It's time to play the music ... It's time to light the lights ... It's time for freestyle dances on the 'Dancing' finals tonight.

Yes, that's the theme from 'The Muppets,' slightly altered for this joyous occasion. That's how happy tonight's freestyle dances made me. Seriously. We all know by now that the "Judges' Choice" routines are super boring -- and not all that important in the end -- but the crazy-fantastic free-for-all freestyles? Now that's what we've been waiting for all season, and it was night of surprises on 'Dancing With the Stars.' I don't think anyone could have guessed that Rob Kardashian would be on top of the leaderboard tonight or that Ricki Lake and Derek Hough would underwhelm in the finals.

But the most surprising/fantastic/heart-pounding moment of the night belonged to J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff. The hip-shaking pair stunned the crowd, the judges and themselves with their daring routine -- and it was clearly the best routine of the night, if not one of the best routines the show has ever seen.

Honestly, I can't remember the last time I held my breath during an entire routine, partly because I was scared that the veteran would mess up and partly because I thought Karina was going to get seriously injured during this one. Where J.R. lacked in his off-footed cha cha, he made up for in his memorable freestyle.

Let's start with the lifts. Carrie Ann called them the best lifts that she's seen in the competition, and I have to agree. J.R. flung Karina over his shoulders, under his legs and even successfully completed a daring lift that involved catching Karina by the neck.

Not only were the lifts exciting, but the dancing was fiercely fun and modern. After years of being shut out from the Mirror Ball, Karina came ready to win it this week. You could see how much she wanted it -- and J.R. was up for the challenge. It was everything that we look forward to in the freestyles and more. It just proved that without a little risk, there's no reward. Right, Ricki?



But the true dark horse of the hour was Mr. Kardashian. Rob and his pretty pink princess Cheryl gave us a pretty boring waltz. His posture wasn't perfect, but when you think about how far he's come since the first week, it's still pretty incredible. And then, came his freestyle, and I'm being honest when I say that I was shocked. The Rob that we met in week one could have never picked Cheryl up and spun her around like that. Never.

Did I think the routine earned a perfect score? Absolutely not. But when you take into account how far he's come, then the judges' scores start to make sense. You can compare Rob and Ricki and say that Ricki's the better dancer. Of course she's the better dancer! But then look at how Rob and Ricki performed. In my opinion Ricki and Derek played it safe this week, and as a result, underwhelmed. But Cheryl pushed Rob's limits, and he did lifts that no one expected his to do.

Now, I haven't always been on Rob's side, but I like to give credit where credit is due, and Rob definitely deserves some credit. He gave his all on that dance floor, and yes, I cringed a little at the end when I thought he was going to drop Cheryl, but he didn't. In fact, he nailed it.

And that's where the strength of 'Dancing With the Stars' lies, not in its frontrunners, but in its underdogs -- the ones we thought would never make it to the finals and did. Last season it was Kirstie Alley, and before her, Kelly Osbourne shocked everyone in Season 9 with her emotional climb to the finals. Even J.R. was a bit of an underdog tonight after a poor cha cha. It's why we all tune in, isn't it? To see the underdog succeed?

Of course, when the underdog succeeds, the top dog falls from the top, and in yet another shocking twist, that's what happened tonight.

Derek got shirtless and flung Ricki around the dance floor like a rag doll, and that was about it. To be honest, I expected more from Derek, who usually pulls out all of the stops when it comes to freestyle. Compared to their past performances, this felt a bit flat. There wasn't as much excitement as I hoped there would be.

Could this be the dance that breaks Derek's perfect record? I think so. But it's not Ricki's fault. J.R. and Karina just took bigger risks, and they had the confidence to pull them off.

However, I will say that Ricki looks phenomenal. I don't know how much weight she's lost, but she looks like an entirely new woman -- sexier, more confident and totally ready to return to her talk show queen glory with 'The Ricki Lake Show' next fall. Her cha cha was technically beautiful, but it lacked excitement, despite the mesmerizing tassels on her dress.

So surprisingly, Rob and Cheryl are leading the pack, while J.R. and Ricki are tied for last, but there are still three more dances to be done before we crown a new champion. In the end, the public's votes count for 50 percent of the contestant's over all score, with the judges' total scores counting toward the remaining 50 percent.

Clearly, Rob has the support of the Kardashian's fiercely loyal fans, and after tonight, it looks like he also has the judges' support. But do I think he'll win? No. Even though the Kardashians have millions of fans, there are also millions of people who would do anything to see a Kardashian lose.

Since week one, Ricki and J.R. have fought for the top spot, but with Ricki starting to lose momentum, I think J.R. and Karina have the best shot at walking away with the Mirror Ball.

But it's still anyone's race to win -- or lose. So tell me, who do you think will be the new 'DWTS' champion?

The live, two-hour 'Dancing With the Stars' finale airs Tuesday at 8PM ET on ABC.