'SYTYCD' Season 12 Winner Is Revealed

It's a historic season for Fox's So You Think You Can Dance. Stage Dancer Gaby Diaz won SYTYCD Season 12 and was crowned America's Favorite Dancer on Monday night's finale, making her the very first tapper to win the honor ever. And not only is she the first tapper, the final two dancers up for the title both would have made history as Jaja, would have been the first female Hip Hop dancer to become America's Favorite Dancer had she won the competition. Both Gaby and Jaja were obvious frontrunners in the competition, Jaja was one to watch (and beat) since her very first audition, and Gaby quickly became one of the strongest stage dancers during Hollywood week. Both dancers really came alive even more week after week, in fact they were even Nigel's favorite contestants on each team.

And it's really no surprise why. Both dancers proved to be extremely versatile dancers, killing every routine in every genre possible. But despite both women being incredible choices for the title thanks to that versatility and their moving performances, what Gaby brought even more was technique, determination and an ease in her personality that I think people responded to in a lovely way. Gaby was born to dance and despite not having a great first audition, she persevered to come back in the same audition cycle and try again.

She's a fighter, and that was obvious from day one. She's adorable, sweet, elegant and just plain a treat to watch every single week. It's really unfortunate that a tapper had not been able to win the competition until this point considering the extreme level of talent we've seen from tappers in the past like Aaron Turner from Season 10 and Zack Everhart from Season 11, both of whom made it to the Top 4 and the finale as a result of their incredible spirits and technique. But honestly, Gaby was worth the wait as she was not only the first tapper to win the competition, but the first female tapper to make the Top 4 and win.

As a reward for being crowned America's Favorite Dancer, Gaby now gets the opportunity to dance in Jennifer Lopez's upcoming Las Vegas show, an honor that I was unsure some of the dancers on both Team Stage and Team Street would be able to handle. But there's no doubt in my mind that Gaby will become an integral part of the show. She's a star, and her career will be magnificent.

Images: Michael Becker/FOX; Whipclip