The first hour was a celebration of this season, including performances by most of the contestants. Of all the routines, I was happy to see that Snooki's Jazz routine went supersized with extra backup dancers. It looked like a mini freestyle. It was great to see Brant & Peta working with Christina & Mark, even if it was just their Tango to a different song. The great memorable movement of the returning dancers was Valerie who had her "thank you" dance set to "What a Wonderful World" which Colbie Caillat performed live.
There were performances by Enrique Iglasias, Lady Antebellum, and Ylvis. The extra version of "What Does the Fox Say?" interestingly pointed out that all of the members in the final three were all in the same group. Was that one week what helped Jack move in the right direction? It could be.
The encore freestyle came from Amber, which was probably a sign to how the votes were going to be spread out. The pros also pointed out Corbin's weaknesses in partnering, Jack's dark horse status, and Amber's weakness in her frame. Could all three of the contestants get past their problems to make a final impression in the fusion round?
Fusion Round
Corbin & Karina - Corbin felt bittersweet as they saw their picture added to the wall of the rehearsal room. Karina wanted fun, but Corbin was worried that he wasn't going to win over the judges. Since fan votes didn't matter, it made a lot of sense. The couple started off quite lyrical with their foxtrot opening. I thought that transition between the two techniques was smart and they used the musical beats for emphasis. The spinning was fun and the gyrations were tasteful, but not so much that Len would hate them. You could see the exact transitions between the two dances, though the Foxtrot section seemed thinner and Karina played up the strength in Corbin's Latin side. Len thought he was fantastic, the foxtrot had sway and the cha-cha was fresh, but he messed up a little bit near the end. Bruno knew that he went wrong in the cha-cha section as well. Carrie Ann respected the two as dancers. Corbin admitted to being lost in the moment. Score: 27 (9,9,9) Total Score: 89
Jack & Cheryl - I love that Cheryl voted for the two of them before they started. Cheryl also pointed out that the couple never had the salsa. The two had so much fun in their final practice. Jack looked like he was about to cry right before he started his final dance. The salsa was better than I expected, and while it was not on a Corbin level, it's a vast improvement from his pimp cha-cha. It was smart for Cheryl to keep in Paso for the larger amount of the dance since he always looked dapper in hold. Bruno loved the fusion between masculine of the paso and cheeky salsa; he thought the timing was done well. Carrie Ann appreciated the two characters, but he was flat-footed in his salsa. Len loved his improvement and he's climbed a mountain to get to where he was. Score: 27 (9,9,9) Total Score: 84
Amber & Derek - The couple stared at their photos as they thought about the Samba and Quickstep. She knew there was a lot of bouncing at the end. Derek was worried about the mix of the two dances, but Amber was just thankful to be at the end. The performance started off with a Quickstep around the floor. The amount of bounce could have been better, but their bounce sequence was nice. Amber transitioned well between the two dances and I appreciated that Derek kept Amber in hold more with more quickstep than samba because Derek could keep Amber on time and move her wherever he needed to. Carrie Ann loved the seamless transition between the two dances. Len knew he was critical with Amber throughout the season, but he knew that he had so much joy watching the performance. Bruno loved the high octane performance and she didn't make one mistake. Score: 30 (10,10,10) Total Score: 94
We watched the contestants talk to their pros about how much they enjoyed their time on DWTS, each talking about how much of an impact they made. It was nice to see these celebrities as real people that have been touched by the journey. With the combined votes the third place finisher was Jack & Cheryl. Worst case scenario, he tied his sister.
The final two stood as Tom announced that the winners of Season 17 were Amber & Derek. The sheer look of happiness on her face was priceless. Amber was so joyous in the fact that both a girl of large size and color could do whatever they dreamed of. Tom and Brook said that we'd see a new season in March.