NEED TO KNOW
Lauren Jauregui’s time on Dancing with the Stars was cut short, and she was “pissed.”
The singer-songwriter, 29, competed on the latest season of the dance competition series, finished in twelfth place and summed up her feelings about the elimination with one word — “pissed” — in a viral moment. Now, she’s opening up about how she looks back on the experience now.
“There’s a lot of pressure that happens when you’re in front of millions of people and feeling something really vulnerable and then have a mic shoved into your face and asked how you feel,” Jauregui tells PEOPLE. “And If I’m thinking it, I’m going to say it.”
Disney/Eric McCandless
The Fifth Harmony member continues, “In my mind I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m so upset. I’m so sad. This isn’t supposed to happen.’ [That] was just what my brain was telling me, and then the only word that came out of my mouth was ‘pissed,’ which is an interesting one.”
Throughout Jauregui’s time on DWTS, she delivered three performances with professional dance partner Brandon Armstrong, set to Ariana Grande’s “Yes, And?,” the Cardigans’ “Lovefool” and Fifth Harmony’s “Work from Home.”
The show marked the first time many fans have seen her dance without singing at the same time. “I was able to give my 110% to just the dancing. That was really fun to do, honestly. Even though I was a little nervous sometimes, it was really fun to get out of my comfort zone,” says the star.
“Dance is my first love,” declares Jauregui, who practiced various styles of dance as a young child growing up in Miami — long before she auditioned for The X Factor at age 15 and ultimately ended up in Fifth Harmony.
The night of the performer’s DWTS elimination, she was surrounded with love from bandmates Normani, Dinah Jane and Ally Brooke, who were all present for the live show. “I loved having them there,” she says. “They were so sweet and held such a nice little container of love.”
The three women provided comfort after the fact, explains Jauregui: “Once I came off, I was like, ‘I’m sorry you guys came to my elimination episode. That’s crazy.’ But they were so supportive and sweet, and they’re just like, ‘Girl, it’s not you. Don’t worry. Just keep your head up. You did your thing.'”
Disney/Stewart Cook
Beyond the experience, Jauregui gained a friend from DWTS in Armstrong. “I love him. I love his wife [Brylee]. They’re really cool people,” she says. “I’m excited to keep getting to know each other.”
Now, Jauregui is focused on music. Her new single, “Ego,” was released earlier this month as the first offering from her upcoming debut album.
The song is also a shift to a more alternative sound, inspired by her longtime fandom of artists like Paramore, Fall Out Boy and Death Cab for Cutie, plus the rockier material of pop stars from Kelly Clarkson to Demi Lovato. “All of these people were a huge part of my essence growing up and just music taste in general,” she says.
“Energetically, it’s the vein that I’m in,” explains Jauregui of her sound. “I’ve done a lot of evolving and growing over the past four years, and also, in this world that we’re living in, I’m very observant. I’m very outspoken, and it definitely is reflected in the music.”
