Pro dancer Derek Hough and model/host Brooke Burke beat the odds and won the top spot on “Dancing with the Stars”

By Stacey Silberman

Brooke beat Bass and Sapp - Any questions why?

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 11/26/08 – It could have been any one of the three contenders still in the game, all based on three very different reasons, but Brooke Burke and Derek Hough won in the end based on good old fashioned hark work, dedication, grace, sex appeal, and technically great dancing. Season seven’s finale Tuesday, Nov. 25, ended with a bang after the duo was declared victorious and the whole cast swept them away into a cloud of confetti and lights.

Burke is the mother of four children and one of them is an infant. It’s no surprise that she must be exhausted in every way now that the competition is over. “It was really trying physically, emotionally, you name it,” Burke told People. “I think the emotional release was surreal. While we were standing up there, I said to Derek, ‘I can’t feel my feet!’”

Burke’s handsome fiancé David Charvet looked so proud and emotional after the win was announced. He just kept applauding along with their two adorable daughters. “It’s almost like you’re out there with her. I had so much faith in her, but I didn’t think that she could achieve what she ended up achieving this year,” Charvet said. “She bluffed me completely and she continues to leave me speechless.”

Derek’s sister Julianne Hough was also there to congratulate her brother on his first place win as well as his girlfriend Shannon Elizabeth. Fellow dancers and close friends Mark and Corky Ballas rushed onto the stage to carry the couple on the shoulders as they danced around the surrounding crowd.

Superbowl champion Warren Sapp and pro dancer Kym Johnson came in second, followed by boy band star Lance Bass and pro dancer Lacey Schwimmer. Out of seven seasons, this is the third time that a female celebrity has won first place, following Kelly Monaco and Kristy Yamaguchi last season.

Burke really earned her win after consistent performances throughout the 10-week competition. Sapp was loved less for his ability to dance and more for his charisma and appeal with the audience. He was like a 300-pound “teddy bear” to partner Kym.

Bass also had great audience appeal, charisma, and charm, but he could dance too. Schwimmer and Bass really kicked into high dancing gear later in the competition, which led to speculation that he might win, but instead came in third. Their choreography was very fresh, fun, young, and innovative.

Bass had only the nicest things to say about Burke’s win. Bass, who still gets to perform on the DWTS tour said, “I really thought that Brooke and Derek deserved to win. We couldn’t be happier for her.”

Sapp had a few thoughts of his own saying, “I may not be walking out with anything, but at least the guys that I played with can’t razz me for finishing worse than any other football player.” It was then that he was reminded of season-three winner Emmett Smith.

There were other exciting things to bring down the DWTS house that night, such as judge Bruno Tonioli’s 53rd birthday, and Miley Cyrus & Alicia Keyes performed along with dancers of their own.
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