Country music superstar Lauren Alaina made what she called the “hardest decision ever” to join the 2019 cast of Dancing With the Stars , taking to social media to explain to her fans why she decided to take to the ballroom floor for the show’s current season and postpone one of her greatest dreams to do so.
The 24-year-old singing superstar revealed on Instagram that she delayed her “That Girl Was Me” Tour, which was scheduled to begin this year, and has rescheduled the dates for early 2020. In an emotional post, Alaina revealed that there was no possibility to continue the level of excellence she demands from herself if she attempted to consecutively practice and perform for Dancing With the Stars and tour.
The American Idol alum realized that although there might have been a way to make it all work, she truly wanted to give herself the chance to enjoy the experience on the ABC reality dance competition series and made the tough call to push her tour back five months. Dancing With the Stars normally runs almost until the Thanksgiving holidays, giving the country music superstar a month of reprieve before hitting the road for the postponed dates.
The singer has a champion in 2018 mirrorball winner Bobby Bones, a legendary radio personality who has close ties in the country music community.
Alaina revealed during an interview with iHeart Radio’s The Bull that it was Bones who told her to consider the gig if she was ever offered the chance.
“I sang on the show last year, and a lot of people who work for Dancing With the Stars also worked on American Idol when I was on there, so I knew a bunch of people who worked on the show,” she revealed during the interview. “Bobby said when I was there that I needed to do the show. I was like, ‘Oh yeah, that would be fun sometime.’ And they called me for the next season! I’m gonna fall. It’s bad. Please pray for me.”
The cast of this year’s Dancing With the Stars season includes Bachelorette star Hannah Brown, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy star Karamo Brown, NBA star Lamar Odom, Dawson’s Creek actor James Van Der Beek, supermodel Christie Brinkley, former Fifth Harmony member Ally Brooke, former NFL star Ray Lewis, The Office actress Kate Flannery, comedian Kel Mitchell, The Supremes music legend Mary Wilson, and former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.
Dancing With the Stars premieres Monday, September 16, at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
