ET spoke with the rapper and his pro partner ahead of Monday's finals, which air at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
Nelly still can't believe he made it into the Dancing With the Stars finals, but credits his pro partner, Daniella Karagach, and his alter ego, Yung Swivel, for helping him get there!
"Me, personally, I talk a lot of smack. I mean, that is what I do; I rap," Nelly told ET's Lauren Zima, during a break from one of his finale rehearsals. "But actually seeing it come to fruition, it's something I was not quite sure about. Daniella believed if she worked hard, and I was committed to actually trying, that we had a shot at it. And she was right."
As for the Yung Swivel nickname, the rapper believes creating the alter ego was "very critical" in him making it this far into the competition.
"I think sometimes when you try to make yourself comfortable and put yourself in vulnerable situations, [it's good] to have someone you can channel. To say, 'OK, what would this person do if they were in this situation?'" Nelly explained. "I think that's what allowed me to get through what I had to get through. It's kind of like why when you become a hip-hop artist, you don't use your government name, so to speak. Like, I don't rap as Cornell Haynes, I rap as Nelly, because this is what Nelly would do."
During Monday's DWTS finale, Nelly and Daniella will be competing for the mirrorball trophy against Kaitlyn Bristowe and Artem Chigvintsev, Nev Schulman and Jenna Johnson, and Justina Machado and Sasha Farber.
Each finalist will have to dance twice. For Nelly and Daniella, they'll first be repeating their Samba to "Rhythm of the Night" by DeBarge. Then, they'll perform their final dance, a Freestyle to "Savage" by Megan Thee Stallion and "Hypnotize" by The Notorious B.I.G., as a last-minute chance to impress judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli, and America.
"We are just going to have fun, and hopefully people at home can relate to us," Daniella teased. "It's about improvement, and just a good experience, and I feel like that is all in one."
While the first-time pro couldn't give away too many details about their Freestyle, she told ET that they are "going to let loose," and "do what we do."
"I would say it's very energetic," added Nelly. "Something that has never been seen on the show before, that type of energy. That type of fun."
Speaking of fun, #TeamDaNelly also shared what they have in store if they do take home the mirrorball trophy.
"We are getting hammered!" Nelly exclaimed, bursting into laughter. "I got my driver on standby. We are getting hammered, it's already in the works."
"Pizza, donuts and alcohol!" added Daniella. "Oh yeah, it's on!"
The season 29 finale of Dancing With the Stars kicks off Monday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. In the meantime, tune into Entertainment Tonight on Monday to hear more from the remaining contestants. Check your local listings here.
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