Dancing with the Stars crowned Charli D'Amelio and her professional partner Mark Ballas its Season 31 champions over the runner-up couple, Gabby Windey and pro Val Chmerkovskiy, during Monday night's finale on Disney+.

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"It's been one of the closest finales in the history of the show," Dancing with the Stars host Tyra Banks revealed at the end of the two-hour episode.

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After 10 weeks of competition, Tyra announced, "The winners and new champions of Dancing with the Stars are Charli and Mark!"

The TikTok and The D'Amelio Show star and Mark won the mirrorball trophy and were declared Dancing with the Stars' winners after receiving the highest combined total of judges' scores and viewer votes that were cast live throughout the finale.

"Thank you guys. This is all thanks to you and your votes," Charli told the fans following her victory.

"Each of the judges, thank you so much for the opportunity. Thank you, Mark, for becoming my new best friend."

Mark, who returned to Dancing with the Stars as a pro partner after a five-year hiatus, became a three-time mirrorball champion, and he told Gabby and Val that it was "an honor sharing the stage" with them.

Gabby, who starred on The Bachelorette's nineteenth season, and Val finished in second place.

Actor and Broadway star Wayne Brady and pro partner Witney Carson claimed third place.

And drag queen and former RuPaul's Drag Race contestant Shangela Wadley and pro partner Gleb Savchenko placed fourth during the finale.

Prior to the night's voting results, the four pairs of finalists competed in two rounds of competition: the "Redemption Round" in which each couple was challenged by one of the judges to improve on a dance style they've already done on the show as well as the fan-favorite "Freestyle Round," when there are no rules or guidelines other than to create a jaw-dropping routine.

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Charli and Mark tied for first place on the judges' leaderboard with Gabby and Val after each couple received a total perfect score of 80 points from Dancing with the Stars judges Derek Hough, Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Len Goodman.

For their Redemption Dance, Carrie Ann asked Charli and Mark to perform their jive from Week 5, and the couple received a perfect score of 40 points for the performance.

Carrie Ann said the performance was "remarkable" and Charli continued to prove herself in execution, style and technique on the show. The judge thanked Charli for dancing with her heart, and Len said it must have been hard to improve on what had already been a "fantastic" dance in Week 5.

Charli and Mark followed that up with a 40-point worthy freestyle that represented them both falling back in love with dance. Charli had rediscovered this part of herself while on the show.

The "celebration of dance," according to Bruno, combined many different styles and had a strong narrative that brought Derek to tears. Derek called the routine "powerful," and Len -- who pointed out how Charli had received 10s from him six weeks in a row -- said the performance actually made him emotional, which apparently never happens.

For Round 1, Derek told Gabby and Val to perform their cha cha from Week 3 of the competition.

The couple received 40 points for the routine, and Derek told Gabby that she was born to dance and she definitely redeemed the cha cha.

Carrie Ann said she could tell Gabby knew what she was doing and she looked "sexy" and "amazing" on the dance floor. Len also complimented Gabby's chemistry with Val.

For their freestyle, Gabby and Val executed what resembled a Broadway show, with a little Burlesque mixed in, to feature Gabby's sexiness and strength.

The judges scored Gabby and Val's performance 40 points and gushed about how the routine was hot and Gabby was able to handle a stage full of male dancers as well as a wardrobe malfunction at the end in which Gabby's shoe got caught in a stitch of her dress.

Carrie Ann also said Gabby was so impressive and Derek praised the concept, choreography and Gabby's incredible moves.

Wayne and Witney tied for third place on the judges' leaderboard with Shangela and Gleb after each couple received a total score of 76 points for the night.

Wayne and Witney initially received 36 judges' points for their redemption dance, which was their quickstep from Week 6.

Len, who gave the couple the quickstep to do, said the routine was stronger this time around but it needed more movement and flow. And Derek -- who thought Wayne brought the fight and said the dance was an improvement -- agreed there could've been a little more pace and stride.

Wayne and Witney followed that up with a funky freestyle featuring a little hip-hop that was set to a Bruno Mars. The couple earned a perfect score of 40 points for the high-energy routine.

Len said the freestyle really showcased Wayne's dancing ability with a little salsa and cha cha mixed in, and Derek said he's going to be a fan of Wayne's for life. Bruno called the routine "a smash hit" and Carrie Ann gushed about how Wayne had been holding out on them all season.

And finally, Shangela and Gleb earned 36 points for their quickstep redemption dance from Week 2, which had been given to them by Bruno to perform.

Bruno said Shangela's frame was so much better but there was a mistake at the beginning of the routine. Carrie Ann said while some people inspire her on Dancing with the Stars, Shangela excites her. Len thought the performance was a vast improvement from last time.

And Shangela and Gleb's freestyle showcased Shangela's love for drag. There was some rap in it and Gleb even dressed in drag with an alter-ego name, "Natasha."

The routine received a perfect score of 40 points.

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"For the first time in 31 seasons, I forgot to vote because I was mesmerized by the whole thing," Len gushed. "It had performance, it had entertainment, it even had [fried] chicken."

And Derek shouted about how they've never seen something like that on the show before and it was phenomenal.




About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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