The new cast of Dancing With the Stars has been announced and features tons of surprises. This season features a larger cast with some former Disney idols who hope to reclaim their glory and a senator. We wonder what Macy Gray will look like in a tight spandex dress?!
Dancing remains among TV’s highest rated series — second only to Fox juggernautAmerican Idol. But with Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance? launching its sixth season on Dancing’s autumn turf Sept. 9 and some shows overlapping with DWTS, Green wanted to protect ratings.
“Structurally, we wanted to put more surprise in the show, to make it a little less predictable,” he says. “Realistically, this will hurt both (shows), but we’ll see how it washes out.”
This season’s celebrity cast has been boosted to 16 — the biggest ever and double from the show’s inaugural season — and may be its most diverse. Besides DeLay, there are several potential eyebrow raising ballroom wannabees, including 51-year-old Donnie Osmond, whose sister, Marie, was a Season 6 finalist. There’s ample testosterone. Among the men are former Dallas Cowboy receiver Michael Irvin, 43, mixed martial arts star Chuck Liddell, 39, pro skateboarder Louie Vito, 21, and Mark DaCascos, 45, a martial arts expert, film action star and host of Food Network’sIron Chef America: The Series.
Some of the female hoofers also are decidedly competitive. Swimmer Natalie Coughlin, 26, Dancing’s latest nod to Olympians, is a multi-gold medal winner, while model Joanna Krupa, 30, showed an aggressive streak ridiculing and quieting the normally outspoken Buffalo Bills Terrell Owens during their pairing on ABC’s early summer, celeb-sports match off The Superstars.
Model-turned-business tycoon Kathy Ireland will also appear this season. “You gotta face your fears. When you’re afraid of a challenge, you just have to go for it. For me, this is the ultimate challenge. Walking in high heels is an extreme sport,” says Ireland, 46.
Among Ireland’s rivals: Grammy-winning singer/actress and dancer Mya.
“I’ve always wanted to be on the show. My mother (Theresa) and I are both fans,” says Mya, 30. “I’ve done tap dancing and hip hop, but never done work with a partner. This will definitely be a challenge.”
Filling out the celebrity cast:
•Aaron Carter, 21, singer, actor, reality show star
•Macy Gray (Grammy-winning singer, actress)
•Ashley Hamilton, 34, actor, son of former DWTS competitor George Hamilton
•Melissa Joan Hart, 33, actress (Sabrina the Teenage Witch)
•Debi Mazar, 45, the mouthy publicity agent Shauna on HBO’s Entourage.
•Kelly Osbourne, 24, actress, reality show star
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