When I read the recent casting of celebrities on Dancing with the Stars, I was shocked. By allowing more contestants in this year, many niche celebrities made it through, yet I didn't know who they were. After nine seasons of celebrities and increasing celebrity status, this season gives us people who are better fitted for The Celebrity Apprentice.We still don't know which professional dancer has which celebrity, but it's clear that the popularity of Chelsie Hightower, Lacey Schwimmer, and Cheryl Burke will help the lesser known celebrities.
I'm disappointed that three of the celebrities have been on the reality show scene before: Aaron Carter (House of Carters), Kelly Osborne (The Osbornes), and Joanna Krupa (Superstars). Thankfully, the powers that be didn't allow Brooke Hogan on the show. The biggest gripe about Aaron and Kelly is the fact that there was someone of a higher caliber in their family (Nick or Ozzy/Sharon).
Secondly, we've never had a worse ringer than Mya. DWTS even mentions that she was in Shall We Dance and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. One can argue that Joey Fatone, Lance Bass, Mel. B, Toni Braxton, or Lil Kim only knew very pop/hip-hop moves, but Mya comes in knowing the basis of Latin rhythm. I was up in arms with the Paula Abdul rumors because of her training, but Mya should have even more of an upper hand. With her dance training increasing her judges scores and her decent celebrity status, she will easily make top five.
Although I appreciate that there are an array of athletes this year that aren't just football players, I felt like the number of athletes was over-represented. The last two seasons had 3/13 contestants as professionals (or about 23%). Counting Mark Decascos (as a martial artist), we have 5/16 or 30% of the field.
What happened to all the interesting rumored contestants this year? Where's Vera Wang and Sherri Shepherd or even the return of injured contestants? Not that I'm complaining, but where are the Disney/ABC-fed celebrities (the Disney Channel kid and the ABC Soap Star)?
In the end, my support has to go to my childhood favorites: Mya and Melissa Joan Hart. Here's to hoping that someone that I didn't know going into the show surprises me like Ty Murray did last year or get injured before the show starts and gets replaced with someone more interesting. With a weak cast, DWTS has left the door wide open for So You Think You Can Dance to steal the dancing market this fall.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-18-2009 @ 9:38AM
JPN said...
Dancing with the Stars HAS a casting letdown. It's one TV show. You could say "DWTS and American Idol have a casting letdown" when it's plural.
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8-18-2009 @ 9:50AM
Joel Keller said...
That was my fault; I changed the headline for Mike, and I must have brain-farted on the singular/plural thing. It's been fixed.
8-18-2009 @ 11:02AM
Duane said...
Somewhere along the line this show became more about the dancers anyway, didn't it? I don't know half those celebrities. I'm much more interested in seeing if Tony or Edyta finally win the thing, or how Max and Karina will change. Which celebrities end up being any good is basically a roll of the dice. The supermodel and/or the clumsy guy will always go first, the "nice older guy who is trying his best" will stick around a few weeks out of sympathy votes, the "nice older lady who's doing great for her age" will stick around even longer. The finals will come down to an athlete, and someone with professional dance experience.
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8-18-2009 @ 6:57PM
deebopalula said...
I feel so letdown when Maks inevitably gets eliminated. I love seeing dancers cross over from SYTYCD. And I always like to see Cheryl challenging to repeat. So much is contingent upon the choreography and that's up to the pro dancers so yeah.... Although I never really thought about it before, I've got to agree with you. At this point, I have more invested in the pros than I do with the "celeb" amateurs, although a few of them always manage to capture my interest somewhere along the way......
8-18-2009 @ 12:07PM
CJ King said...
You really should have mentioned Tom DeLay. He is important too, and I will be watching to see how long he lasts. But I will not be rooting for him.
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8-18-2009 @ 12:38PM
Cyn said...
I feel like Donny Osmond pushed and shoved his way into this competition and if he wins, I am done with this show! He is as arrogant and conceited as Marie was, and she still can't figure out why her Raggedy Ann Doll routine was creepy.
We will know how fixed the competition is by the celebrity dancer pairings.
Some of these people I don't even know.
Am I the only one?
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8-18-2009 @ 12:48PM
Michael Pascua said...
I agree that Donnie somehow squeaked his way in and should be eliminated sooner than Marie because he can't pull off a fainting spell.
I was also disappointed on who all these people were. I have no clue who any of the athletes are whereas in previous years I knew Shawn Johnson, Kristi Yamaguchi, Apollo Ohno, and Misty-May just came out of the Olympics. I guess retrospectively, I will now look for Louie Vito during the 2010 Winter Games.
Re: Tom DeLay. I knew of him, but politicians never really stood out to me so I couldn't pick him out of a lineup.
8-18-2009 @ 3:03PM
Christy said...
Say what you want about Donny, but without him, there wouldn't be any major stars here.
Compared to other seasons, the only person I can pick out that has a *major* fanbase and current, ongoing career is Donny. The others are looking for career boosts. Donny doesn't need that.
I'll also be rooting for Melissa Joan Hart and Kelly Osbourne (because, why not?).
Dude, the fact that you don't know DeLay is something. He's far more than "a politician." This guy had more power than anyone on DWTS - and most politicians - can ever even hope to have (and of course, they're trying to put him in jail).
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8-19-2009 @ 11:59AM
Betty Chaney said...
I have been an fan of this show from the beginning. But the year you have really blown
me away. Is your list so short that you had to pick Tom Delay. He had to leave Washington because of his wrong doings and now he is a star... PLease. I was shocked when you
announced his name. All I can say is I fee sorry
for the dancer that is unlucky enough to get him
as her partner. I was not pleased with Kelly
Osbourne either. The only reason I would watch
the season is to see Tom Delay kicked of early.
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8-19-2009 @ 4:23PM
RobynM said...
I recognized most of them - my blind spots were the jocks and one of the models.
With two relatives of former contestants on, it'll be interesting to see how far they get in comparison.
Like others, I have a lot invested in the pros as well. I'm quite pleased that Dmitry's still around and partnered with someone who's likely to last for more than 10 minutes. I'm fond of Maks, Cheryl, Kym and Lacey too.
I think it'd be fun for Lacey to be partnered with Mark (whose partner hasn't been announced yet).
I am a little disappointed that there isn't a techie this season, like Mark Cuban and The Woz in the last couple.
Right now I'd have to say I'm rooting for Mark and Melissa, while hoping Donny doesn't make too poor a showing.
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8-24-2009 @ 1:00PM
Phillip Fishe said...
I'm sorry, with Tom DeLay on the show this year we won't be watching this Crook Dance around the floor, crazy they couldn't find anyone more honest.
This person on national TV said that the President wasn't born in America-he's full of hate and lies, why would anyone want to watch this person-only place he should be showing his face is on a "Wanted Poster".
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8-28-2009 @ 4:43PM
Craig said...
I'm still waiting for the 'Paula Replaces Len' announcement. No such luck I suppose.
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