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    Friday, April 26, 2024

    'Dancing With the Stars': Why no one had a chance to win over Jordan Fisher

    Jordan Fisher and Lindsay Arnold, winners of "Dancing With the Stars" Season 25. (Adam Rose, ABC)

    In a not-surprising turn of events, actor Jordan Fisher won "Dancing With the Stars" Season 25 on Tuesday night. No one else really had a shot' he triumphed over violinist Lindsey Stirling, the runner-up, and actor Frankie Muniz, the third-place finisher.

    "Your skills are just ridiculously out of this world," judge Carrie Ann Inaba raved to Fisher after his final performance with his partner, Lindsay Arnold.

    "I think you are the most complete male celebrity ever on 'Dancing with the Stars,' " Len Goodman added.

    "You're right up there with the best we've seen on this show!" Bruno Tonioli exclaimed.

    In addition to the love from the judges, Fisher had this thing locked up from the start. Here's why:

    1) He's already a trained dancer, and it showed.

    Seem unfair? Quite a few viewers on social media thought so, given Fisher's background. He starred in two roles in "Hamilton" on Broadway and has years of theater experience. This is a common "DWTS" controversy: Last year, some fans weren't too pleased that Heather Morris, a former Beyoncé backup dancer, was competing against amateurs.

    Before the season started, AL.com wrote that Fisher "downplays the internet chatter that calls him as a ringer."

    "Going into this, you would think that somebody with a dance background will go in and exceed and excel," Fisher, an Alabama native, told the site. "But I'm learning from scratch. All ballroom is new to me. All ballroom, period. The end. Never done it. I've never felt so uncoordinated in my whole life."

    2) He has the Disney fanbase.

    Corporate synergy might have played a role in Fisher being cast as a contestant. "Dancing With the Stars" airs on ABC, owned by the same parent company as Freeform (where Fisher starred in "The Secret Life of the American Teenager") and the Disney Channel (where Fisher starred in "Liv and Maddie" and "Teen Beach 2.") He also sang on the end credits song in Disney's "Moana" and has songs played on Radio Disney.

    All of that is to say: it's never a bad thing to have loyal Disney fans in your corner, especially those who can vote for you on a reality dancing competition.

    3) He also has a gymnastics background.

    Fisher was once an aspiring Olympic gymnast, and those skills really help out with tricky routines on "DWTS." Just ask winners Shawn Johnson or Laurie Hernandez, along with finalists Aly Raisman and Simone Biles. As everyone knows, athletes in general do quite well on this show.

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