‘Dancing With the Stars: Juniors’ Judge Gets ‘Emotional’ Following Honey Boo Boo’s Performance

The Dancing With the Stars: Juniors judges can’t believe how far Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson has come in just one week of competition!

In Sunday’s all-new episode of the ABC Dancing With the Stars spinoff, the WE tv star and pro partner Tristan Ianiero (mentored by Artem Chigvinstev) performed a cha cha to the 2005 Pussycat Dolls song “Don’t Cha” for the “Year I Was Born” theme week.

Despite a rocky beginning to the practice week, Thompson taking to the stage for a second week and owning it clearly made the judges proud, even earning an emotional reaction from Dancing With the Stars pro and judge Val Chmerkovskiy.

“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,” Chmerkovskiy told the pair, which was clearly thrilled at the positive remarks.

Dancing With the Stars: Athletes winner and judge Adam Rippon also had positive feedback for the duo. “You come out here and you own it,” he said. “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 did have a few notes for the pair, asking if Thompson was having troubles not jumping the gun when it came to her timing at the start of the dance.

The Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star admitted that she gets so excited at the start of the dance she has trouble keeping her tempo consistent, which Moore said she totally got, especially from a dancer so young.

As a suggestion, Moore recommended, “You have to be like, ‘Inhale, exhale. Tristan you got me. Let’s rock this.”

In the end, the duo earned a score of six from Chmerkovskiy, a six from Moore and a seven from Rippon.

It appears the reality personality is taking her time on the dancing competition all in stride, however, after hitting a “breaking point” early on, she told PEOPLE last month.

“I did hit a breaking point at one time,” Thompson said, admitting Dance Moms alum-turned singer Mackenzie Ziegler’s presence was intimidating. “I was like, ‘I’m never going to be better than her.’ But I kind of got past it because you don’t have to be the best dancer to win. It’s not just about being the best dancer. It’s about having fun, too.”

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

Photo credit: ABC/Eric McCandless