Apparently it’s date night after the Finale! Maks and Karina are double dating with Derek and Shannon (with spare BHB band members tagging along), and Julianne and Chuck get caught by the cameras as well. Julianne confirms once again that she is only taking one season off.

E! News on the Winner of DWTS and the Finale as a whole:

Marc Malkin, from E! Online, is none to pleased that his favorite didn’t win:

From ET Online:

On Tuesday night’s thrilling “Dancing with the Stars” finale Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas walked away with the coveted mirror ball trophy — and ET was backstage to celebrate with the season eight champions!

“It feels amazing,” Shawn Johnson says about the victory. “I don’t know how we did it. I guess we like to save things for the last second. We worked really hard, I feel like I’ve grown so much. I can officially say I am a dancer and that is amazing to me, I never imagined that.”

“To be on the stage especially next to Gilles [Marini] and Cheryl [Burke] and Melissa [Rycroft] and Tony [Dovolani] was amazing,” Mark says. “I’m just so honored to have had Shawn as a partner and to take her this far. Thank you to the fans for voting for us. Thank you.”

Check out the video from the Dancing with the Stars finale where they announce who will be the next professional dancer on season 9 of Dancing with the Stars. The best part of the video is that the winner dances.

You can read more of our coverage of both Anna Demidova and Mayo Alanen. There’s an especially good video of Anna Demidova before DWTS.

This is a bit of counting your chickens, but I didn’t write the article (Robin Leach apparently did) so don’t shoot me. I also doubt that Cheryl is that certain she has it wrapped up.

Barring a last-minute upset of erratic TV viewer voting, it looks a certain bet that hot and handsome hunk Gilles Marini and dance partner Cheryl Burke, despite a judges’ scoring tie last night, will win the mirrored disco ball trophy on tonight’s Season 8 finale of Dancing With the Stars. The moment Cheryl wraps all the post-show press and multimedia interviews, she will head here Thursday night to celebrate.

Our pick is for Gilles and Cheryl to grab the win, with Shawn and Mark as the runners-up and Melissa and Tony winding up in third. If we’re correct, then we can go all the way back to week 1 of the season and proudly claim we were right all along! And this would be a record-setting third title for Cheryl!

Oh god, I just noticed this last sentence in the blog. Please. No.

I’ve already heard rumblings that Luxor comedy headliner Carrot Top and Flamingo headliner singer Donny Osmond are being considered as celebrity participants!

I just found this short little story on People that talks about Julianne Hough not leaving Dancing with the Stars for good. Here’s the quote from the article where Julianne Hough talks:

In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE, Hough said: “I am appreciative to be taking this coming season of Dancing with the Stars off to focus on my other career paths like touring in support of my album and recording my next one. I look forward to returning to DWTS in early 2010.”

Dancing with the Stars executive producer, Conrad Green, is also quoted in the article talking about how they encourage the dancers to take a break. Check out Julianne Hough’s list of Tour dates and you can see she’s going to be busy without Dancing with the Stars.

Glad to know Julianne Hough will be back on Dancing with the Stars.

I picked up a couple of DWTS stories on various entertainment news shows and thought I’d share.

Extra

Access Hollywood - Ty cracks me up!! As does the Gilles/Tony Bromance. Does this make me a shipper?

USAToday.com article called “‘Dancing’ Stars find new fans and more opportunities”.  The focus of this article is mainly on Gilles, but it’s a pretty interesting read all the way around. Here are a few excerpts and the picture they used:

LOS ANGELES — Hours after actor Gilles Marini and dance partner Cheryl Burke wrapped up a rumba that drew a standing ovation from the Dancing With the Stars studio audience, he needs a body tuneup.

Soft New Age music and a soothing tabletop waterfall in chiropractor Tom Rudenko’s office are a quiet contrast to the boisterous theatrics at ABC’s hit ballroom competition. But they’re just the tonic for weary Marini.

The potential payoff is far bigger than bragging rights and the cheesy mirror-ball trophy awaiting Dancing’s winners on the May 19 finale. Yes, the actors, athletes, singers, models and reality stars who have appeared since its 2005 debut have risked injury and humiliation on live TV. But Dancing also has jump-started careers, polished tarnished reputations and generated opportunities in ways most of them couldn’t imagine.

Lil’ Kim, the pint-sized rapper best known for R-rated lyrics, breast pasties and prison time for perjury, was ousted last week. But during her stint, viewers saw the sweet demeanor and feisty spirit of a hip-hop artist shaking her booty to the cha-cha. “I think I’ve already won,” she says. “This has shown another side of me. I’ve got new fans. Acting makes sense; I could see doing a kids’ show. Definitely, the music will be different.”

For Johnson, 17, who may aim for the 2012 Olympics, Dancing provides more options. “It’s really given me the opportunity to see what else is out there. I never thought about acting. Now? Maybe,” she says, giggling.

Even show regulars have managed to parlay Dancing into opportunity. Co-host Samantha Harris is subbing as host of syndicated game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Burke, who opens her third dance studio this week, also has an apparel line and endorsement deals. Pro dancer Julianne Hough is leaving to focus on a promising singing career.

From the Entertainment Section:

What Our Writers Love This Week

TV

Lil’ Kim

Someone call the cops. The rapper was robbed — robbed! — on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” this week. An electrifying performer and fierce competitor, she made magic on the dance floor with partner Derek Hough. But she lost on Tuesday’s show (to Ty Murray, of all people), depriving viewers of what could have been the best “DWTS” finale of all time: Lil’ Kim’s sass vs. Gilles Marini’s sizzle. (8 p.m. Mondays on ABC … if you still care.)

Lynn Jacobson,

Seattle Times Arts & Life editor

This is per Derek in an interview with E! Online’s Mark Malkin. Here is what Derek says about he and Mark possibly not returning for Season 9 (click to read the whole article).

Julianne Hough may not be the only pro skipping out on Dancing With the Stars next season.

Her brother, Derek, just told me that there’s a chance he and Mark Ballas could be following in her footsteps.

“Mark and I might not be back, either,” Derek says. “We have other things going on.”

Like what exactly? Read on…

Derek and Mark’s band, Ballas Hough Band, released their debut album, BHB, in March. “There’s a bunch of stuff on the table right now,” Derek said, “and we’re going on tour this summer.”

His comment about “stuff on the table” again takes me back to Footloose. I’m still not getting my hopes up. What that has to do Mark, I don’t know.

UPDATE: A new report says that Derek Hough has talked to the people from Footloose, but no agreements have been made. We’ll keep updating as we get more information.

Derek Hough calls into Elliot in the Morning and discusses Mark’s “wardrobe malfunction”, Lil’ Kim and he and Julianne both being in the running for starring roles in the Remake of Footloose.  Hopefully, one of the Hough’s get lucky today!