JR Martinez after “Dancing With the Stars” 2011 win
J.R Martinez, who was crowned the new champion of “Dancing With the Stars” Tuesday night, in one of the closest and most thrilling finales ever, admits that the suspense before the show unveiled the winner was killing him.
“I said to Karina … ‘Can they just tell us already?’ It seemed like the moment was just lasting forever when they were building up the suspense” – the actor and war hero said today on “Good Morning America.” “It’s amazing. We’ve all been putting over three months of work into this. To be able to hold that (mirror ball trophy) up was a tremendous honor.”
It was also the first win for Martinez’s professional partner, Karina Smirnoff. “I think I was screaming so loud, I lost my voice. It is an amazing feeling” – she said today on “GMA,” “and what a person to share it with.”
Martinez, who survived an IED explosion while serving in Iraq that burned 40 percent of his body, danced his heart out against finalists Rob Kardashian and Ricki Lake in the two-night finale. Lake, who was leading the pack after the first round of dances, surprisingly failed to advance to the top two, taking third place.
Kardashian, the dark horse of the bunch who had showed tremendous improvement in recent weeks, went on to dance an instant samba against Martinez. Both received perfect scores from the judges, but combined with viewers’ votes, Martinez was awarded the mirror ball trophy.
“I literally couldn’t have asked myself to have done any better. I went as far as I could go” – Kardashian (24) said. “J.R. deserved that trophy.”
JR Martinez.
It’s that time of the year again! The time to watch CNN and cry our eyes out as each hero’s story is presented.
But this year will be extra special because “Dancing With the Stars” winner and American hero JR Martinez will be co-hosting with Anderson Cooper!
They’ll be telling the stories of CNN’s chosen ten heroes along with Will.i.am, Christy Turlington Burns, and Kurt Warner.
We’re personally extra excited to see more of JR. The veteran has been a major voice for the burn community after suffering his own during his time in Iraq.
We know UR pretty excited about it too so get your iPhone calendars out and set a memo on Dec. 11. That’s when they’ll air the main event, but if you’re really wanting a good cry or just more JR goodness, here’s something else…
On Thanksgiving night, CNN will air a Where Are They Now special with JR, Rainn Wilson, and George Lopez as they follow up with heroes of past.
“Dancing with the Stars” winners J.R. Martinez and Karina Smirnoff visited Good Morning America on Wednesday to talk about their Season 13 victory.
After winning the Season 13 Mirror Ball Trophy on Dancing with the Stars, former Army solider J.R. Martinez and pro dance partner Karina Smirnoff appeared on Good Morning America along with the other DWTS celebrities to talk about the win.
Martinez told the Good Morning America hosts that it felt like time was suspended Tuesday night before host Tom Bergeron read his name during the finale. “I said to Karina, ‘Can they just tell us already?’ It seemed like the moment was just lasting forever when they were building up the suspense” – said Martinez. “It’s amazing. We’ve all been putting over three months of work into this. To be able to hold that [mirror ball trophy] up was a tremendous honor.”
Karina Smirnoff also mentioned that it was her first win on Dancing with the Stars and that she was happy to take the Mirror Ball Trophy with J.R. Martinez. “I think I was screaming so loud, I lost my voice” – Smirnoff. “It is an amazing feeling and what a person to share it with.”