'Dancing With the Stars': And the winner is ...
So who's going to win this season of Dancing With the Stars? We'll find out tonight, eventually.
(Update: See a gallery of photos from last night's finale here.)
When the stars start coming to the stage -- all of them from the whole season -- it just makes me feel like this season has been going on forever and ever. Was Macy Gray really on this time around? Chuck Liddell? Kathy Ireland? That feels like eons ago.
During a montage of footage from last night, we suddenly cut to a shot of Miss Piggy's back (not a euphemism), and I'm thinking my DVR is having a problem. But it turns out it's the show with the problem, and Tom Bergeron shows up, makes a joke about it being live and throws it to a commercial. Then the montage starts over again after the break. (Last night, things happened. That recap is here.)
The other reason people are paying attention to this results show? Whitney Houston performs! She looks great, and she sounds pretty good, though she's definitely singing over the top of a vocal track. But she's having a good time. (Hey, SYTYCD fans ... is that b-boy Ryan I sight among her backup dancers? The hair sure looks like his, but I couldn't get a close enough look.)
Next we get a bit about the Losers Club, for the first person kicked off. Jeffrey Ross inducts Ashley Hamilton into the club with his sequined jacket and a roast and a dance. There might be some use of my fast-forward button here.
Time to look back again. Remember when Tom DeLay almost dropped Cheryl? When Aaron cried? When Tom had to leave? Really, it seems like 100 years ago. Kathy Ireland, Macy Gray and Debi Mazar get a chance to dance again. Then, Tom DeLay gets that promised chance to do the Texas Two-Step that he couldn't do when he got injured a while back. Chuck Liddell and Mark Dacascos have a dance-off/fight-club performance.
Coach Carolla comedy bit. Fast-forward.
Natalie Coughlin and Alec Mazo reprise one of their dances. "Is it too late to vote them back in?" Tom Bergeron asks.
Another look back. Melissa Joan Hart and Mark Ballas perform the salsa they prepared but never got to perform on the show. It's very cute, and she gets a standing O.
Judges' take on the final three. Then, said three couples take the stage, to introduce more video bits.
Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel reprise their Viennese waltz from week one, the dance in which Kelly first made her mark on the competition. Len Goodman says he will miss her the most because he has loved watching her. Bruno Tonioli says she comes from rock and roll royalty, but she's earned her place as a ballroom princess and found a new level of confidence. Carrie Ann Inaba says no one has ever touched her the way that Kelly does because it's all about expressing yourself and every time she was on stage, it was real.
Mya and Dmitry Chaplin reprise their jive. Bruno calls her Mya the magnificent and says she never dropped her standard all season and that she's got it all. Carrie Ann says every season someone sets the pace for everyone else from day one, and this season it was her, and that now, she's come out of her shell and she's a star. Len says he has never doubted her dance talent and says she was outstanding.
Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson reprise their Argentine tango. Carrie Ann says she loved this as his final dance, that it was artistry in motion. Len says he's never lost his coming out and performing 100 percent. He adds that he finished strong. Bruno says he was in character and totally believable.
Judges' rankings: Kelly and Louis get 26 points, Mya and Dmitry get 28, and (leading us to the final results?) Donny and Kym get 30 points.
No results yet, though. Louie Vito and Chelsie Hightower hit the stage to dance to "Puppy Love" sung by Donny Osmond. This is in reference to the fact that they are the youngest couple on the season. Then it's the Super Bowl champ dance-off, Jerry Rice vs. Michael Irvin. (It's also Anna vs. Anna, as Trebunskaya and Demidova face off, too.) The judges give the dance to Michael Irvin, but "the battle of the bodies" to Jerry Rice. They both get mirrorball rings. Goofy!
Aaron Carter and Karina Smirnoff reprise their quickstep to the Muppet Show song. This was a fun one.
I think Miss Piggy would do an admirable job as Tom Bergeron's co-host. Just sayin'.
Competition mambo. Who's going to win? It's Joanna Krupa vs. Cloris Leachman vs. Jerry Springer vs. Steve Wozniak. It's Joanna, "in what appears to be a setup," Tom says.
Whitney Houston's back to sing "I Wanna Dance With Somebody." Nice choice. Suddenly, I'm flashing back to sixth grade, when my mom took me to see Whitney in concert in Houston (now I'm talking about Texas, not W's last name), and this was my favorite song.
Finally, finally ... results. Can we find out who won this thing already?
In third place, it's Kelly and Louis. That's not a surprise. She's had a great storyline, a transformation, plus seeing her family in the audience as she's grown up, but she fell down in the final dance. She thanks America for voting her in week after week. Tom Bergeron says he loved seeing her each week and looked forward to seeing her perform each time, even though he doesn't want to share this since he doesn't like to play favorites.
But who is the winner? Who gets the mirrorball trophy?
And the winner is Donny Osmond and Kym Johnson. Nothing like finishing strong! Last night just totally pushed him over the top.
Samantha runs over to talk with Mya. She says she has had the time of her life. Donny pulls his wife out onto the stage, then his family. He and Kym hoist the trophy for the big win.
What do you think about the results?
(Photo courtesy of ABC)
Comments
Maya got ripped off!!!! She is a much better dancer than Donny Osmond.
Posted by: velda pender | November 24, 2009 11:17 PM
What a load of crapp....everyone know that Mya was the winner and that the newwork was supproting Donny Osmond becuase of his name. that Sucks! I mean truely sucks. The man know that the whole thng was fixed
Posted by: Larry | November 24, 2009 11:18 PM
It's a popularity contest. Mya should have won. She's been the strongest dancer week after week, but it was Donny's notoriety that pushed him over.
Posted by: Cee-Dub | November 24, 2009 11:23 PM
I am so sick of the Osmond bunch they have limited talent and everybody treats them like Gods.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 24, 2009 11:24 PM
Way to go Donny! I finally have picked the winner from Day 1. I could watch you 24/7.
What a showman. Now I really really want to see your show in Vegas!
Posted by: Coleen | November 24, 2009 11:25 PM
My comment is about tonights dancing with the stars. It was by far a popularity vote, there is not way Donny should have won, it was Mya all the way. This is patheic. She was so much better then him. Give me a break. What a jokle
Posted by: jacy Gray | November 24, 2009 11:26 PM
It was so much fun to watch Donny. My husband and I just saw him in Vegas. He withstood an amazing schedule. We love him as an entertainer and as a person.
Posted by: Anonymous | November 24, 2009 11:29 PM
Good job to all of you, staying fit and dancing great. Congrats Donny, I've been watching you all of my life, you still got it and it's nice to see the story told thru the dance. Good Job Kym with your successful teaching.
Posted by: Terri Blessing | November 24, 2009 11:30 PM
Incredible season for its inconsistencies./ Never seen so many 5's and so few 10's.
How Johanna and Derck were not in the finals is a mystery. J and Dereck were the only couple with only one devuiation in their scores.and yet both Mya and Doon ie were off for 2p-4 numbefrsd an d still won even though it was and is a dancing show. In all 9 years, J and D's waltz was THE MOST beautiful dance I have ever seen,.
Posted by: jim rutherford | November 24, 2009 11:33 PM
Totally shocking. Mya was the best the show. Just goes to show you that as a black dancer you must perform twice as well as your white counter-part. They did the same thing to Lil Kim last season. What a waste of air time. I'll never watch another show.
Posted by: Vajagman | November 24, 2009 11:35 PM
I think Kelly has made tremendous growth and she has such a fresh attitude. It's great fun to watch her dance. Although she's my personal favority, she is not the best dancer.
From day 1, Mya has been the best dancer by far. She just has what it takes. Joanna Krupa was the next best. These results show how important it is for the celebrity contestants to have a fan base. I still think that Donny is stiff and it doesn't give me as much pleasure to watch him dance as Kelly, Joanna, and Mya.
Posted by: Antoinette Cook | November 24, 2009 11:40 PM
You have got to be kidding me!!! Mya was ROBBED! Again. I am NOT even bothering to watch next season as the past two seasons only prove that the producers rig the vote. Last season should have been Gilles and this one should have been Mya.
Donny was a terrible dancer with a quick wit. Definitely not worthy of that trophy.
Posted by: MS.Northman | November 24, 2009 11:42 PM
Mya should have won. This was stolen from her. i will never watch dancing with the stars again.
Posted by: Marilynn | November 25, 2009 1:19 AM
I have watched from the very beginning but after what was done to Mya tonight I will no longer watch this show. I know that popular vote counts a lot but it's a dance show and the best dancer should be the winner!
Posted by: Nolongeraviewer | November 25, 2009 1:45 AM
Donny deserves to win twice the age of all including the professionals, Mya was borirng just posed with teeth, and the same old same old, let show some skin, and dances were all the same. Donny and Kelly were the true preformers. Donny truly deserved this win. Maybe this will give Mya a come back!!!!
Posted by: funkymertie | November 25, 2009 3:58 AM
I agree. Dancing with the Stars has become a popularity contest. The show is not about the best dancer but who has the bigger fan base. Mya should have won that contest HANDS DOWN...I will never watch the show again!
Posted by: nik | November 25, 2009 7:47 AM
Why is anyone surprised? The most consistent dancer rarely wins. The most exciting and fun freestyle dance usually wins the trophy. There are quite a few great dancers who haven't won the competition.
Posted by: SusieG | November 25, 2009 8:12 AM
What a joke..Donny? Were the votes outside the state of Utah blocked? His last dance wasn't any better than his first. The judges have a way of swaying voters i think. Oh, one more thing..Did he really need to go there and sing "puppy love". Grow up Donny.
Posted by: deb | November 25, 2009 8:40 AM
I have been upset about the winner before, but that's how it goes because, um, the show IS half popularity contest - that's why people vote rather than it being just up to the judges.
I didn't think Donny was being favored all season at all - I felt like Mya came in and danced extremely well, but I rarely felt that sense of joy from her that many of the others had in spades. Plus, she came in as a pretty great dancer, which made it less interesting to watch for me than those who were really improving each week.
While I was originally voting for someone else, I am still happy for Donny! Oh, and many thanks to you SKK for your awesome recaps all season!
SKK: Thanks, Rina! I appreciate the comment and thank you for reading!
Posted by: Rina | November 25, 2009 10:23 AM
I have watched Dancing With the Stars since it first debuted. There have been past winners that I still don't believe merited first place, but never have I disagreed with a finale decision as strongly as I do with this one. Donny Osmond? He was nearly eliminated 2 weeks ago. MYA is the WINNER in my opinion. She consistently gave her all in every dance. MYA was truly slighted. MYA accepted this loss with a truly humble, gracious attitude. I commend her for representing so beautifully. I will never watch another episode of Dancing With the Stars. If the judges had made the final decision I'm sure that MYA would have won the competition. I realize that the Osmond's have been around for a long time, but I believe that Donnie's win is unmerited. ALL HAIL MYA!
Posted by: Anonymous | November 25, 2009 10:34 AM
SORE LOSERS
Posted by: Anonymous | November 25, 2009 10:40 AM
I agree that Mya was by far the best dancer BUT we have to understand that the winner is determined by our votes and as disappointed as I am to see Donny as the winner, I am guilty of not voting but a few times.
Posted by: Kim | November 25, 2009 10:45 AM
Huge disappointment but predictable. Donny wasn't as good as Maya or Johanna or many of the dancers who didn't win in past seasons (Gilles, Lil' Kim, Joey Fatone). meh. Probably time to stop watching.
Posted by: mary | November 25, 2009 11:04 AM
Why not Donny, if Emmit Smith can win surely Donny can too! Fixed again, Mya should have won hands down!
Posted by: Barry | November 25, 2009 11:12 AM
I'm very disappointed, they robbed M& D they were clearly the winners all the way.
The same thing happened last year the real winners didn't win.
Popularity wins not dancing.
No more DWTS for me!.
Posted by: B | November 25, 2009 11:27 AM
So I love Donny but lets face we all know that the winner is Mya but there is no way she was going to win over the white boy from Utah. We saw it from Len remarks to her during the season he was full of praise for Natlie Conlin the swimmer I guess color reigns just as last season the winner was Giles Marini who was not American Born
Posted by: MO | November 25, 2009 12:53 PM
It should have gone to Mya. I would have rather seen Kelly win over Donny. There was so much favourtism this season. Donny wasn't that great and shouldn't have been the winner. I am glad I fell asleep thru the long and stretched out show.
Posted by: Melinda | November 25, 2009 1:58 PM
Great recap! I've watched the show faithfully and have seen more than one celebrity win that I did not believe was the best dancer. I really wanted Karina and Mario Lopez to win the season they danced together, but my vote didn't make a difference. The best Showman/woman usually wins.
Posted by: Karen | November 25, 2009 6:34 PM
All the finalists were talented. A little surprised with the Osmond win, though. What struck me during the competition was the 'novice' facade portrayed by Osmond. This guy has been in show business forever, come on. He has a Vegas show, nice work for a 'novice'.
Posted by: ruth | November 30, 2009 8:10 AM