Dancing with the Stars has a new winner: TikTok star Charli D’Amelio.
D’Amelio and her partner, Mark Ballas, took home the Mirrorball Trophy at the end of Monday night’s Season 31 finale.
The star, whose performances won consistent praise from the judging panel, was seen as a front-runner all season. In the weeks leading up to the finale, Charli and Mark had won multiple perfect scores.
Judge Bruno Tonioli called their freestyle dance during the finale episode “pure, unquestionable excellence.”
D’Amelio and her partner beat out TV personality Wayne Brady, Drag Race star Shangela, and The Bachelor’s Gabby Windey for the coveted grand prize.
So what’s next for the winning pair?
DWTS’ Mark Ballas on return for next season: ‘I don’t know’
Season 31 marked Ballas’s triumphant return to the DWTS ballroom after a five-year hiatus. Will he be back next season?
After the finale, Ballas told reporters from Hollywood Life that he still wasn’t sure.
“I try to stay very present in the moment,” the pro dancer said. “I think that was a big part of creating these dances every week.”
“Right now,” he added, “I’m in this moment with Charli.”
Charli D’Amelio talks dancing professionally after DWTS win
And Charli? After winning the Mirrorball Trophy, would she consider going pro?
“Oh, my goodness,” the TikTok star told reporters after Monday’s finale, when asked that very question. “I think it would be a whole lot of work.”
The Dancing with the Stars pros, she added, are “incredibly talented. This was a lot for me, so I couldn’t imagine being a pro.”
Still, going professional wouldn’t be a huge leap for Charli, who, though only 18, danced competitively for more than ten years before launching her career on social media. For a while the most-followed user on TikTok, D’Amelio built much of her initial following through short dance videos.
Charli and her mom, photographer Heidi D’Amelio, both started out as contestants on Season 31, but Heidi was eliminated just before the semi-final round.
Though they had been competitors during the show, Charli told reporters after the finale that she was glad to have her mom by her side for her big win — and that Dancing with the Stars had been good for both of them.
“I think we both got a lot out of this show for ourselves and that was really awesome.”
Dancing with the Stars is currently on hiatus.