'Dancing With the Stars: Juniors' Competitor Honey Boo Boo Complains Coaching Getting 'Stricter'

Dancing With the Stars: Juniors is turning up the heat every week, but not all the competitors are thrilled with the intensity increasing.

During Sunday's episode of the Dancing With the Stars spinoff Alana "Honey Boo Boo" Thompson was having a tough time getting into the serious spirit with pro partner Tristan Ianiero and mentor Artem Chigvinstev.

"Alana, it looks so bad," Chigvinstev moaned as the junior pair practiced their cha cha for the week. "You're supposed to hold your core!"

Thompson told the camera, "Artem's getting stricter, and I don't know why because the dances are only gonna get harder."

Later, when the WE tv personality yawned during the Dancing With the Stars pro's instruction, he looked frustrated, rolling his chair out of the room to make his point. "What?" Thompson called after him.

The reality TV personality was determined to prove she was taking the competition seriously, however, telling the camera, "I'm gonna prove to Artem that I do listen to him and blow the judges out of their seat with this cha cha."

In the end, their hard work did pay off, with Thompson and Ianiero earning a 19/30 for their cha cha to the 2005 Pussycat Dolls song "Don't Cha" in the spirit of the "Year I Was Born" theme week.

The judges even praised Thompson's "transformation" from the first week before bringing up issues of her timing and off moments.

"I never thought I'd get emotional to a Pussycat Dolls song, but watching you dance and the transformation you've shown on this show makes me really, really proud," Dancing With the Stars pro and judge Val Chmerkovskiy told the pair.

Dancing With the Stars: Athletes winner and judge Adam Rippon added, "You come out here and you own it," before criticizing the duo by saying, "Was there a moment where you were walking around here like you were at the mall? One hundred percent there was … but you cant help but love to watch you perform."

La La Land choreographer Mandy Moore noted that Thompson appeared to be jumping the gun at the start of the dance, recommending, "You have to be like, 'Inhale, exhale. Tristan you got me. Let's rock this."

Looks like Thompson made her mentor proud!

Dancing With the Stars: Juniors airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo credit: ABC