Dancing with the Stars' Season 30 finale determines the next winner of the long-running ABC dance competition, and Jenna Johnson Chmerkovskiy and JoJo Siwa were favorites to take the season from early on. The win would mark a meaningful comeback season for Johnson, who came up devastatingly short in Season 29 with a second-place finish with partner and Catfish host Nev Schulman.
I spoke to Jenna Johnson a couple of weeks ago ahead of Dancing with the Stars Season 30’s semi-finals, back when her hope of making the finale with JoJo Siwa wasn’t guaranteed. We got on the topic of her upset loss in Season 29 with Nev Schulman to Kaitlyn Bristowe and Artem Chigvintsev, and Johnson admitted the defeat left her “a little bit bitter,” considering the season she had.
Oh, man. Yeah, getting second was not fun for sure. We were so close, and I feel like, when we ended up getting second and lost, I was so devastated, and a little bit bitter, I'm not going to lie. And it kind of just ruined the whole magical season that I had.
Nev Schulman and Jenna Johnson put on some of the best performances of Dancing with the Stars Season 29 but were stunned in the finale when Kaitlyn Bristowe and Artem Chigvintsev ended up with the Mirror Ball trophy instead. Many viewers felt Bristowe didn’t deserve the win over Schulman and mainly got the honor thanks to support from Bachelor Nation fans.
Dancing with the Stars' Season 30 finale had the potential to set up a similar scenario, as Jenna Johnson and JoJo Siwa found themselves in the Bottom 2 once despite the duo having the highest overall average score of any team this season. They’re in the finals with Cody Rigsby and Cheryl Burke, who turned in some of the lowest scores all season but have remained safe thanks to fan votes. Iman Shumpert and Daniella Karagach also survived more through the grace of fans than their performances, so they also could pull an upset. Beyond that, Amanda Kloots and Alan Bersten present a real challenge and could topple Johnson and Siwa on finale night.
Jenna Johnson wasn’t aware of who her competition would be or even if she’d make the finale when we spoke. She did indicate, though, that while she’d love to win Dancing with the Stars Season 30, she was just as concerned about making memories and doing something that she and the fans will remember for quite some time.
I want to just do the best that we can do and hopefully do something that's going to go viral, that's going to make history, that people are going to want to watch and remember forever. That's kind of what my intention is for this season, but obviously, I mean, I would absolutely love to bring home a Mirror Ball. No doubt about that.
The numbers support the idea that JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson should win Season 30, but the same was true for Johnson and Nev Schulman Season 29. Will Johnson and Siwa be able to hold on and secure what would be a historic win for Dancing with the Stars’ first same-sex dance partners?
Dancing with the Stars’ finale fun kicks off over at ABC on Monday, November 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET. Be sure to vote for the winner, and stick with CinemaBlend for any aftermath or controversy to discuss!
