The energy in the ballroom during the May 2013 finale was thick enough to cut with a butter knife. You had a Disney starlet who seemed untouchable on the leaderboard and a country darling with a heart of gold. If you were sitting on your couch back then, you probably remember the tension.
So, who won season 16 of Dancing with the Stars?
Kellie Pickler and her pro partner Derek Hough took home the Mirrorball Trophy. It was a victory that felt like a lightning strike.
Kellie wasn't just a singer from American Idol; she became a technical powerhouse. But the win didn't come without a massive helping of drama and a razor-thin margin that still has fans debating in Reddit threads over a decade later.
The Battle of the Leaders: Pickler vs. Zendaya
Honestly, for most of the season, it felt like a two-horse race. On one side, you had Zendaya, who was only 16 at the time. She was paired with Val Chmerkovskiy, and together they were terrifyingly good. Zendaya was the youngest contestant in the show's history at that point, and she danced like a seasoned pro.
On the other side, Kellie Pickler brought this raw, emotional vulnerability. Derek Hough, being the strategist he is, knew he couldn't just out-dance Zendaya on pure athleticism—he had to out-feel her.
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The Scores That Nearly Broke the Show
Going into the final moments, the leaderboard was a mess of perfection. Zendaya actually had the edge in points.
- Zendaya & Val: 95 points
- Kellie & Derek: 94 points
Basically, Kellie was trailing by a single point. In the world of DWTS, a one-point gap is nothing, yet it’s everything. When the final three couples—including NFL star Jacoby Jones, who took third—performed their "Instant Dances," everyone got perfect 30s.
The judges were basically useless at that point because they loved everyone. It all came down to the viewers at home.
Why Kellie Pickler Won
If you look at the technical side, Zendaya might have had the slight edge in precision. But Kellie had "the freestyle."
Usually, freestyles are full of crazy lifts, backup dancers, and pyrotechnics. Derek Hough did the opposite. He stripped everything away. They performed a contemporary-heavy freestyle to "Beneath Your Beautiful" that was so quiet and so technically difficult that Carrie Ann Inaba was literally in tears.
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It wasn't just a dance; it was a moment. That routine is still widely considered one of the top five freestyles in the history of the entire franchise.
The Voting Glitch Controversy
There's a bit of a "conspiracy theory" flavor to this season, too. On the night of the finale, the ABC website experienced massive technical issues. A lot of fans claimed they couldn't get their votes in.
Because Zendaya had a younger, tech-savvy fanbase, many argued she was "robbed" because her fans couldn't access the online portal. Meanwhile, Kellie’s country music fanbase was known for being incredibly disciplined with phone-in voting.
Did the glitch change the outcome? We'll never know for sure. But the "Zendaya was robbed" sentiment remains a staple of DWTS lore.
The Full Season 16 Elimination Order
It’s easy to forget who else was in the mix during this chaotic season. It was a weirdly diverse cast. You had an Olympic skater, a Real Housewife, and even a Bachelor.
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- Kellie Pickler & Derek Hough (Winners)
- Zendaya & Val Chmerkovskiy (Runners-up)
- Jacoby Jones & Karina Smirnoff (3rd Place)
- Aly Raisman & Mark Ballas (4th Place)
- Ingo Rademacher & Kym Johnson
- Sean Lowe & Peta Murgatroyd
- Andy Dick & Sharna Burgess
- Victor Ortiz & Lindsay Arnold
- D.L. Hughley & Cheryl Burke
- Lisa Vanderpump & Gleb Savchenko
- Wynonna Judd & Tony Dovolani
- Dorothy Hamill & Tristan MacManus (Withdrew due to injury)
Dorothy Hamill’s withdrawal early on was a real bummer. She was an Olympic legend, but her surgeons basically told her she’d do permanent damage to her spine if she kept going. It was a heavy way to start the season.
How to Revisit the Magic
If you're looking to scratch that nostalgia itch, you can't just find full episodes of Season 16 on standard streaming services easily—music licensing is a nightmare for this show. However, the standout performances are almost all on YouTube.
What you should do next:
Go watch Kellie and Derek's Freestyle and then watch Zendaya's Samba. Seeing them back-to-back makes you realize how impossible the judges' job was that night.
If you're a student of dance, pay attention to Kellie's feet during the lifts in her freestyle. She holds positions that most professionals struggle with, all while looking like she’s floating. It’s a masterclass in core strength.
Whether you think the right person won or not, Season 16 was the peak of the "Golden Era" of Dancing with the Stars. It had the perfect mix of high-level talent and genuine TV drama.