‘Dancing With the Stars’ Alum Lauren Alaina ‘Sad’ to See Tom Bergeron, Erin Andrews Exit Series (Exclusive)

Country music star Lauren Alaina not only rose to fan-favorite stardom on Dancing With the Stars‘ 28th season, but she was also one of the 12 contestants who happened to be on the last leg of what was Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews‘ final run as hosts on the ABC series. After it was announced last month that Bergeron and Andrews were exiting the reality competition and making way for new host Tyra Banks, Alaina is weighing in on the departure in an exclusive with PopCulture.com, confessing she was “sad to see them go.” Nonetheless, the former American Idol alum has faith Banks “will do a great job.”

“Well, I love my hosts, so I was really sad to see them go,” Alaina explained of her feelings. “I think Tyra will do a great job — I literally always loved her. I used to watch [America’s Next Top Model] when I was younger, and I was obsessed with her, so I think she’ll do a great job.” Alaina went on to share how the show was “life-changing,” and wishes everyone going forward with the new season the best. “I’ll miss [them], but I think [Tyra] will do a wonderful job. I think she’s made for TV, and she’s done a million things and she’s drop-dead gorgeous, and she has a great personality, so I think she’ll do a great job.”

While former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe is the only celebrity to be announced as of right now for the upcoming season, Alaina did share some simple advice for the newbies who are gearing up for gruesome training — and it’s some solid, sound advice. “Oh my goodness, stretch!” the 25-year-old laughed.

While that was the first thing that came to mind, she did mention a few other tips that she found helpful during her experience. “I would tell them to eat. You have to eat a lot of calories to keep up with how many you burn a day,” Alaina said. “Just make sure that you’re eating enough and just remember that […] no matter if you get 10th place or first place, you’re really just there to learn new skills and celebrate what you’ve done in your career.”

The country music singer added how she put so much pressure on herself at the time, being one of the few cast members without any dance experience prior to, but reminded herself how she was “not a dancer, so I just went out there and had fun and did my best.” While it was a busy year for her last year, things have slowed down a bit due to the coronavirus pandemic. Alaina revealed while she’s ready to get back on the road, this downtime has allowed her to focus a lot on her music.

Alaina recently partnered with U.S. Cellular as she gears up to host a 30-minute livestream performance to highlight the importance of staying connected, supporting the community and fans through such uncertain times. “I am really excited to be working with U.S. Cellular because they’re all about connecting with people and being fair and being kind and this has been such a year of division and so many uncertainties, and at the end of the day, we are all in this together, I would say, more so than ever in the history of humanity […] because the whole world is shut down.”

Alaina’s performance is Sept. 10. To register for the concert and to enter for a meet and greet, visit USCellularConnects.com. For more with Alaina and all things DWTS, keep it locked to PopCulture.com for the latest!