On the three-hour season 32 finale of Dancing with the Stars, it all came down to who would take home the Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy. This would mark the first time the winners would receive the coveted award named after the beloved head judge who passed away in 2022.

With a perfect score for each of their four last dances (from last week’s competitions and the finale), it was clear that the team to beat was Xochitl Gomez and her pro partner, Val Chmerkovskiy. But would America feel the same?

After a stunning night of freestyle routines to close out the final round of competition, and a redemption dance performed earlier in the night, as deemed by one of the judges for the couples to improve upon from a previous performance, it all came down to the final moments of the episode.

Photo: ABC

Here’s how it shook out when hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough revealed the results:

In fifth place: Alyson Hannigan and Sasha Farber.  Next, in fourth place were former ‘Bachelorette’ star Charity Lawson and Artem Chigvintsev. Third place belonged to Vanderpump Rules star, Ariana Madix and her pro partner, Pasha Pashkov.

Then it all came down to two, Xochitl and Val, or Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Jason Mraz and pro partner Daniella Karagach. Mraz had actually performed his latest single, “I Feel Like Dancing” shortly before the results portion of the show.

Photo: ABC

The Season 31-winning celebrity contestant, Charli D’Amelio, returned to the ballroom floor to present the Mirrorball trophy to the winners. D’Amelio had returned earlier in the finale with her former pro partner, Mark Ballas, for a special performance.

Photo: ABC

Jason and Daniella were announced in first place, as Xochitl and Val were announced the Len Goodman Mirror Ball Trophy winners. For Val, this marks his third victory in his Dancing with the Stars career. He previously won the Mirrorball trophy with Rumor Willis in 2015 and Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez in 2016.

Photo: ABC

In the finale, Gomez and Chmerkovskiy performed a redemption foxtrot to Katy Perry’s “Unconditionally”, and finished with a freestyle dance to ‘Que Calor” by District 78.

Talk about giving people a near heart attack! After a night of high level competition from the remaining celebrity contestants and their pro partners, the ‘semi-finals’ edition of ABC’s Dancing with the Stars featured a jaw-dropping ending.

This week saw each couple tackling two all-new dances; one ballroom-style routine and one Latin-style routine. Marvel star Xochitl Gomez topped the leaderboard after two rounds of competition with pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy. Xochitl and Val scored a perfect 60 points from the judges performing a samba to Gloria Estefan’s “Samba’ and then a stunning waltz to Lady Gaga’s “La Vie en Rose”.

Following the waltz, judge Derek Hough became emotional and was moved to tears telling Xochitl and Val that the late head judge, Len Goodman, would have loved their performance, adding, “That was absolutely perfect.”

Photo: ABC

Going into the semi-finals, the couples were told of the five couples remaining only four would survive and move on the finals. With everything on the line, and through her back pain, Ariana Madix and Pasha Pashkov finally received their first perfect score from the judges performing a foxtrot.

Jason Mraz and Daniella Karagach also received a perfect score in their second round waltz. Judge Carrie Ann Inaba said that Jason showed “emotional freedom” in this precise routine.

Charity Lawson and Artem Chigvintsev received 59 out of 60 and a perfect score for their second round performance to the quickstep. The judges commended the former star of The Bachelorette for finally showing some emotion in her performances, instead of just always showing them precision in her dance routines.

Photo: ABC

When it was time to reveal which couple was going home and which couples made it to the finals … in a heart-stopping moment, Alyson Hannigan and Sasha Farber, who believed they would be the couple going home, were first named as “safe!” As each couple learned their fate, the final two couples left  and supposedly in the bottom two were … Ariana and Pasha and Xochitl and Val.  How could this be? Did America vote off the wrong couple?

Then, in a stunning twist, co-hosts Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough announced that no one was going home meaning all five couples from the semi-finals were moving on to the finals, and their scores for the night would carry over into the final round.

Photo: ABC

Ariana Madix was moved to tears, thinking her time on the show was over.  She later told Page Six (after the episode came to an end), “That pretend elimination was the most terrifying thing. It was sick and twisted. I was like, ‘I love you guys, but also, I hate you guys for that!’”

Photo: ABC

Alyson Hannigan weighed-in on the shocking conclusion as well: “When (Alfonso) called my name, I thought he made a mistake. I was in total disbelief and I was waiting for him to correct himself .. and then he didn’t correct himself and I was like, ‘What universe are we in?’”

The three-hour Season 32 finale kicks off Tuesday, December 5th at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.

So, with all five couples moving on to next week’s season 32 finale, who do you think deserves to win the newly-named Len Goodman Mirror Ball Trophy? Share your picks via the comment section below.  But first check out the dance of the night from Xochitl and Val.

It was “Whitney Houston Night” on Dancing with the Stars as the seven remaining couples battled it out featuring songs from the iconic late Grammy-winning vocalist.

The episode contained: a sad farewell, one couple receiving the first perfect score of the season, and another couple almost locking up the second perfect score. but just off the mark by a point. The special guest judge for “Whitney Houston Night” was Billy Porter who opened the show with his rendition of Houston’s “How Will I Know?”

During the competition, Xochitl Gomez with partner Val Chmerkovskiy performed the Tango to “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),” And even though Gomez suffered an ankle sprain last week, it did not show in her flawless dance choreographed  beautifully, as always, by Val. The judges were abuzz. Bruno said, “That was flawless. So absolutely pristine.” Porter raved calling it, “magical” and “extraordinary!” A 40 out of 40 gave Xochitl and Val the season’s first perfect score.

Photo: ABC

In the other top performance of the night, Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix with partner Pasha Pashkov danced the Paso Doble to Whitney’s “Queen of the Night”. The judges were more than impressed. Derek Hough said the routine was “fantastic,” while Billy Porter stood up and cheered Ariana, expressing “It was so clean, it was so sharp! That was one of my favorites!” Ariana and Pasha received a 39 out of 40 securing three out of four ’10’s’ from the judges.

After round one, six of the couples (Madix and Pashkov got a bye from last week’s scoring) were split into groups of two. Each couple would be tasked with performing the same dance style to their own routine, but on the dance floor together. The judges would pick which couple they felt delivered the dance style and routine best and award them additional points.

Photo: ABC

The highlight of the night came when Jason Mraz and partner Daniella Karagach went up against Barry Williams and Peta Murgatroyd both performing the Salsa. Williams, ever the showman, went all out including ripping open his shirt to get the judges attention which distracted Mraz. The judges were also astounded and awarded the points to Williams with Derek Hough expressing, “Barry, when I grow up I want to be like you. I mean, the gyration, the movement and you are such a competitor! That was astounding to watch and I loved it!”

Photo: ABC

However, it was not enough to save Williams from elimination. At the end of the night with The Bachelorette’s Charity Lawson, Mraz and Williams and their pro partners left on the stage, it was Barry and his partner Peta who were sent packing.  What followed was a loud chorus of “boo’s” from the in-studio audience.

Before DWTS went off the air, Williams addressed the crown and the audience at home. “This has been the most wonderful experience of my life,” Barry said. “Everyone here has made it a complete delight… and I knew I won from the first night.” Next week, it’s a “Celebration of Taylor Swift” as the remaining couples perform from songs from Swift’s hefty catalog.

So, do you think America got it wrong and Barry should have been left in the competition? What do you think about Harry Jowsey still being in the running for the Mirror Ball Trophy when he is clearly the celebrity contestant having the most difficulty with the dance routines. Comment below.