Country artists regularly share their hearts with the world through their music, but on Monday night, Lauren Alaina went a step further. The American Idol alum is currently competing on ABC’s Dancing with the Stars, and chose to dance a contemporary piece to her brand new song, “The Other Side”. The ballad is a beautiful tribute to her stepfather Sam Ramker, who passed away after a short battle with cancer. 

Alaina has opened up about her family’s loss before, but dancing to a song she wrote about his last moments on earth showed a vulnerable side we rarely see. As if the stars couldn’t have aligned more for this important piece, the broadcast happened to air on the one year anniversary of his passing.

A visibly emotional Alaina danced beautifully through the entire song but collapsed in tears into her mother’s arms as soon as it was over, and again when her partner, Gleb Savchenko, comforted her before they received scores from the judges.

“He was always my champion. He was always my number one fan,” Alaina said in an Instagram post before Monday’s performance. “I wrote ‘The Other Side’ in Sam’s memory. I wrote this song so that he can live on, and never be forgotten.”

Anyone who has experienced loss will find comfort in lyrics that depict a pain-free world where our loved ones will wait for us. Written by Alaina, Jon Nite, and Zach Kale, this song reminds us that the ones close to our hearts never truly leave us.

“Don’t you cry for me ’cause I’m in God’s glory / And I can see his face, it’s amazing / I know you have doubts but I see it right now / I promise it’s real, keep praying / I’ll be waiting, take your time / And go write a story / That you can’t wait to tell me / On the other side / Oh, oh, on the other side”

Faith, love, and loss have always been central themes in country music, but Alaina’s willingness to share them on a national stage shows how brave the Georgia native truly is.

“The Other Side” comes on the tails of Alaina’s last release, “Getting Good”. After Dancing with the Stars, she will headline for the first time on That Girl Was Me Tour before rejoining Blake Shelton, Trace Adkins, John Anderson and the Bellamy Brothers on the 2020 Friends & Heroes Tour.

To keep up with Lauren Alaina follow her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

“The Other Side” is now available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released music on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

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