The August 6 finale absorbed the largest number in the history of the show, 21.6 million votes, which mostly went to contemporary dancer Jeanine Mason.
- August 7, 2009
AceShowbiz -
Jeanine Mason became the second female dancer to win the title of "America's Favorite Dancer" on "So You Think You Can Dance". She beat another favorite, Brandon Bryant, who consequently became the runner up of season 5. Evan Kasprzak finished third while Kayla Radomski took the last spot.
Jeanine is an 18-year-old contemporary dancer from Miami who wowed the judges on the Wednesday, August 5 performance night with her solo. She was praised in the Samba routine, particularly when she did the series of pirouettes perfectly.
Upon announced as the winner, Jeanine said she never thought of giving an acceptance speech at the Kodak Theater where the finale was held. She thanked the dancing academy and her mother who encouraged her to jump into the dancing world as a child. As the winner, Jeanine is entitled to $250,000 in cash.
It was a reunion affair on the Thursday, August 6 finale. The Top 20 showed up to do a piece together and season 2's Talia Fowler appeared as a guest performer. The judges also got to pick their favorite dances throughout the season and had it performed on stage again.
