Dancing with the Stars’ season 24 winner is Rashad Jennings and Emma Slater, in a surprise upset!
The Dancing with the Stars finale was expanded to two and a half hours this year, leaving us to sit through even more filler and musical performances than usual. The three remaining couples performed fusion dances, and only Normani got a perfect score. They also reprised their favorite dances, along with many of the other eliminated stars – our favorite definitely had to be David reprising his Magic Mike routine!
When all was said and done, Rashad and Emma were declared to be the victors. Honestly, it was a surprise ending, given that the frontrunners all along were Normani and Simone. Rashad is the fourth footballer to win, after Emmitt Smith (season 3), Hines Ward (season 12), and Donald Driver (season 14). It’s Emma’s first win on the show. We prophesied at the end of last season that there would be a new winner among the pros, since there has never been four seasons in a row with repeat winners.
Emma takes the trophy on her fifth season, which is unusual in that pros tend to win either in their first few seasons, or after a long tenure when they’re “overdue” for a mirrorball. In fact, Emma is the only pro to have her first win be anywhere from her fourth to sixth season. Even extending that range somewhat would only add Derek (who won his third season) and Kym (who won her seventh). Emma’s been very emotional about her partnership with Rashad, as he’s the first real contender she’s gotten, despite making it to the finals with Bill Engvall previously. Emma is also the first Brit, pro or celeb, to win a mirrorball trophy.
The runner up was David Ross with Lindsay Arnold. David has been a dark horse candidate the last few weeks – not the best dancer, but one the pubic kept voting in. The last time such a candidate made it this far was a long time ago, in an era of fewer ringers: Rob Kardashian getting second place in season 13. David was such a delight that we figured he’d make it to the quarterfinals and probably the semifinals, but never this far. That said, Carrie Ann was right on the money when she thanked the viewers for getting David to the finals so he could continue entertaining us: he’s been more fun to watch than any of the others, and had the best freestyle of the bunch.
Worth noting, this is Lindsay’s best result to date. However, it is her fourth season in a row in the top 4. This makes her average result of fourth place the second-highest of all the regular pros, behind only Derek. She keeps getting contestants expected to achieve average results and taking them all the way. If she ever gets a genuinely great dancer, she’ll be truly formidable.
Landing in third place is the couple designated as the likely winner from the get-go: Normani Kordei and Val Chmerkovskiy. This result leaves Nicole Scherzinger (season 10) as the only member of a girl group to have a mirrorball trophy (and to remind us, Nicole performed on the finale to promote ABC’s uncalled-for remake of Dirty Dancing). Val, meanwhile, earns the distinction of being the only pro to get third place four times.
Normani has been the frontrunner for the entire competition, receiving the highest scores from the judges, including five perfect scores. It seemed Simone would be her biggest competition, but Simone went the way of Nastia Liukin and Aly Raisman, landing in fourth. Just as Simone was shockingly eliminated, Rashad was ascendant, but it still seemed Normani was the one to beat. So what went wrong?
Several factors could be to blame. First and foremost, we look to the freestyle. Normani’s freestyle may have been technically flawless and powerful and so on, but it was also a real downer. But freestyles are supposed to be an energetic celebration of the couple, and voters probably preferred David’s baseball bonanza to Normani’s weepy freestyle.
Second, there appears to be a rejection of dancers appearing as celebs this season – ie. Heather Morris’s ouster. This used to be the norm up until season 10, the backlash might be making a return.
Third, it could be a case of voting for the pros. Val is beloved, but he already has two mirrorballs to his name. Emma has charmed viewers with her winning personality, and there may have been a contingent that really wanted to see her win.
Lastly, and most often, it’s a question of fanbases. Football has a large and loyal fanbase, whereas Fifth Harmony is relatively unknown to viewers over 25. We may not know which factor did Normani in, or whether it was the combination of them all, but Normani’s result was a shocking wrench thrown into what had been a predictable season until the semifinals.
Reflecting on Dancing with the Stars season 24, it was one of the better ones. The level of dance has been higher than almost any other season, with so many celebs with dance experience thrown in. In the absence of Derek and Mark, other pros got to shine, like Emma, Lindsay, Sasha, and Artem. The themed weeks were unusually enjoyable, with fun new additions like Vegas Night and Boy Bands vs Girl Groups. Of the two guest judges, Nick Carter was tolerable, and Mandy Moore was so good that we want to keep her. So all in all, an excellent season of DWTS!
What did you think of Dancing with the Stars season 24? Are you okay with Rashad winning? Who did you want to win?
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