Dancing With the Stars All-Star Finale: Did the Right Couple Take Home the Mirrorball Trophy?

After 10 weeks of triumphs and tears, shockers and silliness — highlighted by this week’s history-making, truly fabulous, all-female finale — we’ve come to the end of Dancing With The Stars Season 15.

And as our cast of leading ladies — Shawn Johnson, Melissa Rycroft and Kelly Monaco — assembled for one last spin around the ballroom, it was hard not to be impressed at how they made it to the bitter end of DWTS‘ first-ever All-Stars installment, which overflowed with freestyles, team dances, tricky trios and a final high-risk instant dance. Whichever couple came out on top, there was no denying they’d be taking home the hardest-earned Mirrorball Trophy ever. (No wonder this year’s model is extra blinged-out!)

Of course, no season (or results show for that matter) of DWTS would be complete without a little unnecessary fluff — was it really necessary to squeeze every single All-Star into the show for a series of frenzied (and at times less than stellar) dances, or to resurrect Dance Center (even if the third segment was kinda funny)? — but in honor of our new Mirrorball champion (see below) let’s focus are a few of the highlights of this very special season finale:

Whoopsies, Cushioned | Some may consider these as lowlights, but what fun would live television be without some oh-so-obvious snafus? First, poor Tom and Brooke got tripped up (and tongue-tied) early on in their Dance Center intro by an errant dancer (“We love live television!” quipped Brooke, ever on top of things), then some malfunctioning “very expensive” glittery ball props put a damper on the drama of the Instant Dance selections. Heads will roll, people!

Adorableness Alert | Drew Lachey was joined by special guest (his cute-as-a-bug dancing daughter) Isabella, who stole the show (and Tom’s heart) from dad and pro partner Anna Trebunskaya in their Beyonce-inspired return to the floor.

Instant Dance Mania | Girl fight! In their last ever competitive dances to complete the judges’ scores, our trio of fearless females totally brought it — and how! Kelly and Val’s high-impact jive (“You have the energy of two young randy rabbits!” summarized Bruno) landed them a 28.5, while Melissa and Tony’s sexy samba seemed to garner mixed reactions from the judges (though Len gushed, “You have been my greatest pleasure to watch”), but also earned a 28.5. Finally, Shawn and Derek’s cha cha was chin-credible (“…a star-studded performance” said Carrie Ann) and notched them a perfect 30.

And now, without further ado, the ultimate moment of truth — the All-Star results! And the Mirror Ball trophy goes to…

“Now they have won two/too!” exclaimed Tom, his homonym leaving the final two couples briefly uncertain of the outcome. (In other words, had Melissa and Tony won too, or had Shawn won two Mirrorballs?) But then he clarified…

ALL-STAR CHAMPIONS
Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani

The overwhelming joy, rapturous applause, and eye-popping reactions throughout the ballroom – not to mention the blinding blizzard of confetti – got in the way of Tom landing a parting quote from a totally overjoyed, disbelieving Melissa, who finally grabbed that long-awaited statuette. But her tears of joy said far more than any speech ever could, well done Melissa! As for Tony, he might not have verbalized it, but we’ll do it for him: It’s about freakin’ time!

And with that, it’s your turn. Did the right couple take home the grand prize? Did you shed a few joyful tears of your own after Melissa and Tony’s breakthrough win? Or were you crying tears of sadness/outrage that ballroom dynamo Shawn was denied her second win? Were you shocked that Kelly and Val didn’t make the final two? And lastly, do you think Melissa was indeed the best dancer this season? Sound off in the comments! –Mitch Rustad

If the show was rigged, it was always rigged for Derek and Shawn. They were constantly overscored. They consistently broke the rues, and the judges as a trio never deducted points the way they would have for Kelly and Val for example. Most of their dances were gymnastic routines. When Shawn couldn’t do her gymnastics, her dancing was not as strong. Her freestyle was more gymnastics, and it was so choppy. Melissa and Tony’s was one of the most beautiful dances I’ve seen on the show. The right couple won.

Shawn and Derek should have won!!! They were clearly the best dancers. Week after week they amazed us with beautiful, exciting routines. Derek is clearly the best choreographer on that show and now he will be gone. I’m not sure DWTS will be as fun to watch without Derek there to wow. Anyway, oddly I had the distinct impression that the judging on this one were none too honest. It just seemed to me that Tony & Melissa were judged too high (especially by Len) on many of their routines and Shawn & Derek were crucified for small errors that the other couples got away with. It just didn’t come off as honest this time around and I thought it was very obvious.

If you want to talk about the judges score, Kelly & Val got screwed every time. I think a lot of couples were scored too high cough Kristie, Emmitt – but that is how it goes. I for one wanted Shawn and Derek to come in third. I found their routines to be more about gymastic and not enough about dancing. I look for growth as the season progresses and for me Kelly and Melissa showed that. If Shawn and Derek had won I would of been okay with that too, just not my pick. The only time Shawn & Derek were crucified as you say it was their quickstep and sorry they should have. When they chose to do again, they should of made adjustments as you stated Derek is clearly the best choreographer – that is subjective.

While I think Shawn and Derek may have been better overall I didn’t like the fact they broke the rules nor did I like the fact the second dance on monday was more of a gymnastic routine than a dance so I am glad they didn’t win.
I am also glad that a new dancer is champ.

It would be interesting to see what the results would be if Shawn and Derek hadn’t decided they were above the rules. I hadn’t voted for anyone this season, but that turned me off and I voted this time.

YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!! The right couple for sure won.
Melissa is an AMAZING dancer and she blew me away this season. And don’t get me started with Tony… This is long over due!

I would have been really disappointed if Shawn and Derek had of won. DWTS has rules and if you ask me they are very simple rules. For some reason Shawn and Derek felt like they were above those rules. If they had of broke them once I would have been ok with it, but they did it at least 3-4 times. They should not be rewarded for breaking the rules. Yes… Shawn is an Amazing dancer… just as good as Melissa. But since Melissa and Tony were amazing week after week and followed the rules at all times… Easy Choice for me! Melissa has got all my votes for the last 3 weeks. WELL DONE MELISSA AND TONY!!!

Get off the Crack pipe and come back to reality!! Melissa and tony sucked and should have been eliminated after the 3rd week!! They fixed the show and had her picked from the beginning!! Horrible show and it should be boycotted!!

For all of you that are complaining that Melissa had an unfair advantage in having the same partner – um, did you forget that Kirstie and Emmett had the same partners, too? Not everyone could get the same partner – Mark was with Shawn, but he was on the All-Stars edition with Bristol (poor guy). I think Shawn is the overall better performer, but time and time again she and Derek broke the rules. I loved that “African Tribal Samba” but the judges said it wasn’t a samba. It loved it for what it was though.

Everyone needs to ask themselves “Why do they not show the final scores after the public is factored in??” Simple answer Dancing with the Stars is totally rigged and they have the winning couple picked from the very beginning!! This show is fake and people need to quit watching this kind of CRAPPY T.V. until they can actually judge without any bias!! Dancing with the Stars desperately needs new judges and is in serious need of being re-vamped!! It was soooooo obvious that this was fixed last night!! Also this is a family show not a PORNO Melissa’s outfit last was disgusting and something needs to be done!! Outfits that are cut all the down to their pubic bone should not be allowed!! Her anorexic ass looked absolutely disgusting!! Shame on her!!

If these shows cause you such aniexty why do you watch? If you feel it is crappy TV why waste your time. All the girls dance in those kind of outfits if you find offensive why turn in. I am sorry your favorite did not win, but to rant and make derogatory remarks about people you do not know personally is wrong on many levels and makes you look like a lunatic.

Very disappointed in results. I couldn’t hardly take my eyes off Shawn & Derek when they were dancing. riveting routines. Melissa flailed her legs around like she was riding a bike in her freestyle. It’s a done deal so congratulations to Melissa & Tony but Shawn & Derek really rocked it.p

Hooray for Tony and Melissa! Their freestyle was absolutely amazing. As for pity votes…all season we had to listen to Shawn whine and complain about having to retire, her injured knee, her loss of confidence, missing what she loves to do, her failed comeback and on and on and on. And then Derek always had to add that this was his final season. Add all that to the repeated rule breaking with the endless gymnastics, (not dancing), and finally bringing in the good ole ex-teammates to cry some more for the pity vote and it all got pretty old. The votes were cast for the right couple. If you don’t like the results, don’t watch next season

This was the perfect outcome. Tony has had to put up with the weakest partners on the show and has always handle them with patience and grace. I’m so happy for him that he was paired with a partner with talent.

The judges were easy on Melissa – her manager is a producer of the show- the show is fixed! Shawn and Derek wanted to do their fusion dance cause Derek was hurt that week and cudnt dance it with Shawn but they were denied that by producers- Melissa’s manager??? So that’s when they probably said then we’ll do the quickstep. And that’s the only dance they broke the rules. Please please tell me what other dances? Len wanted more and dancing they never seen before and Shawn and Derek did just that!!! The night Paula abdul was guest judge they all gave Shawn an Derek a 10 except Len. I think he jealous of Derek and so are the others lie dancers except mark. All star season will be remembered as the season Shawn and Derek got screwed and we won’t even rember the name of winner. To me lifts are not dancing and that’s what Melissa and tony did. I didn’t know we were to vote on who never won. Every episode Melissa said she knows what it feels like to lose— only one who didn’t win– got sooooo tired of hearing it 😜 everyone should write to ABC and tell them how they feel. Love Shawn and Derek!!!

Melissa danced (if you call it dancing) like a fish out of water and Shawn was only slightly better. The judges must’ve been so impressed by Melissa’s lack of brains, lack of skills and just felt bad for her. The only thing that made her win was their empathy for a loser. Kelly was the CLEAR winner by everyone’s accounts except those who felt LOSERS with nothing going for them except the world feeling sorry for someone who got dumped on live tv. She was a loser then and it hasn’t changed. No one voted for the silly little girl who tried to put on her big girl panties and faked her way through the whole thing. This was the first season I noticed most of the stars actually danced except for her and they just handed her the trophy. If the judges are so biased they can’t see what they’re supposed to be judging then they shouldn’t be judges. I for one will never watch it again. I already boycotted ABC because they took off the good shows and replaced it with crap and watch GH online but now they kept the wrong people on so no reason to watch them anymore.

I agree. I will not watch dwts anymore either. It is soooo fixed. We are getting robbed by them not even counting our votes. How can Melissa feel good about winning the way she did. With her manager being a producer of the show how could she do anything but win. They are just trying to get her career going and make her some kind of star since she isn’t one and had no business winning. It’s sad that shows like that can’t be honest and have integrity. They r going to lose a lot of fans for fixing the outcome to who they want. Shawn and Derek were clearly the best of the best!!!

It’s hard to believe we are still talking about this. I was happy with the result. I think Tony and Melissa did the best dancing this season and this was a dance competition. Derek broke rules and Shawn did more gymnastics than dancing. Val and Kelly’s affair was uncomfortable to watch. I swear everyone on the show wears fewer clothes all the time. Makes me want to watch a real dance competition instead.

I think Shawn And Derek should’ve won this isn’t about who has the biggest sympathy contest, This is about dance!!!!! Sadly results didn’t keep it that way but Shawn will leave a huge mark for HER truly inspiring dances.