Wed, 20 May 2009 03:35:40 ET
Shawn Johnson became the winner of 'Dancing with the Stars' season 8 after receiving votes 1 percent higher than the second place finisher, Gilles Marini.
"Dancing with the Stars" season 8 has reached its final on Tuesday, May 19, revealing the winner which is
Shawn Johnson, an Olympic gold medalist, and her partner Mark Ballas. They won with 1% votes more than the second place finisher's,
Gilles Marini and his partner Cheryl Burke, after combined with the judges' scores.
On the first night (Monday, May 18) of the two-night finale, each couple performed two dances - a paso doble set to the same song,
Pink's "So What", and the anything-goes freestyle. Both Shawn and Gilles scored 58 from the judges for their two performances.
Shawn and her partner, Mark, only scored 28 out of 30 for their paso, but apparently the judges were amazed by their freestyle and granted them full score for their second performance. In opposite, Gilles and Cheryl got perfect score for their first performance. But their freestyle apparently was less satisfying for the judges as Carrie Ann thought their song "What a Feeling" from "Flashdance" was "an odd choice".
Meanwhile, Melissa Rycroft and her partner Tony Dovolani scored 56 out of total 60, making them settle for third place. The judges awarded Melissa and Tony a 29 for their paso. While their freestyle, which Bruno said as "wasn't as perfect as we would have liked to have seen for a final dance", only deserved 27.
In the result show, the final three couples danced for one last round of judges' scores. Each couple nabbed a perfect "30" for their respective dances. So, it was their first night performance and the viewers' votes that determined the winner for this season.
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