(S09E21) Dancing with the Stars is down to three finalists, two hours, and one winner. We re-welcome the thirteen eliminated celebrities. Donny & Kym, Mya & Dmitry, and Kelly & Louis emerge from the other side of the stage and run past the eliminated contestants. Louis got a lot of butt slaps; he giggles and continues walking.
We get a recap of last night, ad in the middle of the recap we have the back of Miss Piggy's head. Was that the spaghetti cat of DWTS? The recap played again right after a commercial break.
The best part of the night wasn't the results, it was Miss Piggy laying the smackdown on Samantha Harris.
Musical Guest - Whitney Houston - "Million Dollar Bill" - Whitney is looking good, but she will never be the same as she was in the early '90s. She had breathing problems, but wasn't moving much to justify it. So You Think You Can Dance/America's Best Dance Crew alum Ryan Conferido was one of Whitney's backup dancers.
The Loser's Club - Jeffrey Ross inducts Ashley Hamilton into the Loser's Club. Luckily Ashley takes the joke. Ashley dances with Edyta and leaves her on the floor to dance with Jeffrey instead.
Eliminated Celebrity Performance - Kathy & Tony, Macy & Jonathan, and Debi & Maks perform a new routine. Kathy's Argentine Tango was sub-par, slow, and weak on the leg action. Macy's section proved why she was the first woman eliminated. Debi did well with both character and keeping up with Maks. There was one point where Maks dragged her around.
Tom & Cheryl - Texas Two Step - The two step still isn't audience friendly, but Cheryl spun around as much as possible to add pizazz. Tom looked like he was having fun, even when he messed up the steps
Chuck and Mark Dance-off - I don't exactly understand why the two are battling, but Chuck is still as awkward as he always was. Mark continues to do flips. Then the two have a really stupid scuffle and pose at the end.
Coach Adam Corolla - Adam gives the smackdown to the final three poking the most fun at Donny. Donny sneaks away during prayer.
Natalie & Alec - Rumba - I still think that Natalie didn't deserve to be eliminated that early. It's as if the production tried to sabotage her the week she was eliminated. She's all smiles and she gets a standing ovation.
Melissa & Mark - Salsa - Melissa gets to do her dance-off salsa. It could have beat both Louie and Michael. I was amazed that she did that great split at the end.
Final Three Dances
Kelly & Louis - Viennese Waltz - Kelly was scared in the beginning and was embarrassed by herself. She had problems with confidence and being beige, but has evolved. It was smart for the couple to pick a dance where Kelly was mostly in hold. This time around, there's a confidence and a sparkle that wasn't there in the first week.
Len loved watching Kelly every week, he is drowned out by the audience's screams. Bruno believes Kelly earned her place on the ballroom floor; she gained a new confidence. Carrie Ann is in tears because of how touched she was watching Kelly; she was a real person growing.
Mya & Dmitry - Jive - Mya was crushed by the early low scores from Len, but she broke through. Dmitry calls Mya his perfect partner. This time around Mya's dancing has more abandon to it. There is a brightness to her face and she's all smiles.
Bruno calls her sharp and slick. She had very high standards for all the dances. Carrie Ann calls Mya the front runner and she's evolved into a star. Len mentions that there were ups and downs, but he knows that she was fantastic.
Donny & Kym - Argentine Tango - Donny and Kym laughed their whole way through the season, even past all the struggles. Donny kept a very serious face throughout and got to touch Kym's leg again. The timing was a little off at the end, but it didn't matter.
Carrie Ann loved the performances, the dance was artistry in motion. Len points out his performance factor and he finished strong. Bruno believed him as a character and he used the dark side well.
Ranking
1st - Donny & Kym (30)
2nd - Mya & Dmitry (28)
3rd - Kelly & Louis (26)
Louie & Chelsie - They dance to "Puppy Love" sung by Donny Osmond. I'm almost shocked by how well Louie did. They switch over to a jive and this time, not only do they ace the lift, Louie did a great tumbling pass.
Michael Irvin vs. Jerry Rice - Paso Doble Battle - Michael had passion, but I have to admit that Jerry was doing more work. Michael then tries to lift and spin Anna T. and drops her. Clearly Jerry should have won just because of the drop.
Len discussed with the judges. They believe that someone had to be the game winner and that is Michael, however they gave Jerry a ring for having a better body.
Aaron & Karina - Quickstep - We get the return of Animal dancing the drums. There's a degree of silliness that Aaron has, but he was dancing the quickstep too hard as if it was a jive.
Competition Mambo - Cloris & Corky, Steve & Karina, and Jerry & Edyta battle Joanna & Derek. As the music begins, Cloris doesn't do much, Steve plays with a boa, and Jerry doesn't do half bad. Steve does the humping dance with Karina in the background and then does the worm. With only Joanna and Steve left, the two do a partner switch and Derek attempts the worm with Steve. In the end, Joanna & Derek win and do the reverse hump (Derek was horizontal) at the end.
Musical Guest - Whitney Houston - "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" - The key has been lowered to something that Whitney can actually hit, but again she sounds like she's out of breath for no reason. The professionals are out and dancing in full force. I was shocked about the flexibility of Lacey. Whitney's vocal runs were weak and a shell of her former self.
We find out the third place team: Kelly & Louis. They were so far behind in scores that she couldn't win. Kelly thanks America for the opportunity to dance the whole season.
After the commercial break, we find out the champions of season nine: Donny & Kym. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. The Osmond clan runs and fills the floor in cheers. He grabs Marie and cheers in excitement.
How did you think this season ended? Leave comments below.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-25-2009 @ 2:17AM
Stacie23 said...
Probably one of my least favorite seasons. I didn't really care who won this time around. Good for Donny and Kym, but Mya probably should have gotten it, but Donny's popularity along with the final dances he delievered helped him win. Mya goes right into the category of probably should've won, along with Mario Lopez, Giles Marini and Mel B. In my opinion.
I totally agree about Whitney Houston. It's been tough watching her the past few times I have seen her on TV. It was a good effort but nowhere near what she used to be.
I really hope that they get a little more notable talent for next season. No offense but Mark Decascos, Louie Vito, Chuck Lidell, Ashley Hamilton, and of course Tom DeLay are really not what I consider celebrites by any measure. The 3 most notable celebrities made it into the Top 3, it's really not a suprise. Sure they were probably the better of the bunch, but it was more their notability then anything that got them there. If you have 13 celebrities, at least 9 have to be dome type of "Star", I mean't in the title of the show. Not 4 or maybe 5 like this season.
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11-25-2009 @ 2:19AM
Ann said...
starky22... did you get my mail? This was an absolute error. I am on the West Coast and the results were ruined to me on AOL and I was responding to that post. Please forgive me. Never did I intend to purposely ruin anything. I understand that you would be mad, but honestly it was an error. I was really upset, but was responding to the fact that Donny won. I am really really really sorry.
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11-29-2009 @ 7:51PM
Ann said...
Can someone from this post contact me regarding the huge error that happened to me on the West Coast, that ruined it for me, and when I replied to that article, apparently I ruined it for Starky22, and I feel terrible. Why would AOL publish who won on the West Coast before 11:00pm? I feel terrible that I broke the results to another viewer early, and feel that this kind of error can be stopped if my internet server didn't send everyone a message regardless of where they were. Along with it was an article on Donny being the winner, that is what I responded to. I feel terrible, and please give my apologies to them. I would be upset too!
Thank you
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11-25-2009 @ 2:30AM
Di said...
What an ending! Not to be expected!
I thought Mya was the best dancer.
Congrats to Donny!
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11-25-2009 @ 6:42AM
Philip Bowman said...
Hey...um Michael,
Lay off the Whitney bashing. She sounded great, and always sings live. Still 100% better than any of the new singers today. Actually I have no idea why I am defending her to you...I am sure hardly anyone reads your column anyway
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11-25-2009 @ 7:35AM
freedom55 said...
Whitney was very bad. I can't believe that anyone would think she sounded ok. She was out of breath and could not hit the notes. In the first song she cocvered it up by not really singing but it realy comes out when she sings her old hits. Wow! why is she trying to come back?It was painful.
BTW - Mya was the best dancer, Donny has more fans. End of story.
11-25-2009 @ 8:16AM
Susan J said...
This was a pretty lackluster season and - the only good talent was Mya and Joanna. Derek is a brilliant choreographer! I think part of the reason Mya got the low freestyle score is Dmitry's inability to be a good choreographer - look at the video clip where Mya wanted to do something edgy and show-stopping and he insisted on playing it safe with poor results. Too bad Mya wasn't paired with Derek.
I agree that the brightest spot on the finals was Miss Piggy and Samantha. Most of the previous contestants were pretty much dragged around the floor by their partners and it was painful to watch. Does Macy have a neurological problem or is she on something?
How about a season with all-star contestants? Get the winners, runner-ups and favorites from past seasons and we can hope for some stellar performances all season long. I'd love to see Anton Apollo Ohno, Gilles Marini, Sabrina Bryan, Mel B, Joey Fatone, Jason Taylor, etc. head to head.
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11-25-2009 @ 10:22AM
Craig said...
Mediocre season at best. Looking forward to a more star-studded cast of celebrities next season. Hopefully Johnathan will get a better partner. Michael, enjoyed your reviews this season. Well done.
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11-25-2009 @ 10:39AM
gwengee619 said...
Another travesity at DWTS, again the wrong person got the trophy. Donnie dancing ability or should I say disability was horrible the entire contest except for last night. Joanna was robbed, she should have been in the final 3 along with Mya and Kelly. Kelly was the most improved dancer and she has no prior dancing background, so if it was about improvement, she should have won. Since it was about talent, and Joanna did not make it..... then Mya should have Won by a landslide. But I guess since Donnie had the whole state of Utah, his excessively large family members and the Mormons, what chance did the REAL WINNER, Mya have. This is the 3rd time the REAL WINNER did not get the trophy!!! My family and I; as well as other loyal fans of DWTS, will not watch DWTS next season nor any other season. One more thought, I think the actual fan votes should be shown during the actual show like the Telethon shows; that way we the viewers would know for sure WHO REALLY WON!!!! JMO
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11-25-2009 @ 12:16PM
J said...
Just have to weigh in regarding Whitney. True, her vocals are no where near what they used to be, and she looked visibly winded while singing both songs. She will never regain the voice she once had - too much damage has been done. In her defense though, the 2nd song she came out with when she was 23 years old - not surprising that it would not sound the same as it did back then. Not a great performance for sure, but like one of the other posters mentioned, she always sings live (at least the parts she does sing) - no lip synching for her.
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11-25-2009 @ 11:57AM
Joyce N. said...
I am thrilled that Donny won. Kelly did improve much but her lack of grace did her in. Mya is a wonderful dancer but played it safe far too often and really lacked excitement. Donny worked so hard for this and I believe he totally deserved to win. His attitude and work ethic were outstanding.
Joanna and Derek were cheated out of their chance to shine and I agree that Natalie should have stayed longer.
As for Whitney, I can only hope her voice will improve. I truly miss those wonderful vocals. It was sad to hear how unready she is for this comeback.
I think that "All Star" idea is a great one and hope it can happen soon.
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11-25-2009 @ 12:49PM
VALERIE J said...
YOU WOULD THINK THAT YOU WERE VOTING FOR THE DANCING ABILITY OF THE STARS. BUT AS USUAL ITS THE POPULARITY. MYA OUT DANCED DONNY 20 FOLD AND CAME UP EMPTY. THE SHOW SHOULD BE NAMED POPULARITY WITH THE STARS.NOT DANCING WITH THE STARS BECAUSE IT THE DANCE ABILITY HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT.
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11-25-2009 @ 2:38PM
Carol said...
I was so happy that Donny won! He worked so hard and danced very well. And his attitude was always great. No whining from him. He accepted low scores, said he deserved them and tried harder the next week. He was my favorite from Day One!
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11-25-2009 @ 3:05PM
Jeanette said...
Have you all forgotten that Whitney was liip synching when she sang the National Anthem? She definitely looked healthier last night, singing was sub-par. And, I'm sorry, but the hair in the eyes was distracting.
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11-25-2009 @ 3:06PM
Jeanette said...
correction--lip
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11-25-2009 @ 3:39PM
Debbie said...
Extremely disappointed....but happy for Kim Johnson. Like previous stated, the better dancer came in 2nd place again. Included with Mario L, Mel B. & & Gilles, is the 1st season, John O'Hurley (Mr. Peterman from Seinfeld),who should have won. I've been watching from the beginning and personally, now I prefer the pros over the stars, so I'll keep watching. But can't ABC finally give Edyta a decent dancer so she doesn't get cut so early? They should re-vamp for next season, though, to keep viewer interest, like the addition of the dance competition segment done this season, but they need more. All in all, this season had no real drama & was pretty boring.
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11-30-2009 @ 11:05AM
:) said...
What is it with everybody saying Giles should have won last year? Shawn Johnson danced incredibly and had the best freestyle of any season- not just high energy but actual dancing, incredible synchronization, great showmanship, and fabulous lifts and tricks. It was everything that was lacking this season in the freestyle especially for Mya and Kelly. Giles freestyle was a letdown even bigger than Mya's; all he did was look sexy, yes damn sexy, but that's not dancing. Mario Lopez was the biggest travesty of all the seasons. He was clearly the best dancer and had everything- the hips, footwork, musicality, charisma and charm, and sexy, sexy, sexy. Bring on an all star season and bring Mario back.
11-25-2009 @ 8:38PM
Joyce N. said...
Sorry, but it was OBVIOUS that Whitney lip-synced that first song. Bobby Brown, the drugs and her obvious lack of keeping her vocals in shape all those years have done damage. Saying that, I truly hope that somehow it will come back to her. She's had one of the best voices of our era and I'm rooting for her.
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