This one seems to stop abruptly for me, but I thought it was cool.

Access Hollywood with Aaron, Karina, Donny and Kym, and Ashley and Edyta:

Excerpts from People Online - Monday’s DWTS: What You Didn’t See:

Buff Daddy: While most people drop weight on Dancing, pro Tony Dovolani has been packing on the pounds — nearly 20 — since the end of season 8 in May. Dovolani, whose twins turned one earlier this month, tells PEOPLE he’s in training for a role in the upcoming independent film Pumping Up. Shooting stars in December and Dovolani has been working out every day. “I eat like a horse, five or six times a day, and I drink protein shakes, I eat protein bars,” he says. “Right now I’m 192. Usually I’m at 175.” In the movie, Dovolani plays “a character getting ready for a bodybuilding competition. He’s an Italian guy from Queens.”

Scaredy Cats: The show’s opening number was quite the grand entrance as the eight male pros descended from the ceiling on scaffolding. “I was scared wreckless,” Alec Mazo confesses. Even tough guy Maksim Chmerkovskiy couldn’t wait to get his feet firmly on the ground. “I did not like that at all, and Mark [Ballas] was shaking and rocking the [scaffolding],” Chmerkovskiy says. “I am so glad that is over. Never again.”

Excerpts from People Online – Tuesday’s DWTS: What You didn’t See:

Snack Attack: Since it was ladies’ night on the dance floor, the men were able to relax and watch the show. Sitting side-by-side, snowboarder Louis Vito and football pro Michael Irvin shared a bag of gummy worms. Even former politician Tom DeLay was spotted dropping a worm into his mouth. At one point, all the guys were munching on something. “Candy, gummy worms and peanut M&Ms, and cookies and Altoids,” says Vito of his evening snacks. “It’s like watching a movie. How can you watch a movie without something to eat?”

Say What?: The Grammy-award winning singer Macy Gray had everyone on their toes, even the producers. After her first turn on the dance floor, Gray was asked how she felt. “I feel like I just busted my cherry.” While viewers struggled to figure out what she said, the audience roared with laughter. Tom DeLay was spotted wiping away tears from laughing so hard. A source added that backstage was no different: “Everyone was laughing, from the designers to production assistants!”

MSNBC Talks about Ladies Night:

Natalie Coughlin isn’t quite a household name, but as an Olympic medalist in swimming, she’s at least athletic — and she’s paired with Alec Mazo, who’s been looking for a good partner ever since winning with Kelly Monaco in the first season of the show. Alec first worked to cure her of her tendency to grimace angrily while competing, then went on to teach her the salsa. At times, Natalie seemed to have the hang of it, but her hips aren’t quite built for Latin dancing just yet. She’s coordinated and athletic, but she still tends to look like she’s working a little too hard.

Singer Macy Gray is dancing with the lovely and frequently challenged Jonathan Roberts (who handled Marie Osmond’s fainting spell and Heather Mills’ missing leg), and it’s pretty clear that this is not the year things get easier for him. Roberts called Macy “a little bit eccentric” from the beginning, and indeed, she seemed as out of her element as anyone the show has ever featured. Macy managed to walk around the floor in time with the music when it came time for her “Viennese waltz,” but that was about it. Carrie Ann called the performance “beautiful in its own bizarre way,” which was clearly the strongest praise she could muster.

Model Joanna Krupa and past winner Derek Hough look like a great team when they’re standing in line waiting for the show to start — so how do they look in motion? In spite of wearing what appear to be pants made from Big Bird pelts, Joanna looked good dancing. Hers was the first salsa that looked genuinely sexy (her model appearance, of course, doesn’t hurt), and she definitely looks like a competitor to watch.

Last up was Louis van Amstel and Kelly Osbourne, who’s a naturally sympathetic figure, given her wacky family and her obvious insecurities about her looks, weight, and whether she’s got any sex appeal at all. In fact, Kelly explained that it was her eagerness to try something more feminine that led her to the show. Her natural fear that she’d be hopelessly clumsy did not come true at all: she turned out to have a lovely smile, plenty of grace, and much more natural ability than anyone (especially Kelly herself) expected. Looking like a likely fan favorite because she’s both talented and an underdog of sorts, Kelly hugged her wildly excited and weepy famous parents and received very nice praise from the judges. It was an obviously genuine moment, and precisely the kind of thing that keeps people tuning in to the show.

Picking up from where I left things last night….I will never get it all, but I’ll try to hit the high points for ya’ll (Country Music night at the local sports bar with wireless ).

Kelly Osbourne and Louis Van Amstel on Ellen!

Aaron Carter on Bonnie Hunt – you know, I sorta like this kid.

Extra on DWTS Men, September 22, 2009

EW.com has a article I can relate to – it starts out with comments on the male pros.

‘Dancing With the Stars’ recap: We’ve Got Males
It’s season 9 (yes, really) of Dancing With the Stars, and the boys are back in town! I’ll get to last night’s competing men in a moment; first we need to focus on the eight swashbuckling stallions who have returned to Crazytown, U.S.A. Our beautiful male pros were back and ready to make loving eye contact with the camera in a rousing opening number. Maks even did a seductive eyebrow check for our viewing pleasure. They were both still there, as were all 500 billion hairs in Derek’s mop when he checked on its existence after the dance’s final flourish. Such fun! Excuse me, though: Who is this tall blonde lady who got to be the melted cheese in a Tony/Maks flatbread sandwich? I had no idea the season 9 premiere would feature the winner of a contest based on my ultimate fantasy.

That lucky lady was Tony’s wife – so she’s officially VERY lucky.

Is everyone ready to run down the first performances of the season 9 men? I feel like we should all submit photos of ourselves in mid-air, while attempting to execute fabulously contorted leaps, as a sign of solidarity before we proceed in this season’s DWTS recap journey together. Oh, well. Too much work. Here we go…

Ok! Magazine on the Women of DWTS!

Kelly Osbourne stole the show on Tuesday night’s Dancing with the Stars with a Viennese waltz that visibly moved her mother Sharon and rock legend father Ozzy Osbourne. But it was model Joanna Krupa who took the surprising first place on the hit ABC reality show’s ladies’ night — and singer Mya also looks like she’ll be a standout on the dance floor for weeks to come.
While Macy Gray had everyone scratching their heads with her censored post-dance comment, Kelly thrilled the crowd with her graceful Viennese waltz with partner Louis Van Amstel, for which she received a score of 23. The reality star cried for joy, as did her mother Sharon, who gushed to friends after the show, “it’s like she’s a young woman, not a young girl anymore. It was gorgeous!”

Backstage, Kelly told OK!, “I’m so happy, I can’t even tell you. I feel incredible. When you work so hard at something—and it’s not just about the dancing — you have to be feminine, figure out what the dance means to you. That, in itself, is really hard for me and Louis has taught me so much.

“I was crying before I went onstage and then I pulled it together,” she confided. “Then I went, you can only do the best you can do… It made me cry to share that with my mom and dad.”

Meanwhile, Joanna and pro Derek Hough couldn’t be more thrilled backstage after landing on top of the leader board with a sizzling salsa that received a 24 score and an impressive 10-point foxtrot relay. “I’m shocked. I feel like this is a dream. I really wanted to break the ‘model curse,’“ Joanna said, referring to the fact that models have never done well on DWTS. “Just because you’re a model doesn’t mean you’re stiff and can’t move.” Joanna added to OK! that she loved her flamboyant yellow salsa pants that Derek picked.

Maks, Maks, Maks – you’re going to have people accusing me of a bias against you again, when you do it to yourself every time. :::sigh::: I will point all complainers to the extremely complimentary things I said about Maks’ choreography of the summer tour.

Entourage actress Debi Mazar, who earned a 16 for her salsa and a 6 for her relay foxtrot, told OK! “I had a really good time. My nerves were hard on me.” Partner Maks Chmerkovskiy commented, “we did a lot better in practice but the first week is very tough.”

According to Access Hollywood, Donny says NO to Ballroom training….but then he kinda sorta retracts it. You be the judge. I still call him a ringer. This one has more than just Donny – like Kelly, for example.

I went though my Tivo and pulled off that which was recorded, and then I surfed the net. No surprise, I got lots of stuff. First up, Melissa Rycroft’s story on GMA Monday morning.

The Local (LA) ABC Affiliate’s George Patacki (sp?):

Paparazzi Henry is on the case once again. This time he gets Tom Bergeron, in addition to several dancers. LOVE Tom. We also get Lacey, Melissa Joan Hart, Corky and Mark Ballas, Louis V, Chelsie and Aaron, among others.

E! News from 9-22-09 – the feature lots of different people, but of course Donny is always prominent. Shawn Johnson is their correspondent – very cute.

Entertainment Tonight – warning, they are using Marie all season as their representative. And of course they relentlessly pimp Donny. That whole “donny ripped out Kim’s extensions” thing – I wonder if that is where Derek got the hair?

All the celebs briefly, but a really cute bit with Debi Mazar and Maks (and Adrien Grenier from Entourage – hubba hubba).

There’s tons more – I’ll post it tomorrow.

Found them on the web already – - posted large sizes at Pure Derek Hough. Smaller sizes are below.

Wow, I feel like I hit the motherlode without a shovel (geologist humor). MovieWeb has a whole bunch of short interview clips with the aforementioned stars. Macy, in particular, was cracking me up as was Jonathan. Check them out. I would have embedded them here, but I couldn’t figure it out for the life of me.

ABC added some more. First up, Chelsie and Louie. Um…Chelsie is a brave woman.

One of this seasons Ringers – Mya and Dmitry. Comments on this youtube mention that they took *lessons* from Mya. Ooookay.

Macy and Jonathan. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. Okay – I lied. Macy is really what the show is about. Teaching someone with no clue how to dance, to dance. (psstt – Macy – butt IN).

One week! Just a week left…finally! So today I’m gonna ask you who you think will go home first. But there’s a little catch…I only put 5 girls and 5 guys. That means 6 people didn’t make it to my list and the person you expect to be booted off first might not be on here. And if they aren’t I want to know.

And just so you know…I put these up in “no particular order” and randomly chose names.

I also wanted to give you the latest results for the last 2 polls.

Favorite Past Winner Poll

 Shawn and Mark are still in the lead at 31% and the next couple behind them is Brooke and Derek at 21%.

The Dance You Are Most Excited to See Poll

The Argentean Tango is in the lead at 26% and the Paso Doble is 2nd at 19% with the Cha-Cha-Cha at 16%.

What do you think of these results? Do you agree or disagree? Let’s hear it…

Disturbingly heavy in some stars (Donny), and very light in other (MJH and Joanna, to name two). Are they favoring people already? Oh. Wait. Of course they are!!

Yay, they’re finally here!! I’ll post a few – the rest are at Entertainment Tonight’s site. Go there and look and if you want larger versions.

Greetings all! I’m Courtney, and I’m super pumped that I’ll be doing this season’s power rankings.  Being that I’ve been an amateur ballroom dancer for the past 6 years, I tend to really get down to the “nitty gritty” of choreography and technique, but I’m also a sucker for an entertaining and likeable contestant, regardless of how good or bad they may have danced.  I’m definitely looking forward to see how things pan out this season (16 couples…wow!), and I look forward to seeing what you guys think as well

Since we now know all of the celebs and all of their pro partners, I thought I would do a preliminary power ranking based solely on each celeb’s previous dance/athletic experience & overall likeability.  In addition, I have also taken into account their pro partner’s likeability and fan base, as the pro’s themselves have taken on an almost celeb status through the years, and many of them have almost as big a fan base as the celebs they teach (can you imagine how many teen voters tune into DWTS each week in the hopes that they might catch a glimpse of a bare-chested Mark or Derek?).  So without further ado, here they are…I’m curious to see what you guys think, so please, all feedback is appreciated!

1.) Mya & Dmitry Chaplin - Mya has, arguably, the most previous dance experience of any of this season’s celebs.  She had ballet & jazz training from the age of 2, and later picked up tap as well, and was good enough to land a spot performing with Savion Glover of the Dance Theater of Harlem (for those of you unfamiliar with him, he is to tap what Clint Eastwood is to Hollywood – a pretty big deal!).  She’s also fairly recognizable, as she’s a Grammy-winning recording artist and has had bit parts in a few movies (anyone remember her as Vern’s fiance in Shall We Dance?). And Mya is SEXY…I don’t see her as someone who would be timid on the dance floor. Dmitry also has a following of his own from his SYTYCD days, and now also has an Emmy nomination under his belt for the Argentine tango he choreographed for season 4 of SYTYCD.  For me, this is the couple to beat.

2.) Donny Osmond & Kym Johnson – Do I honestly think that Donny will outdance the 14 other couples in this competition? Absolutely not…but I think his fame alone (especially with female baby boomers) will make him a contender this season.  Granted, Donny has SOME dance experience from his years performing with The Osmonds, but I’m not sure it’s enough to outshine trained dancers like Debi or Aaron.  But think back to season 5, and the juggernaut that was Marie Osmond, who made it to the finals despite mediocre scores from the judges.  He also has an advantage in having Kym, who I find to be one of the more consistent & likeable pros on the show.  I don’t think these two have the “juice” to win the whole thing, but I definitely think they’ll be around for awhile.

3.) Debi Mazar & Maksim Chmerkovskiy - Little known fact: Debi began her career as a hip-hop B-girl in New York, and has appeared in 4 Madonna videos…so she is no stranger to dance.  She’s also appeared in quite a few movies, so she’s a fairly recognizable actress (another fun fact: She appeared in Beethoven’s 2nd with another season 9 celeb – Ashley Hamilton).  Debi is known for her roles as feisty, tough women, so that could be an advantage when it comes to aggressive dances like the paso doble & tango – however, it could also hurt her if she butts heads with her equally as feisty partner, Maks.  I see Maks as one of the more popular pros on the show (especially with the ladies), so I see this pair having some staying power.

4.) Mark Dacascos & Lacey Schwimmer – Ok, so maybe he isn’t a household name, but once people see him, the lightbulb comes on: “Ohhh, that Iron Chef guy!”.  You might also recognize him from martial arts films such as Cradle 2 The Grave, where he squared off with Jet Li. His expertise in martial arts could definitely be a strong advantage for him this season – I think he could be this season’s Gilles Marini, the lesser-known actor with a martial arts background that takes the competition by storm.  Did I mention he’s also pretty easy on the eyes? It’s never been a disadvantage in this competition (at least for the men) to be good-looking.  And he’s lucked into getting fan-fave Lacey as his partner, who I have found to have an almost cult-like following from both SYTYCD & the past two seasons of DWTS.  A hot combo, these two!

5.) Aaron Carter & Karina Smirnoff - About 11 years ago, during my awkward teenage years, I attended a Backstreet Boys concert where Aaron was the opening act.  I was amazed with the ease at which this kid was cartwheeling, handspringing, and flipping all over the stage…and he was only 10 at the time! Aaron’s got a background in gymnastics, as well as some hip-hop experience from his years as a pop act.  However, he also has a bit of a checkered past: troubles with substance abuse and the demise of several romantic relationships have made several tabloid covers, which may make him a bit less “likeable” to viewers.  But I could also see mom’s latching onto him as a sort of son-type figure, a la Cody Linley.  I think Karina is also one of the strongest female pros on the show, and has a knack for choreographing to showcase her partner’s strengths while hiding their weaknesses. These two could either be really good or really bad – I’m crossing my fingers it’s the former.

6.) Melissa Joan Hart & Mark Ballas – Could they have picked a more adorable, likeable gal to be on this season of DWTS? I find Melissa to be a prime example of a “girl next door” type – or rather the girl upstairs type, as she played on Clarissa Explains It All.  And she “bewitched” (pun intended) audiences for 7 seasons as a lovable teenager with magical powers on Sabrina the Teenage Witch.  I don’t know that she has any real dance experience, but, like Donny, I think she’ll be a contender based on star power alone.  And I think  reigning 2-time champ Mark has the chops (and the female following) to keep this pair going in the competition, regardless of the judge’s scores. These two also have an adorable moniker for their partnership – “Malarky”, which could help them to claim the spot as this season’s “cute” couple, much like Shawn & Mark last season.

7.) Joanna Krupa & Derek Hough – Models have generally not fared so well on the show.  And I’m afraid Joanna’s recent obscenity-laden tyrade against Terrell Owens on this summer’s reality show The Superstars could make her look a bit, er, “witchy” in the eyes of female viewers.  But the ladies love Derek Hough (ask Heidi!), and they want to keep him in the competition to watch him week after week.  Not only that, but I find Derek’s choreography to be very clever and entertaining (think last season’s “Jailhouse Rock” jive with Lil Kim), so this pair could get by on Derek’s skill & popularity alone.  They’re also both young & good-looking, which seems to be an advantage in romantic dances like the rumba & waltz.

8.) Kathy Ireland & Tony Dovolani – Echoing my sentiments above, models seem to really struggle on this show (remember first-round cast-offs Josie Maran & Paulina Porizkova?).  However, Kathy Ireland seems to be one of the world’s most recognizable supermodels, appearing in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue 13 years in a row, as well as owning a clothing line and writing 5 books.  I think her level of fame could keep her around for a little while.  Tony is a fairly experienced pro on the show, too, so maybe their collective “fame” will help carry them through week after week.  They’re also well matched in stature (she’s 5′10″; he’s over 6′), which actually makes more of a difference (especially in the smooth dances, such as the waltz & foxtrot) than you might think!

9.) Ashley Hamilton & Edyta Sliwinska – I had to really rack my brain to think of a movie that Ashley had been in – and all I came up with was Beethoven’s 2nd (he was Nicholle Tom’s sleazy boyfriend).  I did, however, remember his reputation as a bit of a partier, and his infamous 5-month marriage to Shannon Doherty.  Oh, and he’s season 2 celeb George Hamilton’s son.  I daresay Ashley might have a bit more to prove on the show given his iffy recognizability (on many messages boards I encountered, people thought he was a girl!), but he’s got Edyta, the only pro to be on all 9 seasons of the show, and they both are attractive individuals.  If Ashley really works hard, I could see him moving up in the ranks.

10.) Natalie Coughlin & Alec Mazo – Olympic athletes seem to really thrive on the show (think Shawn Johnson & Apolo Ohno), so I think Natalie might have a lot to prove.  But she is an athlete, so she may be able to withstand the grueling pace of the show.  She has Alec, who, despite having choreography that the judges like, always seems to blend into the background for me.  I fear that this pair might get lost in the shuffle, and may get forgotten by America when it comes time to vote. 

11.) Michael Irvin & Anna Demidova - I’m a bit indecisive about this couple: on one hand, Michael is a former NFL Hall-of-Famer, and NFL players have generally done well on the show – however, he is also no stranger to controversy, having a few brushes with the law throughout the years.  I fear that viewers might not like that, and may not vote as a result, even if he is quite good.  But he does have Anna, who proved herself during last year’s pro competition and was voted by America to be part of this season’s cast, so she’s got a following…she also seems to know how to bring out the best in her partner, as evidenced by her tango with Maurice Greene last season.  I have my fingers crossed with this pair as well – I would really like to see more of Anna.

12.) Chuck Liddell & Anna Trebunskaya – Not gonna lie – Chuck scares me! He’s a very intimidating guy,but I guess that comes with the territory when you’re a mixed-martial arts champion.  So here’s my dilemma: the only precedents we have for professional “fighters” on the show are Evander Holyfield (the 2nd contestant voted out in season 1) and Floyd Mayweather (4th voted out in season 5) – and neither did exceedingly well.  I fear that Chuck may fall prey to the problem of being rather “heavy” on his feet – however, he is extremely strong (which helps with lifts & stunts), and is obviously no stranger to grueling training, so he may be able to push through and really improve week after week.  Anna has been out of the DWTS game since season 6 (due to the fact that she was one of the top ranked International Latin competitors in the country and was still competing as a pro - not an easy feat!), so she may not have quite as much of a following as some of the other pros…however, I think that at least some of Chucks MMA fans might tune in and vote for him, which could tip the scales in their favor.

13.) Louie Vito & Chelsie Hightower – Some of you are probably very shocked about my placement of this couple – let me explain.  I think these two may have a lot of work to do based solely on the fact that not many people outside of the extreme sports venue have heard of Louie Vito (to quote my mother, “Wasn’t he in The Godfather?”).  Looking back to previous seasons of DWTS, we can see that decent dancers are often voted out before their time simply because they don’t have the fan base to vote for them (I thought Ted McGinley in season 7 was great – but no one seemed to know who he was!) However, Louie is an athlete, so he is definitely not a stranger to getting physical, and Chelsie has some popularity from both her time on SYTYCD & last season of DWTS.  If these two hit the ground running the first week and keep up the good work, they could be around for awhile.

14.) Kelly Osbourne & Louis Van Amstel -  Oh Kelly…I sincerely hope your years as a foul-mouthed teen on The Osbournes and stint in rehab have not disgraced you in the eyes of the American public! While I adore Kelly’s quirky, edgy style and multiple tattoos, I don’t know that the rest of America will, and may not vote as a result.  However, Kelly has lost quite a bit of weight through diet and exercise in recent years, so she may surprise us all.  Louis has also been away from the pro role on DWTS since season 6, but he has definitely not fallen off the radar, performing in group numbers on the show & choreographing for the most recent season of SYTYCD.

15.) Macy Gray & Jonathan Roberts – Macy has been out of the spotlight for a few years now (her last album came out in 2007), and Jonathan has been as well (he returned last season after being absent since season 6, only to be voted out the first round).  I worry this could hinder them in votes, as well as the fact that Macy is not an athlete - I think having at least some experience in a sport (or any form of movement) seems to help when learning any kind of dance, so compared to a lot of her competition this season, Macy may be at a disadvantage.  She does, however, have an advantage in the fact that she is a mother of 3, which may endear her to the many moms that tune into the show. 

16.) Tom DeLay & Cheryl Burke – Poor, poor Cheryl Burke.  Someone had to take him on this season, and I guess she drew the short straw.  At 62, he is the oldest contestant this season (and a non-athlete), so he may not be able to keep up with young, athletic powerhouses like Louie & Natalie.  He’s also a former politician – a disgraced former politician.  I think that alone will make him hard for America to rally behind, and may be his undoing in this competition.  However, we have no precedents for politicians on the show, so I guess we’ll have to wait and see how the votes fall. I have a feeling that any chance of success this pair has this season will hinge upon Cheryl’s instruction and choreography.  She’s a two-time DWTS champ, and is known for her “tough love” approach to teaching, which seems to bring out the best in her partners…so if anyone can keep Tom in the competition, it’s Cheryl!

So there you have it…my initial predictions for this season’s 16 couples.  Who will end up on top and who will get stuck at the bottom of the heap? We’ll see!