On September 22, 2013, for the first time, the category for Outstanding Choreography for the Emmy Awards was moved to the Primetime Live Show, and all of the nominees in the category were to create and perform a number with the host of the show, Neil Patrick Harris. Hough, who was nominated for "Dancing with the Stars", was part of that number, along with the other nominees. Ken Ehrlich, the executive producer of the show, stated, "It's definitely going to be an original number, something that hasn't been done before. It's going to utilize the talents of all of them to put this number together as choreographers." Hough then went on to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography. On September 12, 2015, Hough won his second Emmy Award for Outstanding Choreography, alongside Julianne Hough and Tessandra Chavez. This was both Julianne Hough's and Chavez's first Emmy win for outstanding choreography. Including the two nominations that he went on to win, Hough has been nominated for nine Emmy Awards for choreography.