The new king of the ballroom is lifelong entertainer Donny Osmond, who snagged the
Dancing With the Stars mirror ball trophy Tuesday night and put the younger kids to shame. And by kids, we mean Grammy Award-winner Mya, 30, who consistently got better judges’ scores but came in second. And rock and roll princess Kelly Osbourne, 25, who charmed her way into the finals and placed third.
But Osmond—who managed to dance
and do his Las Vegas show for ten grueling weeks despite a bad bout with the flu—scored a triumph for Baby Boomers everywhere. “I am the oldest recipient of the mirror ball,” the 51-year-old Osmond said after the show. By comparison, the oldest winners of the dance contest up until Tuesday night were Season 2 football great Emmitt Smith, 37 at the time of his win, and Season 7 winner, model Brooke Burke, who was also 37 when she took the crown.
Osmond looked stunned and happy. “Marie said, right before the beginning of the show, ‘You can take this,’” said Osmond. “And that gave me confidence.”
But he wasn’t the only one radiating new confidence. “Kelly started out a girl and ended up a woman,” said proud mama Sharon Osbourne after the show. “I think that’s true,” said Kelly. “And it’s kind of frightening, because now I’ve got NO excuse for my behavior.” Such as? “You don’t even know how many times Louis made me cry,” says Osbourne, standing next to her pro partner, Louis van Amstel. “We were dancing on Sunday and he was being really bossy and I looked over and Kym [Johnson, Osmond’s partner] is like: ‘That’s okay, Donny. Don’t stress yourself out, it’s fine. We’re going to practice this later.‘ And Louis, talking to me, is like: ‘What’s wrong with you? You’re in your head.’ And I said, ‘I’’m going to head butt you if you don’t stop it.’” The affection between them is clear, which could be considered a different kind of win. “Louis isn’t just one of my friends,” said Osbourne. “He’s become a member of my family now.”
But the night belonged to another famous family and a brother who beat his sister by going all the way to the finish line. “There are three moments that I’ll never forget,” said Osmond, reflecting on the night. “When Tom [Bergeron] said our names and I looked at Kym, her face. (This is Johnson’s first championship after ten years on the show in Australia and America.) Kissing my wife. And then bringing Marie out on stage and having her hold this [the trophy]. Those three moments I’ll never forget.”
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