'DWTS' Backstage Report: Ron Artest Talks About Exiting, Will Chaz and Lacey Dance to a Cher Song?

It bites having to leave 'Dancing With the Stars,' especially when you enjoy being there as much as Ron Artest did.

But the pro basketball player focused on the positive after host Tom Bergeron announced on last night's results show that Artest and pro partner Peta Murgatroyd would be the first couple to leave Season 13.

Artest is a lesson to us all in having to embrace a change that we might not be so thrilled about having to make.

The couple earned the lowest score on Monday's show and this was Murgatroyd's first year as a pro dancer so she's yet to build a fan base like veterans Derek Hough, Cheryl Burke and Mark Ballas have. That combination apparently proved to be the duo's undoing.

AOL TV was on the post-show press line to talk to Artest and Murgatroyd about their exit and to some of the remaining participants to get their thoughts on what they need to do to stay in the game.

"I'm a bit disappointed," Murgatroyd admits. "We wanted to show the quick step and show how much he'd improved in one week."

Artest doesn't think that changing his name to Metta World Peace around the time of voting played a part in his exit. He feels perhaps that his competition simply wants the mirrorball trophy more.

"We have a great cast," Artest offers. "It was fun. We tried hard. Peta is awesome. I knew those scores were right. I messed up a lot in the dance. But we had a blast. I had a lot of fun."

Artest was practically elated in his final moments on Tuesday's results show. He says he wasn't happy about leaving, but he also didn't want his last seconds as a cast member to be unhappy ones. "I really didn't want to leave the last impression on TV being upset and sad. Peta and I had a great time. If we'd have another week, we'd have had more fun."

What did he learn about himself by doing the show? "I learned that my hips are tight," Artest quips. "But I knew that going in. They loosened up a little."

Athletes tend to do well on 'DWTS,' but Artest thinks it's certain types of sports stars who succeed on the dance floor. "Football players do a lot of foot drills," he notes. "Basketball players can rest when we want and we take big steps; football players are on their toes. It's no coincidence that football players have won this competition."

Murgatroyd says that she would love to return as a pro dancer next season and will continue to appear on Tuesday results shows.

Kristin Cavallari feels that having an established pro partner like Ballas can add to votes. "He already has his fans," she says. "I"m sure it helps a little bit."

"Peta's amazing," says Ballas, modestly adding "I don't think it really helps [having a more well-known pro.]"

With Artest gone the other dancers have to step up their game, especially ones with lower scores.

"I need to work on my footwork," says Carson Kressley, who performed the encore dance. "Entertaining people and getting them on their feet is one thing, but eventually I'm going to have to bring the footwork. That's what we're going to work on this week."

Chaz Bono happily reports that his mother, Cher, has been supporting his efforts and reached out to him after his performance on Monday night.

"She was really happy," he says. "She left me a great message and texts. She's been supportive and happy for me. I think she's surprised, too. Nobody in my family thinks of me as ever dancing. It's not who I am. I think I'm surprising people."

Past celebrities have danced to songs with which they're musically associated (e.g., Florence Henderson danced to the theme from 'The Brady Bunch.') Might Bono's pro partner, Lacey Schwimmer, incorporate into a dance a song associated with Bono's famous parents Sonny and Cher?

"Absolutely," she says. "If we are ever given the opportunity and if it was the right fit, we'd definitely do it."

"It would have to be the right fit," concurs Bono.

'Dancing With the Stars' Season 13 airs Mondays and Tuesdays, 8PM ET on ABC.

Re-live Artest's short lived stint on 'DWTS'