{
  "id": 6600858,
  "title": "Ray Chew on Music Directing ‘DWTS,’ ‘SNL,’ Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade & More Live TV | On the Record",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/ray-chew-on-music-directing-dwts-snl-macys-thanksgiving-day-parade",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-10T14:46:52.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Billboard",
    "slug": "billboard",
    "url": "https://www.billboard.com/video/ray-chew-music-directing-dwts-snl-on-the-record/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Dancing With the Stars music director Ray Chew discusses the challenges of live music performances on the show. He explains the process of \"unbaking the cake\" on arrangements and managing rehearsals under the pressure of live TV. Ray Chew began his career in television with Saturday Night Live and Showtime at the Apollo. He reflects on the unique opportunity to work with live musicians, noting that Dancing With the Stars is the only show to do so. One of the highlights of his work was covering Janet Jackson for a Dancing With the Stars episode, with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis complimenting his performance. Despite being the sole music director for Dancing With the Stars, Ray Chew remains enthusiastic about his job and doesn't plan on changing his approach anytime soon.",
  "summary": "Dancing With the Stars music director Ray Chew breaks down how the show pulls off live music every week — “unbaking the cake” on arrangements, managing rehearsals and executing under the pressure of live TV where “there is no do it again.” Ray also shares how he got his start (including Saturday Night Live and […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}