DWTS 14 Week 10 finale : Vote now

On “Dancing with the Stars” season 14 tonight (21 May 2012), the three final couples are so closely matched it won’t be the judges who decide the winning couple. The audience will have to determine who wins as only one point separates the first-placed Welsh singer Katherine Jenkins and her partner Mark Ballas from the two teams tied for second place: telenovela star William Levy and his partner Cheryl Burke and football star Donald Driver and his partner Peta Murgatroyd. The judges awarded 15 tens in all.

In a night that had a decidedly Latin flavor, the judge who cast the deciding vote was head judge Len Goodman. He gave Levy and Burke a nine for their freestyle to  ”Objection (Tango)” by Shakira and Driver and Murgatroyd a nine for their Argentine tango to ”They” by Jem.

Jenkins and Ballas had a perfect score of 60 out of 60. They performed paso doble to ”España Cañí” by Erich Kunzel. This team had previously performed the paso doble during Week 4, Rock Week, to ”Time Is Running Out” by Muse. They earned a 24 (8, 8, 8).

For their freestyle, Jenkins and Ballas went light and breezy, performing to ”Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Swing)” by Andrews Sisters.

Levy and Burke previously performed the cha cha cha during Week 1 to ”International Love” by Pitbull feat. Chris Brown. Although Levy was at a disadvantage having less practice time than the other celebrities, he pulled through to earn a decent score of 24 ( 8, 8, 8).  Levy and Burke heated up the dance floor this week by performing their cha cha cha to Pink’s ”Raise Your Glass” for a perfect score of 30.

Burke capitalized on Levy’s sex appeal by choreographing a freestyle routine to ”Objection (Tango)” and left the audience screaming.

Driver and Murgatroyd had previously performed an Argentine tango during Week 5, Latin Week to ”Sin Rumbo” by Otros Aires. That routine left the judges divided with Carrie Ann Inaba giving the couple a 10, but Goodman only begrudging them an 8. Tonioli gave the pair a nine for a total of 27. This time, there wasn’t any argument. Their routine was rewarded this week with a 29 (10, 9, 10).  For their freestyle, Murgatroyd took them to a different musical genre: country rap. Did you know there was a thing such as country rap?!

Cowboy Troy, aka Troy Lee Coleman III, is a 41-year-old Texas-born rapper with a bachelor degree from the University of Texas at Austin. His “I Play Chicken with the Train” reached 48 on the U.S. Country charts in 2005, but for Driver and Murgatroyd, the song was pure gold. They earned a perfect score of 30 for their freestyle routine.

Driver may play for the Green Bay Packers who are based in Wisconsin, but the 37-year-old Driver was originally born in Texas.

With the teams so closely matched, the votes of the viewers will really count. What do we know about the DWTS audience? Over 13 seasons, six women and seven men have won the mirror ball trophy.

The largest group of winners have been sports figures: Olympic gold medal figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic gold medal gymnast Shawn Johnson, Olympic old medal speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, racer Helio Castroneves and football players Emmitt Smith and Hines Ward. That would give Donald Driver an advantage. Three actors have won (Monaco, Grey and Martinez) and three singers (Scherzinger, Lachey and Osmond).

Only one non-American has won: Helio Castroneves who is Brazilian. Castroneves won over British singer Mel B. French man Gilles Marini placed second behind American Johnson. Other foreign nationals who have made the finals were: Brit Kelly Osbourne (season 9) and Chilean Cristian de la Fuentes (season 6). Both finished third.

Vote now, because with the teams so close the audience votes count more than ever.

During the live shows, the judges will give each couple a score based on several factors, including technical execution. But the judges’ scores alone do not decide a couple’s fate.

• Vote online

Phone lines, text votes (AT&T customers only) and online voting will open at the top of each performance show so that viewers can vote for their favorites. Phone and text lines will stay open until 60 minutes after the end of the show in your local time zone. Online voting will remain open until 11AM (Eastern Time)/ 8AM (Pacific Time) the following day.

TEAMS:

Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd

• 800-868-3403
• 800-VOTE4-03
• Text-in Code: 3403 

Katherine Jenkins & Mark Ballas

• 800-868-3410
• 800-VOTE4-10
• Text-in Code: 3410

William Levy & Cheryl Burke

• 800-868-3408
• 800-VOTE4-08
• Text-in Code: 3408

Vote online.