“Anything that scares me I want to do,” “Glee” star says of DWTS challenge

Nov 27, 2013 07:46 GMT  ·  By

She thought she wouldn’t even make it in the finals but, clearly, Amber Riley of “Glee” fame underestimated her skill as a dancer and pro dancing partner Derek Hough’s teaching skills, because the duo just won the 17th season of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars.

Above is a (rather poor-quality) video of the moment when Amber and Derek found out that they’d won, which means Corbin Bleu and Karina Smirnoff were named runner-ups. The third position was occupied by Jack Osbourne (another celebrity who didn’t believe they could make it into the finals) and Cheryl Burke.

Terribly excited, the always adorable Amber used her time in the spotlight as winner of the much-coveted Mirrorball Trophy to send a message to all women out there: never stop believing in yourself!

“Anything that scares me I want to do. You can do whatever, whatever, whatever you put your mind to,” she said, adding that success is not dependent on your size, your color or your age.

The second video embedded here is of Amber and Derek’s last dance on the show, a fusion dance of their Samba and Quickstep, which earned them a perfect score and very high praises from the judges.

It was a well-deserved win, wasn’t it?