My Ox Is Broken

DwtS 8, Week 11: The Finale

With four wins in the first seven seasons, athletes have had a great track record on Dancing with the Stars. Would Shawn follow in the footsteps of previous jocks and win the mirrorball trophy, or would Gilles or Melissa be able to even the score?

The performance-laden DwtS 8 Finale began with Lady Gaga singing "Let's Dance."

The bulk of the evening was taken up with performances by the couples eliminated earlier in the season. An easily overlooked highlight was the announcement that Anna Demidova beat Mayo Alanen in the Pro Dancer Competiiton, earning Anna a spot in the Season 9 cast.

Former DwtS contestant and "Roastmaster General" Jeff Ross roasted this season's finalists, asking of Melissa, "Wouldn't it be ironic if she came in second on this show, too?" (Unfortunately for Melissa, she wouldn't even be that lucky...)

Then the finalists re-performed their best routines for one last set of judges' scores (all 30s, of course). Shawn Johnson & Mark Ballas kicked things off with a reprise of their Cha Cha Cha.

Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani danced their Samba.

And Gilles Marini & Cheryl Burke performed their Argentine Tango.

While the final scores were tabulated, Lady Gaga took the stage again to sing "Love Game."

Finally, it was time to announce the results. Melissa & Tony came in third, which was no real surprise. After Melissa got to say some final words, the winning couple was announced: Shawn and Mark, who beat Gilles and Cheryl by only a 1% margin.

That gave professional and Olympic athletes a 5-3 edge over non-athletes on Dancing with the Stars. It also evened the score between men and women, 4-4.

Posted by Kathy (myoxisbroken@gmail.com) on 05/19/2009.

Comments

MN wrote (5/20/2009 12:33:00 AM EDT) …
I was surprised at the outcome, though perhaps I shouldn't have been. I think Gilles deserved to win because he had both the performance aspect and the technique. But I'm not disappointed, because I think Shawn was almost as deserving. Her technique was always good, but she grew so much as a performer in this past month. That became really clear when she did her final dance. She was completely *there* for it. She wasn't self conscious or nervous about some of the sexier moves this time around, whereas last time, she was clearly a young girl not quite comfortable with them. That being said, their freestyle was the one I liked least and thought had too little dancing in it. Or at least, not enough ballroom dancing. I guess I'll have to watch it again and see why everyone else was so enthusiastic about it.
MN wrote (5/20/2009 12:35:00 AM EDT) …
I could easily have done without Jeffrey Ross's roast. Ugh. Give me Kenny Mayne any day.
Bethann wrote (5/20/2009 12:36:00 AM EDT) …
I was totally SHOCKED when Shawn won this evening--albeit very happily shocked. I thought she earned it--she was underestimated all season long and for some reason, I feel that CA's comments about her not having a passionate Paso because she was "too young" spurred the fans into showing her their support. I would've been OK with Gilles winning though. I've enjoyed his performances all season.

I have to say that I don't mind watching all of the performances in the finale. It reminds me who was on way at the beginning of the season (I tend to forget them as soon as they're voted off). I could've done without Jeffrey Ross's roast--it seemed to land with a dull thud in the middle of the dancefloor--but I loved him calling the judges "Smokin'" "Croakin'" and "Flamin'".

Here's hoping next season's celebs are as talented and diverse as this bunch! Oh--and if they bring back the dance-off, PLEASE not until all the crappy people are eliminated!!
Amy wrote (5/20/2009 1:11:00 AM EDT) …
Good for Shawn and Mark. It goes to show the power of the votes.

I got sick of this show halfway through. I didn't think I'd watch even that much. I may give up on this show in the fall too. That's ok, SYTYCD starts Thursday!!!!!
Stacey wrote (5/20/2009 10:14:00 AM EDT) …
A friend of mine has an interesting take on using the flip of a coin to choose between two options. It's how he feels about the choice the coin made. If the coin says A, and he's disappointed then he knows he really wants B.

Yesterday I would've been happy if either Gilles or Shawn won. When Shawn was announced though, I felt the coin was flipped the wrong way. Had Shawn come in 2nd, I would not have been disappointed. She did a great job, she improved as a performer, I loved the comment she made that she learned how to be part of a team... but really, Gilles stole the show from day one.

Oh well. Good outcome.

Ross' toast was a bit much. I hope they warn the stars that he'll be brutal. He was right about the 'vaguely familiar' contestants. I would like to see some bigger names later in the game.

Still wish Lil Kim made it to the finale. I think she and Derek should've been contenders. My re-write elimination - Ty, Chuck, then Melissa.
stacey wrote (5/20/2009 10:16:00 AM EDT) …
Have they ever mentioned a 'missed it by that much' version? Allowing by people like Sabrina, Joey Lawrence, Mel B, and others who may have left early because of injury? Now that would be an awesome competition. The runners-up version.

Oh, and they announced Samantha is going to be in Chicago (the musical)? For real? Can that girl act, let alone dance and sing? I might have to take the trip to NYC just to see it for myself.
Joanie wrote (5/20/2009 12:10:00 PM EDT) …
The roar of support among very young voters was evident toward the end and Shawn gave them full reason to vote for her. She did a good job. I agree, however, that Gilles would have been a better choice -- much like Mel B would have been.

The show is getting too predictable, too heavy with orchestrated drama, lacking in spontenaity and "reality." I only watch anymore to see the pro's dance and even that is being truncated and interrupted by the camera work.

I'm disgusted that The Wonder Triplets won yet again. The favoritism in assigning "stars" is apparent and nauseating. Sorry, but that partiality is too blatant to ignore. I'd love to see them deal with Denise's and Woz's, and BRC's, and aging stiff ladies for the next FOUR YEARS. Thanks for letting me rant.
JennyK wrote (5/20/2009 12:40:00 PM EDT) …
I think I'm happy enough that Shawn won. She was totally focused and determine to win these last two weeks. No real flaws. I liked her freestyle the best. Both of the other two were mistakes by their pros. Cheryl's, because it was choreographed (and costumed) to have you look only at her (as if she had to disguise her partner's dance flaws!?!) and Tony's because the overly modern choreography may have suited Melissa, but made him look slower and older than he would have looked in any other dance format. No, I don't think Tony's old fashioned, but hip-hop makes him look like he's working way too hard to stay young. I'd agree that the Roast was not that funny and overly harsh. Some of the stars looked like they'd been slapped. And for the second time in two years (I don't remember what happened when Christi won) one of the aforementioned "Wonder Triplets" picked up the winning pro dancer on his shoulders and left his celeb partner looking confused down on the floor! Good Grief!
Sheree wrote (5/20/2009 1:29:00 PM EDT) …
I love the "missed it by that much" suggestion. It would be fun to watch a season of the 2nd and 3rd place contestants that would be up for another go at it. I wonder if Joey Fatone and Lance Bass would want to go up against each other? And it would be fun to see how Joey Lawrence would do - he seems to have all the answers on his Yahoo Buzz spots!
Wenchy wrote (5/20/2009 2:45:00 PM EDT) …
Yeah, the roast was atrocious. It was just plain mean spirited at times. I mean yes, poke a little fun, but he went way too far, with Steve Woz and a few other jokes. It was in really bad taste, and it seemed at times that Tom was ready to pull him off the microphone. I hope they never do that again.
ash310 wrote (5/20/2009 2:56:00 PM EDT) …
I am very pleased that Shawn won. She did an excellent job and you could see her growing in confidence and performance every week. Frankly, I don't get the whole Gilles thing. He's left me cold from week one. I clearly don't see what other people are seeing in his dancing. As far as the roasting goes, I switched channels until it was over. I find that kind of thing to be just mean and unnecessary.
Kathy wrote (5/20/2009 5:28:00 PM EDT) …
I think you either like roasts or you don't. I thought it was great, but I understand if it's not universally appealing. Still, the celebrities are just clueless if they were shocked by anything Jeff Ross said. It's as though they didn't even know what a roast was, which they should since they work in the entertainment industry. Credit to whoever warned Shawn so that she could laugh appropriately and not look pissed (unlike LT, who doesn't seem to have a sense of humor).

Stacey, your "missed it by that much" idea is fabulous. They could bring back some of the best non-winning contestants for a limited run of a few weeks. They could dance with new partners, or switch partners every week. So many options...
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