NEED TO KNOW
Lauren Jauregui is working hard on Dancing with the Stars.
The singer-songwriter is competing on season 34 of the ABC dance competition series with partner Brandon Armstrong, and she’s opening up about the experience after their debut performance of Ariana Grande’s “Yes, And?” on the Tuesday, Sept. 16 episode.
“I was really excited, honestly. For me, nerves come in right before I go on, so nobody gets to see me nervous. I get to see me nervous and then I pray. I’m like, ‘God, take these nerves away so that I can do my best,’ and then it goes away, thankfully,” Jauregui tells PEOPLE at CBS Studios in Los Angeles after scoring 13 out of 20 points with their first number.
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Before hitting the stage, Armstrong felt confident in Jauregui’s dance abilities. “I mean, look, she grew up doing this,” he says of the Fifth Harmony member. “This is her arena, so I mean there’s only so much that I can say, but I am a huge fan.”
He added, “We practiced like maniacs, and that’s what allows her to be comfortable tonight.”
Jauregui agrees. “We ran it so many times, baby, I can do this in my sleep now,” she says.
The star’s turn on Dancing with the Stars comes after her fellow Fifth Harmony bandmates Normani and Ally Brooke previously competed on the series in seasons 24 and 28, respectively.
“Normani and Ally both are so sweet, so excited for me,” says Jauregui, before revealing the advice she received from the Dopamine artist: “Normani was just like, ‘Have so much fun. Take it a step at a time, and just be as present as possible and enjoy it because it goes by really fast.’ And she was not wrong. This is so fast.”
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After doing the tango on the season 34 premiere episode, Jauregui knows which dance style she’s most looking forward to: salsa. “I’m Cuban, so I’m ready,” she says.
“I’m so excited to technically learn salsa because I’ve been dancing salsa with my parents, my grandparents my entire life at every single family party possible, and just casually on weekends,” continues Jauregui. “So to actually have the technique and to get in my body with that, I’m so excited. Going to make the ancestors proud.”
