All three finalists this season of Dancing with the Stars have proven themselves to be top-notch dancers. I don't think anyone would question that Kristi Yamaguchi has ballroom talent to spare or that Jason Taylor is surprisingly nimble and light on his toes. But Cristian de la Fuente is the most approachable of the three finalists and may ride the wave of fan appreciation all the way to victory.

Cristian started out the season with middling scores, but under the adept tutelage of Cheryl Burke, he has managed to climb the ranks. Beginning with their jive in week 3, Cristian and Cheryl have been scoring very respectable 9s.

Of course, things took a dip in week 7 when Cristian ruptured a tendon in his left arm in the middle of the samba. The judges, giving him triple 7s, said that they based their scores on the part of the performance before the injury occurred. Now, I'm no ballroom expert, but I really thought that he deserved a much higher score than a 21 for that particular performance. There were many moments in which he and Cheryl were doing identical steps side-by-side, and it was apparent that he was holding his own during those moments, which is very impressive in my opinion.

The very next week, Cristian came back to take the top spot in the leaderboard. Whether this was because the judges were giving him over-inflated sympathy doesn't really matter because his fanbase seems determined to save him every week, regardless of whether he's at the top of the leaderboard or at the bottom.

Don't miss the final Dancing with the Stars performance show next Monday at 8pm, followed the next night by the two-hour finale beginning at 9pm in which we will find out whether or not Cristian and Cheryl will become crowned the next champions of Dancing with the Stars.

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Why Jason and Edyta Should Win Dancing with the Stars



-Debbie Chang, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image courtesy of ABC)