It was 2013. The glitter was thicker than usual.
Everyone thought Zendaya had it in the bag. Honestly, the Disney star was a force of nature from week one, hitting lines that made the pros look like they were standing still. But when the confetti finally settled on May 21, it wasn't the future Euphoria star holding the Mirrorball. It was Kellie Pickler.
The winner of season 16 Dancing with the Stars was a country singer with a Southern drawl and zero formal training. She and Derek Hough pulled off what many still consider the biggest "upset" in the show's history. But was it really an upset? If you look at the tape, the signs were everywhere.
The Night the Underdog Won
Kellie Pickler didn't just win; she survived.
Season 16 was stacked. You had Aly Raisman coming off Olympic gold. You had Jacoby Jones, a literal Super Bowl champion who could move like a man half his size. And then there was Zendaya. She was sixteen, flexible as a rubber band, and paired with Val Chmerkovskiy.
But Kellie had Derek Hough.
Derek is the "secret sauce" of DWTS, and by season 16, he was hitting a creative peak. He knew Kellie had something the others didn't—a raw, emotional vulnerability that translates better to TV than technical perfection.
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That Freestyle Though...
If you want to know why Kellie is the winner of season 16 Dancing with the Stars, you have to watch the freestyle. Most couples go for the "big" moment. Pyro, ten backup dancers, maybe someone flies in on a wire.
Not these two.
They did a contemporary-heavy piece to "Beneath Your Beautiful" by Labrinth. It was quiet. It was athletic. It was basically a three-minute argument for why dance matters. Carrie Ann Inaba was literally sobbing. Len Goodman, who usually hates anything that isn't a proper Waltz, was speechless.
That dance changed the math. Zendaya had the higher score going into the finale (she actually finished with 95 points to Kellie's 94 across the final dances), but the fans shifted. The "Country Vote" is a real thing, sure, but this was more than that. It was about a girl from North Carolina who looked like she was dancing for her life.
Why People Still Argue About This Season
Spend five minutes on a DWTS Reddit thread and someone will mention the "Zendaya snub."
"I'm still harboring a little animosity about that. I felt that loss," Zendaya told W Magazine in an interview that resurfaced recently.
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It’s easy to see why. Zendaya was technically superior. Her Hip-Hop freestyle was incredible. But Dancing with the Stars isn't a dance competition; it's a reality show about learning to dance.
Kellie's journey was the classic arc. She started with a 21 (all 7s) for her Cha-cha-cha. By the end, she was pulling perfect 30s for her Argentine Tango and Jive. People love a glow-up. They love seeing a non-dancer become a dancer.
The Scoring Breakdown
Let's look at how tight it really was.
- Kellie Pickler & Derek Hough: Average 27.4. They hit four perfect scores.
- Zendaya & Val Chmerkovskiy: Average 27.3. They also hit five perfect scores.
The margin was razor-thin. Jacoby Jones took third place, mostly because he was the most charismatic human to ever step on the floor, and Aly Raisman ended up in fourth. Seeing an Olympic gymnast come in fourth tells you everything you need to know about how high the level was that year.
The Derek Hough Factor
You can't talk about the winner of season 16 Dancing with the Stars without talking about Derek.
This was his fourth win. He was starting to get a reputation for being "unbeatable," which some fans hated. They thought the show gave him the best partners. But watching him with Kellie, you see the coaching. He didn't just give her steps; he gave her a character.
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In their Quickstep to "Peppy and George," they looked like they’d been a professional duo for twenty years. It was fast. It was synchronized. It was flawless.
What Happened After the Mirrorball?
Kellie didn't just disappear into the country music woods.
She leveraged that win into a daytime talk show, Pickler & Ben, which ran for a couple of years. She stayed in the public eye, though her life took a much quieter turn in recent years following personal tragedy.
Zendaya, well... we know what happened there. She became one of the biggest stars on the planet. Maybe losing DWTS was the best thing for her career—it kept her hungry. Or maybe it just didn't matter because she was destined for Hollywood royalty regardless.
Key Takeaways for DWTS Fans
If you're looking back at this season to understand how to win the show today, here’s the blueprint Kellie used:
- Vulnerability over Perfection: Don't be afraid to cry in the rehearsal footage. People want to see the struggle.
- The "Freestyle" is Everything: You can lead the leaderboard for 9 weeks, but if your freestyle is boring, you'll lose.
- Find the Connection: Kellie and Derek had a palpable friendship. If the audience doesn't buy the "story" of the couple, they won't pick up the phone.
The winner of season 16 Dancing with the Stars proved that technical skill is only half the battle. You have to win the heart, not just the scorecard.
To really appreciate why Kellie won, go back and watch her Argentine Tango from the finale. It’s sharp, it’s intense, and it shows exactly how much she evolved in just ten weeks. It’s a masterclass in what the show is actually about.
Your Next Step
Go watch the "Beneath Your Beautiful" freestyle on YouTube. Even if you aren't a dance fan, it’s a piece of television history that holds up over a decade later. Pay attention to the footwork—Kellie wasn't wearing shoes for most of it, which is incredibly difficult for a beginner.