Julianne Hough admits her growing music career is behind her decision to skip Dancing with the Stars' next season.
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"I'm not going to be back next season. That's final -- I'm definitely not going back next season," said Hough during a Thursday appearance on Ryan Seacrest's KIIS-FM radio show.
"It's because I really, really want to focus on the music, kind of be taken seriously a little bit. I think it's hard to be on Dancing with the Stars and be singing and kind of get that confusion, so I'm really going to focus on the music and go on tour."
The two-time Dancing with the Stars professional champ acknowledged that it is "risky" for her to leave the megahit ABC reality series, however she added she feels it is worth it.
"Music is where I want to be. So you've got to do what you've got to do to get there," explained Hough.
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"The music is so important and I've loved music my whole life -- I've been singing my whole life -- it's just the dancing opportunities came first. So the fact that I have this opportunity now, I'm really going to ride with it and really focus on it."
Hough and her seventh-season celebrity partner -- Hannah Montana actor Cody Linley -- were ousted from Dancing with the Stars during Wednesday night's live results show, after which she wrote on her Fancast blog that she would not be back for the show's spring installment.
The 20-year-old said her fellow Dancing with the Stars professionals and the show's production staff were "great" when she informed them she wouldn't be returning for the show's eighth edition.
"They've been awesome -- really, really supportive," she said.
Still, Hough laughed when asked by Seacrest if she'd be auditioning for Fox's American Idol to help her singing career.
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"I don't think [ABC] would be too excited about that," she said.
Hough's self-tilted debut album was released in May. It sold 67,000 copies in its first week of release and debuted at No. 3 on Billboard's The Billboard 200 chart and at No. 1 on Billboard's country chart, which made it the highest country debut for any new artist since 2006.
Hough also released a "Sounds of the Season" holiday album last month. It currently sits at No. 15 on Billboard's country chart.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio