Lauren Alaina On ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Season 28 Week 1: She’s A Contender With Her Cha-Cha

Lauren Alaina took her first turn as a fresh contestant on Dancing with the Stars as Season 28 premiered on September 16. The former American Idol runner up seemed at ease on the ballroom floor as she paired with partner Gleb Savchenko to perform a cha-cha.

The song that accompanied this new dancing couple was “Man! I Feel Like a Woman” by Shania Twain, which was probably helpful since Lauren is also a country singer. She was all smiles as she was guided by Gleb on the first night of DWTS 2019.

After the performance, head judge Len Goodman put up a 6 on his paddle after stating that Lauren’s rhythm was admirable. He was glad when she and Gleb started dancing which took a while since she was sitting down before their cha-cha actually began.

Bruno Tonioli gave who he called a “sultry Southern belle” a 6 for her “steamy” cha-cha. He called the routine Gleb conceived for Lauren “polished” and then asserted that there was a problem on the back step.

Carrie Ann Inaba awarded the 24-year-old contender a 7. She called Lauren and Gleb’s cha-cha “powerful” and then added that she was impressed by the new dancer’s “loose” performance.

In general, Lauren and Gleb seemed to do a fine job for their first outing. All the couples who danced before them received lower scores than she and Gleb did. So, in all likely hood, this particular pair will probably be competent enough to take on the competition for at least a few weeks — if not more — of DWTS.

That said, Lauren will probably have a lot of time to practice. She broke up with her boyfriend, John Crist, just prior to the DWTS premiere, according to Entertainment Tonight.

The news arrived courtesy of the reigning DWTS champ, Bobbie Bones. Lauren told the sad news to the radio personality on Monday, just before she hit the dance floor for the first time on live TV.

Telling Bobby she doesn’t “have a boyfriend anymore,” she added that it was “no big story. We were… best friends before we dated, and we’re still best friends. It just didn’t work out. I guess that’s how dating goes, right?”

When Bobby asked if she had fallen in love with her new dance partner, she denied the assertion. Apparently, she and Gleb are just trying to win the Mirror Ball trophy together — period.

That said, Lauren had been keen to perform on DWTS ever since she sang on the show. As The Inquisitr reported via ABC Radio, “The mere act of watching the contestants dance to her tune ‘changed [her] life.'”

And so, while Lauren Alaina is partnered with Gleb Savchenko on Dancing with the Stars, the former American Idol runner-up and her professional dance teacher are definitely in it to win it for Season 28 while also having a good time doing so.

Keep up with Lauren Alaina’s dancing progress by watching Dancing with the Stars every week on ABC.