KarinaSmirnoff
All Smiles Backstage After the 'Dancing With the Stars' Finale
In honor of those who are trying to avoid finding out who won 'Dancing With the Stars' last night because they're still planning to watch the finale on DVR, here's the last 'DWTS' !!!SPOILER ALERT!!! of the season. You're welcome, now stop reading.Everyone else, read on ... It was all smiles backstage last night as the three finalists and their pro dance partners walked the post-show press line. We've all heard the stories of award-winners keeping their trophies in the bathroom or in a dark cupboard, but where does the new 'DWTS' champ plan to keep his/her coveted Mirror Ball trophy?
"Right now I'm going to put mine in bed. I'm going to tuck it in, and it's going to roll around with me. And then after that, once we've kind of grown apart, I'm going to glue it to the hood of my car and drive around ... and honk my horn and it will be my own parade."
'Kimmel' Has the Winners of 'Dancing With the Stars' (VIDEO)
The winners of 'Dancing With the Stars' will surely make quite a tour of the various media outlets, but 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' (Weeknights, 12AM ET on ABC) got them first. Live via satellite, he talked to the winners about their hard-earned victory.!!SPOILER ALERT!!
The pair were grinning ear to ear, each holding the trophy they'd earned over the past ten weeks. It was a close finish between Rob Kardashian and J.R. Martinez, but in the end it was the Iraq War veteran who brought it home.
'Dancing With the Stars' Leader Rob Kardashian Says 'I Really Want That Trophy'
Who'd have thought in Week One that the least-known member of the Kardashian clan would be in poll position going into tonight's 'Dancing With the Stars' finale? Yet last night Rob Kardashian and partner Cheryl Burke scored their first perfect 30 for their freestyle dance, which helped put them ahead of fellow finalists Ricki Lake and J.R. Martinez.Speaking to reporters on the post-show press line last night Rob and Cheryl were elated with their performance, with Rob telling E! Online that their success is due to his increased confidence. "I gained confidence as the weeks went on and took it a little more seriously. I still have fun with it," he said, but "something clicked and I really want that trophy. I really realized it's possible."
Ricki Lake and Derek Hough joked that they've already bought their own Mirror Ball trophy just in case they lose out tonight. "There's a store down the street that makes mirror ball trophies for fifteen bucks," he laughed, "so I've already got that made just in case."
More Backstage Drama at 'Dancing With the Stars'
This season of 'Dancing With the Stars' has its share of controversy. We've had Nipplegate, injuries, accusations of nepotism, dancers feuding with judges, dancers feuding with each other ... Now it's been reported that the strain of last night's semi-finals elimination all proved to be just too much for one dancer.Each week the dancers go backstage and chat to reporters on the post-show press line, but last night one couple was conspicuously absent. According to E! Online, one half of the eliminated couple "was so upset about [their] elimination from the competition that she was unable to hold it together for interviews."
!!SPOILER ALERT!! If you don't know want to know who was eliminated last night, you might want to stop reading right about now.
J.R. Martinez Says 'DWTS' Last Night 'Was an Out-of-Body Experience'
There's been a lot of criticism this season that 'Dancing With the Stars' is becoming nothing but a popularity contest, with dancers getting by on public votes rather than talent. However, in the background each week J.R. Martinez and his partner Karina Smirnoff have quietly been getting better and better. Last night they not only scored the first perfect 30 of the season for their waltz, they went on to score another 30 for their jive.After recent contentious bust-ups on the show --- Maks vs. Len, Chaz and Lacey vs. Bruno, accusations of favoritism -- it was a welcome return to what the show is all about: Watching hard work pay off in the form of some really great dancing.
So, how does it feel to be the winningest couple on this season of 'DWTS?' Speaking to reporters on the post-show press line, a clearly delighted Martinez thanked Smirnoff for being "an amazing teacher," and he told OnTheRedCarpet.com that in rehearsals he'd "felt really good about the waltz ... and I felt I'd have a good opportunity to do well."
J.R. Martinez Gets Longest-Ever Standing Ovation on 'DWTS' (VIDEO)
Last night on 'Dancing With the Stars' was so very emotional.Dancing to the theme of the most memorable year, the celebrity contestants and their partners pulled out all the stops to deliver the most intensely personal performances we've seen so far.
None more so than wounded war veteran, now actor, J.R. Martinez, who danced the rumba with his pro partner Karina Smirnoff.
Backstage Interviews at 'Dancing With the Stars': Who's Going Home? Will Shirley Ballas Join the Show?
Two stars likely facing elimination tonight on 'Dancing With the Stars' are Romeo and Kirstie Alley, who are both tied in last place with 60 points.All the dancers started out with 30 points after performing in group dances. Romeo and his partner Chelsie Hightower then scored 30 points (out of 40) with their Samba while Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy earned the same for their Jive.
It's likely all going to come down to fan bases. The pairs spoke to TV Squad on the post-show press line to discuss what they think of their loyal followers.
The scene stealer of the night was guest instructor Shirley Ballas, Mark's mother, who takes no prisoners when it comes to being a dance teacher. She shared her thoughts with TV Squad on whether or not she'd join the show as a pro partner.
Rocco DiSpirito Sounds Off on 'Dancing' Exit
"I told myself that if I [got kicked] out this week, I still had a great time." Sometimes second chances aren't enough. Last week, Rocco DiSpirito and Karina Smirnoff were told that they would have been kicked off 'Dancing With the Stars' if it weren't for Misty-May Treanor's premature exit due to injury. Although the pair tried valiantly to impress the judges and the audience this week, they just couldn't rally the support they needed to stay on.
Neither competitor was surprised. When asked if they were offended by Bruno Tonioli's comment that Rocco didn't have a musical bone in his body, Karina said, "I think Bruno was giving us a heads up that our time was coming to an end."
While Rocco was disappointed to be voted off, he doesn't plan on hanging up his dancing shoes. "Maybe Karina will take pity on me and visit me in New York and teach me another dance," he said, to which his partner replied enthusiastically, "I live in New York!"
Although Cody Linley said, "It's tough to see Rocco go home. It was nice getting to know him," many of the contestants were already looking ahead to next week. Lance Bass and Lacey Schwimmer are particularly excited about their next dance: She will be teaching him the West Coast Swing, which is her hoofer father's specialty. "I'm the only one on the show who knows how to do it," she said. "It's the first time that dance will be on the show. It used to be the California state dance."
Read on for more of AOL TV's chat with Rocco and Karina and the rest of the 'Dancing With the Stars' cast.
ABC announces new cast of Dancing With the Stars
Dancing With the Stars is a show that makes no sense to me. I understand the appeal of it; I'm usually very interested in any program that involves celebrities doing ridiculous things on national television and I know that people love bright shiny costumes, but it still somehow manages to hold no interest for me whatsoever.With that said, I know that the announcement of each season's DWTS cast is heavily anticipated and rumored for months before the actual announcement. We heard that Dan Marino may be a contestant; a claim that was soon denied. 82-year-old Cloris Leachman was another name floated, as was Magnum, P.I. himself, Tom Selleck. Kim Kardashian and Kathy Griffin were also said to have been approached.
As with most rumors, some of these turned out to be false, but others had some truth to them. Follow me after the jump for the official (and completely insane) cast of Dancing With the Stars' seventh season, along with some twists the producers have cooked up for this go-around.
Jonathan Roberts on Dancing With The Stars: Week 7
The pressure was turned up a notch this week as each of the couples had to do two complete numbers for the first time. The results of all their hard work left the judges scores landing all over the map, from 21 to 29. Jonathan is back this week with his take on all of the performances, and some thoughts on those confusing scores.
We also got to a number of reader questions. So, read on past the jump to find out which celebrity is on Jonathan's partner wish list, how he got involved with the show, what some of his favorite musical numbers were, just what makes the foxtrot so hard, and what Jonathan thinks of the possibility that Paula Abdul would be on the show. Oh, and there is also a bit of a teaser about what the future might hold for our favorite pro.
Another Dancing With The Stars romance?
Dating rumors are a major part of the hype surrounding Dancing With The Stars. Every season, a different pair is suspected of being a couple behind-the-scenes as well. Some of the rumors turn out to be true, and some do not. Partners Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff started dating after they were paired up on the show.
This season, fans have been speculating about the chemistry between Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough. Rumors have been circulating all week after People caught them kissing on the beach. Hough and Elizabeth even poked fun at the rumors after this week's romantic rumba. Is their relationship the real deal, or is it all for the fans' benefit?
Dancing With The Stars: Week 8 Results
(S04E15) I thought that Mandee made a great comment on the post for last week's results show. She said, "You know, the Results show has been morphing into a terrific '60s style variety show, with comedy segments, guest musical performers, and, of course, lots of dancing. A slice of retro-cool, for the whole family, from grandma to pre-tweens." I completely agree with that. The results show has always had to fight the problem that they only have about two minutes of actual results for their 60 minute show. Right now, it's as good as it has ever been. It's always going to be behind the performance show, because the star's performances are what it's all about, but the producers deserve credit for how much work is going into the results show. Enough about that though, we have results to get to.
Dancing With The Stars: Week 8

(S04E14) Which one of these doesn't belong? As is par for the course on Dancing With The Stars, somebody always gets through on the power of the fan vote, surpassing contestants that are superior dancers. This year, that somebody is Billy Ray Cyrus. We could argue all day about whether or not Billy Ray should still be on the show, but one thing is for sure, while he is here, he makes things interesting. Read on to hear about the latest dustup.
Dancing With The Stars: Week 4
(S04E06) Tom kicked off week four by proclaiming, "It's time to go big, or go home." I would disagree with that. We are still early enough in the competition that people can continue to skate by on popularity. When they get down to four couples, then it will be time to go big.Len followed that up by going to the stats. According to his numbers, this group has been slacking on the practice. They have only been practicing 13 hours a week. The teams from the last season averaged 19 hours. He said that it shows in their performance, but I don't notice a stark difference between the two seasons. I think we have a similar division of couples again this year. He followed that up with a threat of lower scores for anyone he thinks isn't putting in the work. I wasn't buying that, but in retrospect, this was some of the tougher judging they have ever done. That said, on with the show.
Dancing With The Stars: Week 2 results

(S04E03) I'm always amazed at just how much programming ABC is able to mine from Dancing With The Stars. The performance recap show that led up to the live results show was another good example. Not that there's anything wrong with it. I'm guessing that when the numbers come in that recap show will do two, if not three, times as many viewers as George Lopez and According To Jim would in the same slot.
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