The star of the 28th season of “The Bachelor” made “Dancing With the Stars” history by being the first male from “The Bachelor” also to become the Mirrorball Champion. Joey Graziadei was joined by his pro dance partner Jenna Johnson to make it to the top. From the high energy Samba to the song “Trashin’ the Camp” from Tarzan to the moving Contemporary to “Work Song” by Hozier, the couple’s versatility throughout the nine episodes was ultimately what led to their victory.
This season had the largest voter turnout of any “Dancing With The Stars” season yet. Disney released that there were 32 million total viewer votes for the finale episode. According to Daily Mail, this is 12 million more votes cast than the season 33 semifinals.
Graziadei had no prior dance experience, which made his growth throughout the nine episodes even more impressive, and certainly contributed to his victory. He started off the season with a Cha-Cha to “Dancing in the Country” by Tyler Hubbard, which earned a 7-7-7 score from the judges. When the contestants had the chance to try one of the dance styles again in the finale, Graziadei was once again assigned a Cha-Cha to “CAN’T STOP THE FEELING” by Justin Timberlake, and showed how far he had come since opening night—with a perfect score of 10-10-10.
During the Halloween episode, Graziadei performed an Argentine Tango to the song “Ramalama (Bang Bang)” by Róisín Murphy, which was their most artful dance in the entire season. Graziadei acted as a puppet master, with Johnson as his marionette. It was creepy, chilling, and everything that a Halloween-themed dance should be.
Graziadei and Johnson were an internet sensation after their Samba to “Trashin’ the Camp” from Tarzan on Disney Night. Creators all over Tiktok, Instagram, and other social media platforms posted videos of them attempting a segment from this dance. Both Graziadei and Johnson perfectly captured the fun, chaotic quality of the scene in “Tarzan” that the song is from.
Throughout the season, many of other members of the cast also posted regularly on social media, which likely was a cause to the voting numbers being so high this season. Olympic rugby player and Mirrorball runner-up Ilona Maher, with 3.3 million followers on TikTok and 4.7 million followers on Instagram, was an internet sensation throughout the entire season. Paired with the professional dancer Alan Bersten, Maher made history by being the first woman to lift her male partner on the show. Maher made her mission on the show clear: showing the world that tall, muscular women are just as feminine as any other woman. She became a role model for young women and showed that strength is beauty.
Maher showed her fierce femininity in a Paso Doble to the song “Unholy (Orchestral Version)” by Sam Smith. This dance earned a 9-10-9 score, and gave her a chance to show versatility and emotion. The couple’s pairing was perfect and their chemistry showed through how good of friends they became by the end of the season. Their Freestyle dance to “Femininominon” by Chappell Roan in the finale earned the couple’s first perfect score, 10-10-10, and was the perfect kicker to such an impactful season.
Third place went to actress Chandler Kinney and her pro dance partner Brandon Armstrong. Kinney started out very strong, even on the opening night, and many fans were surprised that she did not win the mirrorball. However, part of the show is the improvement throughout the season, and, starting out so well, she did not have much room to improve. “Dancing With The Stars” continuously adds stars to the cast who have prior dance experience, and Kinney took dance lessons when she was younger. It is not necessarily fair to the rest of the contestants, but it also does not allow for that contestant to have a growth story that would get them more audience votes.
All of this taken into consideration, Kinney was truly a talented dancer. The couple’s Cha-Cha to “It’s Tricky” by Run-DMC on Soul Train Night already earned a 9-9-9-9 (with the guest judge Rosie Perez). It was high energy, perfectly timed, and a great performance for so early in the season. Perez commented that their “routine personified the feeling of soul in Soul Train.”
Another Olympic athlete was in the competition: gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, who was partnered with pro dancer Rylee Arnold. They had a wholesome best friend energy that translated to their high energy dances. Nedoroscik’s first perfect score in the season was the finale Freestyle to “Viva la Vida” by Coldplay, and it was an impactful interpretation of the Olympic games. Arnold allowed Nedoroscik to shine through her choreography, and he was one of the most improved dancers throughout the entire season.
Retired professional football player Danny Amendola, paired with pro dancer Witney Carson, made it all the way into the finale. The couple had some memorable dances such as the “Deadpool and Wolverine” themed Jazz dance to the song “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC, which earned a 9-9-9. However, it was really just Carson’s choreography that brought them to the finale. Amendola did not convey very much emotion in his dances, especially through facial expressions, and it was hard to connect with him because of that. It was surprising to see Amendola not eliminated in the semi-finals due to the surprise no-elimination.
Each night on “Dancing With The Stars” has a different theme, including Soul Train Night, Disney Night, and Halloween Nightmares, but the episode that took the cake was definitely the 500th episode. After so many episodes, the choreographers got the chance to revisit some of the iconic dances from the past season and recreate them with new dancers. Also on this episode was an “Instant Dance Challenge” where dancers were given the dance style and song only five minutes before performing it. The high stakes of this challenge made it feel even more like a live competition show, and it was a great way to see how talented the dancers truly were under pressure.
With the highest amount of watcher votes, many talented dancers, and nail-biting eliminations, season 33 of “Dancing With the Stars” was a very eventful season. From the high-stakes team dance, to the emotional dance with judge Derek Hough and his wife who had recovered from a brain injury, to the return of the season 32 champion Xochitl Gomez, this season was packed with experience after experience to make it one of the most exciting “Dancing With the Stars” seasons yet.
