Bradley was Alaina’s cheerleading coach and mentor, who she credits with having a huge impact on helping her become the woman she is. So much so that Alaina considers her to be like a second mother, so when Secret Celebrity Renovation approached Alaina with this opportunity, she knew exactly who she wanted to reward. “One of the sole reasons I graduated high school after American Idol was because she tutored me, so that I could graduate while I was touring on the road,” Alaina told Parade.com in this exclusive interview. “She came out to Los Angeles when I was on American Idol and stayed with me while my mom went home to take care of my brother’s graduation. Outside of being my cheerleading coach, she’s just become a really good friend and person that I can look up to.” Bradley is very much a giver, and has a hard time being on the receiving end. Alaina says she won’t even let her buy her dinner, so the chance to help transform Bradley’s Georgia home was too good to pass up. “We did her bathroom and her back porch, and let me tell you, that bathroom needed some love!” Alaina said. “Her bathroom was so bad, it looked like we purposely picked a bad bathroom. If anybody’s ever needed a renovation in their bathroom, it is Susan Bradley, so I’m glad that I could do it.” Alaina worked with Secret Celebrity Renovation’s host Nischelle Turner and design team Sabrina Soto and Jason Cameron to get the job done, actually participating with some manual labor. “I actually flipped the first house I ever owned, so I am used to living in construction,” Alaina shared. “I really enjoyed ripping out Susan’s cabinets and pulling out that old, blue tub. I think Jason was surprised at how much I actually did! I’m especially proud of the results.” And as always, the reveal was very emotional with lots of laughter and tears, but most of all, a celebration of friendship. “I just love what the show represents,” Alaina said. “I’ve been so fortunate in my life to have my dreams come true, and there are people that helped make that happen along the way that are in the background that nobody gets to see what an impact they have on you. And one of those people for me is her. To be able to give her something for everything she’s done for me was just really, really special.” Secret Celebrity Renovation isn’t all that Alaina has going on. She has a new album Sitting Pretty on Top of the World; a Hallmark movie, Roadhouse Romance; a tour with Florida Georgia Line; and a book, Getting Good at Being You, and she talked about all of those projects below, as well as how she is doing with her dancing skills! You have new music coming out. Tell me about Sitting Pretty on Top of the World. I have never been more excited for a project to come out. It comes out on September 3. I believe it shows my growth as a human, more than as an artist or anything else. I’ve really worked hard on myself these last few years. And I think when you listen to the music on there, you can hear that growth, getting to a place of self-love, and accepting myself and more fully accepting others. Road Less Traveled, the album, was about becoming a woman, and this album is about being one and showing up and doing what I needed to do to be the person I need to be, all the people that got me there, and we’ve got some ex-boyfriends covered on this album. You did a lot of the writing or co-wrote the majority of songs. Yeah, I wrote all of the songs. I covered all of the songs except one, which was a song that I released on a previous project, an EP, that I thought really belonged on the album. Is writing a new skill for you? When we saw you on American Idol were you a singer/songwriter or just a singer at that point? I’ve been writing songs since I was 9 years old actually. I used to come to Nashville, starting at 11 or 12, and I would write with people in town. I had a little CD of songs that I wrote. It’s always been a huge passion of mine. Right, because back then, American Idol didn’t let people do original songs like they do now. They didn’t. I never got to do an original. You also have a Hallmark movie coming up. Who do you play and what’s the story to Roadhouse Romance? My character’s name is Kelly. She is a lieutenant in the army, and she comes home, and it is lots of love, new love, worlds colliding. Very, very fun. I had a blast shooting it. Now, I’m like, “OK, great. Now I want to do movies. So, what else can I get myself into?” You’re going to be touring with Florida Georgia Line. What are you looking forward to about the tour? I love Tyler [Hubbard] and Brian [Kelley]. They are great guys. We kind of came up at around the same time in Nashville and they’re like brothers to me. So, to be out on the road with them, I’m a big fan of their stuff and who they are as people. I think we’re going to have a blast! One of the things I noticed is you have been doing duets. Is that the new thing because you have more than one? I have so many duets and they’ve all come to me mostly, which is a huge compliment that my peers will come and ask me to sing on their song. Of course, I say yes. It’s really been super organic. It’s not really something I set out to do, but it just kind of happened that way. You have so much that’s happening now, all good. Do you think you would be where you are if you hadn’t done American Idol? How much of a role did American Idol play in your career? I would have come to Nashville regardless. I would like to believe that this is what I was born to do, and I would have been able to get where I am. I do owe a lot of my success to American Idol. It gave me my start, put me in people’s living rooms, gave me a connection with people. I think it takes a really long time to build without seeing someone on TV. So, I feel really fortunate that I had that, but I do like to believe that, regardless, I would have made it to Nashville and found my way through. You also have a book coming out this November, Getting Good at Being You. Is that a memoir or is that an advice book? It’s a gift book. The purpose is to buy it for a friend, basically, but it is about my journey of self-worth, love, acceptance and my faith. My faith is very important to me. It’s really my personal experiences and how they helped me to grow. And I do share some advice. It’s more things that worked for me that people can try, and I prompt them to try their own things as well. It was really crazy to see my whole story on paper. It made me really proud of where I’ve come from, where I started, and how I’ve gotten here. Are you still dancing at all? I haven’t danced a ton, but I have a friend who owns a dance studio in town, and I think I’m going to start going because I really miss it. Having gone through Dancing with the Stars and learned so much about movement, is it possible that when you get up to perform, you might incorporate a little bit into your stage presence? Ballroom dancing and country music are pretty different, so for me to be able to work a salsa in might be difficult. But I definitely think that I do certain hand gestures that are influenced by what I learned on there. Alaina’s episode of Secret Celebrity Renovation airs tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on CBS. Next, American Idol 2022 Will Continue Its Search for the Next Singing Sensation and We Have the 411!
