Donny Osmond the champ of season 9 of 'Dancing with the Stars'

Where was Donny Osmond’s dancing hiding all season?

When the unbearable two-hour results show of “Dancing with the Stars” came to its not-so-unexpected conclusion tonight, it was Donny Osmond holding the mirrorball trophy high and proud as he and his pro partner Kym Johnson and Osmond’s wife, sons and sister Marie celebrated the sweet taste of victory. Season nine had its champion, and it was Donny Osmond.

Over on the other side of the floor was R&B singer Mya, who pretty much seemed like a sure thing this season in terms of taking home the coveted trophy. It was not meant to be. Or maybe she finally realized there was no way to defeat the mighty Osmond viewer voting machine? It seemed as if Mya already had thrown in the towel last night during her dismal freestyle routine; tonight, it was as if she was just ready to pack up her dancing shoes and go home. The jive she and partner Dmitry Chaplin performed was just lackluster.

So what about the dancing prowess that Donny suddenly discovered? Between last night and tonight, Osmond danced like nobody’s business, turning in some pretty sensational footwork and igniting a viewer voting war like no other. For the season, Donny had earned only one set of perfect scores — and that was last night; tonight, he blew past Mya (who earned quite a few 30s this season as she danced rings around everybody else in the judges’ minds) in the final round of dances, earning first place ranking from the judges who were probably wondering where the heck did Osmond’s newfound footwork come from?

When it counted most, Osmond pulled out all the stops, and coupled with some serious missteps by Mya both last night and tonight, well, let’s just say (as I did a few weeks back) that Donny pulled off a stunning come-from-behind win. He’s got his uber-huge fan base to thank for much of it, no doubt about it.

But let’s not forget the fabulous Kelly Osbourne, who came so far this season, who hung in there and worked hard and proved she could dance toe-to-toe with the best of them. Finishing in third place is not bad at all, considering some of the better dancers who were sent packing weeks ago. Again, fan base had much to do with Osbourne making it through to the finals, but no matter. It was a joy to watch her all season long.

And what happened to tonight’s guest star Whitney Houston, who found it oh so difficult to vocalize during “I Want to Dance with Somebody,” her second song of the evening? Just wondering.

What’s on tap for season 10? Here’s hoping for a much more streamlined results show (are you listening ABC?) and hopefully a more exciting roster of celebs. And a roster that doesn’t include ANYONE who has ever had ANY kind of dance training in their lives. Wouldn’t that be a nice change of pace?