Who Won Season 10 of Dancing with the Stars?

With Erin & Maks leaving Evan & Anna and Nicole & Derek to dance once final time.

Derek/Nicole scored 30, Evan/Anna scored 28.   That meant their scores were 115 and 108 respectively.  These were then combined with the viewers votes from Monday.

Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough are the champions of season 10 of Dancing with the Stars.

Nicole seemed pretty happy about it...

Who Finished Third in Season 10 of Dancing with the Stars

The couples danced for the third time on the Finale of Dancing with the Stars, each performing the Argentine Tango.

The judges had to rank the performances - the best getting 30, second 28 and third 26 (even if it didn't deserve 26!).

The total scores after those performances weer:

Erin Andrews & Maksim Chmerkovskiy - 29 & 26 & 26 = 81
Nicole Scherzinger & Derek Hough - 28 & 27 & 30 = 85
Evan Lysacek & Anna Trebunskaya - 28 & 24 & 28 = 80

And Erin and Maks were voted off.

Scores from the Last Performance Round of Dancing with the Stars Season 10

It's the final week of the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars and the couples have performed their first two dances.

Monday night saw the couples attempting the dances the judges felt they were least adept and then the must anticipated freestyle round.

Here are the scores:

Erin Andrews & Maksim Chmerkovskiy - 29 & 26 = 55
Evan Lysacek & Anna Trebunskaya - 28 & 24 = 52
Nicole Scherzinger & Derek Hough - 28 & 27 = 55

Here are my thoughts on the show:

• Overall I thought the performances were a little sloppy.  Perhaps everyone was trying a little too hard, but there were errors made by all the couples.
• Can you believe it?  Erin and Maks got the highest score of the night with their Samba.  Good for them.  Their freestyle was just OK, a little heavy on the "messin' around" as Len would say.
• I thought Evan and Anna were a little unlucky to score 28 with their Viennese Waltz, I thought it was pretty flawless.  I had to agree with the judges on the freestyle though - the choreography was all over the place.  They couldn't agree what to do and they came up with a bit of a mish-mash.  They danced with fire though.
• Nicole and Derek did a very nice Rumba - Carrie Ann was saying something about lifts but I wasn't really listening.  Their freestyle was perfect - technically and artistically - apart from one error at the end.  They would have got 30 if not for that, and that would have been under-scoring it!

Tomorrow night each couple dances the Argentine Tango.  Then the final two dance once more.  (Viewer votes are only tonight though).

Erin has certainly upset the apple cart by scoring so well - she has just as much chance as the other two!

Dancing with the Stars: Finale Details

ABC have announced the format of the Finale of Dancing with the Stars.

Actually, it's a sort of double Finale as all three couples with dance on both nights.

The Performance Show: Monday, 8-9PM on ABC

Each of the couples will dance twice. The first dance, the "redemption dance" is the one the judges felt they did poorly on. Erin and Maks will perform a Samba, the Viennese Waltz is for Evan and Anna, and the Nicole and Derek will Rumba for us.  The couples will then perform their freestyle dance - one of the highlights of the season.

The Results Show: Tuesday, 9pm-11pm on ABC

The finale is normally simulcast, so there won't be a tape delay on the west coast.

The couples will perform their favorite dance of the season - and everyone has chosen an Argentine Tango! After the judges scores have been factored in, the third place couple will be announced.

The final two will then perform one more time, the judges' scores will be announced (normally very close!) and we will finally know who the winners are!

As usual, all the contestants will return to dance including Chad Ochocinco with a romantic Rumba (ahh, the happy couple...), Pamela Anderson's "hottest dance yet" (I see a stripper pole in the future), a high wire act by Kate Gosselin (even I wouldn't want her to fall...) and a Viennese Waltz performed by Bachelor Jake Pavelka and his fiance, Vienna (where's Chelsie?). The winner of the college competition will also be announced.

I think it's been one of the best seasons yet, and I can't wait to find out who's going to win!

Who are in the finals of Dancing with the Stars?

This week was the semi-finals of Dancing with the Stars - probably the worst time to be voted off.  So close, but didn't reach the final.

After the performing twice, the couples' scores were:

Nicole/Derek 59
Evan/Anna 59
Erin/Maks 56
Chad/Cheryl 52

It's closer than it looks as the viewers votes can have a large effect.

At the end of the results show, we were left with two celebrities - Erin and Chad.

And Chad was voted off. 

Chad was much more personable than I expected, and he really is quite witty (an under-used word nowadays).  With no "formal" training he went further than I expected and definitely grew as a dancer.  He just needs to get over that natural shyness.  Here is the samba he and Cheryl performed in week 9 (the one where he took his shirt off):

Chad Ochocinco & Cheryl Burke - Samba

Posted to Chad Ochocinco Videos on May 18, 2010

Click to Play | View Details

So it's Nicole, Evan and Erin in the finals.  They will dance four times next week, including the freestyle round.

It's going to be a great finale!

Dancing with the Stars Semifinal Judges' Scores

Week 9 of Dancing with the Stars had the final four couples perform twice - a Ballroom round and a Latin round.

I have to say the quality and passion of the dances contributed to one of the best DWTS shows I have seen (and Tom agreed with me!).

Here are the scores:

Erin Andrews & Maksim Chmerkovskiy (Viennese Waltz/Paso Doble) - 27 & 29 = 56
Nicole Scherzinger & Derek Hough (Argentine Tango/Cha-Cha) - 30 & 29 = 59
Chad Ochocinco & Cheryl Burke (Waltz/Samba) - 27 & 25 = 52
Evan Lysacek & Anna Trebunskaya (Foxtrot/Paso Doble) - 29 & 30 = 59

• Erin danced beautifully in the Waltz, and was almost perfect in the Paso.  She and Maks definitely have chemistry.
• Nicole and Derek should have got 60, but Len is a grump.
• Chad is definitely the most improved, and I thought the judges were harsh on his Samba.  He jumped on the "take off your shirt" bandwagon.  Hey - if it works, jump on it!
• Evan was showing his personality a little more this week and it helped.  I felt the Paso was a little stilted, but I'm not a dancing judge, I prefered their foxtrot.

Chad was in the bottom two last week, and has the lowest score this week.  However, Tom shared that all four contestants had received the most viewer votes at some time this season.  Erin was in the bottom two a couple of weeks ago - it's so complicated!

I would like to see Chad stay, but I suspect he is most likely to go.

Dancing with the Stars Results Show Week 9: Miley Cyrus and Sarah McLachlan

The remaining four couples will each perform a new Latin and a new Ballroom dance meaning the performance show on Monday will only be 90 minutes long.

Given there are only four couples left the producers have stuffed more into the results show in week 9 to make up for fewer gloomy celebrities under a red light.

Miley Cyrus is to perform the live television debut of her new single off her upcoming album "Can't Be Tamed".  They were thinking of letting her dance but thought it was too risky given her recent predilection for lap dancing.

The Design-a-Dance will feature Melissa Rycroft and Joey Fatone tangoing to a KISS song.  The celebrities, song and costumes were all chosen via vote on ABC.com.

It's the second round of the college competition, between Rutgers and Utah Valley University.

And finally, Sarah McLachlan will perform two songs - a new single "Loving You is Easy" and her classic, "Angel".  Accompanying her on the dance floor will be Jonathan, Anna, Kym, Dmitry, Damian and Lacey.

I'm looking forward to Sarah McLachlan, and it will be nice to see Melissa and Joey.