Brandy was one of the high scorers on the show all season. Palin was at or near the bottom of the judges' leader board for seven of the nine weeks of the show.
Despite that, Palin is heading to the finals, and Brandy was sent to the sidelines.
How could this happen?
With the judges' scores, each team gets a percentage of 100, but with scores not that far apart, the separation from top to bottom was only 3.5 percent, which gives your vote more power.
"As the judges' scores narrow, the audience's impact becomes larger," explained Conrad Green, the executive producer of "Dancing With the Stars."
"So when you look at it like that, it's not that surprising that someone who is at the bottom of that can have a couple of percents more popularity than someone else and therefore get through," Green explained.
After Brandy was voted off, she had to quickly process what had happened.
"Well, of course there's some part of me that goes, 'whoa, I can't believe this,' but, you know, I can't focus on that. I have to focus on what I've gained," she said.
When asked about the possibility of the shocking elimination affecting the credibility of the show, Green said it only speaks volumes of the audience's passion for the contestants.
"We had the most votes we've ever had at this stage of the competition last night. I think that shows that people are passionate about all of the final four who were standing there last night. People were really passionate about Brandy but people were equally passionate about the others," Green said.
Could she take it all with the lowest scores in the finals?
"If you really want someone other than Bristol to win, it's pretty easy. Get on the phone, get texting, get on your computer, and if you don't do that, you really shouldn't complain," Green said.
There was plenty of complaining Wednesday as viewers are talking, tweeting and e-mailing their reactions.
Brandy fans say the R&B singer got robbed. "Dancing With the Stars" fan Delene Losch had tickets to Tuesday's show and said the studio audience was stunned when the results were announced.
"Everybody paused. We had a couple people by us who booed, which I thought was a little bit out of place, but it was just shock, because all along, I don't think Bristol has been a good enough dancer," said Losch.
Some are saying politics helped push Palin into the finals, but her fans reject that idea.
"I don't think it's her mom. I think people are rooting for her to dance," said "Dancing With the Stars" fan Nina Ratterre. "It's all about who likes you whether you're a great dancer or not, and she's trying and she's not quitting so good for her."
On ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" message board, fans are engaging in a lively debate about Palin pressing on into the finals.
One fan with the user name, "DYWOFFORD" wrote, "Politics should not determine who wins. It should be judged by the talent of the dancers."
Another fan with the user name, "BAJOU99" wrote, "Don't blame Bristol Palin if the people voted for her. The show from the start is based on a fan base. What can you do."
Another fan with the user name, "PRESBAPTIST" wrote, "Brandy was cheated big time tonight. The voting rules must be changed so that the expert judges will have more control over having talented people win the contest!"
The final three "Dancing With the Stars" contestants will face off again on Monday at 8 p.m. on ABC7.
