Donny Osmond Wins "Dancing With The Stars" Season 9

Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) Season 9 premiered on ABC television network in the USA on September 21 2009. The 16 celebrities who participated in this season's show included showbiz entertainer Donny Osmond, Grammy Award winning singer Mya and TV reality star Kelly Osbourne. Donny is following in the footsteps of his sister Marie, who had previously competed in Season 5 of DWTS and who was placed third in that season. Among the well-known professional dancers who took part in Season 9 were Mark Ballas, son of dance legend Corky Ballas, Karina Smirnoff, former partner of Slavik Kryklyvyy and Anna Demidova, the younger sister of World Ballroom Dance Champion Katusha Demidova (partnering Arunas Bizokas).

Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba returned as judges as did hosts Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris. For this season of DWTS, the dances that were performed included the 10 Ballroom & Latin American dances, Salsa, Mambo, Jitterbug, Argentine Tango and Freestyle. In addition, 4 new dances namely the Charleston, Bolero, Lambada and Country Two-Step were performed for the first time in this competition. Through a series of elimination rounds, the contestants were whittled down and 3 contestants were eventually chosen for the finale. The 3 finalists were Donny Osmond, Mya and Kelly Osbourne. As in previous competitions, the winner was determined by a combination of the judges' scores and viewers' votes.

The finale was held over 2 evenings - on November 23 and 24. On the first evening, the 3 finalists each had to perform a freestyle dance routine. The next evening, Donny and partner Kym Johnson showcased a slick Argentine Tango performance. Crowd favourite Mya and partner Dmitry Chaplin high-kicked their way into the hearts of the crowd with a high energy Jive routine. Kelly and partner Louis Van Amstel received a standing ovation from the audience for their flawless rendition of the Viennese Waltz. Donny Osmond was adjudged the winner of DWTS Season 9 to the consternation of many who felt that first runner up Mya was the better dancer and clearly deserved to win. The next season of DWTS is scheduled to air in the spring of 2010.