'Dancing with the Stars' 2011 Finale: Hines Ward Wins, Maksim Chmerkovskiy Visibly Disappointed

"Dancing with the Stars" 2011 crowned a winner Tuesday evening, bringing to a close the reality series' most competitive season on record. But before the big reveal, the dismissed hopefuls returned to the ballroom, and a string of high-profile musical superstars, including Josh Groban, Sara Evans, the Go-Gos and the Black Eyed Peas performed. Here's a complete recap.


The show opened with a glittering group number by the "DWTS" pro cast joined by the "DWTS" troupe. Partway through, the dismissed cast members re-entered the ballroom and joined their respective pros for a confetti-filled welcome back to the ballroom. (I don't envy the guy responsible for cleaning up that mess.)



Co-hosts Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke inched the proceedings closer to the big reveal by introducing a taped that reviewed finalists Chelsea Kane, Kirstie Alley and Hines Ward's Monday night performances. Man, they were all so good: Kirstie put it all out there in spandex, Chelsea channeled the Energizer Bunny and Hines got 'er done big band style.



Up next, the Black Eyed Peas took to the ballroom with the primetime TV debut of "Don't Stop the Party". Flashing lights, laser beams, dancers wearing Derek Hough and Joanna Krupa-style futuristic garb, Fergie on a platform, yup, sounds about right. The one thing missing were "Dancing with the Stars" pros. I wonder if one of the conditions of appearance was a no-pro clause? Hmm. Anyway, I've never loved the Black Eyed Peas, but hey, it was kind of like watching Star Trek on speed.



What followed were the judges' thoughts on the season 12 competition. Len Goodman and Carrie Ann Inaba agreed that it had been an extremely competitive and unpredictable couple of months. Len called Chelsea "little miss dynamite" and declared "this girl's good", while Carrie Ann enjoyed her "consistent technique". Len asserted that none of the other NFL stars who have appeared on the show could compare to Hines. Carrie Ann called his smile his "secret weapon". Bruno Tonioli called Kirstie "a phoenix" while Len praised her ability to act out each of her dances. Len completed the segment by calling what was to come --the final dances of season 12-- the "war on the floor". Ooooh, game on.



Then in cheesy "Dancing with the Stars" fashion, dramatic music played while Tom introduced the three remaining couples and each acended individual platforms. I need some chips to go with my cheese, please. I'm hungry, and this is a long results show!



Anyway, following a commercial break, the parade of ex-contestants began with a very silly and admittedly funny clip of Psycho Mike Catherwood auditioning for the DWTS troupe. Moments later, he did indeed perform alongside the troupe in the ballroom before launching into a decidedly sexy routine with season 12 partner Lacey Schwimmer. Tom said it best when he quipped "words fail me". Uh, yeah.



After that craziness concluded, a pack featuring an overview of the first few weeks of season 12 aired. Yeah, lots of long-gone faces: Wendy Williams, Kendra Wilkinson, Catherwood, so many. Sure seems like it's been longer than a few months since we've seen some of them.



Up next with a reprisal were model Petra Nemcova and Dmitry Chaplin with a "You Raise Me Up" Waltz, which sounded suspiciously like it was sung by Josh Groban himself. Because dude, it was! Groban himself appeared on stage to the cheers of the audience and sang the tune in Petra's direction. Dmitry halted their dance for a moment so the model could see that the surprise guest had appeared. Shaggy haired or not, that's as good as I've seen Groban look. And it reminded me how much I love his voice! Petra is such a darling and it was such a wonderful surprise. Bravo, "DWTS".



Now that I've collected myself and snuffed away the tears because yes, I'm sappy sapperson and I cried, I'll move on. Next to return was Kendra Wilkinson, Louis van Amstel and a small herd of "DWTS" pros and troupe members with a "Livin' the Visa Loca" bootyshaker. The judges loved the table dancing again. Good thing Louis didn't drop her because dude, he almost did!



Because we're trying to stretch things out, up next came an overview of the next three weeks of the competition. Then that wrestling announcer guy appeared in the ballroom and introduced the next two dismissed couples --WWE star Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke and legendary boxer Sugar Ray Leonard and Anna Trebunskaya-- for their grudge match rumble. Aw, it's sort of like seeing old friends. Post-dance, Chris debuted his impersonation of Bruno Tonioli that ended with a kiss. (Carrie Ann approved and gave it a 10.)



Instead of actually dancing for her encore --because why would anyone dance on "Dancing the Stars"?-- talk show host Wendy Williams appeared in a taped segment from her apparently popular show. She interviewed herself and former partner Tony Dovolani. It was... different. Yep, that's it. She managed to dis poor Tony yet again, just like she did when she didn't dance with him after they were eliminated. Okay.



And then dum da dum, the Design a Dance routine! Backed up by the legendary group the Go-Go's, chosen pros Chelsie Hightower, Cheryl Burke, Lacey Schwimmer nad Maksim Chmerkovskiy got the beat in a cop-and-bad-girls routine. I wonder if Belinda Carlisle feels bad that no one remembers she was once a "DWTS" contestant, too. She danced with Jonathan Roberts? Remember? Guess not....



On the heels of that performance, rapper Romeo and partner Chelsie took their final turn around the ballroom. And aw, a children's choir came in mid-"Greatest Love of All". Sweet. (Was that Sarah Palin in the audience?) After the dance, Romeo promoted his Urban Born charity and praised his time on the show by saying how much he loved everyone. And then he said that since the world didn't end a few days ago, everyone should follow him on Twitter. Muwahaha.



With another dance down, another review of weeks gone by aired. And then actor Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff, who finished in fourth place, returned with a "Dancing with the Stars" 2011 finale reprisal of their 20s inspired routine. Aw, it reminded me how much I missed Ralph's charm last night. What, no interview? Boo!



Then there was a crazy segment featuring the judges' most colorful "Dancing with the Stars" 2011 commentary. Some good one-liners, ha. There's no way I could type them all out. Too fast. But it ended with Bruno declaring "you never want it to end". True dat.



With all of that administrivia down, it was finally time for some more competition. Tom spoke with the three survivors. Chelsea admitted that she wanted to see the competition through to the very end, while Kirstie said that re-performing her week one dance brought the experience "full circle" for her. Hines said he hoped to join Emmitt Smith as the second NFL player to take the Mirrorball Trophy. He promised a "Twinkle Toes Battle Off" with Smith in order to figure out who truly deserved the title.



After Tom pimped "The Bachelorette" by introducing Ashley Hebert, the final round of dancing got underway. First up were Chelsea and Mark with their favorite dance of the season: The Harry Potter-themed Viennese Waltz. Mark planned to prove to Len, who had criticized them for not respecting the tradition of the dance, that they could do it better. The pair cried during their final rehearsal, which of course made me cry. Darn you, you youngsters.



Chelsea really is remarkably elegant and graceful, especially for someone who had never danced before joined "DWTS" season 12. It's been a pleasure to watch her and Mark perform. Len called her "a fantastic dancer" no matter what happened on the show. Bruno called her "Chelsea the enchantress" and praised her for being "so constant". Carrie Ann finished the critiques, declaring that lots of people had never heard of Chelsea before the competition (me included) but that they certainly would know her now. Chelsea and Mark's final scores: 10, 10, 10 = 30.



Kirstie and Maks returned to the ballroom next with their favorite dance, their week one Cha Cha. Kirstie called it "sentimental" for the couple while Maks stressed that she needed to "nail" it.



One thing's for sure: She's definitely way smaller now! You go girl. Kirstie is a truly skilled performer and I love how she goes out there and performs her heart out every single time she hits the ballroom floor. Bruno declared "you cheeky girl, you saved the best for last" and called it "100% proof cocktail of effervescent, flamboyant fun". Carrie Ann said "I salute you" and "I love you for being you". Len praised her "resilience" and called it her "best dance" of "Dancing with the Stars" season 12. Kirstie and Maks' final scores: 10, 10, 10 = 30.



Two down, one to go! The final competitive season 12 dance belonged to Hines and Kym, who opted to perform their Samba for the NFL star's mom. Hines praised Kym for being a great teacher.



I'll admit it: I didn't expect much from Hines entering the season. But wow, does he ever bring a special brand of sparkle to the ballroom. So much shine, so much happiness, so much joy. What a pleasure it's been to watch them. I've said that a lot tonight, but it's so true. What a great finale. When the crowd finally stopped screaming, Carrie Ann called him "the MVP of Dancing with the Stars season 12" and praised him for dancing "with heart". Len said "dance is the product. What is so appealing about you is the packaging" and praised him for bringing "every dance" to life. He then took the opportunity to thank the band and leader Harold Wheeler. Bruno declared "we all fall in love" when Hines is on the dancefloor" and dubbed him "irresisitible". The score? Another perfect 30, of course.



While the "Dancing with the Stars" 2011 folk tabulated the numbers off-screen, country music star Sara Evans performed her number one hit "A Little Bit Stronger". The three couples stood awkwardly in the background awaiting their fates. Chelsea and Mark looked awkward first. Then Kirstie and Maks looked awkward. Then they cut to Hines and Kym, who thank goodness were swaying to the music and managed to look less awkward. Anyway, love Sara Evans. Beautiful, ethereal voice.



And then the hammer dropped as the third place finishers were revealed: Chelsea Kane and Mark Ballas. I'm not surprised. She's better than that, but hey, at least they made the finals. That's an accomplishment!



So that brings "Dancing with the Stars" 2011 down to just Kirstie Alley and Hines Ward. Oh, the drama. The inspirational longshot versus the consistent, smile-a-holic. Kym won the Mirrorball with Donny Osmond, but Maks, despite having had good partners in seasons past, has never walked away the big winner. After the requisite dramatic music, Hines Ward and Kym Johnson were named the winners of "Dancing with the Stars" season 12. (I love Maks, but wish he could've hidden his flagrant disappointment. Ugh.) Hines said "I owe it all to Kym" and thanked the judges for the "constructive criticism" throughout the season. Kirstie called appearing on the show "the most extraordinary adventure I've ever been on in my life" while Maks thanked Kirstie for making it "an amazing season".



With that, Hines hoisted the Mirrorball Trophy high above his head and the cast offered up their congratulations.



Can't wait for more "Dancing with the Stars"? Mark September 19 on your calendar and tune in then for the "DWTS" Fall 2011 premiere. Or you can just check in with me. You know I'll be watching.