Now that the fake tan dust has settled on the dance floor after Nicole Scherzinger and her professional partner Derek Hough's lifted the coveted mirrorball trophy on Dancing With The Stars, here are a few choice quotes by and about Ms. Scherzinger (rhymes with 'ringer') after her triumph ...

“I'm just so flippin' happy right now!”

"This has been probably the greatest reward personally, this whole personal journey. I've learned so much about myself."

"The experience has made me a stronger person, I've learned I can't control everything. I've learned to let go. It's been enlightening."

"Anyone who thinks this comes naturally to me should come into rehearsals. It's not easy."

"I don’t think I’m gonna return to the ballroom. I’m gonna return to the music. I did enough ballroom for a hot second. Derek can hold it down in my music videos with his ballroom, but right now I gotta go back to the music."

On the mirrorball trophy -

"I feel like I just won a Grammy ... A dancing Grammy!"

'It’s not about the trophy. It’s beyond the trophy. The experience and the challenge and everything you go through - it’s a lot of life-changing experiences in three months and it’s just so intense.'

"I'm going to give it to my mom because she's the reason I really did this show ... This is for her."

On her professional partner Derek Hough -

"Luckily I have a bomb-diggity partner and fortunately he never takes a day off and he's great to work with me!"

'This is new territory for me. I am in Derek Hough Dancing With The Stars ballroom land. It's good that I kind of don't know what I'm doing.'

"I've learned so much about Derek Hough - he's made me a better person through this."

On her tactics for the final - 

 "It's not good being a perfectionist. I decided to let it all hang out"

On their tango -

"After the tango, Derek and I started crying backstage ... it felt so good, and we knew we were going to be OK."

On their freestyle routine in the Final -

"Oh lord, seeing Derek and Nicole doing Proud Mary was worth suffering through every second of filler. Wow, Len is blown away and practically declares Nicole the winner. This was a fabulous TV moment - seeing these two dance this dance. Viva, Nicole, the judges give them a perfect 30 - and it is a totally righteous score."
David Zuwarik, The Baltimore Sun

On the professional dancer controversy -

"I like to see the growth, Nicole today is who she was when she got here - she was a great dancer and she still is ... There were moments you couldn't tell her from the pro dancers."
Niecy Nash

"This Nicole Pussycat person won. Imagine that? A professional dancer won Dancing With the Stars. This is why I do not watch it anymore."
Gilles Marini

"Nicole was the best dancer from day one. She was obviously on a different level than everyone else, but her choreography was more difficult, too. She absolutely deserved to win."
Edyta Sliwinska 

"Winning seemed like a foregone conclusion for 31-year-old Scherzinger, who has had years to become used to stupid costumes and elaborate routines as the leader 'singer' of the Pussycat Dolls."
Kat Angus, Vancouver Sun

"Nicole Scherzinger took home the 10th mirrorball trophy during Dancing With the Stars frenzied, bloated finale. And rightfully so. Yeah, I said it. Scherzy had dance experience. She did it for a living. Often more than singing. To which I say -- SO WHAT. She was on the show. She struggled. She cried. She initially got lost amid bigger, um, personalities Pamela Anderson and Kate Gosselin. But once the excess was excised, Nicole upped the va-va-voom and left the lesser in her wake."
Joey Guerra, Houston Chronicle

"Nicole Scherzinger and her partner, Derek Hough, walked away from the 10th season of Dancing With the Stars with the mirror ball trophy, and for good reason: Nicole was consistently the best dancer. She didn't noticeably learn anything or improve in any way. She was a highly trained dancer when she entered the competition, and she used that training (as well as a boatload of natural talent) to dominate throughout."
Linda Holmes, Today.msnbc.msn.com

"Nicole and Derek were best. Never mind that she had dance experience as a Pussycat Doll. They let her in the competition. She deserved the chance to win, too. Now, if they’d really like to up the ante, they should bring back all of the winners OR all of the second place finishers and give them a second chance. Either way, they’ve got 10 “seasons” under their belts and they’re ready for a best of the best. Even in that arena, Nicole would be a good bet to win. Watch her stuff and you’ll see. She’s remarkable (and Derek isn’t half bad, either)."
Bruce Miller, Sioux City Journal

"Congratulations to Nicole Scherzinger. Winning Dancing With The Stars is bound to be a giant career boost for her – just look what it did to former Dancing With The Stars winners like… um… oh, actually, never mind."
Stuart Heritage, HecklerSpray.com



Photo credits: (AP Photo/ABC/Adam Larkey)