Taking defeat like a champ! Fans were surprised when Dancing With the Stars frontrunner Normani Kordei placed third in the show’s finale after a standout season and Tuesday night’s perfect score.

Even the Fifth Harmony singer, 20, admitted to ET’s Cameron Mathison that the results were unexpected.

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“You're never really guaranteed,” she told ET. “It was quite a shocker for me as well, but I've gained so much from this experience. I'm so happy, and I can't even begin to express you know the gratitude that I carry and the blessing especially because I have a lifelong friend now [in partner Val Chmerkovskiy].”

But just because it was a shock doesn’t mean Normani isn’t pleased with the show’s outcome.

“I’m proud. That’s, like, my big brother,” she gushed of winner Rashad Jennings. “He’s worked his butt off. I think that any one of us would have been deserving so kudos to him!”

So now that the dust has settled, will Normani finally go on a date with Bonner Bolton that they’ve both hinted at?

“Oh shoot, I did say that, huh?” Normani joked.

The two had been passing each other the entire day Tuesday without bringing up the date.

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“Well, she's had a full-on competition. I've been rooting for her to win. I didn't want to distract her,” Bolton, 29, later insisted to ET. “I haven't come up with the best strategy because we have all been so busy. But I hope after everything settles down that maybe she'll rethink about it, and I'll have the opportunity to ask.”

Here’s hoping!

For more from the DWTS finale, watch the clip below!

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