Julianne Hough and Helio Castroneves Win "Dancing" Finale

In a two-hour finale that kept the suspense right through until the end, the fifth “Dancing With the Stars” season ender crowned the Indy car race driver and the pro dancer king and queen of the dance floor. It was the second back-to-back win for Hough who danced her way to the championship in season four with Olympian speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno…maybe it’s got something to do with guys that like to go fast in sporting events.

Shortly after Celine Dion sang her Oscar-winning “Titanic” tune “My Heart Will Go On,” we learned that third place would go to Marie Osmond for her freestyle routine. Even she admitted to the judges that ending up third overall was better than she thought would happen.

After return appearances and dances from eliminated contestants Josie Maran and Jennie Garth, and a retrospective of what’s been happening on “DWTS” this season, the final two contestants were brought on the stage. First to dance was Spice Girl member Mel Brown and her Latin dance partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy who turned in a riveting Mambo dance that wowed the audience and judges alike. For their final dance of the season the twosome scored a perfect 30!

Then it was Helio and Julianne’s turn. The fiery duo delivered the goods with a Quickstep dance that also amazed the audience and their critics. The judges showered the dancers with accolades and then delivered their verdict: another perfect 30!

In the end it came down to one single point difference between Helio/Julianne and Mel/Maksin. When he was asked what he will do with his latest award Castronevenes replied “It will look so good between my two Indy 500 trophies.” Next up for the champ is another big event: he will be marrying fiancé Ali Vasquez come January. At least his bride-to-be knows that Helio has had lots of practice for the dancing portion of their wedding party.

“Dancing With the Stars” will return in the spring with an all-new line-up of celebs and their professional dance partners. This season the show has been capturing ratings of over 20 million viewers for ABC making it one of the power-houses of television.

Via actressarchives.com