‘DWTS’ Recap: Mark Ballas Finally Wins His Third Mirrorball, Charli D’Amelio Wins ‘DWTS’ Season 31
Photo by: ABC/Eric McCandless Reading Time: 4 minutes
Dancing With the Stars returned with a tear jerking final episode. On top of a package thanking Len Goodman for his time on the series, longtime pro Cheryl Burke announced her departure from the series after 26 seasons. Aside from the final 4 pairs, other celebrity dancers from this season returned to take the ballroom, one last time.
The Final Show Kicks off With Redemption Dances
The final episode began with the pairs’s Redemption Dances. For those who may not know, each pair was danced to redeem themselves with a style they previously scored low on. Shangela and Gleb Savchenko began this portion of the show.
Bruno Tonioli helped Shangela and Gleb improve their quickstep, which they previously scored low on in week two. After the dance, Tonioli admitted that he loved their routine, even though he thought one of the steps was wrong. The pair earned 36 out of 40 points with their first dance.
Wayne Brady and Witney Carson followed in the previous pairs footsteps by redeeming themselves with the quickstep. After training with Len Goodman, the pair was able to put on a beautiful performance. Even though their dance looked great to an untrained eye, Goodman pointed out the mistakes made in the performance, eventually the panel gave the pair 36 out of 40 points.
Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas worked with Carrie Ann Inaba to improve their Jive. Their Jive to “Grown” by Little Mix earned 40 out of 40 points. Bachelorette star Gabby Windey and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy met Charli and Mark on top with their Cha-Cha to “I Like It (Like That)” by Pete Rodriguez. After working with Derek Hough, the pair earned a score of 40 out of 40 points.
We’ve seen so much growth from @charlidamelio & @MarkBallas, and they never fail to blow us away! 👀 #DWTSFinale @DisneyPlus pic.twitter.com/lZQeR252ZU
— Dancing with the Stars #DWTS (@officialdwts) November 22, 2022
Each Couple Earns a Perfect Score in the Freestyle Round
Following the Redemption Round came Freestyles, where pairs can really get creative with their choreography. Wayne and Witney kicked off the freestyle round dancing to a medley of “Get Up” by Ciara featuring Chamillionaire and “24K Magic” by Bruno Mars. They earned 40 out of 40 points with this energetic dance.
Charli and Mark based their freestyle around their love of the sport, since they had both previously quit. This dance had fast high points and slower low points. Regardless of the moment, the technique was totally on point. They earned 40 out of 40 points.
For the final dance, Val chose to implement Gabby as a leading lady. Their final dance was sensual and steamy. It was a later revealed that Val’s wife, Jenna Johnson choreographed the perfect score receiving dance.
Shangela and Gleb danced the final freestyle of the season. The drag queen totally looked back at her time on RuPaul’s Drag Race by lip syncing along to RuPaul’s “Call Me Mother.” This performance was insane, especially since Gleb was in drag. The pair earned 40 out of 40 points on their final performance.
Charli D’Amelio, Mark Ballas Bring Home the Mirrorball
After four amazing performances, it was quite hard for anyone to predict the winner of the night. Charli and Mark and Gabby and Val were in first place, while Wayne and Witney and Shangela and Gleb were tied for third place. Even though all the dances were practically perfect, the final scores were added to fan votes to determine the winner.
Shockingly, Shangela and Gleb finished in fourth place, while Wayne and Witney finished in third. The final two were Gabby and Val, and Charli and Mark. These couples never once made it into the bottom two, so it’s only right they’re here now. The newest champion of Dancing With the Stars is Charli D’Amelio and her partner, Mark Ballas
“I mean thank you guys, this is all thanks to you, each of the judges thank you so much for the opportunity,” she said. “Thank you mark for becoming my new best friend, thank you.”
She then thanked her mom for being apart of the entire journey alongside of her. This marks Mark’s third-time as a Mirrorball Champion. After quitting the show for five years, he’s truly proven himself as an amazing dancer and choreographer once again. Fans hope to see Mark return next season, so he can get his 20th DWTS partner.
