Danielle’s Diary: 1/23/26

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It's okay, because you're here. It's okay, because you're here. It's okay, because you're here. It's okay, because you're here. It's okay, because you're here. It's okay, because you're here. It's okay, because you're here. It's okay, because you're here. It's okay, because you're here. It's okay, because you're here. It's okay, because you're here. It's okay, because you're here. Mother of two. And currently touring circus clown on the dancing with the stars tour. No, of course, I'm not a circus clown. But I do very much feel like when we used to do the Podmeats World Tour and we would go place to place and sometimes we'd be in venues that wouldn't necessarily be like the back of the venue wouldn't be super nice. And I'd say to writer like, oh wow, like this doesn't feel good. And he goes, no, I love it. I feel like carny folk. I feel a little like that, like going from place to place, never really knowing what I have in store for me that day, based on where I'm going to be. I have not up until this point really had to experience or gotten to experience the bus life yet. We are in a very tiny little town in Pennsylvania. And we're at this incredible venue that really caters to rock bands and pop-axe and any really any kind of massive show that you want to do. Huge space. And all kinds of, you know, a beautiful stage and confetti canons and lighting rigs. And I mean, you name it, they can do it here. So it's been, it's been really nice to like fully be able to put on the show and to have a sense of what it's going to feel like when we're in arenas. But yeah, it's incredible. I just, I can't even believe I'm pinching myself every single day that this right now is my life. I can't believe it. Like I wake up, I go down to the studio where we're rehearsing. And I watch ten of the most incredible dancers on stage doing things that I just cannot believe a human body can do. And when you watch Dancing with the Stars, you get a sense for how talented they are. But it's such quick little snippets because no offense to my fellow celebrities on the show. But when they dance with us, even the best of the best, you, you don't realize it, but they're not dancing to their full potential. Like they are having to slow it down a bit. And you know, I don't want to say dumb it down because they're, I don't, I'm not trying to be insulting to us celebrities who aren't dancers, but they're not really, you know, they're not able to dance the way they want to. They have to dance to your level or a little above your level to try and help you raise your game. But boy, to see them dance with each other for a two-hour show and to see what they're capable of is amazing. I, during rehearsals before we went on the road. I came home and I told Jensen one day, I was like, this is insane to me that it starts with like nothing. You know, there's like nothing going on on the stage. And Mandy, Mandy Moore, the incredible choreographer and director who is just like, man, when I grow up someday, I want to be Mandy Moore. She is a boss lady. She's so kind, so funny. Such a great personality has a million and one things going on. She keeps it all straight and never seems, never seems like she's going to explode even though I'm sure on the inside she feels like she's going to a million times. Anyway, like there'll be nothing, you know, and they're creating something from nothing. And Mandy will say, why don't you walk over here? And then why don't you walk over there? And then you and then she'll go, no, that'll like that. I hate it. Okay, let's start over again. And then she comes up with like a little bit of something and then she's like, and then we need to do, you know, a couple of eights here. And her and the dancers work out something that they want to do. And within like 20 or 30 minutes, they have a gorgeous number. And I'm like, what in what world? How does this happen? Like really, I, the show has made me believe I need a full six days to learn how to do anything. But watching them, you really get a sense of like, wow, these people are incredibly special. So anyway, it has been remarkable. And I can't believe I get to be on stage with them. It's a little intimidating because I am, I was going to say I feel, but it's not just that I feel I am the weak link. Like, of course, I'm the only one who's not a professional dancer. I'm the only one who's never done a tour. I'm the only one who has no clue what's going on. And I'm just trying to keep up and I'm trying not to drag them down with me. And I'm trying to make sure that you are fantastic watchers and, you know, listeners of the podcast, but watchers of the show and voters on the show, people who love dancing with the stars who come to this, expecting the highest caliber and quality of product that you get it and that, and that I contribute to it in some way. So we are working our butts off to make sure that you guys feel how special you are and how special you are to all of us and to the show and to this tour. I mean, the way all of these people talk about those of you who come to the shows and they hold you in the highest esteem. Like you guys are a functioning member of the Dancing with the Stars team. You just really are. We would be nothing without you and we did a dress rehearsal today and before the dress rehearsal, we all huddle up in the back and hold hands and Val led the speech today. And one of the things he mentioned was just how grateful we all are that we get to perform for you and that we still get to keep doing things that we love and that we get to do it on stage at this caliber with these kinds of resources and this kind of team behind us. And that you guys support us the way you do. And that is, that is just something that needs to be said that all of this is only because of you and your love for the show and it just continues to grow. I am having the time of my life. But with that said, haven't had to spend a lot of bus time yet. As a matter of fact, I've spent no bus time. We've been in a hotel. We're in this small town in Pennsylvania like I told you doing tech rehearsal and we've been in hotel life, which is kind of nice because we've got plenty of space. Our bags are all unpacked. And I let me tell you, I am packed within a millimeter of my life. I used to be, I think I used to be a little more low maintenance. I used to have less things. To be fair, I usually don't travel when I have to do my own full glam hair and makeup. On this tour and on all the tours, we have to do our own hair and makeup. Wardrobe is provided by Daniela, the customer from Dancing with the Stars. So Wardrobe is provided for us by Daniela and Steven, Steven, does all the men's stuff. But hair and makeup we are on our own for. And I'm not used to having to do that by myself. On the show, we have the world's best hair and makeup team and they make sure we look perfect. For this, we still want to look good. Obviously we're on stage. We want you guys to feel like you're getting the high quality of Dancing with the Stars that you're used to, but we have to do it ourselves. So I had to bring my, all my makeup stuff. I had to bring some hair stuff. I had to bring my hair dryer. It's a, I'm just now starting to like learn what the day to day is going to look like. So let me tell you what my day to day is soon going to look like. Basically, you do a live show. You put on, let's say, the performance of a lifetime and manifesting it and bringing it, and bringing it to me. You put on a fantastic show. Then at the venue, you have to get ready for bed because there are no showers on the bus. So you have to go into the venue with all of your toiletries, not only the toiletries that you're going to use to get ready for the show, like your makeup and your hair stuff, but now you have to get unready for bed. And so you have to take a shower if that means you're washing your hair, you're washing your hair. If you need to dry your hair, that means you need to dry your hair there. So I had to bring my hair dryer, my brushes, a curling iron. I brought a beach waiver because I wanted to be able to do some waves. I brought a little flat iron. I had to bring multiple pallets of makeup because who wants to wear the same palette of makeup for an entire month, not me. So I brought multiple pallets of makeup. We are also responsible for maintaining our spray tans, which having seen the lights that are on stage and they are very bright. You want to have a little bit of a glow or some sort of body makeup to the lights are not doing our legs any favors. I got to be honest. I looked down at my legs and was like, what on earth is this? And then I stepped out of the light. They were fine. Just the lighting. So I had to bring my own body makeup. I have my brushes. Yes, so I have to bring all that stuff onto the bus. Then when you leave, you want to put on your comfy clothes, at least your lounge wear, if not your pajamas, but you still got to get bundled up because we're on the East Coast. It's freezing and snowing. So you have to get bundled up. Then you go back to the bus. For giant suitcases, well, I guess I should tell you what I packed with me because I didn't explain that very well. You bring one giant suitcase that's filled with basically however, however many clothes you think you can bring with you. For me, I'm only gone a month, which I say only. It's the longest I've ever been away from home. It's the longest I've ever been gone from anywhere. But I brought enough things that I wasn't going to feel like I was too terribly sick of all the things that I brought. Then I brought, and most of those things were sets because your girl loves a set. I'm your girl. So I brought a blue sweatset. I brought, of course, my nowhere brand sweatset that I'm obsessed with. I brought another one that was a gift to me from Wilford L's wife Susan. I brought that sweatset. I brought a black sweatset that I actually just bought for this trip. Then I also brought some things that I might want to wear on my day off. You get one day off a week. I figure I might want to get out of sweatsets on that day just to kind of feel a little human. I brought two pairs of jeans and I brought a few cute sweaters to wear under jackets. Then I brought one coat that's more of like a cute coat and then a big puffy coat. Then I brought a pair of gloves and I brought two pairs of tennis shoes, one that are like trainers for when I go to the gym, but I also wear them out of the venue and stuff. Then another more like fashion pair of sneakers and then a pair of snow boots. That is it. Of course, shower sandals. But I didn't bring shower sandals. They provided them to me when I arrived here, which was very kind. We all got shower sandals. I packed my big suitcase and then I had a carry on size suitcase. From what I understand, all of the suitcases live at the bottom of the bus. They go under the bus in storage. The only thing you're really allowed to have with you on the actual bus is like a small duffle bag. That's because while the buses are big, there are like eight people staying on the bus. There's one bunk that's empty and that becomes your junk bunk. That means all of us can use it to put our small duffles in. 8th clave. 8th clave. A new original drama inspired by Emily Brontzies, Wolverine Heights. I do not know what life is without Kathy. Before his descent into monstrous revenge, there were three missing years. A time of possibility, freedom and a different kind of love. Escape this story. She has trapped you in. Starring Darryl McCormack as 8th clave. Listen now, only unordable. Say audible.co.uk for terms. Ah, spring time is coming. The season of renewal. Of new beginnings. Of a brand new Persia with savings of up to £3,250 across our car range. Enjoy the Persia Spring Upgrade event. Find your nearest retailer on Persia.co.uk and book a test drive today. Available on orders between the 16th February and 16th March, 2026, promotion subject to full terms and conditions. Visit Persia.co.uk. So we put on a fantastic show. We get unready for bed. Then we go out to the bus. We put our toiletries and whatever else that we had with us in the junk bunk, in the, you know, in the duffel bag, in the junk bunk. And then you go to sleep. And while you're sleeping, the bus driver is driving you to the next location. Then you get to the next location. You wake up whenever you wake up. Say you arrive at like four or five o'clock in the morning. You wake up whenever you wake up. You get out of the bus. And if you want to go get ready for your day, you take your toiletry bag out of the junk bunk and you go back inside the next venue. And you're getting ready there. I am not sure how this is going to work. I like to have some lazy mornings. I can't even function at all before I've had a cup of coffee. So I guess my plan's going to be sleep all night, arrive at the venue, wake up whenever I wake up. There is a coffee pot on the bus that leads me to the next thing, which is you get to do something called bus stock. And that means they do a grocery shopping for us. Once a week they go to the grocery store and we get to put things on there that we want to eat. So like I requested apples. I requested coffee because I can't imagine life without coffee. I also requested like an espresso machine, which I know that's super bougie, but they're just it's much better coffee than you're going to get some other place. So I have an espresso. We have a espresso machine on the bus and then we get our espresso pods. So I think my plan is just going to be to wake up in the morning whenever I wake up, have a cup of coffee on the bus, maybe have an apple, and then go in and start getting ready for my day. I don't know. I'm not even really sure what the schedule is going to be like once we're fully into it because we're going to have to, we've got meat and greets before the show. So I'm going to have to be hair and makeup ready mostly before meat and greets because then right after meat and greets, we are going to have to get our bodies warm for the show. We've been here now for a few days. We have done two full dress rehearsals. The first dress rehearsal that we did, I am not exaggerating and I don't think I'm speaking out of turn when I say it didn't go the way we wanted it. There were so many little mistakes in all areas, you know, like dancer mistakes, host mistakes, me and Emma are the co-hosts. Emma and I made a couple of mistakes, dancing wise, I made a million mistakes, but it's also the very first time we were ever able to put the entire show up on its feet. So there's so many things. There are technical aspects and content and voiceover and lighting and, you know, seeing how long it actually takes to change into the next costumes before the next dance and then do people who are in the next dance actually have time to change and then make it to stage and the answer for a lot of it was no. And no, that's not working. And it was stressful. We were all looking at each other, going, oh my gosh, this did not go the way we wanted it. It's not to the quality that we want. It's not to our standards. So we finished that dress rehearsal and Mandy Moore came and she gave us really great notes. And I cannot imagine how stressed she must have been with all of those things on her plate. But she was totally professional, 100% calm, gave us the, you know, bips and bobs that we needed in order to work on it the next day. And then the next day, we did the most helpful day, which is called a cue to cue. We did literally the entire show, cue to cue. So like, and then lighting happens and then you do this and then you do that and we got to walk through it. We got to look at our notes and say, okay, yesterday this did not work. Let's touch this up. There were like I mentioned quite a few times where people didn't have enough time to make their quick changes and get back on stage and time for a dance. And so it was like, okay, I don't have enough time here. And so it'd be like, great, how do we build out more time? So there's a couple of moments where, you know, only this number of people are on stage because so and so is getting changed. And so we got to add new choreography and just kind of build some moments out in places. So that the show is possible and also somewhat not just possible, but like, there's room for a breath because no one wants to literally be huffing and puffing when they enter stage trying to do a beautiful dance. And the way the stage is all set up, you run off, you run all the way to the back of the stage, there's a flight of stairs and then there's the quick change back there. So if you are in kind of our close to back-to-back dances, you're running off, running down into a quick change, taking off the dress or the thing you're wearing, putting on the new thing and then running up a flight of stairs and trying to get back to stage. So, you know, wanting to make sure there's time where people aren't like just finishing a sprint as they run out on the stage. But Mandy is so talented and just very easily comes up with solutions to things. And she's got an incredible team with her. Also the production company that puts on this tour faculty is amazing. They're taking such good care of us. They gave us a really nice little gift bags that came in mini duffles, which has come in very handy because it is now going to be my new toiletry duffel bag that comes and goes with me from the bus to the venue. And it's going to be my junk bunk duffel. Try to say that three times fast. And yeah, so the way it works with this giant suitcase, you've got your giant suitcase under the bus, you've got your carry on suitcase under the bus. And then you have your like personal item duffel bag that gets to go on the bus with you. Once a week, we get a day off and that usually means we get to stay at a hotel. And apparently that's really the only day you want to take your giant suitcase out. And you want to take your giant suitcase out, get out any of your dirty clothes, do a load of laundry at the hotel, and then refresh your clothes from your big suitcase into your carry on. So like, okay, I've been wearing these two things or these four things kind of all week. I am done looking at those. I'm going to wash them. Now they're clean. They're going back in my big suitcase. And I'm taking new items of clothes out that I haven't already worn and putting them in my carry on size. And then every day at the venue, if you want to take out your carry on with you and your toiletry bag, you can do that too. But yeah, I haven't really spent a lot of time on the bus yet. So I'm not sure exactly how that's going to work. I hope I love bus life from what I understand. The movement of the bus and the sounds and everything is like its own natural white noise, which is great because I sleep with white noise. So I'm hoping I don't need extra white noise. The first two nights at this hotel, the hotel is also incredible. But the first two nights at this hotel, their pillows are a little firm for my liking. And I obviously was jumping right back into dancing all day every day. So I arrived. I was dancing all day and then I came back to my hotel room and I laid down. I tried to go to sleep and I was like, this pillow is a little thick for me. And I don't know if you guys know this about me, but I sleep with a pillow cube. This is not an ad. They do not pay me. I just love my pillow cube. I sleep like a baby angel at home. And I have a travel pillow cube. And I was going to bring it with me. And I'm so packed to the gills that at the last second I realized I had not packed my podcasting equipment in my suitcases. And Jensen was like, you gotta bring your podcasting equipment. I was like, of course I do. And so my travel pillow cube was the thing that got removed so that I could take my podcasting equipment with me. And so that first night I did not sleep incredibly because the pillows were too firm. And I woke up the next morning and my aura ring told me that my body was showing massive or major signs of stress. And I knew right away it was just because I tossed and turned way more than I normally do. And my heart rate was elevated, which was probably some of the stress of the dancing and putting on the show. But also, you know, not sleeping well. My ring is like, what do you do in lady? You normally sleep great. So in the meantime, I have now received a new pillow. A pillow that I love. It's very flat. It works perfectly for me. It's going on the bus with me. I'm very excited about it. I finally last night slept really well woke up this morning. No signs of stress. Just ready to tackle the day. Yeah. So there is a part in the show that I'm really looking forward to and I don't want to give too much of it away because I'm excited for you guys to come out and see it. But there is a part of the show that involves tambourines. And it is my favorite part of the show, which is saying a lot because I have quite a few favorite parts. But I think my number one favorite part is the tambourines. I haven't quite nailed it yet. So we had that first stress rehearsal that I told you did not go great. Then the next day we did a really spectacular cue to cue and it was super helpful. It was a really long day. It was like a 13 hour day and it was very slow. But we went through everything. We got to clean all the little moments that didn't feel right the day before. And we were going to do a dress rehearsal that night. And then Mandy said, I just don't feel like all of the parts are ready. I don't feel like the tech is fully there. I don't feel like, you know, we changed a bunch of stuff today. Why don't you guys let it sink into your bodies? We'll do a full dress tomorrow. And so we did another full dress today. And that one thankfully went so much better. There are still a million things I need to and want to do better and to just hold up my end of the bargain here. I want to make sure I'm never going to come close to being as amazing as any of the pro dancers on stage with me. But I at least don't want to look like, you know, somebody plucked me off the side of the road and threw me in there. Like, I want to look prepared. I'm a perfectionist. I want to be good at this. So there's this one part that I am really working hard on and I have not been practiced. I haven't practiced it nearly as much as everyone else. But I have had enough time now where I'm starting to feel like Danielle, you really have to get it. And a couple of little moments today in the dress rehearsal for me that needed to be better, like holding my mic in a certain area where then it was rubbing against my costume or, you know, little things like that. The tambourine is the choreography part that I just have not really nailed yet. And that's eating away at me. So anyway, I can't wait for you guys to see it. I hope I nail it at the show you come to. Sun on the dashboard, the kind of day that makes you want to take the long way home with the clever jazz full hybrid and its famous magic seats. You have the flexibility to handle everything from the school run to a weekend away because every journey matters. Book a test drive at Braille Honda today. Honda, the power of dreams. At H.A. Bell we believe investing is for everyone. And when we say everyone we mean your dad, Dan, Danielle, Dean Dave, Dale, Dale's delivery driver Denise, Denise's dentist, and Esh and Devon's strongest man, Donathon. Donathon. Donathon, that can't be right. Donathon. Well, whatever your name is, if you're a real person, investing is for you too. A J Bell, feel good investing. The value of your investments can go up or down. You've seen the selfies. Come on, we'll get the shot. Now see the real her. There's so much confidence in myself I need to build. Princess Andre is back with the Princess Diaries on ITVX. This is actually dreamy. She's still unfiltered and still figuring it out. I've seen firsthand what heart rate can look like to people. Bansay, she's an amazing role model and the show is heartfelt and inspiring. I'm so excited if you guys come along with me. The Princess Diaries series two. Stream now on ITVX. One aspect of the tour this year that's going to be different, I've heard, than any other year, is that at the end of the shows, at the late at night, I win, you know, we've all gotten ready for bed. Apparently the dancers used to come out and there would be people waiting near the buses and the dancers who just absolutely love you all so much and love your support would go over and say hi and take selfies and have a conversation with you and sometimes they'd stand out there in the freezing cold with you guys for like two hours making sure they took pictures with everybody and got to talk to everyone. That's obviously incredibly kind and generous as it is incredibly kind and generous of you guys to come and support us and come to the show. But this year, they sat us down in the cafeteria here on stage and said, you know, the show is bigger than it's ever been and there are a lot of security concerns and the amount of security we would need in order to feel like we can keep everybody safe, not just the performers, but all of you dear fans who come out to meet the dancers and to meet us, we don't have that kind of bandwidth. We just aren't set up to be able to have that kind of security. And so they said we are asking you respectfully to please not do that this year. And it was really hard. It was a really hard discussion for all of us talking about is there some happy medium? What can we do? And ultimately, we had to decide as a group that we needed to take safety and health as being our first two main priorities. Hopefully you will feel our love through the show. If you have a meet and greet or a VIP pass, those are inside their control. There's the right amount of security. They're numbered. It's not a free for all. There's only so many. So we are actually able to make sure everybody stays safe and those will obviously still happen. But as far as the after near the bus is meet and greet, it's not going to happen this year. We have a four and a half month tour. I'm only on for a month, but these these pros are here for four and a half months. And as of right now, it is still freezing. And some of you have heard, wait outside in the freezing cold for two or three hours. And we just we don't want you to do that because you're not going to, unfortunately, this year get the experience of, you know, that up close and personal moment near the buses because it is a safety hazard. So that is one area that we are disappointed about, but that we understand. And we hope that you understand as well. And we want you to stay safe and healthy as well as us. So we have a wonderful show. I don't think you guys are going to feel like you are missing out in any way. The production value of this show is just incredible. The things that they have put into it, the sound, the visuals, the jokes, the dances. I think you guys are going to be blown away the same way I am. I am on the stage when I'm co-hosting with Emma. And then obviously in the numbers that I dance in, I'm on stage. And every single second, I'm not on stage or changing. I am watching the show in the wings just absolutely mesmerized by these people. And I know that you will be two seeing them dance to their full potential is remarkable. And you're going to love it. It's going to be amazing. So anyway, I will probably update you again while I'm on the road and let you know how it's going. Let you know how bus life is. I will also be recording pod meets world on the roads. You'll get to hear some updates there. But thank you guys for allowing us to do what we do and for supporting us and for giving us this opportunity. Thank you for listening to this episode of Teen Beat. I hope you're checking out the pod meets world feed as well. That's probably how you know about this feed. But thank you. I'm really looking forward to meeting you on the road and to seeing you out there. Waving hello to you from from the stage and just appreciating everything you guys do for us. So thank you so much. I'll see you all next time. Teen Beat is an iHeart podcast produced and hosted by Daniel Fishel, executive producers, Jensen Carp and Amy Sugarman, executive and charge of production, Daniel Romo, producer and editor Tara Sue Bocks. The theme song is by Mark Hopis. Yes, that Mark Hopis. Follow us on Instagram at Teen Beat Pod. Strap in for a new era of F1. And get comfy for the TV drama everyone's talking about. Mr. President. Do we now want another? Get a podium worthy lineup with Sky Sports. 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