Sabra Johnson was named "America's Favorite Dancer" on "So You Think You Can Dance" last night in Los Angeles. She takes home the quarter-of-a-million-dollar prize. KEVORK DJANSEZIAN | Associated Press   Singer Nicole Scherzinger, who was born in Honolulu, performed a solo last night on the finale of the Fox reality show. AP library photo | October 2005

The finale also featured a musical performance by Nicole Scherzinger, a Hawaiian-Russian-Filipino beauty who lived in Honolulu as a child and the former lead vocalist of the Pussycat Dolls.

Four finalists had remained at the beginning of the finale: Neil Haskell, Lacey Schwimmer, Danny Tidwell and Johnson. Johnson emerged as the viewers' choice.

"I can't take the smile off my face, and it's hurting so bad," the 20-year-old from Roy, Utah, told The Associated Press after learning she won Thursday.

Show host Cat Deeley said a record-setting total of 16 million viewers called in votes for their favorite contestants after Wednesday's show.

"She's only been dancing for four years, and that's got to be inspirational for anybody out there watching this program and thinking, 'Should I begin dancing?"' said Nigel Lythgoe, the series' executive producer and one of its judges.

Next up for the top 10 dancers is a 50-city tour. No stop is planned in Hawai'i. But what happens after that for America's Favorite Dancer?

"So I'm just hoping that now it kind of puts me where I want to be with choreographers knowing me and maybe getting shows that I wouldn't have otherwise gotten, because now people have seen what I can do," Johnson said.

This was the third season for the Emmy-nominated show. Judges narrowed the field to 20 after auditioning thousands of would-be contestants in Chicago, Atlanta, New York and Los Angeles.

Much like "American Idol," judges evaluated the dancers' routines, then viewers called in votes for their favorites.

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On the Web:

www.fox.com/dance/