Taylor Hanson from Hanson Is Competing on Dancing with the Stars at 43, Decades After “Mmmbop” Hit No. 1 in 27 Countries

By | September 10, 2026
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Thought Catalog

Taylor Hanson in a black sequined tuxedo jacket and Britt Stewart in a fringed dance costume pose together on the Dancing With the Stars stage.

He’s 43, has almost no formal dance training, and just signed up to do it live on national TV. His pitch for why: the show forces you to “face your fears” in front of everyone.

Taylor Hanson is trading the piano for the ballroom on Season 35 of Dancing With The Stars, premiering September 15 on ABC and Disney+.

He’ll compete alongside professional dancer Britt Stewart. Photographers caught him leaving rehearsals in Hollywood on September 8, heading to his car after a training day.

Taylor Hanson walking to his car outside a Dancing With The Stars rehearsal studio in Hollywood

The Hanson frontman says decades of live performance and his rhythmic instincts as a musician are already paying off, even if the choreography is new to him. Asked whether he’d dance to “MMMBop,” he stayed coy: “no promises… you got to hang around and see what happens.”

That 1997 hit put him on the map at 14, topping charts in 27 countries off the debut album Middle of Nowhere, which pulled three Grammy nominations. In the decades since, he and brothers Isaac and Zac left their major label to build 3CG Records, kept touring past the band’s 30-year mark, and Taylor founded the Oklahoma nonprofit Food On The Move to fight food deserts. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Hall of Fame in 2025.

Now he’s the one being judged on the dance floor.

Taylor Hanson in a promotional photo for Dancing with the Stars

 

 

Taylor Hanson Sings New Version of ‘90s Hit ‘MMMBop’ for Nostalgic New Project

By | September 9, 2026
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People

“MMMBites,” released Wednesday, Sept. 9, celebrates the brand’s introduction of Soft Swirl Cinnamon Bites

NEED TO KNOW

  • Taylor Hanson recorded a new version of “MMMBop” called “MMMBites” for King’s Hawaiian’s latest snack campaign
  • The campaign promotes Soft Swirl Cinnamon Bites and aims to bring joy to everyday moments
  • Hanson reminisced about creating “MMMBop” and recently joined Dancing with the Stars‘ upcoming 35th season

Taylor Hanson is giving “MMMBop” a sweet new remix.

Nearly three decades after Hanson topped the charts with their infectious 1997 hit, the 43-year-old musician who formed the trio with brothers Isaac, 45, and Zac, 40, recorded a new version for King’s Hawaiian.

“MMMBites,” released Wednesday, Sept. 9, celebrates the brand’s introduction of Soft Swirl Cinnamon Bites to accompany its Soft Pretzel Bites snack, which launched in 2024.

“‘MMMBop’ has been stuck in people’s heads as a feel-good bop for decades, and while we’ve had opportunities to reinvent it over the years, none ever felt quite right until now,” Taylor said in a statement shared with PEOPLE.

Taylor Hanson for King's Hawaiian
Taylor Hanson.King’s Hawaiian

“We thought this was the right opportunity to give it a fresh twist with MMMBites as a fun way to celebrate a snack that’s all about bringing a little more joy to everyday life,” he added. “Hopefully people will find themselves singing — and snacking — along.”

The brand says the campaign aims to send the message that King’s Hawaiian Bites “turn everyday moments —even the not-so-fun ones—into something worth smiling about.”

The first spot, “Mmmondays,” sees Taylor cheering up an office worker by offering her a snack and singing a few bars of the “MMMBites” chorus.

Taylor, who recently joined the cast of Dancing with the Stars‘ upcoming 35th season, reminisced about the making of “MMMBop” during an interview with PEOPLE in 2024.

“It’s hard to say who literally said, ‘Mmmbop,’” Taylor said of the lead single from their major-label album debut, Middle of Nowhere.

“Taylor probably sang it first,” Zac recalled. “I was probably coloring or something. I mean, I was little. I was like 7, 8 when ‘MMMBop’ was written. It’s not like I wasn’t there, it’s just, I was probably just being me.”

Isaac added, “My memory is pretty good for that time, and if my memory serves me correctly, the three of us walked out of the control room where we were working, and then went around the stairs, in an area where there was a little bit more reverb sound in that stairwell, and we were just singing.”

He noted, “It’s very possible that Taylor said the first idea, like, ‘How would you scat to this?’”

King’s Hawaiian Soft Swirl Cinnamon Bites are currently available at major grocery retailers nationwide.

Taylor Hanson to Compete in Dancing with the Stars

By | September 3, 2026
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Tulsa Kids

Taylor Hanson Pc Andrew Eccles Disney

Taylor Hanson and Britt Stewart. Photo credit: Andrew Eccles/Disney

 

hen Dancing with the Stars season 35 premiers later this month, Tulsa musician and father of seven Taylor Hanson will be among the lineup of 16 competitors. His professional dancing partner is Britt Stewart, who has competed in the show since season 29.

Hanson is best known as a member of the band Hanson, forming a trio with two of his brothers, Isaac and Zac. Hanson was particularly popular in the late 1990s/early 2000s (MMMBop was released on 1997), but has continued to perform and release albums. The trio also founded Hanson Brothers Beer Company (whose signature brew was called Mmmhops, naturally) and created the erstwhile Hop Jam beer festival in Tulsa.

Taylor Hanson himself founded Food on the Move, a Tulsa-based initiative whose mission is “to transform food deserts and the legacy issues created by living in a food-insecure area.” TulsaKids columnist Nancy A. Moore interviewed Hanson about his work with Food on the Move and why it’s important to him in 2023. Read the interview at tulsakids.com/taylor-hanson-creating-a-movement-through-food

What People are Saying

Over on Reddit, people report that Taylor’s participation has been met with enthusiasm, with some saying he’s enough of a draw to get them to watch the show for the first time. There seems to be some mild controversy, however, over his pairing with Britt — mainly because she once said her dream DWTS partner would be Harry Shum Jr., who is also competing this season. However, others point out that Hanson still has a lot of die-hard fans, and because the public gets to vote for their favorite dancers, this could carry the pair far in the competition.

In an Instagram live published after the announcement, Hanson introduced Britt, saying, “Thank God I’ve got her in my corner,” and they both said they’re so excited to be working together. They also sought community feedback on their team name. So if you’ve got a great suggestion, add it to the comments!

Dancing with the Stars Season 35 Competitors

Info from abcnews.com/GMA/Culture/dancing-with-the-stars-season-35-celebrity-cast/story?id=136095657

  • Julia Stiles (actress, director, writer and producer)
  • Jenna Dewan (backup dancer, actress, celebrity judge)
  • Tatyana Ali (actress, musician, author, advocate for Black maternal health)
  • Taylor Hanson (musician, founder of Food on the Move)
  • Ezra French (Paralympic Gold Medalist, world-record holder, advocate, model and motivational speaker)
  • Amber Glenn (Olympic gold medalist – figure skating)
  • Connor Wood (social media personality)
  • Sarah Jane Nader (actress and model)
  • Tyler Cameron (competed on “The Bachelorette,” real estate, TV appearances)
  • Giada DeLaurentiis (celebrity chef, cookbook author, restaurateur)
  • Harry Shum Jr. (actor and backup dancer)
  • Connor Leavitt (Appears in The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, has made Broadway debut)
  • Guillermo Rodriguez (TV personality – Jimmy Kimmel Live!)
  • Maura Higgins (TV personality and style icon)
  • Ciara Miller (TV and social media personality)
  • Jackson Olson (baseball player – Savannah Bananas)

Where to Watch

Dancing with the Stars: Season 35, will premier Sept. 15 and 16 on ABC and Disney+. Watch episodes the following day on Hulu as well.

Follow @taylorhanson, @brittbanae and @dancingwiththestars on Instagram to stay up-to-date and for more fun Dancing with the Stars content!

 

Taylor Hanson Reveals How Boy Band Experience Is Helping Him on Dancing With the Stars

By | September 3, 2026
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E!News 

Luckily, Taylor Hanson’s moves weren’t actually gone in an MMMBop.

In fact, as the Hanson member prepares to compete on season 35 of Dancing With the Stars, he and pro partner Britt Stewart, the two have found that his experience as a musician is certainly giving him a leg up.

“It’s very very helpful,” Stewart told E! News in an exclusive joint interview with Hanson following the DWTS cast reveal on Sept. 2. “I love that each season I get to really teach and choreograph and curate this journey for whoever my partner is.”

“There was a moment in rehearsal the other day where I’m like, he’s teaching me about music within my knowledge of music that I have already,” the 36-year-old continued. “And Taylor said it so many times: music and dance—they’re so connected. So it’s definitely a strength that I’m using this season.”

And the 43-year-old—who shares kids Ezra, 23, Penelope, 21, River, 19, Viggo, 17, Wilhelmina, 13, Indiana, 7, and Maybellene, 5, with wife Natalie—knows his time on the ABC series will be en pointe.

“It’s a blast,” he raved. “What people feel from the show is real. There’s a real familial energy. People are supportive of each other.”

Taylor Hanson, Britt Stewart, Dancing With the Stars season 35 cast on ABCDisney/Andrew Eccles

And he knows the importance of that familial energy given he’s spent more than 30 years in a band with brothers Isaac Hanson and Zac Hanson.

“Obviously, it’s a competition show,” the “This Time Around” singer added, “so we’re going to see the eye of the tiger with everybody. But it’s exciting.”

As for whether or not he’d be hitting the dance floor to any of Hanson’s classics? Well, he’s been thinkin’ ‘bout something, that’s for sure.

Taylor Hanson, Dancing With the Stars, Season 35Disney/Andrew Eccles

“Rhythm is what connects to dance, right?” he explained. “So there’s a lot of rhythm in a lot of Hanson songs.”

“One of the songs that we actually performed—I think we were one of the first bands to perform on the show with live music—it was a song called ‘Give a Little,’ and it is a dance-oriented song. That’s kind of the whole video,” Hanson shared. “And then, of course, people are curious about ‘MMMBop’ being kind of a calling card.”

Tulsa native boy band Hanson ‘MMMBops’ their way to Hard Rock Dec. 17

By | September 3, 2026
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Cherokee Phoenix 

Tulsa native boy band Hanson ‘MMMBops’ their way to Hard Rock Dec. 17

TULSA – Known worldwide for their breakout hit “MMMBop” and decades of genre‑spanning music, Tulsa natives Hanson are stepping on the stage at Hard Rock Live inside Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Tulsa at 8 p.m., Thursday, Dec. 17.

Tickets start at $69.50 and go on sale Sept. 4.

Formed by Tulsa brothers Isaac, Taylor and Zac Hanson, Hanson rose to international fame in 1997 with the infectious pop anthem “MMMBop.” The song reached No. 1 in 27 countries and helped propel the band’s multiplatinum debut album, “Middle of Nowhere,” to three Grammy Award nominations.

Since forming in 1992, Hanson has sold more than 16 million albums and millions of concert tickets while cultivating a devoted global fan base. The band continues to tour internationally, performing a catalog that spans its breakthrough hits and an extensive collection of pop, rock, soul and R&B-inspired music.

After achieving early success with a major record label, the brothers established their own independent label in 2004 with the release of “Underneath.”

Hanson’s subsequent releases include “The Walk,” “Shout It Out,” “Anthem,” “String Theory,” “Against the World” and “Red Green Blue.” Throughout its career, the band has collaborated with acclaimed artists and producers while exploring influences ranging from gospel and classic soul to folk rock and orchestral pop.

The group’s connection to Tulsa has remained central to its identity. In addition to welcoming fans from around the world to its annual Hanson Day celebration, the brothers co-founded The Hop Jam, a hometown music and craft beer festival. They also launched Hanson Brothers Beer, best known for its flagship MmmHops Pale Ale.