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‘Dancing With the Stars’ season 31: Charli D’Amelio, Mark Ballas are Mirror Ball champions

November 22, 2022

TikTok star Charli D’Amelio and Mark Ballas are the Season 31 Mirror Ball Trophy champions.

The duo were announced as the winners of the 31st season of “Dancing With the Stars”, beating fellow celebrities Shangela, Wayne Brady and Gabby Windey, who were paired with professional partners Gleb Savchenko, Witney Carson and Val Chmerkovskiy, respectively.

On Tuesday’s “Good Morning America,” D’Amelio and Ballas spoke about their victory.

“I think for me, I really gave everything I had for this trip and I got so much out of it, whether it was confidence in my dancing, new friends, you know, memories that I look back on. will remember forever,” D’Amelio says, adding that she is “so happy” and “grateful” to have had the experience.

Ballas called the experience, her first time in the “DWTS” ballroom in five years, “fantastic.”

“I had a great time, made a great friend and had a great time creating and dancing with Charli,” he added. “And also being on the floor with all my mates, I grew up with all of them. I loved that. I had a great time.”

For their final battle on the dance floor, broadcast live on Disney+, the four couples performed a redemption routine chosen by one of the judges. The routines selected were those they performed earlier in the season.

Read on to see how the night unfolded.

Breathtaking redemption and freestyle dances

For their redemption routines, Brady performed the fast step of “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” by Jackie Wilson while Shangela took the fast step of “Queen Bee” by Rochelle Diamante. Each got a score of 36.

But it was Windey’s Cha Cha on Pete Rodriguez’s “I Like It (Like That)” and D’Amelio’s Jive on Little Mix’s “Grown” that won over the judges, each earning them a score of 40.

The last four couples then competed in a free run. Brady first took to the dance floor with his “Superbowl” routine with his dance partner, Carson, to a medley of Bruno Mars’ “24K Magic” and Ciara and Chamillionaire’s song, “Get Up,” which earned him a 40.

TikTok star D’Amelio also earned a 40 for his moving freestyle performance on Pinar Toprak’s ‘Us Again,’ which told a story about his love and loss of dance, and then his love of the dance again.

Windey also won a 40 for his sizzling “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago, which Chmerkovskiy’s wife, Jenna Johnson, choreographed.

But it was Shangela’s electrifying freestyle on Destiny’s Child’s “Survivor” and RuPaul’s “Call Me Mother,” which also featured Shangela’s partner Savchenko in drag as Natasha, that lifted all the ballroom.

“I forgot to vote because I was absolutely mesmerized by the whole thing,” Len Goodman said at the end of Shangela’s performance.

“There was even chicken,” he said, highlighting the moment during their dance when Shangela threw a fried chicken leg at him.

Cheryl Burke says goodbye

Cheryl Burke, who announced her retirement from the show this weekend after 25 seasons, also took to the dance floor one last time.

The two-time Mirrorball champion delivered a ferocious routine to Barry Manilow’s “Copacabana (At the Copa)” with two of her favorite professional dance partners, Louis Van Amstel and Pasha Pashkov.

Before taking the mic, co-host Tyra Banks called Burke a living legend and said Burke was her earliest memory of “Dancing with the Stars.”

“It’s my family,” Burke began. “Everyone who was part of this cast, behind the scenes, before today. Every single person, thank you for believing in me and thank you for helping me find my voice. You have been part of my identity and I thank each and every one of you.”

“Pro dancers, celebrities, thank you for pushing me to be the greatest entertainer I can be. I love you all,” she said as the crowd began chanting her name.

Len Goodman gets his own Mirrorball trophy

Goodman also said goodbye, who announced his retirement from “Dancing with the Stars” last week. The judge, known as the “tough guy” on the show, was honored with a video montage of all of his memorable moments.

“All good things come to an end,” Goodman said in the video. “For me, it was such a privilege to be part of ‘Dancing With the Stars’.”

“I will miss the judges. Carrie Ann [Inaba] and Bruno [Tonioli]we’ve been together since season 1. And then Derek [Hough], I think it’s brilliant. I loved being a part of it – it was awesome,” he added. “Thank you so much for letting me be a part of ‘DWTS’. It will always be with me. It was so memorable.”

At the end of the montage, co-host Alfonso Ribeiro surprised Goodman with his own Mirror Ball trophy.

“It’s fantastic and thank you so much,” he said as the audience chanted his name and Inaba, Hough and Tonioli held their “10” paddle boards. “It’s been such a joy to be part of ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ It’s absolutely the icing on the cake.”

Throughout the evening, former celebrities who have appeared on the show also paid tribute to Goodman, including Jerry Springer, Shawn Johnson and Kristi Yamaguchi.

“I remember how hard Mark and I worked on those first 10 from you guys, and when it finally happened, pure joy. And best wishes for what lies ahead,” Yamaguchi said.

“When I came on the show I was an insecure little girl, and with your guidance, love and support, I grew into a woman,” added Kelly Osbourne, who participated in the season 9 of the series. “And I can’t thank you enough.”

‘DWTS’ 2023 Tour Lineup Revealed

If you can’t get enough of “Dancing With the Stars”, you can catch some of them on the road when they go on tour.

During the show, it was announced that Windey would be performing live for all legs of the North American tour. Charli and Heidi D’Amelio, ‘CODA’ actor Daniel Durant and ‘Jersey Shore’ star Vinnie Guadagnino will also perform live in select cities.

“We love it so much, we’re alive, we feel that energy and there’s really nothing that means more to us,” said “Dancing With the Stars” pro Emma Slater. “We can’t wait for you to come see it.”