Lauren Alaina, one of the contestants on Dancing With the Stars, has had a rough week. During her most recent dance, she told the story of her cousin, Holly, who had slipped into a coma earlier in the week due to a brain bleed. Alaina had to take a few days off during rehearsals to go home and spend some time with her family.
Alaina's Monday night performance of the foxtrot absolutely killed, despite having this weight on her shoulders. She revealed to her dance partner Gleb Savchenko what was going on in her life. Her family talked her into going home and spending some time with them. Alaina then came back and dedicated her performance to her cousin.
Fans who tuned in got to see Alaina going back to her hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, where she was able to perform at a bar called Tootsie’s. According to Alaina, her cousin Holly is the one who got her to sing country music in the first place. She also confirmed that Holly was the reason for her return to Nashville. Holly taught her how to sing and was even at her American Idol audition.
Alaina showed her passion for country music in the foxtrot she dedicated to her cousin by dancing to Dolly Parton’s "Jolene," a song and artist that greatly influenced her own career. She chose this song because it was so personal, she wanted to channel as much emotion into her performance as possible. It paid off since the dance earned the pair a 32 out of 40 and rendered them safe until next week’s dance.
On Wednesday, they were told there was little to no hope for Holly. However, she miraculously started showing a lot of signs of activity and even started breathing on her own. Alaina's aunt let her speak to Holly over the phone and, after telling her she was going to dedicate her next dance to her, Holly wiggled with excitement a bit. After the doctors asked if she could hear them, Holly gave them a thumbs up.
Alaina believes that she is right where Holly would want her to be. Even though it was difficult for her to leave her family behind, she knows that Holly would be the one to tell her to go out and dance. Alaina considers Holly her number 1 fan and, according to her uncle, Holly’s been recording every episode and watching Lauren’s dances on repeat.
Dancing With the Stars airs every Monday at 10pm EST on ABC.
Source: Dancing with the Stars