Brooke Burke Crowned "Dancing" Winner

LOS ANGELES — Brooke Burke waltzed away with the mirror ball trophy on the "Dancing with the Stars" finale.

The 37-year-old TV personality and mother of four dominated the seventh season of the popular ABC dancing competition and bested former NFL player Warren Sapp and former 'NSync member Lance Bass during the Tuesday night finale, in which she reprised an emotional Viennese waltz routine that earned her a perfect score from the show's panel of judges.

"Unbelievable," was all Burke could muster after winning amid a flurry a confetti.

From the outset, the slinky former host of E!'s "Wild On" and CBS' "Rock Star" commanded the ballroom this season, coming in first place eight out of 10 times and receiving a 10 _ the judges' top score _ 16 times. Burke was crowned the latest "Dancing with the Stars" champion after the judges' scores _ 88 out of 90 _ were combined with viewers' votes.

"I actually can't believe it," said Derek Hough, Burke's professional partner, who's never won the competition. "I really can't. I honestly can't. The journey's been so long. It's been tough. It's been wonderful. It's been everything I could ever hope for. Wow. I can't believe we actually did it, girl."

Burke maintained an eight point lead over Sapp, the charismatic 35-year-old fan favorite whose technique was consistently criticized by the judges. Sapp still managed to hustle his way into second place with professional partner Kym Johnson, despite receiving one point less from the judges than the third place finisher, 29-year-old singer Bass.

"From the moment you start, you make me smile," head judge Len Goodman told Sapp.

Bass and his professional partner, Lacey Schwimmer, were upbeat about their loss. The pair danced away after their dismissal. And he's not hanging up his dancing shoes just yet. The former boybander will join professional dancers and other former contestants for the 38-city "Dancing with the Stars" tour, which is set to kick off Dec. 17 in San Diego.

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"You never took the safe road once," judge Carrie Ann Inaba told Bass during the finale.

Previously dismissed celebrities _ actor Cody Linley; sprinter Maurice Greene; actresses Susan Lucci and Cloris Leachman; chef Rocco DiSpirito; reality TV star Kim Kardashian; actor Ted McGinley; and comedian Jeffrey Ross _ also returned for a last dance. Injured volleyball player Misty May-Treanor and singer Toni Braxton remained off their feet.

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ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Co.

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On the Net:

Dancing With the Stars: http://abc.go.com/primetime/dancingwiththestars

Comments

[Bitsko]

Who? Where? What? Why?

[HoraceOvidson]

The real winner is the NFL. Warren Sapp showed, with his lightness of foot, how athletic these humongous football players can be.

[DogTown]

love this show...guilty pleasure

[EtOH]

You know your on the B list in Hollywood when you find yourself on the "Dancing with the Stars" tour. Where does the tour stop, the Paramus New Jersey Mall?

[LiberalBuzz]

This season was in the bag for BB since her name was announced. I stated as much three weeks ago, five ago and when it was started.

Several people have made whispers about this being the first bought and paid for win because so few people actually knew who BB was, her bit in Wild On was years and years ago, BUT they kept claiming she got the most votes.

FROM WHOM?

She wasn't that good and several other people had her beat and exactly who counts the votes are who determines the winner.

She is a babe for sure and especially after having had four kids but I just don't buy this was an honest season.

[ekwbowen]

Okay - this is the first season I ever saw this thing. It's stupid, I can't deny it, but it's also mindlessly watchable. I missed episodes here and there because two nights a week is a big commitment to television for me but I used Tivo and saw pretty much all of it.

I was totally rooting for Lance and Lacey. They tried all kinds of crazy stuff. I liked the others too. Warren Sapp was hilarious and Brooke Burke was, without doubt, the best dancer. And she actually seemed like a nice person - they all did. Although I heard on the grapevine that Cody, the Hannah Montana kid, was a nasty little piece of work while he was on the show.

And I was pissed that Ted McGinley got bounced so early. He had a great look on the dance floor and he's just hilarious in general.

[MNmommy]

So glad that Lance & Lacey came in third.

Was rootin' for Kym (Warren) but happy for Brooke (Derek).

[bungalow]

I wanna see real Americans like Sarah P. and Joe the Plumber put on their dancin' shoes.

[lwaxanatroi]

How about an "all Star Trek" Dancing with the Stars? You've got five TV series and ten movies (soon to be eleven) to pick from. Think of the people who've done guest shots as well as the regulars. Seven of Nine does the tango! Worf jitterbugs! Q does the Viennese waltz (and why is that different from a regular waltz? I still don't know). Anyway, I love this show. Brooke was a clear winner, altho I would have put Lance second and Warren third. This is a show that just makes me feel good every time I see it, and what's wrong with that? Our grandparents spent the Depression watching Ruby Keeler stumble her way through Busby Berkeley movies. Dancing heals.

[saraswati11]

LOVE the dancing Star Trek idea!

[harriettubman]

I watch this show just for fun, not to see who's going to win. Cloris was a hoot.

[GlimmerofDope]

I want to see Dancing with the Porn Stars

[arunachala]

i knew she was gonna win from the start, simply, cuz she's the hotttest one there even for her age.

[Topfeeder]

The real show last night was Nene calling Kim a trashy hookah.

[jetbanana]

Huh? I didn't watch the show last night. Please explain!

[jetbanana]

Who i s Nene?

[txgal44]

One of the women from "Real Housewives of Atlanta."

[txgal44]

Geez that NeNe's got a mouth on her!

[gentlernation]

Lance deserved to win and the judges were so biased. I think it had something to do with Derek remaining on the show.

[Eoin45]

Lance was very good but Brook deserved to win. She was more consistently excellent on all levels. The judges were right and you're wrong.

[ekwbowen]

I never paid any attention to Lance Bass before. I heard when he came out but whatever boy band he was in has never been on my radar. I thought he was adorable on this show. I liked all the risks they took and I think the judges did have a bit of a bias against the new styles. I wanted him to win last night.

Still - you can't take anything away from Brooke Burke. She was amazingly good and definitely the best dancer among the contestants.

I don't know about Derek and staying on the show. For a ballroom dancer it's a great gig in a world where there aren't that many great gigs for dancers. He worked really hard, that's for sure but then they all did. It made my middle-aged ass tired just to watch them!

[MindyM]

I also was one who did not pay particular attention to 'NSync or Lance Bass, although I did think he was the best looking of all of them. Lacey and Lance completely won me over as the season progressed. They struggled early on and were inconsistent, but I loved their unique take on the dances, that edginess, the risks they took. I absolutely think that the judges were biased against them, especially that crankly old Len. He couldn't even hide it. He is a traditionalist and didn't like their style. I thought their barefoot rumba was sexy and just genius. But crankypants acted like dancing barefoot was a capital offense.

They really came on strong in the semifinals and rocked the place. I thought that they had the momentum going into the final, but their hip-hop freestyle just wasn't creative and spectacular enough. Lacey knows better than to leave out lifts. Lance didn't want to do them, but it should be her call.

Brooke was very deserving, even though I didn't really connect and feel the fun in her dancing. Derek was a colossal pain. He even took the trophy and started congratulationg himself before Brooke could say anthing. Rude! He can leave for all I care.

This middle-aged baby boomer with a bad back just sits back in awe and watches them dance up a storm.

[rcampbell]

Well deserved win. Great season!