The Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger and Derek Hough won the competition, while Olympic figure skater Evan Lysacek and Anna Trebunskaya finished second, and ESPN host Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy finished third.

Damian Whitewood, from the Broadway dance revue Burn the Floor, joined the cast of professionals this season.

Samantha Harris did not return as co-host for this season due to her commitments on The Insider and Entertainment Tonight.

On March 8, 2010, Tom Bergeron announced on Good Morning America that his new co-host would be season seven champion Brooke Burke.

Color key: Individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.

Each couple performed either the Argentine tango or samba, plus a swing dance marathon for extra points.