ABC
Tonight, six-time Mirrorball champion turned Dancing With the Stars judge Derek Hough took the stage solo for the first time on the show, performing a dance for the season finale.
Dancing With the Stars judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli ranked each of the performances from the stars tonight on a scale of 1-10, and then those votes were eventually combined with America’s vote in order to determine the winner of season 29 of DWTS.
Throughout the night, host Tyra Banks spoke with the stars between dances and introduced new dances and performances including one from Derek Hough, one from Nelly, and a return of some of this season’s eliminated contestants to the ballroom.
Hough took the dance floor for the second time this season during the finale episode.
Watch Derek Hough’s Solo Performance
Derek Hough performed a solo dance to “Let’s Fall in Love for the Night” during the Season 29 finale of Dancing With the Stars. It was his first time performing solo on the DWTS ballroom floor, and his first time performing solo in over a decade.
After the performance, Banks compared Hough to Fred Astaire, and many fans on Twitter agreed, calling Hough the best dancer of the current generation, even calling him “Fred ‘Derek’ Astaire” and comparing him to Gene Kelly.
Always impressed by the undeniably talented, @derekhough 🤩 Way to light up the ballroom during the #DWTSFinale!
Many fans responded to the Dancing With the Stars official tweet saying that Hough has a lot of talent, and they loved seeing him take the stage once again.
“@derekhough everytime puts on an amazing performance!!!” one person tweeted to DWTS.
Another replied, “LOVED this routine! FANTASTIC!!!”
Hough Said His Performance Was Inspired Heroes
Before his performance, Hough said that he was dedicating it to his heroes.
“It’s a solo performance,” Hough told Entertainment Tonight about his dance on the finale. “I am dancing by myself and I am not sure why I decided to, but I am doing it. I have not danced a solo since I was, like, 12 years old, that is the truth. So here we go!”
He added that he would usually enjoy doing a group number, but that was out because of coronavirus safety precautions this year.
“It just logistically made sense to do a solo,” he added. “It has challenged me, for sure, but I am looking forward to it. It’s gonna be fun and I will say this: it’s an homage to some of my heroes.”
It’s very likely that Derek Hough will return as a judge for season 30, whenever that season may film and air. He previously said that the plan was always for him to come on as a judge, not just to replace Len Goodman for one season.
Hough also signed a huge contract with ABC in September, meaning that fans will have more chances to see him on their TV screens throughout the year, not just when DWTS airs.
Dancing With the Stars airs on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
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WATCH: Derek Hough’s Dancing Performance on DWTS 2020 Finale