Dancing's Derek Hough: The Mishap Was "No One's Fault"

Hey everyone,
Thanks for your votes and support!
Congrats to Alfonso and Witney! How great was the finale? Well, except for that set mishap!

That was an unfortunate incident. Bethany and I were feeling good, the dance had just started and then that happened. It just goes to show that you can plan everything, but you can't control everything. The camera guys couldn't turn around and there was a whole set in front of us that you couldn't see on camera, so that was all in the way. That threw us off a little bit, but we got through it. Bethany recovered really well. I know some of you are upset that they docked us for something out of our control, but I don't know what the right thing to do would've been. I don't know if it's in the rulebooks how to score if a set malfunction affects you. It's just a shame it happened during the finals, but it's all good. It's a live show and things happen. There are so many moving parts that if you think about it, it's really shocking how this type of stuff doesn't happen more. That really speaks to how amazing and fantastic our crew is. It's no one's fault.

Bethany was pretty upset about it afterward. How could you not be? Her eyes were welling up with tears and she looked like she was about to have a breakdown. I told her, "Listen, it's over. It's in the past. It doesn't exist anymore. We have to move on and give our all in the freestyle." And she did! What's funny is later, she told me, "It's good I messed up the jive because it fueled me for the freestyle." It gave her an extra oomph. She totally killed it. I'm so proud of her. I'm glad that is the last dance people will see of her on the show because it captured her journey and who she is — this awesome, fearless, revolutionary young woman.
Standing up there for the results, I don't think either of us were surprised we were eliminated. I think this was a really competitive and close final that we were prepared for anything. I think some people are surprised because people assumed that because Bethany has a lot of followers, we'd make it. But that's not the full picture. There are so many other factors at play, and it'd be erroneous to assume that every single one of your followers and fans will be voting every week — not just for Bethany, but everyone.
Plus, it's not so bad leaving in fourth place! Obviously the ideal result is to win for Bethany, but there can only be one winner. She did a fantastic job this season. Just looking back at where she was when we started to now — she's already a winner. I've been lucky enough to be in the top 3 four times in a row, but I'll be honest: I didn't mind not having to work on the 24-hour fusion! It was fun to just sit back and watch everyone else kick ass for the final night... until we found out we won the freestyle encore! Bethany and I weren't expecting that, so that was a really awesome surprise. Shout-out to all the Motavators!
Alfonso — what can you say? A lot of people will say it was his to lose from the start, but that's the thing: You can lose it. It's hard being the favorite and actually going all the way. And it didn't look good last week with his back, but he worked through it and crushed it. His freestyle was so energetic and so him. I think I said this last week, but I thought all of our freestyles were representative of each celebrity. And the best part was they were all so different in vibe and tone. Janel and Val were so lovely and gorgeous. Sadie and Mark — did I not say you were in for another Mark Special? That was so freakin' awesome! The concept was so fun and unexpected. Only Mark would've thought to do that. I was dying watching it. Just hearing the music brought me back. I wanted to play Mario Bros. again! It's definitely gonna go down as one of the all-time classic freestyles for sure.
As for next season, it's still too early to say, but I can't imagine not being part of the 10-year anniversary somehow. I can't believe it will be 10 years! Time flies, man! It's crazy how this little summer dancing show has grown into this huge phenomenon. I'm just lucky and thankful to have been part of it.

Speaking of thanks, I'm heading to Nashville to spend Thanksgiving with the family. It's been a wild, awesome, insane and wonderful year, so I'm looking forward to relaxing a bit and looking back. After that, I'm gonna work on some music in the studio and I'll probably put stuff up on my YouTube page. I've got some other things going on that I can't talk about yet, but I'm keeping busy as usual! I'll probably take a mini vacation somewhere in between. Maybe two days instead of one? Ha!
Thanks for reading this season! Hope I didn't bore you! Hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
Derek