Everything You Need to Know About the ‘DWTS’ Finale

It all comes down to tonight, Dancing With the Stars fans.

After a fast and furious season pitting some of today’s top athletes against one another to compete for dancing supremacy, the final three teams will go head to head Monday night on the ABC dancing show to see who will bring home the Mirrorball trophy.

But who will bring home the prize? Will it be Team Just Friends, Team Back That Pass Up or Team Axellent?

Keep reading to learn all about what you should expect from the can’t-miss finale.

Photo credit: ABC

The finalists

Of the 10 teams originally competing for the Mirrorball trophy, only three remain leading into the finale.

Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding, who has been a controversial competitor all season due to her notorious past, will be competing alongside partner Sasha Farber.

Another Olympic skater, Adam Rippon, will compete alongside partner and friend Jenna Johnson.

Representing the NFL, Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman will compete alongside pro partner Sharna Burgess.

Inspiration Dances

Each pair will perform two dances during Monday’s finale — one in tribute to their time on the show and another in a freestyle form.

For the inspiration dance, Harding and Farber will dance the Viennese Waltz to “The Time of My Life” by David Cooke.

Norman and Burgess will perform the Foxtrot to “Conquerer” by Estelle and Jussie Smollett.

Rippon and Johnson will do a jazz dance to “Anything You Can Do” by the Broadway cast of Annie Get Your Gun.

Freeform dances

In the freeform round, which has much looser guidelines for choreography and song choices, the competitors really show their personalities.

Harding and Farber will perform to “I Will Survive” by the Pussycat Dolls.

Norman and Burgess will dance to “Walk on Water” by Thirty Seconds to Mars.

Rippon and Johnson will take on the viral bop, “Scooby Doo Pa Pa,” by DJ Kass.

 

Preparations

With such a short season coming to an end, the pressure has really been on for all three of the teams. Here’s how the duos have been preparing since last week’s semi-finals.

Johnson and Rippon had a slight setback early in the week, with Johnson revealing on social media that she’s come down with a little bug. But that doesn’t appear to be keeping her from whipping Rippon into shape during their finale practices. On social media, Rippon boasted that the two were going to heat up the dance floor with an emoji-filled caption to his Instagram post of their practice.

Norman has been open about his desire to help his partner Burgess earn her first win on the ABC reality show. On Twitter, the football player showed himself in form for his dance, but added in a trophy to his outstretched hand, half-joking about giving it to his pro partner.

Harding and Farber may be the underdogs of the season, but they’re not giving up yet. In an emotional post on Instagram, the pro shared his thoughts on the former skater’s journey on the show.

“Within the few weeks dancing together I’ve seen your confidence grow, and your positive energy is contagious, you have a bright light shining out of you,” he wrote. “You have taught me so much in a short period of time. I’ve been so honored to be your partner, and share this journey with you.”

How to Vote

Season 26 of the dancing reality show depends on fans’ live votes to determine the winner. Unfortunately, fans on the west coast won’t be able to participate in the voting, but everyone else can submit 10 votes per voting method.

To vote, visit dwtslivevote.com, ABC.com or the Dancing With the Stars Facebook during the show. You can also vote via toll free phone voting via the numbers listed on the ABC site.

Voters must be 18 years old or older to participate and they must be located in the U.S. or Puerto Rico in order to vote on ABC.com. For those voting by using Facebook, fans must have a Facebook account and need to be located in the U.S. or Canada. Data rates may also apply.

 

When to watch

Dancing With the Stars airs on the ABC network on Monday, May 21, at 8 p.m. ET/PT and 7 p.m. CT. Tune in for the live broadcast and to cast your votes.

 

Eliminated competitors

It was tough to get to know a lot of the competitors who didn’t quite make it to the finale episode, due in part to the abbreviated season. 

Here’s who didn’t quite make the cut:

• Olympic figure skater Mirai Nagasu and pro Alan Bersten
• Olympic snowboarder Jamie Anderson and pro Artem Chigvintsev
• NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and pro Lindsay Arnold
• College basketball player Arike Ogunbowale and pro Gleb Savchenko
• Olympic luger Chris Mazdzer and pro Witney Carson
• Olympic softball player Jennie Finch Daigle and pro Keo Motsepe
• Retired baseball player Johnny Damon and Emma Slater

Fan predictions

Fans are already making their predictions as to who will bring home the trophy Monday on Twitter. Here are some of their guesses.

Dancing With the Stars airs its season finale Monday, May 21 at 8/7c on ABC.