'Dancing With the Stars' Recap: Deadlocked

It's been a long road and here we are at the finals. All three of our stars turned in amazing performances in the first round, but the freestyle round was absolutely to die for. In a season characterized by ties, we've got another one. 

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Chelsea and Hines each earned 59 out of a possible 60 points tonight! Kirstie is trailing 5 points behind. Let's hope everyone got to vote, eh, because we have never had a closer competition at this stage in the game.

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Here's a quick rundown of each star's routines. Keep in mind that Chelsea, Kirstie and Hines will each be dancing one more routine before the winner is announced.

Chelsea Kane

Chelsea's samba was hip-shakingly, back-bendingly amazing. (Mark's choreography was, as usual, quite difficult). What makes Chelsea great is the precision of her steps and movements combined with her amazing energy – and as always, she had a ton of energy. The judges did well to choose the samba to showcase Chelsea's dance prowess. We even saw a rare smile out of Len after the routine wrapped up.

I was a little worried when Chelsea and Mark rode out on a bike for their freestyle, but they recovered nicely. The routine was a twisty, bendy, lift-y feat of acrobatics … and then they brought out the glow sticks. I thought Len would freak out, but he loved it. Bruno did too, and praised Chelsea for pushing it to the limit. Carrie Ann was so pleased she got up and danced herself.

Samba: 29/30

Freestyle: 30/30

Total: 59/60

Kirstie Alley

Kirstie's spirited samba really showed us how far she's come. Her hip work was elegant in the extreme and her rhythm was much improved. She and Maks danced better together than they ever have before – they were truly a team out there. Len praised the "lovely naturalness" of the dance and all three judges roundly applauded Kirstie's effort.

Kirstie and Maks' freestyle was one of the most spirited, interesting and tongue-in-cheek routines I've seen on this show. I especially loved that Kirstie went without shoes! Her form and balance were amazing. The crowd absolutely loved it, of course, but the judges had nice things to say, too. Bruno was floored by the lifts Kirstie and Maks turned in, and Len loved its wackiness.

Samba: 27/30

Freestyle: 27/30

Total: 54/60

Hines Ward

This quickstep was impossible not to love. Hines' footwork was breathtaking, his posture was amazing and his enthusiasm was off the charts. The quickstep is not an easy dance, and we all know how hard Kym has been pushing Hines – and herself! – in rehearsals. I'm going to go ahead and call this one a coup. Or I could go with "Twinkle Toes," like Carrie Ann did. Len, however, said the dance "wasn't quite there yet."

Hines came out dressed like a drum major for his freestyle but danced like a matador. The routine featured some spectacular lifts and plenty of booty shaking as well. Hines' arm and shoulder work has come such a long way since the premiere! As always, he and Kym danced beautifully together. It's hard to believe they've only known each other a few months. Carrie Ann said the routine wasn't really a halftime show, it was "the whole damn Super Bowl." You tell 'em!

Quickstep: 29/30

Freestyle: 30/30

Total: 59/60

Who won over the judges: Chelsea and Hines tied!

Who won over the audience: Hines

Who needs to step it up: Kirstie

What did you think of tonight's performances? Sound off

"Dancing With the Stars" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT and Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.