Mark Ballas' 'DWTS' journal: This is it

By Mark Ballas, Special for USA TODAY

Dancing With the Stars professional and two-time champion Mark Ballas has been chronicling the ups and downs of Team KanenBall ? the nickname of his teaming with Disney Channel actress Chelsea Kane? all season in his exclusive USA TODAY journal. This latest entry was filed Sunday afternoon, just as they're approaching Monday's (8 ET/PT, ABC) finals against actress Kirstie Alley and football's Hines Ward.

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  Mark Ballas and Chelsea Kane are super-hyped for the finals of Dancing With the Stars.

Mark Ballas and Chelsea Kane are super-hyped for the finals of Dancing With the Stars.

After getting the news that we'd made it to the last week of the season, Chelsea and I had to stop and smell the roses. We knew that the few minutes after Tuesday's show following the press line would be our only moment of the week to take a breather. Little did I know it would be one of the last things I could smell all week!

I woke up Wednesday morning really sick. I'd felt it coming on earlier in the week, but there was nothing I could do. Headache, sore throat, fever, runny nose, stuffed sinuses ? you name it, I was afflicted by it. The pressure that we feel during the season to prepare for performing on Monday reaches stratospheric levels for Finals week. And unfortunately I had to attack our most important week with a pretty aggressive viral infection attacking me. As we all know, the show must go on, so I loaded up on antibiotics and went to work.

While this week was not as hectic as last week since we have one less dance to learn, it's still been a long week. We'll be on stage in less than a day, but every second counts. We have three dances to nail down and make performance-ready. Of course, the scrutiny of both the judges and the fans will be at its highest of the season, so we need to have our best dances of the season.

A lot of people have been asking me what's in store for our Freestyle Dance. I'm known for my creative and off-the-wall choreography, and I think my partners and I have done some pretty fun freestyles in the past. You want some inside info on our freestyle? Too bad! A magician never reveals his tricks! You'll have to tune in on Monday with 25 million of your closest friends.

Immediately after the finale on Tuesday, Chelsea and I get on a plane with the other two couples, bound for New York City. We land at 5:30 in the morning and go straight to Good Morning America and then on to Live With Regis and Kelly. If this is anything like last season, there won't be much rest on the plane. All three of the couples were so amped up on adrenaline from the exciting finish that we rolled into GMA with red eyes and morning breath, having gotten only an hour of sleep or so.

After doing those shows, I finish off Wednesday and Thursday with a full day of press at VH1's Big Morning Buzz Live, MTV, The Fuse, In Store Sports Network, and I'll end with the MLB Fan Cave Show to promote my single Hotwire. It'll be a busy few days, but I'm really looking forward to promoting HurtLoveBox.

I'd like to thank Bombardier Jet for supporting two charitable campaigns that I'm doing in conjunction with Clear Channel and iHeartRadio.com. Through the City of Hope and Musicians on Call campaigns, you can win a chance to meet me in New York City and hear me play a set at the P.C. Richard & Son Theatre on June 8. I'm blessed to have opportunities like this that allow me to support great foundations, while at the same time put me in front of my awesome fans.

Speaking of Tuesday, I just remembered that it's an important day in my life. No, not because I could possible win my third Mirrorball Trophy, but because it's my quarter-century birthday! My manager Bill always says that he remembers his 25th birthday because it lasted 25 hours. He was producing a tour at the time that had him leaving East Coast time for the Central time zone, thereby gaining time and giving his 25th an extra hour of celebration and memories. I hope that I remember my 25th birthday as the day that Chelsea and I win Season 12 of Dancing With The Stars. That would be a fantastic memory and really add the icing on top of my birthday cake.

Thanks for all your support this season. Chelsea and I greatly appreciate it, and Team Kanenball will not disappoint on our biggest stage!

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