Live blogging: 'Dancing With the Stars' finals

Live blogging: 'Dancing With the Stars' finals

Hey, Dancing fans!

The final three celebs of Season 12's Dancing With the Stars will compete tonight on the last performance show before tomorrow's mirror ball trophy is given out.

Are you ready?

Kirstie Alley, Chelsea Kane and Hines Ward will each perform two dances - a Judge's Pick and a Freestyle. Tomorrow night, they perform their own favorite dance for a final ranking by the judges.

Join me for the play-by-play.

8 p.m. ET: "Three stars. Two dances. One trophy!" says Tom Bergeron. And we're off.

8:01 p.m. The stars are introduced. Kirstie Alley's doing her Twitter follower finger-flapping. Co-host Brooke Burke is wearing a white strapless dress. The show begins with a recap of last week's performances by Chelsea. She'll dance first.

8:03 p.m. Carrie Ann Inaba tells Chelsea the judges chose a samba for her. "I'm in the finals. I am going all out," says Chelsea. And now she's on the floor with USA TODAY blogger Mark Ballas shaking her spangled orange pants outfit.

8:06 p.m. The judges weigh in on Chelsea. Len Goodman: "I wasn't overkeen on the flaying arms section, but overall it was a great number. Well done." Bruno Tonioli: "It was a firecracker of a samba!" Carrie Ann: "Hot, hot hot!" Chelsea's scores: 10, 9, 10 = 29.

8:13 p.m. Bruno gives advice to Kirstie in a taped segment. He tells her to work on her hands. He tells her to "take the moment." Kirstie Alley is saying "I want three 10s." She has on an orange dress for her samba with partner Maks Chmerkovskiy.

8:15 p.m. The judges weigh in on Kirstie. Bruno: "You were still looking at the floor! Play to the audience." Carrie Ann: "I love what you did. ... That was a really great samba." Len: "It was appealing ... Lovely job." Shown in the crowd: Denise Richards and Jennifer Grey (not together). Brooke Burke asks Kirstie how it feels to be compared Chelsea, who was "born in 1988." Um, answers Kirstie, who was born in 1951: "We just do whatever we do." Kirstie's scores: 9, 9, 9 = 27.

8:22 p.m. Len visits Hines in a taped segment, and gives him pointers on his quickstep. "Look at these deltoids," says Len squeezing Hines. The NFL star and partner Kym Johnson take to the floor. Hines has on a top hat and tails. It's a lively dance that ends with Hines popping a champagne bottle full of confetti.

8: 25 p.m. Carrie Ann: "That was so much fun!" Len: "As good as that was... for me, it's not quite there yet. This competition is still anyone's win or lose." Bruno: "It was like watching a mega-production on Broadway! ... I agree with Carrie Ann - you connect with the audience like no one." Seen in the crowd: Brandy, Hines' mom. Hines' scores: 10, 9, 10 = 29.

8:32 p.m. Freestyle round begins with Chelsea and Mark. "You nail the freestyle and you have a really good shot at winning," Mark tells Chelsea in a taped segment. She practices the whole time in sweat pants that are in jeopardy of coming off - isn't that her thong underwear showing? - and a sports bra-type top.

8:33 p.m. Time to hit the floor. Chelsea's got on black pants and a blue, midriff-baring top. Mark's got on a green suit. Both sparkle and have on light-up black tennis shoes and light-up gloves. They are all over the place. She's on his shoulders and upside down. It's as high-energy as you would expect from these two, with moves performed to Latin rhythms.

8:35 p.m. The judges to weigh in on Chelsea. Len: "Fantastic!" Bruno: "It was electrifying!" Carrie Ann: She can't find the words to express how much she liked the dance, so she stands up and dances, then tugs on her Spanx before she sits back down.

8:42 p.m. Brooke is apologizing to Chelsea and Mark for the lights going out during their dance. But weren't they supposed to go out so we could see their light-up accessories? Chelsea's scores: 10, 10, 10 = 30. Total: 59.

8:43 p.m. Kirstie and Maks are shown rehearsing in their taped segment, trying to figure out how to compete with "young" Chelsea and "athletic" Hines. Then they take to the floor. Kirstie is barefoot and wearing a long brown dress that looks a little Friar Tuck-ish. She's got on leggings. Oh, there goes Friar Tuck. She rips off the dress to reveal black leggings and a black leotard top. She does a cartwheel. Maks has her in a lift as laser beams shoot green light on the floor. Wow. What else can they think of?

Kelly Preston is among the audience members. Everyone is standing and applauding. It was a gutsy dance. Says Bruno: "Ten weeks ago I never would have thought of you even attempting to do lifts and things you've done tonight. ... You went for it - romance at the beginning, sexy in the middle and gymnastics" at the end. Carrie Ann: "That dance embodies what you have become - as a poster child for life as it should be lived at 60 years old." Len: "You took risks. And you gotta risk it if you want the biscuit. I commend you. Well done."

8:48 p.m. Kirstie's scores: 9, 9, 9 = 27. Total: 54. "The ballroom is booing. I think they wanted you to get more than that," says Brooke.

8:54 p.m. One freestyle left: Hines and Kym. In rehearsals, Kim wears a neck brace, the result of her injury last week. Their freestyle dance has a marching band theme. Kym's a cheerleader and Hines is a drum major. But wait, Hines has ripped off his jacket sleeves to reveal his biceps. They incorporate a lot of lifts, although it's a little tough to dance to marching band drumming. Seen cheering them on: NFLer Franco Harris.

8:56 p.m. Carrie Ann: "Those lifts were insane!" Len: "You've just given your all!" Bruno: "You pulled all the stops and created a crowd-pleasing event." Hines says he's got a spot at home for that mirror ball trophy. Hines' scores: 10, 10, 10 = 30. Total: 59.

9 p.m. Tom Bergeron reminds viewers that their votes make up half the total score. This show airs again at 8 p.m. tomorrow; the finale airs at 9 p.m. Come back for another live blog recap.

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