LOS ANGELES — There were no early surprises on the "Dancing with the Stars" finale, as Marie Osmond was the first one eliminated Tuesday night.
The show "gave me something that I knew was solid, something I can count on," she said in a segment recorded before she was ousted. "It's been one of the best experiences of my life."
Spice Girl Melanie Brown and race-car driver Helio Castroneves were left to battle for the title on the ballroom floor.
Osmond and her professional partner, Jonathan Roberts, came into the final episode in third place with 46 points. Their doll-inspired freestyle routine was panned by judges and online, with one blogger calling it "a drunken nightmare."
Osmond, 48, had enjoyed strong viewer support throughout the hit show's fifth season while enduring the death of her father and fainting on stage. But she was eliminated after viewer votes were combined with judges' scores.
Brown and partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy started the episode in first place, with 55 out of a possible 60 points. Castroneves and his partner, Julianne Hough, scored one point less.
Tuesday's season finale also featured a performance by Celine Dion.
The ABC show began with a dozen dancers. Model-actress Josie Maran was the first to be eliminated. Other nixed contestants were actresses Sabrina Bryan, Jennie Garth and Jane Seymour, entrepreneur Mark Cuban, entertainer Wayne Newton, boxer Floyd Mayweather, actor Cameron Mathison and model Albert Reed.