Dancing With the Stars has crowned its Season 17 winner! (Warning! Spoilers below.)
The coveted Mirrorball Trophy went to Amber Riley and Derek Hough on Tuesday, Nov. 26, after 10 grueling weeks of training, judging and enduring elimination rounds. Finalists Jack Osbourne, Corbin Bleu and Riley each gave a rousing rendition of their respective dances, but ultimately, the judges voted in Riley and Hough's favor, giving the pair a perfect score on their "Samba-Quickstep Fusion" routine. See a complete list of previous DWTS winners.
Glee star Riley, 27, has come a long way during the course of her time on the ABC show. "I try to give 100 percent to whatever I do, but I didn't expect to learn so much outside of dancing about myself," the actress told Us Weekly on Monday. "It's like this spiritual journey because you're putting yourself in a position to learn something new every day. You're purposely putting yourself in an uncomfortable position, and you're fighting through every single week."
Hough — who has been a dance pro for 12 seasons on the reality show — now has an impressive five Mirror Ball trophies under his name. He was also most recently the winner of an Emmy award for choreography.
"You have the biggest heart," a teary-eyed Riley said in a heartfelt video message to her partner prior to the winners' announcement on Tuesday. "You always pushed me to be better," she added.
In third place was Osbourne, 28, and his partner Cheryl Burke. The father to 19-month-old daughter Pearl — who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in June 2012 — was cheered on at Tuesday's live taping by his sister Kelly Osbourne and mom Sharon.
The runner-up was High School Musical alum Bleu, 24, who showed consistency all season with his pro dance partner Karina Smirnoff. In weeks eight and nine, the pair had two perfect-scoring routines.
"When it's all over, it's about spending time with my family," Bleu told reporters on Monday. "It'll be Thanksgiving and I'm just going to go and eat and sleep and chill with my family. I can't wait to sleep a whole day. I'm going to get up and not dance! As much as I love dancing, I'm ready not to dance."
Tell Us: Were you happy with the winner of Season 17?
