'Dancing with the Stars' crowns Bindi Irwin and pro partner Derek Hough champions defeating Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess

Dancing with the Stars has crowned its mirrorball trophy winners for Season 21.


Bindi Irwin, the daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, and her professional partner Derek Hough were declared Dancing with the Stars' ballroom champions during Tuesday night's live two-hour finale broadcast on ABC.

"Thank you so much for everything! I can't believe that I'm here. Just thank you for changing my life!" Bindi said following her victory announcement.

Bindi and Derek hugged each other and were hoisted up onto their fellow castmates' shoulders. The ecstatic pair celebrated onstage as Bindi's family cheered in the audience and chaos ensued around them. Derek is now a six-time mirrorball trophy recipient.

Bindi and Derek were revealed to be Dancing with the Stars winners based on the combination of the judges' scores they had received over the course of Monday and Tuesday night's three rounds of competition and their share of the home viewer votes that were cast immediately following Monday night's final performance show.


Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter and partner Sharna Burgess finished the competition in second place. Sharna also made it to the finals last season when she had finished third with war veteran and double amputee Noah Galloway.

"This experience was a bonding experience. It was something I will always remember, something that we'll always share and [find] dear to us. I mean, literally, and Bindi deserved it. Bindi deserved it. She kicked butt!" Nick said after learning the results.

Train hero Alek Skarlatos and partner Lindsay Arnold claimed third place. This marked Lindsay's second season competing as a pro and her first time making it to the finals.

"He shouldn't be sorry about anything. This was the most incredible season. I could not be more proud and I'm so happy to go on this journey with him," Lindsay said after discovering she and Alek had placed third.

When asked if this time last year Alek would've ever imagined getting this far on Dancing with the Stars, Alek replied, "Absolutely not. I mean, this has been the craziest ride of my life and I've just had so much fun, met so many nice people, and I'm just grateful for the experience and the opportunity."


Bindi and Derek tied for first place on the combined two-night judges' leaderboard with Nick and Sharna after both couples received a total perfect score of 90 points for their three dance routines from Dancing with the Stars judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Julianne Hough and Bruno Tonioli.

Alek and Lindsay finished in third place on the combined two-night leaderboard with 84 total points.

Tuesday night's finale featured the Top 3 couples each performing one last quickly-rehearsed "24-hour Fusion Dance," which combined two different styles of ballroom dance into one complicated routine. The challenge completed each couple's scores from the judges for the finals.

Bindi and Derek and Nick and Sharna each earned a perfect score of 30 points from the judges for their fusion routines. Bindi and Derek took the stage with a routine that combined the cha cha and Argentine tango, while Nick and Sharna danced a salsa and tango fusion. Alek and Lindsay performed a rumba-tango fusion which received 27 points from the judges.

During Monday night's broadcast, the Top 3 finalists and their respective partners danced in two rounds of competition in which they gave an encore performance of an old routine the judges wanted to improve upon as well as the fan-favorite freestyle.


Big Time Rush singer Carlos PenaVega and his pro partner Witney Carson also competed in the final performance show Monday night, but they were eliminated at the end of the broadcast, finishing out the season in fourth place.

For a more detailed description of each couple's scores and routines from Monday night's performance show, click here.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski