Normani Kordei and Val Chmerkovskiy finished the Season 24 Dancing with the Stars competition in third place, and no one saw that coming.
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"You're never really guaranteed," Normani, 20, told Entertainment Tonight following Tuesday night's live finale. "It was quite a shocker for me as well."
Once Normani's third-place finish was announced by Dancing with the Stars host Tom Bergeron, the ballroom audience could be heard booing the results.
The Fifth Harmony member had been a frontrunner all season long, receiving multiple perfect scores from the judges and being called one of the best female celebrities to ever compete on the show.
Normani and Val were defeated by winners Rashad Jennings and partner Emma Slater as well as the runner-up couple David Ross and partner Lindsay Arnold.
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While it wasn't necessarily a surprise Rashad and Emma won Dancing with the Stars, David beating out Normani for second place was the real jaw-dropping moment. David had a heart of gold on the show but was definitely not the best technically-trained dancer in the competition.
"But I've gained so much from this experience," Normani added in her ET interview. "I'm so happy, and I can't even begin to express, you know, the gratitude that I carry and the blessing, especially because I have a lifelong friend now [in Val]."
Normani was also very happy to see Rashad walk away with the mirrorball trophy. The pro running back and current NFL free agent rehearsed 100 hours more than his finale opponents, a total of 362 hours this season.
"I'm proud. That's, like, my big brother," Normani gushed. "He's worked his butt off. I think that any one of us would have been deserving so kudos to him!"
Val also thought it was a privilege to compete with Normani, whom he especially bonded with during trips around the world when they'd rehearse while she was on tour with Fifth Harmony in Asia.
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"God has been very kind to me... giving me this experience with you," Val wrote to Normani on Instagram.
"Seeing you transform and seeing your family celebrate your shine was the absolute most fulfilling part of this season. Stay graceful. Stay humble. Stay great. Love you my friend. It's been an absolute pleasure. #teamvalmani."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski