Brooke Burke used to host a reality show, now she's the champion of one.

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The former Rock Star host and professional partner Derek Hough were crowned Dancing with the Stars seventh-season ballroom champions during last night's live finale results show on ABC.

"Unbelievable!" screamed Burke after host Tom Bergeron revealed she and Hough had won the show's seventh season based on the combination of the judges' score shares for the dancers' Monday and Tuesday night performances and the share of home viewer votes cast immediately after Monday night's broadcast.

The victory also represents the first Dancing with the Stars championship for Hough, who had joined the show in its fifth season and watched his sister Julianne Hough and close friend Mark Ballas win the competition's last two seasons.

"I actually can't believe it, I really can't, I honestly can't," a shocked Hough told Bergeron. "It's just the journey's been so long. It's been tough, it's been wonderful, it's been everything I could ever hope for and wow, I can't believe we actually did it girl!"

After Burke and Hough received the mirror ball trophy from Bergeron, the season's other dance couples -- including Julianne Hough and Ballas -- immediately ran to congratulate the pair and mobbed them onstage as confetti fell.

With her victory, Burke became the second straight woman to take home Dancing with the Stars' title after Kristi Yamaguchi and Ballas won the sixth season title to break a streak of four seasons without a female champion. (Kelly Monaco and professional partner Alec Mazo won the show's initial Summer 2005 edition.)

Burke and Hough took home Dancing with the Stars' mirror ball trophy after 10 weeks of competition, defeating former NFL star Warren Sapp and his professional partner Kym Johnson, who finished second, and singer Lance Bass and his professional partner Lacey Schwimmer, who finished third.

"[It was] absolutely wonderful," a choked-up Sapp said of his Dancing with the Stars experience after learning that he and Johnson had finished in second place. "I'm just glad I didn't do anything to disrespect all the football guys out there."

"This has been the most fun that I've ever had in my entire life. I had no clue I was gonna be here in the finals," Bass told Bergeron after learning of his third-place finish. Bass also took a moment to bring up the conversations he expected to have with his former N'Sync bandmate and fourth-season Dancing with the Stars runner-up Joey Fatone.
 
"Joey will never let me live it down though that I'm third and not second," Bass said with a laugh.

Burke and Hough had capped off their dominance of the judges leaderboard with a perfect score of 30 for the Viennese Waltz they performed on Tuesday's finale. The perfect score was combined with the 58 score the judges had given their freestyle and "samba smackdown" performances on Monday's show, giving them a total score of 88 out of 90 possible points

The finale round marked the ninth time Burke and Hough had topped the judges' leaderboard during the eleven-round season.

While Bass and Schwimmer finished the competition in third place, they had finished in second place on the finale round's judges' leaderboard with 81 out of 90 possible points.  After receiving 53 points for their Monday night performances, the pair had received a score of 28 for their Jitterbug performance on Tuesday. 

Sapp and Johnson had finished one point behind Bass and Schwimmer on the finale round's judges' leaderboard with 80 out of 90 possible points. After receiving 53 points and finishing tied with Bass and Schwimmer for their Monday night performances, the pair had received a score of 27 for their Hustle performance on Tuesday.

Tuesday night's filler-filled seventh season finale of Dancing with the Stars also featured performances from the season's previously eliminated dance couples, a recap of the competition, a woman-on-the-street segment with finalist Cloris Leachman, a roast from finalist Jeffrey Ross, and performances from singers  Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys.
About The Author: John Bracchitta

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