Bindi Irwin crowned "Dancing with the Stars" winner
Warning: Spoilers ahead!
After a grueling season of hard work, intense rehearsals and unforgettable performances, "Dancing with the Stars" crowned their season 21 winners.
After a star-studded two-hour season finale, Bindi Irwin and her partner Derek Hough took home the coveted Mirror Ball trophy, and added their names to "DWTS" history.
When the season began in September, 13 couples were competing for the title, and one by one teams got the boot -- both through getting voted off and being disqualified for medical reasons.
By the time the finale rolled around, it came down to three couples -- 17-year-old nature conservationist Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough, Backstreet Boy Nick Carter and Sharna Burgess and American hero Alek Skarlatos and Lindsay Arnold.
On Monday, during the first night of the show's two-evening finale, "Big Time Rush" star Carlos PenaVega and his partner Witney Carson got the axe, despite two perfect performances.
Nick and Sharna also shined bright during the first night of finals, scoring a perfect 60 for two expertly-danced routines, while Alek and Lindsay were the only couple not to receive perfect scores, but they still managed to stay around for the final night.
But in the end, it was Bindi and Derek who raised the bar for future contestants with their emotional freestyle dedicated to her late father that left everyone crying.
Tuesday's big finale mainly served as a trip down memory lane as they looked back at some of the season's greatest highlights and welcomed back a number of former contestants to perform one last time.
However, the three couples did get one last chance to score some points with an original dance that they only had 24 hours to prepare. Nick and Sharna kicked things off with a stunning routine that scored them a perfect 30, but Alek and Lindsay couldn't wow the judges quite as well, and ended up walking away with a 27.
Finally, saving the best for last, Bindi and Derek came out and delivered one of the best performances of the entire season, which brought the entire audience to their feet as the dance came to an end. The judges were overwhelmed with support for Bindi and the duo got their final perfect score of the season.
After they were named the winners, Bindi and Derek could barely contain their excitement.
"Thank you for changing my life!" a tearful Bindi exclaimed.