming. The BBC is producing it, so you've got a British guy saying, "Joey, it's ballroom." I'm saying, "But what if I lose to Evander Holyfield in a dance competition?" He's like, "It's ballroom dancing. You've never done ballroom." It's true, it's ballroom. It ain't hip-hop. It ain't the New Kids' dancing; it's a totally different world.

TVG: You've done Broadway. Did you learn choreography for that?
McIntyre: On Broadway, I'm a "mover." There are dancers who work their whole lives and can split and flip and can turn eight times. I love to dance and move. On Broadway, I was shaking my thing a little bit, but by no means is it like this. How you carry yourself in ballroom is really, really challenging.

TVG: Last week, the judges' big criticism was that you should be lighter on your feet.
McIntyre: And to pick up my frame. I need to be light in the loafers.

TVG: Was it hard, after all that work, to listen to the judges tell you what you could have done better?
McIntyre: It really wasn't. I'm not a ballroom dancer, I'm just starting out. I thought it was good criticism. I took it as if my partner Ashly [Delgrosso] was saying it. It is a learning process.

TVG: Speaking of Ashly, she has a little bit of a crush on you. What does your wife think about that?
McIntyre: She's secure with it. My wife thinks [Ashly is] a great dancer and she's happy I have a good partner. I think I was [Ashly's] first crush [when she was] 9 or 10. But we have a lot of fun. She's adorable. She's great at what she does, and I lucked out. So I'm glad that she feels the same way.

TVG: Did you have to do a lot of talking to avoid wearing that frilly green shirt?
McIntyre: No. I want to respect the craft. It is like going to a nice restaurant; you want to wear the suit jacket if that is what it calls for. I didn't want to do something out of character for a ballroom dancer, but I didn't want to be wearing anything too crazy. It was bad news.

TVG: How much time do you spend rehearsing for Dancing?
McIntyre: We are doing about three hours a day, five days a week. It is pretty intense.

TVG: Who's your toughest competition on the show?
McIntyre: I like John O'Hurley's showmanship. I think that is what a lot of it's about. I think everybody worked really hard. You never know with the voting. So I've just got to keep my head up but my nose down at the same time.

TVG: Any worries about getting the audience vote?
McIntyre: I'm not worried. Would I be surprised if I got eliminated? No, because anything can happen. I got a kick out of seeing Evander Holyfield. He still hasn't done a cha-cha, but I got a real kick out of it. I definitely want people to vote for me and I want to win because I want to keep dancing and keep competing.

TVG: What are you performing this week?
McIntyre: This week is the quickstep. It is sort of like [the waltz that] the women were doing last week. But let me tell you, it is quick. It is so fast, it's ridiculous and the footwork is ridiculous and you've got to keep your frame up and a really tight back.

TVG: Are you doing another fun song? I liked that you used Beyonce last week.
McIntyre: We don't always have a say in it, but they hooked us up this week! I shouldn't tell you what song, because I'll get in trouble, but I think you'll like it.