'Dancing' elimination: Brandy or Bristol?

LOS ANGELES She ranked first place or tied for first place with the judges for four of the nine weeks she danced.

But it wasn't enough.

Viewer votes knocked her out of the competition.

"There's some part of me that goes, 'I can't believe this,' but I can't focus on that," Brandy said. "I have to focus on what I've gained."

Brandy leaves the show a more confident woman and she credits the man who taught her how to dance: Maksim Chmerkovskiy

"The show is phenomenal in setting up careers and opening up doors and in Brandy's case, reopening certain opportunities," Chmerkovskiy said.

Brandy has already lined up new jobs and she's got a new album on the way.

Bristol Palin and her partner, Mark Ballas, have consistently been at or near the bottom of the judges' leader board most weeks of the competition, but viewers have sent them on to the finals anyway.

"Once our name was called, it was a bittersweet feeling," Palin said. "It's like, yes, we made it to the finals and it sucks to see another couple go."

"This season has been crazy," said Jennifer Grey's partner, Derek Hough. "Let's just be honest. It's been another one of those nights."

Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer pointed out Brandy was always very supportive of them and they were sad to see her eliminated.

Brandy graciously thanked her fans through her Twitter account.

Chmerkovskiy may have blamed himself for their departure, but he didn't stop there.

"WOW! What can I say? If this is a test, I'm failing it...Was raised in a very 'justice driven' household & SEE NO JUSTICE IN 'DWTS,'" Chmerkovskiy said on Twitter.

One anti-Palin Twitter user -- and there were many -- wrote, "Bristol hasn't went home because people are VOTING for her not because she can dance but because of who her mom is."

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