“Dancing With the Stars” finale recap: The season 32 winner is...
See who took home the season 32 Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
Charisma, Christmas, and lots of confetti, that's the recipe you need to make a great season finale of Dancing With the Stars. The 11-week long race to win the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy is finally over, but first five couples had to show America why they deserved to win.
First up, the stars got a second chance at a dance style they previously received low scores for. Kicking off the redemption round was Alyson Hannigan, who got some sound salsa advice from judge Carrie Ann Inaba and shed some tears while reflecting on her journey from the first episode to now. “You scored 4s and 5s when you first did this salsa,” Carrie Ann said to Alyson during her critiques. "And now you’re in the finale!"
Next up, Jason Mraz showed off his classic side with some help from judge Bruno Tonioli. He received three 10s for his "Fly Me to the Moon" foxtrot and exchanged some heartfelt hugs with his partner Daniella Karagach, who, along with her hubby Pasha Pashkov, is part of the first ever married couple of pro dancers to both make it to the finale.
Then, Pasha and Ariana Madix took to the floor to redeem their samba with guidance from judge Derek Hough. Derek himself said that it was "mean" of him to give this challenging dance to Ariana in the final week, but she executed it to his liking, earning a 10 from the judge.
Carrie Ann stepped in once again to coach Charity Lawson to reach new levels of tango for her redemption dance, and reach new levels she did. “That was the best dance of the night so far,” Derek said.
And last up was Xochitl Gomez with a foxtrot to "Unconditionally" by Katy Perry. The judges took note of her improvement and gave her a perfect score.
Reigning champs Charli D'Amelio and Mark Ballas returned to the ballroom with a vivacious Latin routine and a congratulations went out to Mark for becoming a new dad. "The fact that I get to do things like this insane," Charli said.
According to DWTS, this holiday season we're winning. The pros, as well as Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough, danced a holly jolly routine to "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" alongside special guests Witney Carson, who won season 19 with Alfonso, Hélio Castroneves, who won season 5 with Julianne, Hannah Brown, season 28 winner and Rashad Jennings, season 24 winner.
Then came every Dancing fan's favorite, the freestyle round! Each star put their own fun flare into their routines. Bravely flying where no other contestant has been thrown, Charity took inspiration from her days as a cheerleader and completed complicated flips, lifts and formations, all while dancing next to the cast of Netflix's Cheer.
Jason let loose with a happy dance that left the judges elated. “Out of this world,” said Bruno. “You didn’t just try my friend, you succeeded,” said Derek. Ariana gave an empowering performance to "Run the World (Girls)" that included pop star elements. She earned a perfect score from the judges. And Alyson invoked her American Pie character Michelle in her freestyle, shouting "This one time, at Dancing With the Stars, I made it to the finale!" referencing her famous line, "This one time, at band camp..."
And Xochitl paid homage to her heritage with an earth shaking freestyle to "Que Calor" by District 78. Derek told Xochitl she's "the most consistent, captivating dancer on this show.”
Here's where each couple landed on the leaderboard after two rounds of dances, added onto last weeks scores:
Xochitl & Val - 120 out of 120
Charity & Artem - 118 out of 120
Ariana & Pasha - 117 out of 120
Jason & Daniella - 117 out of 120
Alyson & Sasha - 104 out of 120
Last seasons champ Charli returned once again to hand the torch over to the next pair of winners. It all came down to the singer vs. the Marvel star, and with the drop of a gigantic ton of confetti, the winners of Dancing With the Stars are Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy!
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