It was the freestyle dance that moved Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba to tears and may have just won Nyle DiMarco the mirror ball trophy, but for the season 22 finalist, his performance to "Sound of Silence" with partner Peta Murgatroyd was about so much more than the competition. (Though, earning a perfect score in the process certainly didn't hurt.)
Inaba called the freestyle the best dance she'd seen in 22 seasons, while fellow judge Bruno Tonioli gushed, "That was beyond dancing, that was a work of art." And as DiMarco revealed to E! News, it's that idea that the very personal message is resonating that matters most to him.
"I feel really honored, inspired, and touched, and the reason for that is because our dance is very personal," he told E! News' Erin Lim backstage following part one of the DWTS finale. "We had a message to send out there, and at the same time, it wasn't easy to make the message clear through our dance. So, that means that we were able to accomplish that and much more."
His partner told us that she's feeling nothing but pride heading into tonight's finale. "He has exceeded every single one of my expectations. From week one, when we went out and did our cha cha, I knew that he was going to be a winner," she added. "Whether it's literally holding the mirror ball or not, he is a winner and he has proved to everybody that anybody can do this show and anybody can dance."
That's a sentiment that Inaba echoed during our backstage chat with her. "I was awestruck, I think. He took my breath away," she admitted. "It was more than dance, it was a message. I think that Nyle has come to the arena with something bigger than just trying to win the mirror ball trophy. There's a power and a force behind him because he's got this message and I think it's made the dances more impactful."
To hear more from DiMarco, including what the message behind his performance was, in his own words, be sure to press play on the video above. And to hear more of Inaba's thoughts about season 22's final three, be sure to check out the video below.
Dancing With the Stars season 22 concludes on Tuesday, May 24 at 9 p.m. on ABC.