Before the result was announced, previously eliminated contestants of "DWTS" season 12 made appearances on the show. Petra Nemcova danced a waltz while Josh Groban sang "You Raise Me Up", and Kendra Wilkinson danced to "Livin La Vida Loca" with three pro dancers, stepping onto the judges table at the end.
Chris Jericho teamed up with Sugar Ray Leonard to "rumble" on the dance floor, while Maksim Chmerkovskiy was joined by Chelsie Hightower, Cheryl Burke and Lacey Schwimmer to dance as The Go Go's performed.
Lil' Romeo reunited with his partner Chelsie, while Ralph Macchio and Karina Smirnoff danced their Prohibition era quickstep. As for Wendy Williams, she did not dance but appeared in a taped segment in which she interviewed herself about Chelsea Kane.
Another musical guest that night were Black Eyed Peas who catered the audience with "Don't Stop the Party". Among the attendees were Bristol Palin, Sarah Palin and Todd Palin, as well as the latest "Bachelorette" Ashley Hebert who sat on the front row.
Later, the three finalists performed their favorite dance for the final performance. Chelsea and her partner Mark Ballas opted for a Viennese waltz, Kirstie and Maksim danced the cha-cha, while Hines and Kym Johnson danced the samba. The judges' comments were all positive and the three contestants got perfect scores.
"Starting this competition I never thought I'd be in the finals but, you know, I owe it all to Kym. She's an amazing teacher," Hines said after he was announced as the winner. "And I want to thank the judges for giving us the constructive criticism to get better each week.. Also I want to thank all the fans."
Kirstie also got a chance to express her gratitude, "It's like the most extraordinary adventure I've ever been on in my life. And I want to thank Maks, I love Maks." Her partner Maksim added, "It's been a special season... Thank you for this. This has been an amazing, amazing season."