EXCLUSIVE: Jana Kramer Opens Up About Emotional 'DWTS' Performance: 'I'm Really Proud of It'

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Dancing With the Stars
kicked off its "Most Memorable Year" week on Monday, and for Jana Kramer, that meant a routine dedicated to her 9-month-old daughter, Jolie.

Kramer performed a contemporary dance set to “In My Daughter’s Eyes” by Martina McBride, alongside her partner, Gleb Savchenko, and the pair pulled off an amazing number that brought the audience and judges to tears.


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Kramer and Savchenko spoke with ET's Nischelle Turner after the show, where the country singer opened up about the emotional number, and getting to dance in front of her little girl, who was in the audience to watch her moms' performance.

"It was an emotional night but a happy night," Kramer shared. "Gleb choreographed an amazing routine for my daughter and just everything that I’ve been through and I feel like we were able to share that in the story… I’m really proud of it."

In the pre-taped segment before her live routine, Kramer opened up about welcoming her little girl, telling Savchenko, "I feel like, since I've had Jolie, I'm the strongest I've ever been in my entire life. She has completely given me strength that I didn't even know was possible for me to have."


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She also got candid about suffering as the victim of domestic abuse, and how she wants her daughter to grow up to know she shouldn't have to deal with that kind of trauma.

"I never want my daughter to ever go through what I went through," Kramer said in the pre-recorded package, referring to her abusive relationship with first husband, Michael Gambino. "I never want her to [think] she's not good enough, and I want my daughter to know that no man should ever put their hands on her, because she's beautiful."

After her and Savchenko’s stunning number, which earned them a formidable score of 26 out of 30, Kramer ran out to the audience to hug her baby girl, who was wearing headphones to protect her ears from the roar of the DWTS audience.


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"When I saw her [in the audience], I was like, 'Ahhh!'" she recounted to ET after the show. "Gleb was like, ‘Eyes down! You need to focus. Give me one minute, 30 seconds of this.’"

"She’s a good luck charm," Savchenko said of Jolie. "We’re gonna bring her in the audience every week."

Kramer also dished on opening up about her past struggles, and the support she's gotten from her fans.

"It’s been tough because everyone always judges a book by its cover. You never know someone’s inner struggle, you never know what people have been through," she said. "I’m happy now that people are finally getting to know me -- the real me."


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