Tonight, America’s Favorite Dancer is chosen. I will either be elated or pretending to be happy for the winner while silently fuming that my favorite didn’t win. Let’s see how it goes.

The winner, along with a decent size hunk of cash (or more likely a direct deposit of some sort), will also be the new feature athlete for Gatorade in the G-series Fit campaign along with Twitch and last year’s winner, Lauren Froderman.

On the panel of judges tonight: Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, Jesse Tyler Ferguson (!!!), Sonya Tayeh, Tyce DiOrio, Robin Antin and Lil’ C.

Why so many? Because tonight is essentially 1 hour 45 minutes of filler and 15 minutes of saying good bye to two of the final four, then doing a highlight reel of the final two and announcing the winner followed by confetti cannons and balloons. So how do they fill that 1 hour 45 minutes? The judges choose their favorite routines from the season which are performed again! Essentially… it’s the tour! Also a lot of montages of the past season, and who doesn’t love a good montage?

But first, time for the Top 20 to perform one last routine together. This number is choreographed by Sonya Tayeh. It was crazy. And not just because the girls were sporting some insanely large hair. I think it did a nice job of showcasing just how talented this group was. Cat comment described it nicely, “Gosh, you’re weird. In a fabulous way.” Sums up Sonya, doesn’t it?

Since I’ve already commented on these performances the first time around, I’ll list what each judge chose and provide a link to the original if I can find it!

Mary Murphy: Sasha & Kent (Tyce DiOrio – Fool of Me)

Nigel Lythgoe: Melanie & Marko (NappyTabs – I Got You)

(This ended with Nigel sitting on Jesse’s lap as they held each other. Awesome)

Robin Antin: Tadd & Lauren F (Mandy Moore – Another One Bites the Dust)

Lil C: Robert & Miranda (NappyTabs – Break Ya Neck)

Cat Deeley(!): Top 8 Circus Routine (Tyce DiOrio – The Circus Sets Up/Water for Elephants theme)

SYTYCD:UK winner Matt Flint performed with Jess and Nick (Matt is a tapper). It was my favorite tap routine on this show ever. Including any of the pros. Nick and Jess are insanely talented in this style especially and you could see they were just so happy to be able to perform it. And Matt is amazing and very cute. I need to go look up some of his routines! Luckily for all of you, this one was already on YouTube!

Mary Murphy: Melanie and Neil (Mandy Moore – Total Eclipse of the Heart)

Jesse Tyler Ferguson: Marko and Allison (Sonya Tayeh- I know It’s Over)

Tyce DiOrio: Top 10 Girls (Sonya Tayeh – Pop Drop  Roll)

And the first to go…. Tadd which was probably not a surprise to anyone. Including Tadd based on the look on his face. Class act all the way, that kid.

Lil C: Ashley and Chris (Spencer Liff – Please, Mr. Jailer)

Nigel Lythgoe: Twitch & Sasha (Chris Scott – Misty Blue aka the breakfast routine)

Sonya Tayeh: Top 10 Guys (Chris Scott – Velocity)

Jesse Tyler Ferguson: Caitlynn & Pasha (Miriam & Leonardo – Malajunta)

Mary Murphy: Melanie & Marko (Travis Wall – Return to Stone)

And then the 3rd place dancer is announced: Marko. His montage made me cry a bit because he is just such a talented kid. And let’s not forget he’s doing all of that with a bullet in his shoulder. He is amazing, but I wasn’t surprised he ended up in 3rd. It’s been the season of the ladies and in a minute we will get to see which one will be given the title America’s Favorite Dancer.

But first… the final dance.

Nigel Lythgoe: Melanie & Sasha (Sonya Tayeh – Game On)

Also – Nigel said that some people in the New York Times were saying no dancer on this show is really all that talented or would work in NY. To that I say… well, I can’t say what I’d like to say. But it’s not nice.

And then there were two…. Before Cat announces the winner they have a truly moving montage of the two of them. Although it actually seems a little bit cruel because they were already crying.

And the winner is (with an overwhelming 47% of the vote)……

Melanie Moore!

I’m a bit overwhelmed to be honest. She’s been my pick since day one of this season and it never changed. Not once. I’m so proud of her. And with 47% of the vote, it seems I wasn’t alone. I can’t wait to see what is next for Melanie!

I hope you all enjoyed this season. I’m so honored to have been able to watch it with all of you. Can’t wait for next summer.

Written by Melissa Miller. Find her on Twitter: @serrae

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