DANCING WITH THE STARS Showdown: And the Season 13 Winner Is...

By: Nov. 22, 2011
Enter Your Email to Unlock This Article

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe.




Existing user? Just click login.

Tonight is the final episode of DANCING WITH THE STARS' 13th season - find out who will take home the Mirror Ball Trophy and be crowned this season's champion!

The judges will score tonight's performances from first (30 points) to third (26 points); the contestants will pick a performance that they've already done throughout the competition.

Ricki Lake and Derek select their "Psycho"-inspired routine for their last dance of the season. It earned the first two tens of the season, so it's no surprise that they would choose to revisit it and the judges like it even more a second time. "I really liked it first time around," Len says, "This time I loved it."

Rob Kardashian and Cheryl choose to revisit their Foxtrot to "Fly Me to the Moon." The dance does serve to show how much Rob's improved since then - he practically plodded through it the first time, and the judges note the difference: "You've got the best footwork of any guy I've seen on this show, ever," Len tells Rob.

J.R. Martinez and Karina alter their Jive to take out some of the problems athat the judges pointed out with the choreography initially. The performance starts out a little shaky, but J.R. finds his groove about halfway through and earns a standing ovation from much of the audience. The judges notice that it wasn't quite perfect, but commend J.R. for his infectious energy.

The judges reveal their scores - Rob and Cheryl earn the 26 points for tonight's performance, J.R. and Karina receive the 28, and Ricki and Derek are awarded the perfect 30. That leaves the contestants very close in judges' scores: 84 for Ricki, 83 for Rob and 82 for J.R.

With that it's time for the third place finisher to be announced, placed from a combination of audience and judges' votes: Ricki Lake is eliminated in a very close competition, but she's appreciative of the experience. "This is a fantasy come true," she tells the hosts. "I went out with a bang!"

After the eliminated contestants perform (including a number choreographed by Carson Kressley), the remaining two will have one last chance to show their stuff with an instant Samba. J.R. and Karina receive a perfect score (for a total of 112), but they're matched by Rob and Cheryl (for a total of 113). In this very close finish, it comes down entirely to audience votes.

J.R.'s popularity with the audience both on and off the ballroom floor gives him The Edge, and he's crowned champion of DANCING WITH THE STARS! It's Karina's first win on the show, and J.R. is ecstatic: "I'm so grateful that I was able to be a part of your first Mirror Ball Trophy!" He tells her.

That concludes this season of DANCING WITH THE STARS - but it'll return on March 19th! "Dancing with the Stars" is the U.S. version of the international smash hit series, "Strictly Come Dancing." This version is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Conrad Green serves as executive producer and Rob Wade is co-executive producer. Alex Rudzinski directs. "Dancing with the Stars" is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.



Videos