‘Dancing With the Stars’ Finale Live Blog: Who Will Win Season 34?

It all comes down to this! The five finalists on Season 34 of Dancing With the Stars will perform three more dances during the Tuesday, November 25, finale before a winner is announced.

Robert Irwin, Alix Earle, Dylan Efron, Elaine Hendrix, and Jordan Chiles have all made it to the Finals, and at the end of the night, the contestant with the highest combined judges’ scores and viewer votes will win the Mirrorball trophy. Scores and votes will be based off of the night’s three routines: a freestyle dance, an instant dance (song and dance style revealed just moments before the performance), and a previously unlearned dance style chosen by the judges.

Scroll down for a live recap of the episode, including scores, judges’ remarks, and leaderboard updates throughout the night. Keep refreshing because we’ll be updating all episode long!

Alix Earle — 30/30

The first dance of the night was Earle’s samba, a dance style chosen for her by Carrie Ann Inaba.

“Way to start the finale with that incredible samba! You put all the content in. You developed your own signature style, I call it refined fierceness. You’re doing the technique perfectly. You got so much content in that dance. It was just brilliant,” Inaba gushed.

Derek Hough said, “Whatever Carrie Ann told you it worked. That was so good. The samba is one of the hardest dances to do on this show … it was so filled with content. It was fantastic.” Bruno Tonioli closed out the commentary by adding, “She cranked up the heat to full blast. You were not good, you were incandescent!”

Earle earned a perfect 30 score, with three 10s from the judges.

Dylan Efron — 28/30

Tonioli chose a paso doble for Efron’s first finale dance. After finishing at the bottom of the leaderboard in the Semifinals, Efron came into the finale wanting to prove himself more than ever.

After commenting on Efron’s perfectly sculpted torso, Tonioli said he was “speechless,” adding, “Good job. Beautiful shapes. I could watch that all over again, actually.” Inaba added, “To think back to how far you’ve come is really incredible. And tonight, showcasing it’s really vulnerable.” She told Efron his hands got a “little flat” at parts, but called the routine “fantastic” overall.

“Your improvement has been remarkable just to watch. You are just amazing to watch,” Hough commented, but added, “I have to agree a little bit with the shaping.” Efron received 9s from Inaba and Hough, and a 10 from Tonioli, for a score of 28.

Elaine Hendrix — 30/30

Hendrix received her finale dance, a rumba, from Hough. “That was exquisite,” Hough raved. “You have been on the hero’s journey. You’re an amazing dancer, an amazing performer, you had a difficult experience in the middle of the season, but you came back resilient.”

Tonioli said the routine was “pure class” and the “perfect balance of sensuality and elegance.” Finally, Inaba told Hendrix that she’d been “waiting and waiting” for her to do a dance like this. “Dance is more than just the steps, it’s what you do in between the steps,” she confirmed, calling the dance “beautiful and exquisite.”

The scores rolled in, and Hendrix received a perfect 30 from the judges.

Robert Irwin — 29/30

Irwin hit the dance floor with a quickstep, selected for him by Hough. After dealing with a rib injury during rehearsals, Irwin still came out and absolutely crushed it.

“Robert quickstep KING!” Hough confirmed. “It was crisp and clean, the frame was strong, you were moving across the floor, it was fantastic.” Tonioli commented on how fast the dance was, adding, “It had the exhiliration of a cheetah. The footwork, nimble and light like a gazelle, and the power of a lion!”

Inaba said the dance was “amazing, wonderful,” but also had to point out a “little stumble” at one point in the routine. In the end, she gave Irwin a 9, while Hough and Tonioli scored him 10s, for a 29 out of 30.

Jordan Chiles — 29/30

Chiles closed out the first round with a paso doble, a dance style selected for her by Inaba.

“I love that you attack every movement full out. I think when you first started, your attack was a little too strong, and it disconnected you just a tiny bit,” Inaba said. “Just the beginning felt like it didn’t quite come together.”

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Hough raved, “Jordan, you did the dang thing. It was strong, fierce, powerful … it had it all. Fantastic.” Tonioli concluded, “I think it was a kick ass paso doble. Your power, your focus … it really was like watching an old conquering invincible warrior. You just go for it with so much determination.”

Inaba gave Chiles a 9, while Hough and Tonioli gave her 10s, so the final score was a 29/30.

Alix Earle — 30/30

For her instant dance, Earle randomly selected a cha-cha-cha, which she danced to “Where Is My Husband?” by RAYE. Her last cha-cha-cha on the show was during Week 1.

Tonioli praised Earle for her “transformation” from Week 1 to now and said the routine was “brilliant,” while Inaba said she was “blown away” by the “fantastic” routine. Despite Earle feeling unsure about how she did, she earned another perfect score!

Dylan Efron — 30/30

Efron randomly selected a foxtrot, which he danced to “Ordinary” by Alex Warren. He hasn’t done a foxtrot since Week 3, but admitted in his rehearsal package that it’s the dance he’d feel most comfortable with.

“That was unbelievable and a true testament to how far you’ve come. I don’t even think you know how amazing that was. You brought me to tears in that dance,” Inaba gushed. Hough could not believe how good the dance was. “The fluidity, I’m just going to go out on a limb and say that, to me, was one of the best foxtrots from a man ever,” he confirmed.

Tonioli said that Len Goodman would’ve “adored” the dance and the judges could not even take their seats because they were so excited about the dance. Needless to say, it was a perfect score!

Elaine Hendrix — 27/30

For Hendrix, the chosen dance was the quickstep to “You Can’t Hurry Love.” Her last time performing this style was during Week 4.

“That is a very hard dance to do in such a short time!” Hough confirmed. He called Hendrix the “quickstep queen,” although he noted a “misstep” toward the beginning of the routine. Tonioli said Hendrix did “very well in spite of” the “missteps,” while Inaba praised Hendrix for carrying herself well through the dance, despite the small mistakes.

With three 9s from the judges, Hendrix scored a 27/30 for her instant dance.

Dancing With the Stars Season 34 finale leaderboard

The below leaderboard will be updated with scores throughout the episode:

Alix Earle & Valentin Chmerkovskiy — 60/60
Dylan Efron & Daniella Karagach — 58/60
Elaine Hendrix & Alan Bersten — 57/60
Robert Irwin & Witney Carson — 29/30
Jordan Chiles & Ezra Sosa — 29/30