honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser

Posted at 5:39 a.m., Tuesday, November 27, 2007

'Dancing With the Stars' finale feels a bit Spicey

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES — Melanie Brown, Marie Osmond and Helio Castroneves mamboed, tangoed and foxtrotted through 10 weeks of competition for a chance to claim the "Dancing With the Stars" crown.

But one star is heading home at the top of today's season finale.

Brown came into the ballroom showdown in first place.

The Spice Girl and her professional partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, earned 55 out of a possible 60 points for their cha cha and freestyle dances during Monday's competition.

Chmerkovskiy said Brown was "one of my prize students," but he wasn't focused on winning.

"I don't care," he said after the show. "We just want to enjoy each other, and we do."

Race-car driver Helio Castroneves and his partner, Julianne Hough, finished in second place with 54 points.

"I wish we got that one point. But I feel we did it all, all that we could do, and hopefully the fans are behind us," he said after the show. "I still want that mirrorball trophy."

Osmond, a fan favorite who collected 46 points for her two dances with partner Jonathan Roberts, already knows where she'd place the prize.

"I don't keep awards in my house — and I've won some wonderful awards — because my home is for my children," the entertainer said after the show. "If I win this baby, it's going in my living room, with a spotlight, twirling."

She played a rag-doll character for the couple's freestyle dance, which judge Bruno Tonioli said "defies criticism."

"It's like 'Baby Jane' and the 'Bride of Chucky,"' he said. "It's unique."

It was the lowest-scored of the night, with 22 points.

"It's freestyle, and you're supposed to have fun with it, and I know my fan base," she said. "I'm one of the top designers in the world with dolls, so I'm having fun."

Judges' scores are combined with viewer votes to determine each couples' standing. After the third-place pair is eliminated Tuesday, the remaining duos will perform one last dance — their favorite of the season. The judges have the final say.

The ABC show averaged around 20 million weekly viewers for each of its twice-weekly episodes in the 2006-07 season, eclipsed only by Fox powerhouse "American Idol." "Dancing" is still on its toes, with nearly 22 million viewers making it last week's No. 1 show.

The season began with a dozen dancers. Model-actress Josie Maran was the first to be eliminated. Other nixed contestants were actresses Sabrina Bryan, Jennie Garth and Jane Seymour, entrepreneur Mark Cuban, entertainer Wayne Newton, boxer Floyd Mayweather, actor Cameron Mathison and model Albert Reed.