Dancing with the Stars season 31 premiered on Sept. 19 with new celebrities hitting the dance floor to show off their quick steps and pirouettes. After two intense months of fierce competition, the winners were finally announced to the public on Nov. 21.
After a night of incredible performances, TikTok influencer Charli D’Amelio and her dance partner Mark Ballas ended up taking the Mirrorball trophy. The pair jived to the sound of Little Mix’s “Grown,” with D’Amelio showing off impressive dance skills during the energetic performance. Later, they freestyle danced to Pinar Toprak’s “Us Again,” securing the vote of viewers everywhere. While many consider that Gabby Windey should’ve won instead, there’s no denying that D’Amelio put a lot of work into her performances, and ultimately she was rewarded for it. Having a large internet following might have helped things along, though.
To give credit where its due, Dancing with the Stars was not D’Amelio’s first contact with dance, so her skills came as no surprise to fans. The influencer’s rise to fame began when she started uploading videos of herself dancing to popular songs on TikTok. The short videos went viral time and time again, leading to D’Amelio’s quick popularity boost. Her fans appreciate the quick and easy dance moves, which can be recreated by almost anyone, and the influencer saw her TikTok account become the most followed on the platform.
Earlier this year, Charli D’Amelio was dethroned by none other than Khaby Lame, who makes reaction videos most viewers can easily relate to. Currently, D’Amelio has an impressive following of 148M on the platform, but there’s a chance that her recent success on the competition show might give her a push toward the top once more. It’s not over till it’s over, right?