DWTS Crowns Artem Chigvintsev & Kaitlyn Bristowe as Season 29 Champions — inside Their Journey
Season 29 of “Dancing with the Stars” sadly came to an end on November 23, 2020. Professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev and television personality Kaitlyn Bristowe were crowned the winners for the 2020 season!
After eleven weeks on “Dancing with the Stars (DWTS)” professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev, 38, and his celebrity partner Kaitlyn Bristowe, 35, took home the Mirrorball trophy. The award was presented to them during a live episode on Monday night, November 23, 2020.
The dance couple battled it out with three other couples for the big win. Voters decided that Justina Machado and Sasha Farber would be in fourth place, Nelly and Daniella Karagach took the third spot, and Nev Schulman and Jenna Johnson came second.
Kaitlyn Bristowe and Artem Chigvintsev at the season 29 premiere of "Dancing with the Stars" on September 14, 2020 | Photo: Eric McCandless/ABC/Getty Images
THEIR REPEAT ROUTINE
For the night’s festivities, Chigvintsev and Bristowe started off the show by repeating their dance routine from week 9. The pair thrilled viewers and judges alike as they danced the Argentine Tango to a cover of Britney Spears' song "Toxic."
Needless to say, it was quite risky for them to repeat their dance routine but the good results were worth it! The DWTS judges actually gave them 30 out of 30 scores for their routine, as it seemed they enjoyed it, even more, this time around.
ARTEM & KAITLYN’S FINAL DANCE
The dance couple’s second and final dance for the show’s season was a freestyle routine. The duo recreated one of the greatest moments from Baz Luhrmann's film “Moulin Rouge.”
Bristowe wore a sparkly silver outfit for her last go at the Mirrorball trophy. She and Chigvintsev wowed the judges and the crowd once again as they danced to the song "Sparkling Diamonds."
INABA THRILLED WITH PERFORMANCE
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba was so impressed with how they’d pulled off the routine to one of her favorite movies of all time. She shared how she’d had high expectations and that the pair managed to pull it off!
Their routine earned them three 10s which gave them a total of 30 again. That meant they had a perfect score of 60 out of 60 which put them in the running to take the trophy home – which, as you know, they did.
GOING TO THE FINALS
On week 10, the four finalists were revealed at the end of the Semifinals Night. After the show was done, the finalists got to speak to “Entertainment Tonight (ET)” about how they felt and Bristowe had this to say:
"I can't believe it! It just feels so surreal."
ARTEM’S FIRST US FINALS
The television personality was still reeling from finding out that she had made it to the finals. For his part, Chigvintsev called it “super surreal” as he’d never made it to the show’s US finals before now.
One of the former “Bachelorette’s” dance routines for that episode was a freestyle to "Cowboy Take Me Away" by The Chicks. It was revealed that the song was significant to Bristowe because it was one of her late best friend’s favorite tracks.
PAST WEEK’S STRUGGLES
During week 8, things weren’t looking too great for Chigvintsev and Bristowe. The pair was left feeling frustrated after Inaba gave them some negative feedback on their dance routines.
The dance couple gave jive and relay performances, which were rated positively by most of the judges. Inaba insisted that Bristowe had performed a "lift" instead of her own jump during the routine.
CARRIE ANN’S CRITICISM
Speaking to ET afterward, the professional dancer felt Inaba’s criticism was a bit more personal. His dance partner also couldn’t understand why it seemed the judge was zooming in on their performances so much.
While singing, Kaitlyn Bristowe also showed off the injuries she’d sustained while on DWTS.
During week 7, Inada criticized Bristowe saying she felt the reality star had given up during a routine. The DWTS judge noted how the television personality had lost her spirit while on the dance floor.
KAITLYN’S DWTS INJURIES
Ahead of season 10, Bristowe created a fun video of herself lip-syncing to Handsome Dancer’s “Coincidence.” While singing, the reality star also showed off the injuries she’d sustained while on DWTS.
Fans got to see some scabs on her knee, blisters on her heel, and a bandaged up toe. Earlier in the competition, she also injured her ankle, and the incident almost prevented her from competing.