Drumroll please! TikTok superstar Charli D’Amelio and iconic Dancing With The Stars pro Mark Ballas are officially the champions of Dancing With The Stars season 31!
In the season finale which aired tonight (November 21st) exclusively on Disney+, D’Amelio beat out former star of The Bachelorette Gabby Windey and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy, actor, singer and TV personality Wayne Brady and his partner Witney Carson AND drag queen Shangela and her partner Gleb Savchenko for the mirrorball trophy.
Beloved Dancing With The Stars pro Mark Ballas is no stranger to winning either. He took home the mirrorball trophy two other times, once in season six with Kristi Yamaguchi and once in season eight with Shawn Johnson, and he is THRILLED to be receiving his third win.
After taking five years away from the show, it looks like Ballas is back and better than ever, and fans really hope he sticks around for season 32.
In this special finale episode, all four finalists got two perform two different dances, a redemption dance and a freestyle dance, and all eight of them were AMAZING!
Wayne Brady and Shangela both performed quicksteps for their redemption dances, and they each received a score of 36 from the judges, while Charli D’Amelio and Gabby Windey both managed to get perfect 40s. It’s clear that D’Amelio’s Jive and Windey’s Cha Cha really wowed the judges!
On the contrary, all four finalists received perfect scores on their freestyle dances, and each one was truly show-stopping!
While she did land in fourth place in the competition, Shangela’s freestyle brought the entire ballroom to their feet.
Her partner, Gleb Savchenko, surprised the crowd when he performed as “Natasha” in a full drag queen look, and fans were so happy to see drag culture being celebrated on the Dancing With The Stars stage. As the first male-male pair to ever compete on the show, representation from this duo was very important throughout the season, and this authentic performance seemed to close out Shangela’s Dancing With The Stars journey perfectly.
Complete with dancers in chicken leg costumes and ending with an INCREDIBLE death drop, head judge Len Goodman said, “For the first time in 31 seasons I forgot to vote because I was absolutely mesmerized by the whole thing.”
Aside from the four finalists having their time to shine, all 12 of the eliminated contestants came back for one final dance. Jason Lewis, Teresa Giudice, Cheryl Ladd, Sam Champion, Joseph Baena, Jessie James Decker, Jordin Sparks, Heidi D’Amelio, Vinny Guadagnino, Trevor Donovan AND Daniel Durant returned to the ballroom, each participating in one of three separate group dances. It was so much fun seeing the full cast back together again!
After withdrawing from the competition in week four due to her medical condition, Selma Blair reunited with her partner Sasha Farber for one final dance, as well. The duo performed a contemporary dance while fellow contestant Jordin Sparks performed her legendary track “No Air.” It was such a genuine, beautiful moment!
Lastly, what’s a season finale if no tears are shed? To celebrate each of their retirements and to honor their contributions to the show, Dancing With The Stars pro Cheryl Burke performed an emotional farewell dance, and longtime judge Len Goodman received his very own mirrorball trophy to bring back to the UK.
Dancing alongside Louis Van Amstel and Pasha Pashkov, Burke’s final performance was the perfect way to close out her 25-season Dancing With The Stars journey. After finishing her dance, Burke said “Every single person that was part of this cast, behind the scenes, prior to today. Every single person, thank you for believing in me and thank you for helping me find my voice. You guys have been a part of my identity and I thank each and every one of you.”
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This season’s Dancing With The Stars finale was truly one to remember, and we want to say another HUGE congratulations to Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas for taking home the mirrorball trophy!
D’Amelio will also be joining the cast of Dancing With The Stars Live for select dates, along with fellow contestants Heidi D’Amelio, Vinny Guadagnino and Daniel Durant. With runner-up Gabby Windey and Dancing With The Stars pro Emma Slater as co-hosts, the tour is sure to be one to remember!
You can visit dwtstour.com to see if Dancing With The Stars Live is coming to a city near you, but until then, let us know what you thought of this season by either leaving a reaction at the bottom of the post or by sending us a tweet at @celebsecrets.
