'DWTS' Finals Recap: Is Rob Kardashian The Dark Horse?

Rob Kardashian came out from nowhere and dominated the competition! Will he win season 13 of ‘Dancing with the Stars’?

All season long, it felt like Rob Kardashian was holding on by a thread on Dancing with the Stars. Although he wasn’t at the very bottom of the scoreboard, he wasn’t at the top either — and even fell victim to the bottom two. However, somehow the 24-year-old reality star stayed focused, diligently landed a spot in the finals and then ROCKED the night with his best dances of the season. Ladies and gentlemen, I think we’ve found our winner. 

Ricki Lake: Ricki’s number one goal going into her cha cha was to seem sexy and I think she did a pretty fantastic job. My one hang up with Ricki — and it’s not even fair — is that she’s seemed to be on the same level the entire competition. I kind of feel like she plateaued awhile back, so it’s been the same old, same old for awhile. “It’s a dance deserving of this final. Well done,” Len Goodman said. 9, 9, 9 = 27/30

Freestyle: How cute was Ricki’s adorable white leotard with the fluffy tutu? I want to wear that somewhere (when and why, I have no clue). Derek is a master at making every dance look like a blast and I really felt that with their freestyle tonight. Plus, they did a bunch of funky tricks that looked flawless from my TV. “It was fun and it was entertaining!” Len said. This was one of my favorites! 9, 9, 9 = 27/30

Rob Kardashian: Rob, without a doubt, is the most improved contestant of this season. He’s like the Little Engine That Could and I love that about him. He’s always struggled with his confidence levels, but tonight I felt like I was watching a different dude than we’ve seen all season! The way he held Cheryl Burke and carried her around the stage was super manly and hot. Good job, Rob! “You were glowing and you were GLOWING,” Bruno raved. 9, 9, 9 = 27/30

Freestyle: Cheryl’s tactic to start off slow and then ease into the faster portion of the freestyle was brilliant and really paid off. I still don’t understand how Rob got so good — he looked handsome and took charge of the stage. It feels like it was just yesterday he was always in the bottom two; then here he goes and performs one of the best freestyles I’ve ever seen. Both he and Cheryl managed to make all of their lifts look effortless. This dance was a game changer, folks. 10, 10, 10 = 30/30

J.R. Martinez: Len made a good point during the package before J.R.’s cha cha: Karina Smirnoff has never won the Mirror Ball Trophy, so she might want it more than the other dancers. Even though I thoroughly enjoyed the performance, the judges reamed them for being off, musically. “You attacked it too much and it fell apart at the pieces,” Len said. 8, 7, 9 = 24/30

Freestyle: J.R. was freaked out about hurting Karina because last season she got dropped on her neck AND she’s had to have surgery. Yikes. Thankfully, everything went according to plan and J.R. and his hips got down and dirty, making up for his less than perfect first dance. The judges couldn’t contain their excitement; Carrie Ann called the lifts “sick.” This dance is why I’ve been pulling for J.R. to win. 10, 10, 10 = 30/30

So at the end of the day, here were the judges’ scores:

Rob — 57/30
Ricki — 54/30
J.R. — 54/30

Like I said before, I wasn’t Rob’s biggest fan this season, but now I feel like he’s earned the Mirror Ball Trophy. Slow and steady wins the race. Do YOU think he has enough fan support for the win? Sound off below!

Email me! | Follow me on | Become a fan

Get More On ‘DWTS’!

• ‘Chynna Phillips Comforted Nancy Grace After Her Nip Slip On ‘DWTS:’ ‘If You’ve Seen One Nipple, You’ve Seen Them All!’
• Nancy Grace Denies Her Own Nip Slip — Umm, What?