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By Kate Mulcrone
Special to MSN TV
Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson became the youngest contestant to win "Dancing With the Stars" on Tuesday night. She came, she danced the cha-cha and she conquered. Shawn was a champion throughout the competition, but her victory was still a bit of a surprise as Gilles Marini had been this season's front-runner.
Shawn and Gilles were tied in the final round of competition, so it was the viewers' votes that made all the difference. But those were close, too! Tom Bergeron informed us that there was less than one percent difference in the votes between Gilles and Shawn.
Well, we have a winner, but how did we get here? On Monday's show the stars performed two dances, a paso doble and a freestyle routine of their choosing. Tonight they each had a chance to perform one of their routines from earlier in the competition. Here's how our finalists fared:
Shawn Johnson
Shawn had a bit of an advantage going into the paso doble round because she absolutely nailed that particular dance last week. She came in two points lower than in her previous showing, but still performed like a champion. In the freestyle round she nabbed a perfect 30 for her lightning quick moves. Shawn's third routine, the cha-cha she and Mark did in Week 7, was pretty flawless. "P.Y.T." isn't the dance-iest song, but Shawn went with it.
Cha-cha: 30/30
Total: 88/90
Melissa Rycroft
Melissa's paso doble was a big improvement over her first attempt at the dance in Week 5. She really brought some attitude to go along with her nearly flawless footwork, and the judges rewarded her handsomely for it. The freestyle round was another story. Tony and Melissa got a little too funky. The judges were confused, maybe even a little freaked out by the routine (and Tony's see-through shirt?). Happily, Melissa did well in her third routine. She and Tony reprised their sweet 'n' scandalous Week 9 salsa, and garnered another perfect 30 from the judges.
Salsa: 30/30
Total: 86/90
Gilles Marini
Gilles did just fine in the paso doble showdown: He got a perfect 30 for a dashing, perfectly measured routine. The freestyle round didn't go quite as smoothly: The judges weren't quite feeling his homage to "Flashdance," but I loved it. Gilles' third dance was his Week 4 Argentine tango, which was his first perfect-scoring routine of the season. It was just as perfect this time around! It was honestly so incredible to watch that I forgot I had already seen it. The judges seemed to feel the same way.
Argentine tango: 30/30
Total: 88/90
Photos: Top 10 dances of Season 8 | Sound off: Go to the "DWTS" message boards
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"Dancing With the Stars" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
