Rumer Willis and professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy took home the “Dancing with the Stars” mirror ball trophy Tuesday night.
The hit ABC show’s 20th season finale featured three finalists: Willis, daughter of Hollywood celebrities Bruce Willis and Demi Moore; singer/actor Riker Lynch and military veteran Noah Galloway in the two-night finale.
Galloway was paired with professional dancer Sharna Burgess, Willis with professional dancer Chmerkovskiy and Lynch with professional dancer Allison Holker.
Lynch came in at second place, while emotional fan favorite Galloway came in third. Their scores were a combination of audience votes and scores by judges on the show.
Celebrities came out in force for Willis, the daughter of fellow celebrities. But third-place Galloway, a military veteran, won the love of the studio audience and the judges with his determination to compete despite losing part of his left arm and left knee during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2005. And second-place winners Lynch and Holker wowed the crowd with their showmanship, winning enough votes on Twitter to perform their freestyle dance on the finale.
The two-hour show featured all 12 of this season’s couples, along with favorite couples from seasons past.
Iowa farmer Chris Soules, who appeared on “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” was sent home earlier, as well as “nice” shark Robert Herjavec from the ABC show “Shark Tank.” Other celebrities sent home were singing icon Patti LaBelle; “Three’s Company” star Suzanne Somers; gymnast Nastia Liukin, an Olympic gold medalist; model/actress Charlotte McKinney; performer/producer/actor Redfoo; football player Michael Sam; and actress Willow Shields, who plays Primrose Everdeen in “The Hunger Games” movies.
For those hiding under a rock, with no access to TV: “Dancing with the Stars” pairs celebrities with professional dancers to perform choreographed dance routines in front of ballroom judge Len Goodman, two-time “Dancing with the Stars” victor Julianne Hough, and dancer/choreographers Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.