Nicole Scherzinger on 'Dancing With the Stars' Win: 'It's Still Surreal'
Finalists Nicole Scherzinger, Evan Lysacek and Erin Andrews appear on "GMA."
May 26, 2010— -- Nicole Scherzinger said that despite consistently earning strong scores, her "Dancing With the Stars" win last night came as a shock.
"I was genuinely surprised," the Pussycat Doll said today on "Good Morning America." "I had the most amazing people I was up against. It was so awesome; it's still surreal."
Scherzinger and fellow finalists Evan Lysacek and Erin Andrews appeared live on "GMA" today with their professional partners after competing in last night's finale. They all agreed that the tenth season of "Dancing With the Stars" was one of the strongest.
"We felt the energy from the first week," said Scherzinger's partner Derek Hough, who won for the second time. "There was something amazing about it … it truly was a phenomenal season."
Olympic figure skater Evan Lysacek, who began competing on the show right after the Vancouver Olympics, said the experience was "so much more than I could have anticipated. The most surprising thing to me is the bond that we all shared as a cast ...we all left with a new family and we walked out of that building hand in hand."
ESPN sportscaster Andrews, who was eliminated halfway through the two-hour finale, concurred.
"It was an amazing experience," she said. "It's really a family. It's very exciting."
"This experience has meant everything to me," Andrews said after her elimination on the finale. "I came here under really crummy circumstances," she said, referencing her recent experience with a stalker, "and I just wanted to get my life back together and my smile back and I just wanted to be myself again."
"Season 10 will forever stand out," her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy said today. "Any other season we might have made a run for it."
Nicole Scherzinger Wins 'Dancing With the Stars'
The Doll brought home the ball on Tuesday's season finale of "Dancing With the Stars."
Scherzinger and Hough beat out Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya in the tenth season finale, winning the coveted Mirror Ball trophy.
The final three couples had waltzed, cha-cha'ed and foxtrotted their way through the entire competition, earning praise -- and sometimes, criticism -- from judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.
On the finale, the judges congratulated all three couples, saying it's been the highest standard of dancing and the best season of DWTS to date.
"It's been such a blast," Lysacek said on the finale. "We were totally satisfied with everything we gave and we are so proud of Nicole and Derek, they deserve it and they've worked so hard and they've inspired all the rest of the couples in the competition."
The grand finale also brought former contestants Pam Anderson, Niecy Nash, Jake Pavelka, Buzz Aldrin and Kate Gosselin back onto the floor for command performances. Chad Ochocinco was also supposed to dance, but the NFL star had been sidelined by a football injury.
The Final Three Couples on 'Dancing With the Stars'
Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough
Scherzinger is a singer, songwriter, actress and the lead singer of hit-making pop group, The Pussycat Dolls. She was born in Hawaii but raised in Louisville, Ky.
Scherzinger's tremendous ability put her ahead of the pack week after week. Her partner, Derek Hough, hails from Salt Lake City, Utah.
Hough -- whose sister, Julianne, also has performed as a dance pro on the competition -- started dancing at age 11. He's won several international championships.
A singer and actor, Hough has trained and danced all over the world.
Scherzinger and Hough scored a perfect 30 last week with their Argentine tango.
Evan Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya
Lysacek's routines were consistent crowd-pleasers.
The Olympic gold medalist and world figure skating champion from Naperville, Ill., has been skating since he was 8 years old.
His dance partner, Anna Trebunskaya, has been dancing since she was 6 years old. Trebunskaya hails from Russia, and she has won awards as an amateur and a professional dancer.
The couple's paso doble last week earned them a perfect 30 points.
Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
The ESPN sportscaster who hails from Lewiston, Maine, is no stranger to competitive dance.
As a student at University of Florida, Andrews was a member of the Gators' basketball dance team from 1997 to 2000.
Andrews has become one of the most well-known sports reporters in the country, and has reported for several ESPN programs.
Her dance partner, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, has twice made it to the finals of the competition.
Chmerkovskiy, a native of Ukraine, has gained a reputation for taking chances on the dance floor -- and he has no qualms about taking his shirt off.
"I know my assets so I don't have a problem opening my shirt," the dancer said in a release. "I notice women looking at my chest all the time. If you want to look at my chest, go ahead."
The couple's paso doble last week earned them a 29 out of 30 from the judges.
Niecy Nash, Pamela Anderson, Kate Gosselin Voted Off 'Dancing with the Stars'
Niecy Nash and Pamela Anderson also reached the top five this season on "Dancing With the Stars."
Pamela Anderson, who received a standing ovation as she took her final spin around the ballroom on "Dancing With the Stars", told "GMA" that appearing on the show was "a dream job."
When asked why she decided to join the "Dancing" cast this season after being approached many times before, Anderson said, "I just decided to do it because it was good timing with my kids."
"The Bachelor" star Jake Pavelka and professional partner Chelsie Hightower were sent home on the show's fifth elimination, a week after reality TV star Kate Gosselin was eliminated.
Gosselin said she was upset but not surprised to be sent home after six weeks, and that participating in the show during a custody battle for her children was "emotionally very hard, very draining, very scary."
"That's why you saw me the way you saw me," Gosselin said on "Good Morning America." "My kids come first, and their future is uncertain right now. Dancing feels … it was just, it had to be second place at that time."
Gosselin and professional partner Tony Dovolani lasted until the halfway point of the 10th season of "Dancing With the Stars," despite consistently receiving harsh criticism and low scores from the judges.
"I wanted to learn more, I wanted to do more," she said, although adding, "I knew it was my day yesterday."
She said she had a "great ride" on the show.
"It was a great adventure," she said. "It was exciting, and contrary to popular belief, I really enjoyed my time on 'Dancing With the Stars.' We laughed a lot of times until we cried. … I would roll on the floor laughing."
'Dancing's' Star-Studded Season 10
Soap star Aiden Turner and his vivacious partner, Edyta Sliwinska, rumba'd their way off the dance floor in the third elimination.
"I feel I got robbed," the actor said on "Good Morning America."
"The judges really hated us," Sliwinska said.
Turner received a standing ovation from the crowd and bid an emotional farewell to the show and his professional partner, the only dancer to have appeared on all 10 seasons of "Dancing With the Stars."
"I just appreciate all the dance moves that she's given to me," he said on the show, tearing up.
Sliwinska called the response from the audience "amazing."
"That's why we do it," she said. "We don't really do it for the three judges. We do it for the audience. … It's really, really awesome to see that they gave a standing ovation to Aiden. ... It was harsh to be eliminated so early."
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin was the second star to be eliminated this season.
"I'm very proud to have had the opportunity to inspire a number of us who are trying to keep very active," Aldrin said on "Good Morning America."
Despite his low scores, the fan favorite wowed the crowd with his performance, and his elimination was met with groans.
"I did this show for the fighter pilots out there, the military people and the elder geezers like me who would just like to see an elder come back week after week," Aldrin said on the show.
Actress Shannen Doherty was the first star sent home from the 10th season of "Dancing With the Stars."
ABC News' Brian Braiker contributed to this report.