Lauren Alaina hinted over the past week that Monday’s (Oct 21) dance on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars would be an emotional one for her. She posted on her socials that she would be dedicating her appearance to her stepdad, Sam Ramker, who passed away one year ago today.

“He was always my champion. Now he’s my guardian angel,” said the American Idol season 10 alum. “I can’t believe my stepdad has been gone a year today. This is an extremely hard day for my family, but I know Sam is with us and is so proud of us all. I am dancing for you tonight. We miss you. See you on The Other Side.”

He was always my champion. Now he’s my guardian angel. I can’t believe my stepdad has been gone a year today. This is an extremely hard day for my family, but I know Sam is with us and is so proud of us all. I am dancing for you tonight. We miss you. See you on The Other Side. pic.twitter.com/1osf93bSV2

— Lauren Alaina (@Lauren_Alaina) October 21, 2019

Lauren performed an emotional contemporary routine with her pro dancing partner Gleb Savchenko to her own song, “The Other Side.” In her pre-performance video package, Lauren and Gleb sat down to talk about the anniversary and how “The Other Side” came to be.

“He made my mom so happy, he changed my mom’s life,” Lauren explained. “I wrote ‘The Other Side’ in Sam’s memory. I wanted to create a song that did him justice.” Lauren’s family found out he had cancer in April and he died in October. Sam was only 47 years old. “It destroyed me,” Lauren said of the effect her step-father’s death had on her life.

By Lauren’s side, was Lauren’s who, who flew out to Los Angeles to lend support. “The song brought so much healing to me,” her mom said in the clip. On the last day of Sam’s life, Lauren shares, “He opened his eyes, and it was like all of the pain in his body left. He was looking up at the ceiling in awe and he described heaven…that’s what I wrote ‘The Other Side’ about.”

After Lauren’s performance, judge Carrie Ann Inaba called her a “brave woman.” Fellow judge, Len Goodman, agreed. “It’s a performance that’s worthy of your stepfather and yourself.” Lauren was so emotional, she could barely talk as the judges delivered her scores–a total of 26 points out of 30.

Watch the full performance below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__Dvx_FpO-Q

Listen to full audio of Lauren Alaina’s “The Other Side” written by Lauren Alaina, Zach Kale & Jon Nite.