"Dancing with the Stars" reveals final three
The “Dancing with the Stars” season 17 finale got underway on Monday night. The three advancing finalists would have a shot at the mirrorball trophy, and one would have their long "Dancing" journey end short of glory.
[SPOILER ALERT: Results from the show revealed below]
RELATED: “DWTS” week 10 recap: Season 17 finalists revealed
Emotion was seeping out of the dancing duos from the onset as they were all within reach of the mirrorball trophy.Unlikely finalist Bill Engvall got the first round of dancing started with his judge-selected Viennese waltz, which was critiqued by Len Goodman as offbeat despite his collaboration with Engvall and his partner Emma Slater.
On the tail end of her first season as a “Dancing” pro, Slater was emotional in rehearsals when reflecting upon all that Engvall has achieved despite expectations for him to be an early exit from the show.
Corbin Bleu then transported the ballroom back in time with an old-fashioned quickstep. The judges were particularly harsh on the leaderboard-topping actor, criticizing his syncopation, but he was nevertheless awarded all nines for the dance.
It was then Jack Osbourne's turn to infuse some pep into the ballroom with a country-themed jive. Although the routine was adored by the audience, Osbourne admittedly botched part of the routine, and was given the same score as Engvall's 24.
Amber Riley then took the ballroom by storm with a high-octane Charleston that earned the first perfect score of the night. The “Glee” actress was praised as improving the most on her first-round routine.
Following an entertaining samba relay dance set to a live performance of TLC's "No Scrubs," which was won by Bleu, it was back to another of individual dances: freestyles.
After his relatively low score in the first round of individual dances, Engvall produced a “Raiders of the Ark”-themed freestyle in which he held the mirrorball trophy as if it were the Ark of the Covenant. Although he was pumped-up after the dance and ripped his shirt off in elation, the judges only granted him an extra point from his last dance, which was awarded by typically stingy judge Goodman.
However, Goodman was in an abnormally cheery mood on Monday night, as Envall's successor, Bleu, was given a standing ovation by the English judge for his "Smooth Criminal"-themed routine. Bleu finally yanked the spotlight away from Riley, straying from the typical vice-versa, with a perfect score for his freestyle.
The spotlight wouldn't remain on Bleu for long, though. The next dancer, Osbourne, cranked out an old-fashioned dance that had his partner Cheryl Burke in tears afterwards. Osbourne was in tears seconds later when the judges granted him his second perfect score of the season.
Yet, once again, the show faded to black with Amber Riley in the spotlight. Perfection sprinkled with emotion took center stage once again with Riley's Wild West-themed freestyle. With another perfect score, she became the first dancer of Season 17 to record two perfect scores on the same night.
The fun and games came to a screeching halt when it was time to select the final three dancers to compete on Tuesday's finale. As expected, Riley and Blue were immediately safe, which left one spot in the finale between Osbourne and Engvall.
The leaderboard suggested that Jack's six-point advantage on Bill would be enough to secure him a place in the finale, but Engvall had pulled through for the previous four eliminations due to fan votes despite being in the bottom two.
However, Engvall's last dance would be the only time he'd touch the mirrorball trophy, as host Tom Bergeron announced that his “Dancing” journey had come to an end.
Check out all the scores as well as which fusion dances the finalists will dance in the finale (Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET, on ABC).
Amber Riley and Derek Hough (64/65): 30/30 (10,10,10) Charleston
+4 (2nd) Samba relay
30/30 (10,10,10) Freestyle
Tuesday: Samba-Quickstep (selected by Bill & Emma)
Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff (62/65): 27/30 (9,9,9) Quickstep
+5 (1st) Samba relay
30/30 (10,10,10) Freestyle
Tuesday: Cha-cha-Foxtrot (selected by Jack & Cheryl)
Jack Osbourne and Cheryl Burke (57/65): 24/30 (8,8,8) Jive
+3 (3rd) Samba relay
30/30 (10,10,10) Freestyle
Tuesday: Paso-Salsa (selected by Corbin & Karina)
Bill Engvall and Emma Slater (51/65): 24/30 (8,8,8) Viennese waltz
+2 (4th) Samba relay
25/30 (8,9,8) Freestyle