Drew Lachey and Fil-Am Cheryl Burke win 'Dancing With the Stars'

The former 98 Degrees member Drew Lachey and his partner Filipino-American Cheryl Burke danced their way to the top plum in the popular US show "Dancing with the Stars" Sunday night.

The triumphant duo conquered the dance floor, amid stellar competition posed by the leggy, pro wrestler-and early favorite-Stacy Keibler and NFL star Jerry Rice, capping off the second season of ABC's ballroom hit TV show in a two-hour finale aired live from Los Angeles.

According to an Associated Press report, Burke and Lachey made the most impact with their dynamite freestyle dance routine of Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog," with the couple racking up a total score of 27 out of a perfect 30 from the panel of three judges, who combined their score from the pre-finales Thursday. Their total score was 87 out of 90.

Viewer's voting counted big (half the score to be exact), eventually deciding on Lachey and Burke's victory.

Cheryl and Lachey's pairing should interest many Filipinos. The 21-year-old Cheryl, whose mother is from Nueva Ecija, credited, in interviews, her flair for dancing to her being Filipino. Asian Journal also reported that Cheryl's maternal grandmother was a physical education teacher.

In her profile posted at the show's official website, it said she began taking ballet lessons and performing throughout the Bay Area at the age of four. When she turned 10, she discovered ballroom and decided to shift her focus by starting to train in both standard dance and Latin. By 13, Cheryl was competing and traveling all over the world.

Now presently based in New York, where she continues to train, teach dance and compete, Cheryl boasts of several achievements to her name, including the 2005 World Cup Professional Rising Star Latin championship, participation in the UK Championships and the 4th ranking in the "under-21s" category in the US.

Lachey, on the other hand, is not a stranger to the Philippines, after his former band, which featured his brother Nick Lachey as well, performed in the country some years back.

During the program, all seven of the previously cast out celebs-ESPN sportscaster Kenny Mayne, actress Tatum O'Neal, news personality Giselle Fernandez, rap star Master P, actress Tia Carrere (and incidentally another Fil-American), tanned ladies' man George Hamilton and talk-show host Lisa Rinna-returned for a last dance with their partners.

It was in January that "Dancing" began its new season with 10 celebrity competitors paired with professional dancing partners. Each week, a couple would be kicked off thanks to the verdict of the judges and viewer voting. Nielsen Media Research ranked it seventh in primetime for the season to date. "Dancing" first premiered last summer as a surprise success for ABC.

In its July season finale, "General Hospital" star Kelly Monaco and her professional partner upset odds-on favorite John O'Hurley, best known for playing J. Peterman on "Seinfeld."