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Jordan Chiles Reveals How Normani Pitched Herself for Dancing With the Stars Finale Routine

Jordan Chiles exclusively shared with E! News how she recruited Normani for her Dancing With the Stars finale freestyle performance with pro partner Ezra Sosa.

By Gabrielle Chung Nov 26, 2025 5:45 AM
| Updated Nov 26, 2025 5:54 AM
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Watch: Dancing With the Stars' Carrie Ann Inaba Confronts Heckler During Live Finale

It didn't take a lot of motivation for Normani to make her Dancing With the Stars return.

The singer—who was partnered with Val Chmerkovskiy on season 24 in 2017—made a surprise dance floor cameo during the season 34 finale on Nov. 25, joining finalist Jordan Chiles and pro Ezra Sosa for their freestyle routine set to "Motivation" and Beyoncé's "Bow Down."

"She's the one that actually said, 'I think I should be in your freestyle,'" Jordan exclusively told E! News' Will Marfuggi following the show, explaining how Normani pitched herself after attending a taping as an audience member in late September. "I didn't know she was serious until her manager called me and was like, 'No, she's being serious. She wants to be in it.'"

Needless to say, the Olympian quickly made it happen.

"I was like, 'OK Ezra, we're gonna do this,'" she recalled telling her dance partner. "'We're gonna make it one of the most iconic freestyles.'"

Indeed, Jordan and Ezra delivered, with judge Carrie Ann Inaba calling the performance the best freestyle routine she had seen in DWTS' 20-year history.

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"I came into this wondering what was gonna happen and wondering if I would even make a finale," Jordan shared, "so to know that people are saying my freestyle was one of the best freestyle they've seen means everything."

And for the 24-year-old, her DWTS journey—which ultimately saw her come in third behind runner-up Alix Earle and winner Robert Irwin—means "anything is possible."

Disney/Eric McCandless

"We live in a world of different imaginations, different dreams, different realities," she explained. "Words can't express how grateful I am to be a part of this show."

She added that the lessons she learned during her time with DWTS will "100 percent" inspire her future gymnastics moves. As Jordan teased, "You might see some different dance moves on my floor routine this season."

Read on to get to know the rest of the DWTS season 34 cast.

Baron Davis

Partnered with Britt Stewart

Jennifer Affleck 

Partnered with Jan Ravnik

Alix Earle 

Partnered with Valentin Chmerkovski

Dylan Efron

Partnered with Daniella Karagach 

Corey Feldman

Partnered with Jenna Johnson

Elaine Hendrix 

Partnered with Alan Bersten

Robert Irwin 

Partnered with Witney Carson

Jordan Chiles 

Partnered with Ezra Sosa

Scott Hoying 

Partnered with Rylee Arnold

Whitney Leavitt

Partnered with Mark Ballas

Hilaria Baldwin

Partnered with Gleb Savchenko 

Andy Richter

Partnered with Emma Slater

Danielle Fishel

Partnered with Pasha Pashkov