Erin Andrews on This Week's Insane Dancing with the Stars: 'I Feel Like I Took Truth Serum'

So, Bristol's still in. Are you happy? A little disappointed?

Um, I think I'm happy for Bristol if she wants to be there. I will say this -- I feel like I took truth serum today -- she showed the past couple weeks that she's tired, that she misses her family, that she wants to go home. Here's my thing: If you're excited to be there and you're excited to learn more? And you want to continue in this competition? Show America that. I understand you're tired, I understand you miss your family. I used to call my mom and dad and cry, and say, "This is so tough. I'm tired." But never once did I just want to be like, "I don't think I can do this anymore." There are some people that got voted off who would very much like to be there. So if you're there, please enjoy it. Please savor every last minute. Because it is going to end in a couple weeks, and there are some people voted out who expected to be in the semis. That's my only dig there. I'm happy for her if she wants to be there. If she wants to go home, I think it's kind of unfortunate. But if she's excited for it, then I'm excited for her and Mark. That said, I am surprised that she stayed in this week. I feel like Kurt and Rick had a little bit of a leg up on her.

I am surprised that maybe it wasn't her time to go. But at the same time, maybe her votes by the fans are incredible. People have said to me, "Do you think the show is rigging it because they need the ratings? They want the ratings?" I don't think the show could keep doing that, to be honest with you. Kate [Gosselin] was our biggest ratings machine, and she was talked about every night on all the tabloid shows, on Jimmy Fallon, on Jay Leno, and she didn't stay in it this long. I'm pretty sure it's not the network and it's not the producers keeping her in for ratings. Maybe her fans' votes are just insane. But I hope she's enjoying it because it gets difficult to watch her say, "This is getting too tough. I want to go home." Because it's a real honor to be asked to be a part of the finals. That's something I wanted so badly. So I hope she enjoys it.

There's a lot of skepticism floating around about Bristol, a lot of chatter. Now, let's be clear, you were a better dancer than Bristol, but I wondered if you sympathize, or even empathize with her because of her presence in the tabloids, as you put it. You had a tabloid presence yourself with that Hasselbeckian nonsense.

Oh, I certainly do. [Bristol] didn't ask for her life to be like this with her mom in the limelight and the way her family has been portrayed with the election. I empathize with her. Or whatever the word was -- hello! That's why I was cheering for her so early on -- I said it on Good Morning America, I said it with you -- she hasn't had a normal life. I applaud her for trying different things, but I hope she enjoys it, she'll never have another experience like this again.

Kurt Warner went home this week, and I know you're friends with him. Do you think he knew it was his time?

I think maybe they had a little bit of an idea. I was texting back and forth with his wife yesterday, and she was asking if it was his time to go home. And I said, "No. I don't think he will!" I think he had an idea it could happen, but I think Kurt really enjoyed his time. It's funny, I knew him before he did the show, and I talked to him a little bit about it. And I said, "I hope you have fun with the guys" in particular, because athletes who are on the show have really enjoyed it. From reading his tweets and seeing them interact when I was around, I know Maks really liked him. I kind of had a moment last night when I saw Maks run to him and give him a hug. So cute. So I was bummed out that Kurt went home, but at the same time I was so proud of him. Here's a guy who's a football player who'd obviously never really danced before. He wanted to try something different and get his message and foundation out there for people to learn about. He gave it such a wonderful effort. I thought the things the judges said about him were dead-on. He went about it with grace, effort and there really was a little bit of a sex appeal with him. He may not have had the technique that the other dancers had, but I think that's what made him so genuine. I loved when his kids were in the package. I loved when his wife was in the package. I just thought he was the cute dad who -- by the way -- won a Super Bowl. I thought it was so refreshing and so sweet. I know a lot of athletes and I know how they carry themselves, and I don't think you'll find more of a first-class guy than Kurt Warner to give the ballroom a try. Yesterday in his tweets he was joking about carrying his makeup bag and his self-tanner and shiny shoes. I love that he was so open to do that. So refreshing, you know?

There is a distinct chance Bristol Palin could get at least third place. You got third place last year. Is that a little... weird?

I think there was a different level with our show last year, and I don't mind saying that. We had a professional dancer last year -- Nicole, who was better than some of Dancing with the Stars's professionals. We had a figure skater that brought America the gold. Granted, Brandy is in fact a performer and there hasn't been much talk about that. She is a performer. Jennifer is a performer. But I mean? The Pussycat Doll? That's a totally different level. I was watching her brand new music video last night. Mama is a performer. She was insane. I remember [laughs] we would watch her dances in rehearsal; Maks would shake his head and walk away saying obscenities. He'd be like, "This chick is as good as me! This is insane! This is impossible." So I think the level of performing on our show was a little different. I think if Bristol gets third -- I just don't think it's the same. I don't know if anyone will ever be as good of a dancer as Nicole Scherzinger. That's not to talk down to anyone who competes this season. But Jennifer has joked about it in her packages. "I'm not Nicole." No one is! Nicole may as well come back to Dancing with the Stars next year as a pro. When we would all watch Nicole, we'd shake our heads and say, "Are you serious?" I remember a few times I'd say to Maks, "Do I have to go next?" I will say, Evan had a hysterical line last season. One time after dress rehearsal, Evan told our casting director, "I hear Julianne Hough is coming back as a contestant!" That was the kind of stars they were getting! They were so good! "Edyta's coming back to compete!" It was just different in season ten, thanks to the Pussycat Doll.

We're entering the breakneck homestretch. What are you looking forward to watching?

The semifinals are a really nerve-wracking time. We all have an idea of who's going to move on, but America does too, and you never know, that's why it's reality TV. There can be twists, turns, and surprises like we've seen in the past few weeks. The semis were so much more nervewracking than the finals. I wanted to make it so bad. We basically knew last year in the semis, it was between Chad and myself, and one of us was going home. We already knew the finals would be between Evan and Nicole. I was so nervous. My first dance was this beautiful song by Josh Groban, and I tweeted him that it was gorgeous. He tweeted back, "Break a leg! Have so much fun!" And I was terrible my first dance. I couldn't even walk. Maks was laughing because I was so nervous, I wanted to do well so bad. Our second dance was the paso, and I was just screaming throughout the whole thing. [Howling] "We HAVE to make the finals!" I don't remember how much we fought in the semis, but I think it was scarier than the finals. It'll be interesting to see how the bodies hold up and how they handle composure during the week. It's crunch time.

We should quickly revisit Kyle's dances since everyone's gunning for him to do well at this point. Did they thrill you?

Yeah, goosebumps. Kyle's first routine was very beautiful. I wrote down, "Goosebumps, loved it, charming." Every single week he's becoming more mature on the dance floor. Man, those packages with Lacey where she's standing there saying, "No. Ugly. Walk it off" -- I find her hysterical. You could tell at the end she was crinkling her nose at him. I hope America takes note of him and sees how well he's done.

And Brandy's dances! What did you think of her this week?

With Brandy, I thought she was great. She makes me laugh because she's so emotional. She's even emotional when she gets her scores. I can't tell if she's praying or if she's about to pass out. [Laughs.] Evan and I were kind of laughing about it the other day. I was like, "I don't want to see another 7, I'll throw up." But she just gets so emotional. Maks is trying to loosen her up, like, "Enjoy it! Enjoy it!" I really hope she does enjoy it and not put all this emphasis on "I have to win! I have to win! I have to win!" Just because you win a mirror ball trophy on Dancing with the Stars, it doesn't mean it validates your existence in life. I got third place, and Maks and I were saying in New York when we did Good Morning America, people were coming up to say to us, "We voted for you so much!" We would joke, "We're the most popular third-place couple in America." Of course we'd have loved to win, but there was just a different sense of pride. We got a different group of fans that loved us and the way we went about the show. With Brandy, she's emphasized, "I have to win it! I need to win it! It would mean so much to my family!" Even if you got third place, no it wouldn't. I think it's what you take out of the show and how much you appreciate it and love your partner. It's important to show how normal you are on this show. I feel like all the feedback I got it, it was like, "We loved that you burped when you were trying to be a princess!" Or the fire hydrant comment I made -- when I jumped into Maks's arms, I said it looked like I was humping a fire hydrant. People love that you're a normal person, because everyone is. Win it for yourself, don't worry about the mirror ball trophy. I mean, I want her to win it for Maks, I want him to win. But I worry that she's going about it the wrong way -- I think Maks addressed that with her too.

She does sort of treat this show like Survivor.

Yes! "Where's the next meal coming from?!"

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