Amber Riley Wins Dancing With the Stars! Highlights from the Season 17 Finale
And we have a winner! After 11 exhausting weeks of perfecting their waltzes, tangoes and cha cha chas, the three remaining couples on Dancing With the Stars battled it out one last time for the season 17 Mirror Ball trophy.
The competition was tough, but Amber Riley and Derek Hough came out on top! The Glee star looked stunned and elated as she grasped the coveted Mirror Ball.
"I want to let women of all sizes out there know you can do whatever you put your mind to!” she said. “Doesn't matter what size, what color you are—you can do whatever, whatever, whatever you put you mind to."
Relive Amber’s entire journey on Dancing With the Stars in her Parade.com blog!
Watch Tom Bergeron announce the winner:
Before their performance last night, Derek pointed out that that viewer votes could play a bigger role in determining the winner than the judges’ scores.
“It might not be about the highest scores,” he said. “It might not be about the dances at all. It’s really going to come down to who America feels should be the winner.”
But in any case, he and Amber scored a perfect 30 for their fusion dance, a mix of samba and quickstep. Carrie Ann said they had invented a whole new genre of dance, Bruno called the performance high-octane, and Len affectionately called Amber his “little sausage” (it’s a British thing).
Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff scored three 9s for their cha cha cha and foxtrot fusion dance. The judges noticed a few missed steps at the end, which may have kept them from scoring 10s, but on the whole, they loved the dance, and Bruno even said the fox trot was one of Corbin’s best. Corbin went home in second place, but he seemed nothing but grateful and gracious after his elimination. “I thank God for this experience,” he said. “I thank my family and my best partner in the world… I had a blast.”
Finally, Jack Osbourne and Cheryl Burke fused salsa and a paso doble, and while Bruno called it wonderful, Carrie Ann said his salsa was a little flat-footed. They ended up scoring three 9s and took third place. “I’ve learned that I’m not a better dancer than my sister,” Jack quipped after his elimination. We are now tied… I’ve learned that if you just dive in an you have a great teacher, it is possible to become a ballroom dancer.”
Other highlights from the finale: Enrique Iglesias set hearts aflutter with his performance of his song Heart Attack, Ylvis performed their viral hit "The Fox" (complete with bushy-tailed fox suits), and Lady Antebellum performed her new song "Compass."
And, of course, DWTS season 17 alumni were on hand to support the final three! Valerie Harper and Tristan MacManus danced to “What a Wonderful World,” performed live by Colbie Caillat, and Snooki,Brant Daugherty, Elizabeth Berkley Lauren, Leah Remini,and Bill Engvall were all on deck to cheer on the three finalists.
And, perhaps best of all, Bill Nye “The Science Guy” returned to the dance floor for a (pre-recorded) cha cha with pro partner Tyne Stecklein, and dazzled the crowd with what appeared to be several complex backflips and handsprings. But as Tom Bergeron wryly observed, “Holy mackerel! I swear sometimes it was like he was a completely different person!”
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