Photo by Disney-Eric McCandless
Audio By Carbonatix
Editor’s note: This story contains spoilers.
Alix Earle‘s evolution as a performer has been one of the most fascinating arcs to watch on Dancing With the Stars this year — one of the many reasons Season 34 has led to a ratings renaissance for the long-running show. Earle, one of two Miami contestants this season, started out as one of its more reserved competitors. But as the weeks progressed, and particularly during the latter half of the season, she won viewers over not only with her dance chops but by opening up and showing more of the personality that has earned her millions of online followers.
“I was scared of my own shadow,” Earle said of her first weeks on the show in a pre-taped package.
What a difference 11 weeks makes. On Tuesday night’s finale, Earle came in second place, but not by much — co-host Julianne Hough said the gap between the two top couples was the tightest in the show’s history.
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Earle was one of the top competitors going into the finale night, with perhaps the stiffest competition coming from conservationist Robert Irwin. Surprisingly, his first number proved uncharacteristically weak when compared to the rest of his performances this season. Irwin, now accustomed to perfect scores, got 29 points from the judges, with Carrie Ann Inaba giving him and partner Witney Carson a 9. On any other night, that would have been cause for celebration, but finale night was stacked with perfect scores, and after the first round, Irwin was second-to-last on the leaderboard. Earle and partner Val Chmerkovskiy led the group with a perfect 30.
Earle’s streak continued with the instant dance round — in which she and Chmerkovskiy were tasked with putting together a cha cha with five minutes to prepare — and the freestyle round — a high-production-value performance to Nelly Furtado’s “Maneater” and Tate McRae’s “Sports Car” close out the season. By the time the competitive dances concluded, Earle and Chmerkovskiy led the pack with a perfect 90 from the judges.
Ultimately, the at-home voting audience — which, according to co-host Alfonso Ribeiro, cast a record-breaking 73 million votes tonight and more than half a billion throughout the season — disagreed, crowning Irwin the season champion. He is now the second Irwin to win a mirror ball trophy — his sister, Bindi Irwin, won the 21st season of the show ten years ago.
As for the rest of the finalists, Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten came in fifth place, followed by Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach in fourth, and Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa in third place.
Despite the loss, Earle reflected on the show’s significance in a pre-taped package before the winner was announced. “Dancing With the Stars has unlocked this new side of me,” she reflected. “This show has given me confidence that is going to change the rest of my life.”
