Dancing With The Stars 15 – The All Star Finale! Recap and Videos

By On 11/27/2012 · 74 Comments · In Dancing with the Stars

Share on TumblrShare via email

1st Place – Melissa & Tony
2nd Place – Shawn & Derek
3rd Place – Kelly & Val

I would have been OK with either Shawn or Melissa winning. Shawn & Derek had the flashiest routines, where Shawn’s gymnastics training was a bonus. But, Melissa & Tony weren’t as dazzling but they danced difficult routines well week in and week out. That moment where Tony lifted the trophy over his head as the confetti fell was great TV. I think I was more excited for Tony getting his first win than Melissa, if I’m being honest.

What do you think? Did the right couple win?

Which All Star Dancing with the Stars couple will take the mirror ball home? Will it be Melissa & Tony? Kelly and Val? Shawn & Derek?

We’ll find out tonight, so stick around while I live blog the DWTS all star finale!

The show opens with the DWTS troupe performing to some JAMES BROWN BABY.  The routine was choreographed by Lacey Schwimmer.  Now for a recap of last night’s performances.

Len announces the very last judges’ reprise of the season. Shawn, Derek and The Fierce 5 freestyle! Live TV is awesome! Tom got distracted, but he covered nicely.

Now, it’s time for DanceCenter. Jerry Rice’s painted eye is scaring me a little.

Instant dances! The couples have been rehearsing Latin dances in anticipation of their last performance for judges’ points.

The pairs will pick their style/song out of a bowl.  First is Kelly & Val, who  choose “The Cat and Mouse Jive”.   They are relived. Melissa & Tony pick “Life is a Highway Samba.” They are glad it’s not the Cha cha.  And Shawn & Derek are left with the “Respect Cha Cha.”  They have 1 hour to rehearse.

Bristol & Mark are back to dance. HOORAY. Not really. Next, it’s Pamela doing a stripper dance with a troupe of boys. So, where is her partner? Two Worst Dancers Ever.

Helio and Chelsie are next. Fun shots of Chelsie behaving totally confused. “I don’t feel so bad about before,” jokes Tom.

Drew Lachey and Anna…introducing Drew’s adorable little daughter Isabella. Lots of fun lifts with daddy.

Next, is a video featuring VIDEO CONFESSIONS from the all stars.

Now for some LULZ Team Gangham dance to “Gangham Style”. Oh look Maks without a shirt. GILLES IN A TOWEL. This routine was such a lulzy train wreck.

Brooke interrupts Kelly & Val to ask how it’s going. Kelly is happy to be performing an uptempo dance.

Next, a video featuring Joey Fatone going back in time, Back to the Future style to tell his old self to learn the Cha Cha, and to lay off the French Fries. That’s before Joey and Kym dance a futuristic Cha Cha with two young mini-mes.

After more recap blah blah, Sabrina & Louis perform a tango.

Time to bug Melissa & Tony while they rehearse. This is Tony’s first instant dance. They practiced 3 extra routines all week. Brooke calls it “borderline cruel.”

Next it’s Team Call Me Maybe reprising their routine. Drew & Anna had to join them because two of the couples in that routine, Melissa & Tony and Shawn & Derek are in the final.

Next, more fun with Dance Center. Snarky reviews of Gilles and Apolo’s propensity for shedding their shirts.

Kirstie and Maks take to the dance floor, then Gilles and Peta’s Bollywood. Two men who need to take their shirts off as often as possible.

At the bottom of the leader board, Shawn & Derek tell Brooke they feel the pressure to earn good scores on their Cha cha.

Apolo and Karina perform their “cancer dance” next. Emmett & Cheryl cha cha cha to Aretha.

And we’re back to Dance Center, where Jerry Rice and Kenny Maines “analyze” the finalists.

It’s time for instant dances!

Kelly & Val – Jive – “Cat and Mouse” – Ne Yo is wishing Kelly and Val good luck on their performance. Am I missing something? Am I the only one who finds Kelly whiney and annoying? Shirtless Val. Yay. Len says, “You’ve been a revelation. You’re clean, crisp. You’ve nailed the footwork. Well done.” Bruno says, “That was something going on there. Sometimes you lost a little banlance.” Carrie says, “You guys were absolutely in sync the entire time.” Val says he got a little emotional at the end of the instant dance. Kelly says she has an amazing friendship with Val. OMG I THOUGHT THEY WERE DATING. NOT. Carrie Ann – 9.5, Len 9.5, Bruno – 9.5 – 28.5 87.5

Melissa & Tony – Samba – “Live is a Highway” – These are short little dances! Bruno says, “You are turning into a South American Siren. Plenty of sex appeal. Great job.” Carrie Ann, “Pure artistry, grace, but you rushed the dance a little.” Len says, “You’ve been my greatest pleasure to watch.” Hm. The routine didn’t impress as much as last night’s Samba. No perfect scores. – Carrie Ann – 9.5, Len 9.5, Bruno – 9.5 – 28.5 – 88.5

Shawn & Derek – Cha Cha Cha – “Respect” – They didn’t want the cha cha either. Oh well. Derek gets choked up talking about Shawn. “She’s my little spark,” he says. The crowd loves it! Carrie Ann says, “I think you started out the season as a star. You ended with that star studded performance.” Len says, “You’re the no stress express. That was fantastic.” Bruno says, “You’re going out with a bang! Perfection.” Carrie Ann – 10, Len – 10, Bruno – 10 – 30 – 87

Time for results! The first elimination! 3rd place goes to…Kelly & Val. No surprise there! Time to reveal the champion! Melissa & Tony!!! Everyone loves an underdog! Tony has never gotten past WEEK 4! And Melissa finally wins a Mirror ball. The cast lift them up on their shoulders while the confetti flies. Whoo!

 
← Older Comments
  • http://twitter.com/KariannHart Kariann Hart

    Tom said that Melissa was one of the sweetest contestants to appear on the show.  Was he told by her manager to say that?  I believe Tony brought in a lot of votes for Melissa and I am happy they won.  Winning DWTS often was about the most liked dancer, not the best.  Certainly Shawn and Derek were the most exciting couple we’ve seen on the show.  Winning “silver” can’t be that bad for Shawn.

    Comment from Gabby: “Definitely,” Douglas agreed. “I love the dynamic and being paired with a partner, having so much fun behind the scenes and backstage . . . so why not?”  To me, she’d be a real catch for DWTS, but it would be good to wait until she’s a bit older.

  • teekee

    Lol!

  • Ratna12

    Immediately deleted my recording, my planned DVR for Kimmel, GMA, etc.
    Save me time. Fixed result, personally Tony should have won with Stacy K.

    I wish that Julianne would have jumped onto the dance floor and dance.

  • http://twitter.com/NativeNYer777 Nativenewyorker

    For those who want to trash Tony and Melissa’s win, may I remind you that it was Derek and Shawn who decided to once again break the rules for the quickstep! It doesn’t matter if the producers made them do that over the paso. It was their choice to do it the same way and give the judges no choice but to score them lower. It was beyond self-indulgent.  That’s on them. Don’t take it out on Tony and Melissa!

    Maybe the lesson is that you never take anything for granted on this show and you don’t throw away points just because you think it’s cool to break the rules! I thought that Shawn and Derek were consistently great every week. They didn’t need to make a statement in saying that they were dancing for the viewers at home.  Derek is a pro and he knows better.

    The other two couples danced according to the rules. No silly posturing on their part! I thought that Shawn was a cinch to win, but in the back of my mind I wondered if it could be close enough for those lower scores on their first dance to cost them.

    I am so happy for Tony! He totally deserved this win! The guy has been giving it his all for fourteen seasons. He’s a class act. Melissa was a revelation to me. I thought she did extremely well throughout the competition. I could see her confidence growing and the real affection between these two made them a joy to watch. 

    I could not be happier! I hope that Tony and Melissa party and just have a blast! Sometimes the underdog wins!

  • supersonic

    Me, too.  I was like, now I don’t have to waste time recording Good Morning America.  I don’t want to see that pairing celebrate their fixed, tainted win.  Might delete my recording of the finale.

  • Incipit

    Wow. I just got interested in watching these videos because they were here – and it was something to check out…don’t know anything about the Back Stories, don’t care. 

    That made it basic, to me – just, which couple did I like the best? – for the dancing, I prefer Tony and Melissa, especially their first dance of the evening. Not really into the acrobatics, so I was happy to see them win. Not that I voted on anyone, I didn’t. Obviously, other members of the TV audience did.

  • http://twitter.com/BobbiNJ Bobbi

    Thrilled and surprised that Melissa and Tony won. Definitely an honor they fought for and deserved to win. Terrific news to wake up to!  

  • usedtobelucy

    I really like Shawn as a person, but I’m *very* pleased that the audience voted for great dancing over really good dancing-cum-gymnastics. It’s a dancing show, darn it. And I love Tony, while Derek I can often live without. So — great result all around. Good for Melissa. Proper order of finish, to my mind. Besides, Shawn already won one. 

  • http://twitter.com/MikhailXO MichaelG (MikhailXO)

    Conspiracy theorist, eh? They’re all in on it together? Lol! What you say is  simply untrue. There is always someone who creeps in with their “fixed” agenda when their choice loses. What the hell would the producers of DWTS get out of throwing a victory to a past reality tv show contestant who is probably the least well-known of the “stars” , and not even a “star”? C’mon now…

  • Trina

    For those who want to trash Tony and Melissa’s win, may I remind you that it was Derek and Shawn who decided to once again break the rules for the quickstep! It doesn’t matter if the producers made them do that over the paso. It was their choice to do it the same way and give the judges no choice but to score them lower.

    Exactly. That dance was a fan favorite and hardly their worst dance. The big mistake was the broken rule. Someone with less of an ego would have simply fixed what they did wrong. They probably would have got a perfect score with that IF they played by the rules. Frankly I’m glad Derek didnt get away with breaking the rules twice.

    Oh and BTW any Kelly or Shawn fan who chose not to record GMA, you missed a great show because ALL three couples were on and looked happy and dance well. But oh hey Tony and Melissa especially were still beaming over their tainted & fixed win LOL

  • jobeob987

    I do find it interesting that yesterday on GMA, they were saying that Shawn had, by far, the most Twitter followers, followed by Kelly with her soap fans and then finally, Melissa who was basically unknown as a “star” other than to the previous DWTS audience (and of course, The Bachelor audience).  The reporter said Melissa might lose for this very reason — her audience simply wasn’t there.  So we all know how this turned out and yes, it is interesting.  I really don’t believe in conspiracy theories myself.  I just think Tony is loved by the fans and they wanted to see him have a shot at the MBT.

  • Lovesyesha

    I’m slightly torn. I am happy for Melissa and Tony, but Shawn was clearly far and away the best dancer and performer this season. I feel she was robbed, but I’m not upset about it. Overall, a fantastic season!

  • Allison

    So happy with the results. Tony has gotten stuck with so many bad dancers over the years. People are concerned that Shawn & Derek were robbed? No one was more robbed than Sabrina & Louie. They should have been in the finale. And Apolo and Gilles should have finished higher, for that matter.

  • http://twitter.com/MikhailXO MichaelG (MikhailXO)

    But if she made it to the top 3—it proves her audience WAS there! Comparing the number of twitter followers means very little when the competition is thick. For example…Drew from XF had a huge number of followers compared to the other contestants and she nonetheless got booted off *relatively* early (week 6?). People look at twitter followers and youtube hits as determining factors, and I think at the very end of these competitions…they are deemed meaningless. Polls on line had Kelly and Val waaaay behind Melissa/Tony and Shawn/Derek. Shawn was ahead in most—but by  a close margin— in many. I think Shawn and Derek were a bit cocky and American audiences hate that. Melissa and Tony winning makes perfect sense to me. And FTR….I was rooting for Val and Kelly.

  • jobeob987

    Hmmm, I still have to wonder if it was Melissa’s audience as much as it was Tony’s (you know, the guy who’s been around 14 seasons and hasn’t won yet).  I do agree that Twitter, online polls, etc., aren’t the be all/end all.  I also agree that America likes humility AND rooting for the underdog (Melissa and Tony).

    BTW, I was rooting for Sabrina and Louis. :-(

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=195101108 Stefan Wind

    Exactly! All this nonsense of Shawn getting robbed of the victory last night pales in comparison to Sabrina getting totally impaled during week 6 after having two fantastic weeks with the highest judges scores and being one of the best dancers there. In my mind, Melissa, Shawn, and Sabrina are all on the same level of dance ability, but bring something different to the ballroom. Melissa brings the grace, Shawn brings the gymnastics, and Sabrina brought the ferocity. Apparently America chose the former of the three. 

  • Wellworn

    Derek was told more than once this season (and I think in previous seasons) that if his celeb didn’t win because Derek broke the rules in the choreography then it was Derek’s fault.  I think the viewers didn’t like the cockiness of deliberately breaking the rules for Monday night’s “improvement” dance.  They said they just wanted to please the fans but that’s BS.  They had the freestyle to please the fans.  Not following the rules shows that you don’t want to win as much as other teams.  So if you don’t want to win, then fine, no vote from me.  Either be all in for this show, or leave it, Derek.  You did Shawn a disservice, she was at the bottom in judge points, and that is your doing.  Viewers also probably voted less because of it too.  Not that Shawn was my favorite, but she deserved a fighting chance. 

  • Ratna12

    I’ve been recording the morning after GMA, View for years, so, yes I know that ALL three pairs are there. It is worth it not to see Melissa’s beaming face though.

    For the record, I don’t like Derek and I’ve been voting all season except this past Monday night for Kelly to get to the final.
    I like Tony and I think that he should have won with Stacy K.

    I hope Dmitry won’t dance next season because I plan not to watch DWTS.

  • RockiDreams

    This thread is hilarious.  Conspiracy theories over the tacky mirror ball trophy that is worth millions of dollars – not.   Melissa is a fantastic dancer and so glad she won.  She didn’t have to constantly do gymnastics to win.  Melissa appears to be a super nice person and it looked like Shawn was happy for her.  However, I give the super whiney fake smile trophy to Shawn.  I did not buy into her “I need my confidence back” crap for one second. That just did not come across at all with her attitude or dancing – no growth at all, just the same each week.  She also made the final decision on breaking the rules so it is not all Derek’s fault.  Ms. NonConfidence decided that.   Whatever.  Doesn’t really matter in the long run.  It was an entertaining season and it was awesome that three women were in the finale.  All three deserved to be there.   My favorite Kelly did not win but I plan on watching the next season and the next, etc. 

  • supersonic

    They’re obviously going to give Melissa a show or give her Brooke’s job or something.  They’ve been trying to make this chick happen for a long time now.  Fixing this whole thing for her is the start up of round two.

    Look up Deena Katz.  She is a producer on DWTS and she is also Melissa’s manager.  You might not believe it, but there is something there.

  • redredwine

    Can someone tell me what the song was that Pam danced to. If you want to call that dancing…

  • http://twitter.com/NativeNYer777 Nativenewyorker

    MichaelG,

    Thank you so much for saying this! It baffles me how people get so upset when their favorite doesn’t win and trot out the conspiracy theories and the accusation that it’s fixed.  It makes no sense at all.  If some can’t handle it when their favorite loses on a reality show, then maybe they shouldn’t watch.

    It’s not like we are talking about the results of a presidential election! This is supposed to be all in good fun.  It’s not meant to be taken that seriously. 

    For myself, I am very happy that Tony and Melissa’s skillful dancing won out over Derek and Shawn’s breaking the rules and acrobatics. As far as conspiracy theories, I could posit that allowing Derek and Shawn to use the Fierce Five Olympic Gold medalist team in their routine, gave them an unfair advantage. The other two couples had people dancing in their freestyles, but they were unknowns. 

    Every week, Tony and Melissa brought joy, happiness and excellence to their dancing. Tony has been a standup pro on this show since the beginning. He hasn’t said a bad word ever. He has done his best even when he got celebrity partners that had no chance of winning. I say let’s give him his due. 

    This win put a smile on my face!

  • skywitch72

    Very well said.  I so agree with you!

  • http://twitter.com/KariannHart Kariann Hart

    Just one little thing bugged me…. Kelly getting two 10′s and a 9.5 TWICE.  They just couldn’t give her a perfect score.  She and Val deserved at least one 30.  It was a terrific season!

← Older Comments