DWTS Season 15 – The All-Star Season
Season 14 has concluded for Dancing with the Stars and TPTB have spent at least half of the season if not the past year fanning flames for Season 15. In the now-official announcement of an “All Star Cast” being on the horizon. For those that are confused, Vogue posted a video a while back of Mario Lopez joining Kelly Ripa on her show “Live! with Kelly” and mentioned that he was approached to be a part of the cast of Season 15.
But before I go any further let’s go back a few years. Back in late 2009, John posted a “All I Want for Christmas” DWTS wish list, who would have thought that some of the items would have come true:
1. Replace Samantha – TPTB DID replace Samantha with Season 7’s winner: Brooke Burke. In some ways that was an improvement, and in other ways… it still felt the same. Ah well
2. No Live Band – No such luck. *pouts*
3. More Behind the Scenes – I think there is quite a bit behind the scenes footage now… moreso than I remember there being before.
4. How about a themed DWTS? All sports people or all singers or all tv personalities. – Unfortunately when John first mentioned a “themed DWTS” he meant all the celebs be from a particular group versus themed nights… can’t have everything.
5. Dancing with the Stars All Stars – More on this later
6. More Pro Dances – This is also hard to see if it has happened or not.
7. DWTS Tour – Well we got a Vegas Live show now… that’s better than nothing.
8. Edyta For the Win – Unfortunately Edyta left after Season 10. So unless they bring her back for the All Star Season and make it so she wins… I don’t see this happening.
9. Fewer Contestants – Ever since Season 9 (which had a whooping 16 couples), TPTB had only 11 or 12 couples per season.
10. A DWTS Professionals Special – We’ve had a few specials that showed some of the best routines from previous seasons, be it celeb/pro dances or pro dances or pro group dance numbers. I say this was a win.
Of the above Top Ten wish list, I wouldn’t be surprised if TPTB actually went through the list and looked to see what was doable. Now the big one: Since 2009 PureDWTS have mentioned a desire for an “All Star Season” and how cool it would be to bring old favorites from previous seasons and watch them compete for their chance at the mirror ball trophy. In fact Cheryl Burke once tweeted that a possible “All Star Season” was in the works two seasons from when she first mentioned it. Looking at the date of the post… the “two seasons” lead into Season 15, then add to that Mario Lopez’s comment of being asked to be a part of the All-Star line up. Well… let’s just say that at the date that this post was original written (April 27th) we now know that this is a definitive possibility.
So where does that bring us? Well, I got curious, since I (Marianya) predict scores for the show… having an All-Star season would totally bust my predictions and calculations, because these would all be celebrities that now have some sort of prior dance experience coming in. Another factor is how many of them would actually remember want was taught to them the first time they were on the show? To me it doesn’t seem to be very many, but I could be dead wrong. One thing’s first certain, the expectations would be higher and the scores would be crazy!
Then there are the celebrities that are participating in the DWTS Live Show at the Tropicana, namely: Carson Kressley, Joey Fatone, Kyle Massey, Sabrina Bryan and Tia Carrere. Would they be counted out since they are already participating in another DWTS related show?
Taking what Tom has already mentioned on the show, he said that the contestants would include:
– Past Mirrorball Winners
– Fan Favorites
– Controversial Characters
Umm… I don’t necessarily mind the “controversial character” because I do see the draw of that to the show, but I have an issue with past Mirrorball winners. I mean, I would much prefer that everyone in the cast not have won before so it would give the celebrities a second chance to win. People don’t necessarily have to agree with me, but dammit I don’t think it would be fair for the celebrities in particular if there were past winners in the All-Star cast. In fact, I would much rather have a separate season (perhaps for Season 20?) where all of the previous Mirrorball winners would compete to see who is the best of the best… but that’s just me.
And then there is the question of: What constitutes a “fan favorite”? Do they have polls, numbers, know who averaged the most number of call ins? And on top of all that: Will they be nice and take one celebrity to represent every season of DWTS thus far, but wouldn’t that give those of Season 14 an unfair advantage? The questions are endless.
Still, this will undoubtedly bring a lot of the fans that have tuned off the show back on if they have the right mix of celebrities. I’ve talked to a number of my friends that were fans of the show but haven’t really had any huge desire to watch the show in recent months, so perhaps bringing in an All-Star season is exactly what is needed to bring a jolt into the series.
Next up… I’ll have posts analyzing the scoring progressions of two of the stars that were rumored to be approached for the All-Star Season: Mel B and Mario Lopez as well as adjustments to the upcoming season.
There are so many things that could go wrong. Feel bad for the pros that have had good partners and get stuck with the “controversial” ones. Poor Tony if he gets Kate rather than Melissa, or MArk if he gets Bristol rather than Sabrina.
Shawn Johnson mentioned on twitter that she wants to do it. Think the producers would be interested?
Marianya, may you please calculate the average of the pros?
For example, the best in chacha, in waltz, etc… I’m all curious about it. =]
Hmmmm….. TPTB wouldn’t take this opportunity to overload us with former Disney kids, would they? Like, an All Star season consisting of
Chelsea Kane
Romeo
Sabrina Ryan
Kyle Massey
I mean, they were good, but I think I’d go into Disney-kid-overload.
I just hope they cast it right. I saw some former contestants like Chaz Bono, Aaron Carter, Misti May Traynor, and Margaret Cho taking to twitter to urge their fans to go to the DWTS website and request them.
I went to the site and keep seeing people like Roshon and Chelsea Kane requested. YAWN. Roshon was in the bottom 2 how many times? Clearly there wasn’t a huge demand to see him dance by the audience. The vast majority of the audience has never seen their shows or heard of them. And you know the Martyr Sabrina Bryan is already a lock. She was a good dancer but who cares about her? That’s why she got voted off.
I also get annoyed with the elitist attitude that the only people that should be asked back are the best of the best dancers. There was an article in TV Guide basically saying as such and I heard some pros past and present like Elena Grienko or Mark Ballas say so too. This show isn’t just about dancing. If it were than Season 14 would have gotten higher ratings than it did for its best season evahhhh. And I never heard Tom say “we received more votes this week than any other time in show history” like he did in past season. I want some train wrecks and some controversial figures! I would much rather see Cloris, Bristol, Kate, Steve O, etc than any of the Disney Kids or Joey freakin Fatone.
My wish list
Former Champs- Apolo, Jennifer, Kristi, Drew
Runners Up- Mel B, Gilles, Rob, Kirstie, Kyle, Evan
Finalists- Stacy Keibler (although I doubt she would do it seeing she thinks she’s A list now), Kelly O, Erin Andrews, Bristol, Marie Osmond, Melissa Rycroft
Voted off unfairly- Brandy, Chynna Phillips (much prefer to see these 2 given a 2nd shot than boring Sabrina!)
Train wrecks- Cloris, Kate G, Steve O, Ty Murray
I also didn’t include any season 14 cast because I don’t think the obvious targets like Katherine and William are gonna want to come back so soon.
this all star season … i hoped and hoped it would take place…and i am happy that finally it is happening…but as i said before….if abc doesn’t set some healthy ground rules…it will turn into a chaos…for example…no champs should come back in this season… John…that idea for an all star champions season is AMAZING…but now…they should give the good dancers a chance to that MBT…and please make it about the dancing not about the controversy…really…pls..no more Kate or Bristol…and about the fan favorites….i don’t know what to say…how do they establish that…after the ratings..after the voting power.. i can only hope they are talking about Carson …and ..there is one more problem…somebody already brought it up…. to me ..it seems that the show in Vegas and the DWTS tour did Sabrina a lot of good…i know no one will be a “first time dancer” on the show…but i am sure that some of the contestants didn’t dance after the show…
I don’t think former champions should be asked back. Or if they do come back, have it all be previous winners.
I also hope those that were the judges favorite like Chelsea Kane or William don’t come back. I don’t want to go another season with them trying to get their favorites to first place.
I do think they need to set up some ground rules…..
First….. HOW MANY CELEBRITIES ARE BEING INVITED BACK???
There are 162 past celebrites who have participated on DWTS…. Just how many will have a chance for this mirror ball trophy?
Second….. WILL CELEBRITIES DANCE WITH THEIR ORIGINAL PARTNER???
I do see a problem with this…. There are some celebrities that I would LOVE to see back, such as Cameron Mathison, but had a pro teacher that is no longer on the show. Yes, they could pair them with some current pros that most likely won’t have a celebrity returning. But is it fair that some dance with their original partner, while others start from scratch?
And what about the pros who have more than one past partner who would like to come back? Do they tell the pro, “pick which one to come back and dance…” Or pros that have more than one partner asking them….
Is that fair to the pro?
I think either they pair ALL celebrities with their original pros, thereby quickly eliminating quite a few celebrities, or thei pair ALL celebrities with a new partner…..
You know, the more I think about an all star season, the less excited I am, because I keep coming up with more ways that they are going to mess it up.
I juat hope they avoid the temptation of casting Kate Gosselin and Bristol Palin (Bristol wasn’t BAD and Kate was something else but they were the kind of contestant you wish someone went over to her and said “you are not a star go back to your kid and be a mom” (especially for Kate in particular……8 kids who must reallt have really gone through a hard time and the last thing they need is Mommy and daddy arguing over her involvement on a reality tv show on shows like extra and the today show)
to them*
lastly, I was thinking about something: how about a Joey Lawrence and Joey Mcyetyre and Joey Fatone on one season competing see who goes farther kind of like a battle of 90s teen stars 🙂
if derek comes back for season 15, i would like to see him with maria (for their chemistry) or nicole scherzinger (for their memorable dances).
Misty May Trainor wants a go at the all star season.
Sounds like a good idea to me.
Maria Menounos
Hines Ward
Kathy Ireland
Helio Castroneves
Kelly Monaco
Joey McIntyre
Roshon Fegan
Sabrina Bryan
Kyle Massey
Stacy Keibler
Cristian de la Fuente
Kelly Osbourne
Mario Lopez
Erin Andrews
Steve-O
Brandy
Joey Fatone
I know Court and PH gave her flack when she was on, but…
Three Letters: M. Y. A.
Brandy and Chynna would be amazing to see again. Especially since I thought Chynna was eliminated before it was “her time.”
As for pros? I know one has a bad attitude and one is known for an excessive amount of bland routines, but I seriously want to see Maks and Tony win a Mirrorball before the show ends or they both leave. Mel would be the perfect shot for Maks and Stacy is perfect for Tony.
Although everyone above has said it (and I am inclined/hate to say) that Stacy’s probably going to turn her nose up at the offer should she be asked because of her new beau.
As for Nicole? It’s looking like she might be too busy for the show at the moment. :/
I really am hoping for Kyle Massey to return! He is my #1 choice for the all-star season.
I also would like to see Chynna Phillips and Misty May-Treanor be given another shot. I think they could go farther. Both of their journies were sadly cut short.
I think so many people want Roshon and Chelsie back on the show due to they where amazing dancers with great chemistry and was given a fair deal by the judges they soon who they wanted right from the beginning. Roshon and Chelsie are so entertaining
to correct my statement about Roshon and Chelsie they were not given a fair deal by the judges on season 14
All-star season imo, no former winner, different partners, invite back former pros (would love to see Nick k and Jonathan R. Dancing on this show again.)
An article posted on my Comcast homepage…
Misty Mae Treanor Wants a DWTS comeback, she has been trying to get back on since she had to leave due to injury…. And has set up a voting site on her Facebook page.
I wouldn’t be surprised to see her next season labeled as The Comeback Kid….
I really don’t want to see Season 14 celebs back as it’s too soon. As for Roshon… the judges gave him high marks most of the time but he was clearly not a fan favorite since he was in the bottom two a number of times.
There are a lot of celebs who want to come back apparently, but there are only 12 slots. Going to be some hurt feelings if someone isn’t invited back.
Vin, I’m with you. If they are going to bring back some controversial celebrities, let’s hope it’s not Kate Gossiln or Bristol Palin.
Anyway, I’m loving the idea of an All-star season and can’t wait to see how they do it, but, I don’t think it would be fair to bring back past champions unless it’s a season of nothing but champions and putting them up against each other.
Marianya, you rock, I can’t wait to see what more things you have planned for this subject. Also, I think it’s cool how John mentioned the idea (as well as others) and now it’s happening.
As many of us have suggested a champion season and a runner up season (whick really makes the most sense), do you think they(TPTB) will define it better and soon? Don’t know whether to go to the site and ask for Drew or Giles, or Nicole or Maria, for example.
I’m thinking they may have more than 13 couples for this season, which is quite a few-IMO. I see that happening because there may be a high demand of prior contestants wanting to return for their chance at the coveted MBT-lol
I think this will be a FUN season…
Dee, I agree. I think it would be cool to start off with 14 couples with a pick from each season.
Vogue,
You know, there may be 16 couples.. If I’m not mistaken, didn’t they have 16 couples in Season 9? If so, there will definitely be at least two double eliminations.. oh boy… I can see TPTB going for that number too.
I would guess that for a lot of the celebrities who want to return, it’s not necessarily about the mbt but about a 2nd run of exposure and the opportunity to be paid for several weeks in the entertainment field.
I’m hoping for a nice mix of great dancing and great personalities. I don’t think there’s a need to try to be “fair” because how in the world would they do that? Of course some have more, and more recent dance experience. I don’t care.
I don’t even care if it’s a mix of people with past pro partners and new pro partners except that I’d get really tired of hearing all the complaints about it. To me, there can be some significant advantage either way. Freshness vs chemistry…
Not given a fair shot?
Roshon was saved in the dance duel 2 times by the judges. He was given a fairer shot than just about anyone whose ever been eliminate before the finals in the shows history.
Not enough people cared enough about him to give him votes despite his dancing. That is hardly an all star. An all star is who the audience wants to see.
IN YOUR OPINION, Andrea. I don’t think I should have to remind you that just because you say it, doesn’t make it a fact – throwing in an “I think” or “In my opinion” every now and then will go a long way in actually getting your opinions across in an intelligent way…rather than coming across confrontational and authoritative.
And I highly disagree that an “all-star is someone the audience wants to see” – in this context, I think the definition of “all-star” is more along the lines of “whoever TPTB can get to come back that they think will generate a lot of buzz”. Why else would they be pursuing controversial characters like Kate Gosselin for the all-star season?
I’m sure their motivation was the success of Allstars seasons on shows like Survivor and Big Brother, because of the ratings, and every show from Big Brother to Survivor changes up the format and throws in twists as well, just to keep things interesting, and if you don’t think they watch and learn from other shows, check out the concept of ABC’s The Glass House which CBS is suing over, calling it a Big Brother rip off.
I’ve already said that this will take some figuring out because if multiple celebs come back that had the same partner, or their partner is not available, they’ll need to be rotated, and is it fair for a pair that outperformed others to compete against some that didn’t do well at all, and what about new pros like Tristan that haven’t had past partners? It will be interesting indeed and I’m anxious to see what solutions they come up with because I foresee many issues. I do agree that I’d love to see Brandy come back because she wasn’t done fairly by a long shot, and I agree about some of the controversial contestants like Bristol and Kate, and hopefully they’ll also see that it’s ridiculous to bring back contestants that were just awful, to compete against champions!
@Tony – The only reason Heidi & I gave Mya flack is because she never really seemed to connect with the audience. Great dancer, great performer – but cold and unrelatable, in my opinion. And while Dmitry seems like a nice guy (and he’s great in the Vegas show), I don’t think he really did her any favors with his choreography. I do think she’d be a good one to bring back, though, since I think she (and really everyone that season) was doomed to lose to Donny from the get-go – quite possibly the biggest fanbase ringer the show has ever seen. I’d like to see what another pro could do with her – Derek, Mark, Maks, Tristan, whoever. Someone with more panache.
@TDI19 – Kyle is my #1 pick for the all-star season, too 🙂 He is phenomenal in the Vegas show!
And speaking of the Vegas show…Marianya, I saw where you mentioned the possibility of the people in the Vegas show being disqualified from competing in the all-star season. While I don’t know anything for sure (who really does? :-)), I actually think the possibility of them returning for the all-star season is even greater than some of the other celebs. Why? Well, they’ve obviously made it clear they are willing to continue the fun of the show, since they opted to come back for the Vegas show – and if I were the TPTB, I would think they would be people they could count on to put on a good show on tv, since they’ve already gotten some practice in in recent months. As for the timeline – the Vegas show is set to end its run on July 7. The run was already extended once, so I wouldn’t completely rule out the possibility of it getting extended again, but I would think they would need all hands on deck in LA for the all-star season…and I don’t think the Vegas show could really afford to lose both Lacey & Dmitry. So I think that pretty much frees up anyone involved in the Vegas production to do the all-star show…and I daresay some of them (*cough*JOEYFATONE*cough*) seem pretty available to do reality shows…:-P
Kyle is my No. 1 pick for All-Stars too! I loved Kyle and Lacey together. Please TPTB better not mess up this awesome pair. They just belong together.
@Courtney: I Can see Joey Fatone, and Kyle, and Sabrina coming back but I feel like Sabrina would just get eliminated again while the other two would easily sail into the finals. She always was so driven on the show and even in a fun dance (ex. her cha cha) she was just hitting the moves way too hard. Just my opinion though. Joey is just so damn likeable and the guy can do a great dance (his jives are still my favs on the show and his star wars dance was awesome). kyle was just great from day one and lets face it disney knows how to get kid stars becuase he had the “it factor” he can rap. dance, act, and still manages to remain normal.
I want Mellisa Rycroft back on the show 🙂 get tony that mirrrorball finally 🙂
Someone on that not-to-be-named board (don’t ask why I even bothered to go there) actually had a decent post…. I’ll put it here… under more than one reply, only because it has all 162 prior contestants… And if I mess up the tags, I apologize in advance.
There have been a total of 162 contestants on the show. If they had more than one occupation a * would appear by their name. The age shown is their current age and not when they competed on the show.
Actor/Actress
1.Aiden Turner (S10) 35 years old
2. Ashley Hamilton (S9; Comedian)* 37 years old
3. Chelsea Kane (S12) 23 years old
4. Cloris Leachman (S7) 86 years old
5. Cody Linley (S7) 22 years old
6. Cristian de la Fuente (S6; Model)* 38 years old
7. David Arquette (S13) 40 years old
8. David Hasselhoff (S11; Singer)* 59 years old
9. Debi Mazar (S9) 47 years old
10. Denise Richards (S8) 41 years old
11. Florence Henderson (S11; Singer)* 78 years old
12. George Hamilton (S2) 72 years old
13. Gilles Marini (S8) 36 years old
14. Harry Hamlin (S3) 60 years old
15. Ian Ziering (S4) 48 years old
16. Jack Wagner (S14; Singer)* 52 years old
17. Jaleel White (S14) 35 years old
18. Jane Seymour (S4) 61 years old
19. Jennie Garth (S5) 40 years old
20. Jennifer Grey (S11; Winner) 52 years old
21. Joey Lawrence (S3) 36 years old
22. John O’Hurley (S1) 57 years old
23. John Ratzenberger (S4) 65 years old
24. J.R. Martinez (S13; Winner) 28 years old
25. Kelly Monaco (S1; Winner) 36 years old
26. Kirstie Alley (S12) 61 years old
27. Kyle Massey (S11) 20 years old
28. Lisa Rinna (S2; TV Hostess) * 48 years old
29. Marissa Jaret Winokur (S6) 39 years old
30. Mark Dacascos (S9; Iron Chef America Chairman)* 48 years old
31. Marlee Matlin (S6) 46 years old
32. Melissa Gilbert (S14) 48 years old
33. Melissa Joan Hart (S9) 36 years old
34. Monique Coleman (S3) 31 years old
35. Pamela Anderson (S10; Model)* 44 years old
36. Priscilla Presley (S6) 66 years old
37. Ralph Macchio (S12) 50 years old
38. Ricki Lake (S13; TV hostess)* 43 years old
39. Roshon Fegan (S14) 20 years old
40. Shannen Doherty (S10) 41 years old
41. Shannon Elizabeth (S6; Model)* 38 years old
42. Steve Guttenberg (S6) 53 years old
43. Susan Lucci (S7) 65 years old
44. Tatum O’Neal (S2) 48 years old
45. Tia Carrere (S2; Model)* 45 years old
46. Ted McGinley (S7) 53 years old
47. Vivica A. Fox (S3) 47 years old
48. William Levy (S14) 31 years old
Athletes
1. Apolo Ohno (S4; Speed skating Olympian; Winner) 30 years old
2. Chad Ochocinco (S10; NFL Player) 34 years old
3. Chris Jericho (S12; WWE Champion and singer)* 41 years old
4. Chuck Liddell (S9; UFC Champion) 42 years old
5. Clyde Drexler (S4; Ex NBA player) 49 years old
6. Donald Driver (S14; NFL player; Winner) 37 years old
7. Emmit Smith (S3; Ex NFL player; Winner) 43 years old
8. Evan Lysacek (S10; Figure skater Olympian) 26 years old
9. Evander Holyfield (S1; Pro boxer) 49 years old
10. Floyd Mayweather Jr. (S4; Pro Boxer) 35 years old
11. Helio Castroneves (S5; Indy 500 Champion; Winner) 37 years old
12. Hines Ward (S12;NFL player; Winner) 36 years old
13. Hope Solo (S13; US Soccer) 30 years old
14. Jason Taylor (S6; Ex NFL player) 37 years old
15. Jerry Rice (S2; Ex NFL player) 49 years old
16. Kristi Yamaguchi (S6; Figure skater Olympian; Winner) 40 years old
17. Kurt Warner (S11; Ex NFL player and NFL analyst) * 40 years old
18. Lalia Ali (S4; Pro boxer) 34 years old
19. Lawrence Taylor (S8; Ex NFL player) 53 years old
20. Louie Vito (S9; Snowboarder World Champion) 24 years old
21. Martina Navratilova (S14; Tennis Grand Slam Champion) 55 years old
22. Maurice Greene (S7; Sprinter Olympian) 37 years old
23. Metta World (S13; NBA player) 32 years old
24. Michael Irvin (S9; Ex NFL player) 46 years old
25. Misty May-Treanor (S7; Pro Volleyball Champion) 34 years old
26. Monica Seles (S6; Grand Slam Tennis Champion) 38 years old
27. Natalie Coughlin (S9; Swimmer Olympian) 29 years old
28. Rick Fox (S11; Ex NBA player) 42 years old
29. Shawn Johnson (S8; Gymnastics Olympian; Winner) 20 years old
30. Stacy Keibler (S2; Ex WWE Diva) 32 years old
31. Sugar Ray Leonard (S12; Ex Pro boxer) 56 years old
32. Ty Murray (S8; Rodeo Cowboy World Champion) 42 years old
33. Warren Sapp (S7; Ex NFL player) 39 years old
Comedians
1. Adam Carolla (S6; radio and TV personality)* 47 years old
2. David Alan Grier (S8; actor) * 56 years old
3. Jeffery Ross (S7) 46 years old
4. Margaret Cho (S11; actress)* 43 years old
5. Niecy Nash (S10; TV hostess)* 42 years old
Models
1. Albert Reed (S5; Supermodel and actor)* 27 years old
2. Elizabetta Canalis (S13; Model, actress, and TV presenter)* 33 years old
3. Joanna Krupa (S9; Model and actress) 33 years old
4. Josie Maran (S5; Model and actress) * 34 years old
5. Kathy Ireland (S9; Model and entrepreneur) * 49 years old
6. Paulina Porizkova (S4; Supermodel and actress)* 47 years old
7. Petra Nemcova (S12; Supermodel) 32 years old
8. Rachel Hunter (S1; Supermodel) 42 years old
Other
1. Bristol Plain (S11; Activist and reality star)* 21 years old
2. Brooke Burke Charvet (S7; TVhost and model; Winner) * 40 years old
3. Buzz Aldrin (S10; Astronaut) 82 years old
4.Cameron Mathison (S5; TV host and actor)* 42 years old
5. Carson Kressley (S13; TV host and fashion expert)* 42 years old
6. Chaz Bono (S13; Activist) 43 years old
7. Erin Andrews (S10; ESPN Sportscaster) 34 years old
8. Giselle Fernandez (S2; TV Journalist) 51 years old
9. Heather Mills (S4; Activist) 44 years old
10.Jerry Springer (S3; TV host) 68 years old
11. Kenny Mayne (S2; ESPN Anchorman) 52 years old
12.Leeza Gibbons (S4; TV host) 55 years old
13.Maria Menounos (S14; TV host and model)* 33 years old
14.Mario Lopez (S3; TV host and actor) * 38 years old
15. Mark Cuban (S5; Entrepreneur) 53 years old
16. Mike Catherwood (S12; Radio Personality) 33 years old
17.Nancy Grace (S14; TV host and ex prosecutor) 52 years old
18. Penn Jillette (S6; Magician) 57 years old
19. Rocco DiSpirto (S7; Chef) 45 years old
20. Shandi Finnessey (S4; Miss USA, co-host, and reporter)* 33 years old
21.Sherri Shepard (S14; TV host and comedienne) * 45 years old
22. Steve Wozniak (S8; Apple co-founder) 61 years old
23. Tom DeLay (S9; Ex U.S. Majority Leader) 65 years old
24. Tucker Carlson (S3; Political Broadcaster) 43 years old
26. Wendy Williams (S12; TV host and author)* 47 years old
Reality Stars
1. Audrina Partridge (S11) 27 years old
2. Jake Pavelka (S10) 34 years old
3. Kate Gosselin (S10) 37 years old
4. Kelly Osbourne (S9; Singer)* 27 years old
5. Kendra Wilkinson (S12; Model)* 26 years old
6. Kim Kardashian (S7) 31 years old
7. Kristin Cavallari (S13; Actress)* 25 years old
8. Holly Madison (S8; model) * 32 years old
9. Melissa Rycroft (S8) 29 years old
10. Mike Sorrentino (S11) 29 years old
11. Rob Kardashian (S13) 25 years old
12. Shanna Moakler (S2; Ex Miss USA, model, and actress) * 37 years old
13. Steve-O (S7) 37 years old
14. Trista Sutter (S1) 39 years old
Singers
1. Aaron Carter (S9; Actor)* 24 years old
2. Belinda Carlisle (S8) 53 years old
3. Billy Ray Cyrus (S4; Actor) * 50 years old
4. Brandy (S11) 33 years old
5. Chuck Wicks (S8) 32 years old
6. Chynna Phillips (S13) 44 years old
7. Donny Osmond (S9; Actor; Winner)* 54 years old
8. Drew Lachey (S2; Winner) 35 years old
9. Gavin DeGraw (S14) 35 years old
10. Gladys Knight (S14) 67 years old
11. Joey Fatone (S4) 35 years old
12. Joey McIntyre (S1) 39 years old
13. Katherine Jenkins (S14) 31 years old
14. Lance Bass (S7) 33 years old
15. Lil’ Kim (S8) 37 years old
16. Macy Gray (S9) 44 years old
17. Marie Osmond (S5) 52 years old
18. Mario (S6) 25 years old
19. Master P (S2; Entrepreneur) * 45 years old
20. Mel B (S5) 36 years old
21. Michael Bolton (S11) 59 years old
22. Mya (S9) 32 years old
23. Nicole Scherzinger (S10; Winner) 33 years old
24. Romeo (S12; Actor)* 22 years old
25. Sabrina Bryan (S5; Actress and TV personality)* 27 years old
26. Sara Evans (S3) 41 years old
27. Toni Braxton (S7) 44 years old
28. Willa Ford (S3; Actress)* 31 years old
29. Wayne Newton (S5) 70 years old
Now…. How to narrow this list down to a REASONABLE number of celebrities for the season?
@Lori – I actually break them down a lot further if necessary, like with the actor/actresses I’ll pull out all those who are known more for their soap opera work, got their starts acting in Disney shows… From the athletes I have a separate sub grip for Olympians, NFL players and NBA players and even boxers
I also have a sub group from others who are tv journalists/hosts… Etc.
That might help narrow the field a bit. I have a post coming up with a series of polls where you could choose your top choice per season. I was considering doing another (or series) of posts w/ polls that are only taken from those categories.. What do you think?
I’d love to see how you break them down further…. Maybe…. First, a poll to see who to automatically eliminate, and get…. Hopefully at least half or more OUT! before beginning to see who is left to choose…. Know what I mean? Who do we NOT want to see? Get rid of them, remove them completely from the available for All-Star list, and see if we can figure out who should be on the All-Star list.
Maybe if we, as a group on here, can come up with a list of 20 we’d LOVE to see, they could use that to find a group of….. 12-16? I would hope they wouldn’t have 16 again, that wasn’t a good choice the season they did that.
I don’t know, I think if TPTB likely already know who they want/who is available. I don’t think they would have even announced an All Stars season without knowing that. Especially since Mario Lopez (ew) claims to have been asked back in what…April?
I don’t think a list here or anywhere else would sway their decisions. Though I wish it would.
@Violet – I agree. They have had this on the burner for quite some time.
I can’t for the life of me fathom why any previous MBT winner would even consider coming back. You went out a champion… this time you could leave a loser.
Court (#32) – ITA. I’m thinking that most, if not all, of the celebs in the Las Vegas DWTS are going to wind up on the All-Star season. Don’t know about Carson, but it doesn’t look like Joey Fatone, Sabrina Ryan, or Kyle have a lot else going on… I mean heck, Joey even did the Celebrity Chef competition show on the Food Network! 🙂
I am curious how well Nancy O’Dell would do if she was to come back for the all stars season and some people wouldn’t consider her as an all star of the show because she had to withdraw 3 or 4 days before the show. I always wondered how well she would have done if she didn’t get injured.
I thought last season’s trio dance might have been an experiment with the all star season in mind. We might see more group dancing just so more past celebs can participate.
And who says a couple has to win?
Why not select the overall best male dancer and the overall best female dancer? Dancing with each other need not be required.
Of course, the pro dancers may not like that set-up. Hmmm…
@Courtney (#32): While she’s definitely my number 1 favorite celebrity, only…3 dances of Mya’s stand out to me as what you described as “doing Mya favors.” Her Paso, her Salsa and her Jive. Those three I think were her strongest, most crowd pleasing dances she and Dmitry danced. I connected with her rather easily, so I guess I’m having a hard time seeing how she didn’t connect to the audience. In my opinion, I think she probably recognized that and wanted to fix it? I remember her and Dmitry talking about “Well…I want to do all this stuff for the audience (Her Foxtrot comes to mind) but the Judges are also wanting stuff from us as well.”
I think she tried to connect, and I think she did to some degree; just not as well as other people (such as yourself and PH) would have wanted her to. But you are right about Season 9’s competition really being about who was going to get 2nd place.
And I agree with the sentiment of putting her with a different partner. I think she’s probably too short for Maks. Derek would be okay, except I’m one of those “Let someone else win” people. The pro I’d want to see Mya with is Val. I want to see what this boy can do.
In order for Melissa to get Tony that mirror ball, he would have to learn to choreograph more for her than high kicks. Ahem.
As for Mya, I really only see her working with either Derek or Maks – and maybe Mark. We don’t actually know if Tristan has the panache yet – jury is way out for me. He’s had two partners that were either A) Loud or B) ICON – would he be too quiet for the very quiet Mya?? I think she needs someone as outgoing as possible to counteract her blandness.
And that reminds me – I’ve seen LOTS of references to Tristan having “no past partners” to be on the all star season. Gee, how quickly they forget – he’s had TWO partners, either of which would be eligible for the all star season in the categories of “controversial characters” or well loved fan favorite. Perhaps Tristan’s fans don’t want to admit that? 🙂 I don’t blame you – I sure as hell don’t want Nancy Grace back on the show, but she could be. I think you best hope that Derek doesn’t come back and he gets one of Derek’s partners. 🙂
I have to say, I sort of agree with Violet. I don’t think the cast is SET yet, but I bet they have a good sized list to choose from of people willing and able to do it.
I think in the case of All Stars, those in Vegas right now would be a new category of ringer – someone who’s had a couple months warm up.
Er, let someone else win, eh? Best sit out Derek, Mark, Cheryl, and Kym then – not just Derek. What’s the difference between 2 and 3 wins?? It’s still TWO more than a lot of them have. Who gets to draw the line where a pro has “too many” wins?? For that matter, Derek doesn’t have to win to play spoiler – the last six seasons he was on the show, he went to the semi-finals or higher. Seriously, the whole “let someone else win” camp is SO illogical it makes my teeth hurt. CLEARLY, other people have won since Derek’s been on 9 seasons and won “only” three of those.
You want Mya to win, Derek is obviously her best bet.
Heidi, I used to be in the camp that said let someone else win, but I’ve been very happy with back to back Karina and Peta wins. And I have always said not just Derek. I lumped Mark, Cheryl and Kym in too, so I definitely agree with you on that front. I’d even add in Maks as someone I want to see taken out early, because though he hasn’t won, he’s made it to final four at least five seasons in a row.
And I do have to admit–I used to be, let’s just say, not Derek’s biggest fan. I’ve never actively disliked him, rather, just found him irritating. But actually participating in this site during season 14 has put me past that, and I found myself rooting for Derek and Maria last season. He still irritates me sometimes, but I’m slowly becoming a fan. I credit that to this site and to Maria herself. Although…I was a big Anna/Evan supporter during season 10, then I couldn’t stand Jennifer, then I couldn’t stand Ricki. So that probably played more into my distaste for Derek then Derek himself. Which makes me feel sort of guilty.
Anyway, you guys have opened my eyes. 😉
I’m one who doesn’t understand the “let someone else win” thought. If winning is what the pro wants, quit worrying about what they wish the show was about, accept what it’s about (entertainment…) and do everything you can to make your celeb look likable, and look great and be entertaining. Of course some celebs will never be able to win no matter who they’re paired with, and there *may* have been some who would have won no matter what too but I doubt that. And look at Peta, one bad partner, one with potential to go all the way and she was able to work it.
So let someone else win, yes, let them do what it takes and they can win too, no one is stopping them. (And I mean over a series of a few seasons with a variety of partners, not saying that each celeb has equal potential on any one given season.)
Lori,
Wow, incredible. Thanks for the listing of “all” the contestants. Great!!
As long as basically the same roster of pros are competing season after season then we are going to see rewins, its just inevitable. Granted it has been nice to see the recent solo wins of Karina and Peta.
As far as the contestants go though, I love witnessing their journey in their quest for that elusive trophy. So I think only Non-Winners should be competing in the All-Stars.
Sorry, but I think the whole “let someone else win” argument is unrealistic & dumb. The pros that have won have won for a reason – they figured out the right formula to best showcase their partner and connect with the audience. If you eliminate them from the equation, then we’re left with a bunch of pros who clearly haven’t figured out what it takes to win – and we’re left with a show that’s not nearly as exciting as it was when we had the pros who knew how to choreograph a dynamite routine that really made their partner look good. Having the pros that have won already ups the level of competition – I guarantee that if you removed Derek, Mark, Kym, Cheryl, Karina, & Peta from the equation, it wouldn’t do much to improve the excitement factor of the routines that the remaining pros choreograph. No incentive to be better than [insert previous winner here] = lazier choreography. Plus the whole “let someone else win” argument just seems insulting to the pros that haven’t won yet – in my mind, it would be a “charity win”: not based on merit, but on the fact that they haven’t won yet. How exciting. Zzzzzzz. Wins should be earned, IMO – not given away in order to make everybody feel better. Life’s not fair; neither is this show.
I agree that life isn’t fair. Nothing’s fair. I disagree that the show wouldn’t be exciting if the pros who have won somehow got taken out early. I think Anna, Chelsie, Louis, Lacey and even Tony have choreographed some memorable and exciting routines. I would really love to see what Val and Tristan could do given a great partner.
I know it’s never going to happen and I do agree and acknowledge that there is a reason the same pros win a lot. But to me, it is also boring to see the same people at the end over and over again. Sometimes (not all the time) I think that it speaks more to fan base of the pro or celeb they’re paired with that they’re at the end and not that they’ve truly entertained us better than other couples that season. Cheryl did nothing for me with her routines or dancing last season with William. Same with Mark when he was with Bristol, Maks last season or season 13. But there they were at the end. I would have much rather had Val and Sherri at the end last season,or Anna and Carson at the end of season 13, or Tony and Audrina at the end of season 11, etc. But, that’s just my opinion and like I said, I do realize the pros that are always there at the end are often times fan favorites, and for good reason.
@Princess Heidi: I have a feeling getting Melissa as a partner again would get Tony’s creativity back. Stacey would have him doing back flips and thrilled becuase she would get votes becuase of her “Cary-Grant-of-our-age-boyfriend” as my family calls him but Melissa got him to loosen up too. If he doesn’t step up the chorogaphy soon (within the next two seasons) he might lose his spot to Sasha, Ted or Dymetry (more likely Sasha becuase he has really proven to be troupe leader after this season which surprised me becuase after the first troupe dance I thought Kiki would take that role but Sasha really stepped up)
But Violet, the people you’ve named as wanting to see at the end (Carson, Sherri and Audrina) – there are VERY good reasons why they weren’t there. Very good ones. Carson, as much as I loved him, is not a dancer. Sherri?? Well, too bad but her not staying on the show is likely due to people not liking her – she’s on TV EVERY DAY!! How much more help do you need to get ahead? You can hardly blame that one on Derek, Maks, Mark and Cheryl. As for Audrina?? We predicted her early elimination early on. How were we able to do that?? Because we could see that she wasn’t making an impact and in large part that is due to Tony.
There is a reason why certain people win and others haven’t. So why punish those that have figured the show out by depriving them of employment? That’s what you’d be doing. Besides, if they are popular, they also equal ratings. But how did they get so popular?? Because they choreograph great routines. Cheryl losing her touch with William?? She also didn’t WIN with William – she got as far as she did thanks to the JUDGES and his fanbase, not her own. Mark? Didn’t win with Bristol – again, her fanbase, not his. I have yet to see a pro rewarded with a win after not having worked their ass off for it and not coming up with great routines. Anna rather failed at the finale with Evan when it came to routines – and Evan had a much larger fanbase than Nicole going in. Lacey?? Had her shot with Lance – who also had a much larger fanbase than Brooke’s going in. As for those pros choreographing great routines? Sure, some of them have – but that’s clearly not all it takes and perhaps it doesn’t happen often enough.
Derek, Maks, Mark, Kym and Cheryl (pre-season 14 Cheryl) have come up with routines that I remember easily. Anna, Chelsie, Louis, Lacey and Tony?? Not so much. I think out of that group, the ladies have the edge. Louis has routines that are memorable alright, unfortunately not in a good way. Margaret Cho comes to mind. And his freestyle with Kelly. Tony?? I remember that I could have gotten seriously drunk if there was a drinking game for every time Melissa kicked her leg over her head. Tony has gotten GREAT partners with huge potential – his not winning is not due to Derek being more popular. Hardly. If it was about Derek and the other pros being more popular, then Peta wouldn’t have won this season and Karina wouldn’t won last season.
My post was certainly not an attack on Derek. And I never said I didn’t want those pros on the show, just that it would be nice to see them not make the end so often and that I thought some of the other, non winning pros have choreographed memorable and exciting routines. So I would not be punishing them with loss of employment. And winning and making the end are very similar to me…that team is still there until the very last show.
I agree that Tony can be boring and that he has gotten a few good partners. I do not think it is Derek’s fault that Tony has not won, nor anyone else’s. I do think a pro’s fan base can take them farther than another pro if they both have a celeb with a weaker fan base. I do not think Maria would have made it nearly as far if not for Derek. I think Audrina would have made it much farther had she been partnered with Derek. I think Derek, Maks and Cheryl have much stronger fan bases with Mark, but Mark tends to get more ringers and be coddled more by the judges to make up for that. I think probably any female pro partnered with JR would have made at least the top three because of how much people loved him. I think this about Donald, too. That is not me knocking Karina and Peta’s hard work, because I love them both–they are my favorite pros along with Chelsie. Of course they worked hard. Everybody works hard, even the ones taken out early most of the time. That is just how I feel about those contestants.
I know there are reasons Carson, Sherri and Audrina didn’t make it to the end. I didn’t blame it on the other pros as if it were their own fault. If they have fan bases or their celeb has fan bases I would be silly to think it were their fault. The three I mentioned I was just using my own personal preferences of three people I liked on the show, who I would have rather seen make it to the end then ones who did. The only point I was trying to make is that to me, it is boring for the same pros to make it to the end every time. That is NOT a knock against those pros, it is an observation and preference of mine. If I look at the past five seasons and who has been the last four couples standing:
Season Ten:
Derek and Nicole
Anna and Evan
Maks and Erin
Cheryl and Chad
Season Eleven:
Derek and Jennifer
Lacey and Kyle
Mark and Bristol
Maks and Brandy
Season Twelve:
Kym and Hines
Maks and Kirstie
Mark and Chelsea
Karina and Ralph
Season Thirteen:
Karina and JR
Cheryl and Rob
Derek and Ricki
Maks and Hope
Season Fourteen:
Peta and Donald
Mark and Katherine
Cheryl and William
Derek and Maria
To me, that is predictable. And boring. And with maybe a few exceptions I pretty much pegged it at the beginning of the season.
I didn’t think you were attacking Derek or the others, Violet – I’m asking how you would accomplish what you would like to see. So what would you do about it, Violet? In order to get what YOU want, something has to happen. In essence, you have to penalize the successful pros in some way in order to accomplish what you would like to see – that’s my point.
My other point is what it has always been – it’s not just the pros fanbase. If it were, Derek or Maks would likely win every season, and we know that’s not the case. Derek has never finished earlier than 6th and that was only in his second season on the show – do you REALLY think he built a huge fanbase after 2 seasons that was so huge that he never finished earlier than 5th after that? I don’t and I’m a fan. I think he found ways to make it happen – make his partners stand out or THEY had fanbases. That he tends to create partnerships that are entertaining or fun certainly helps.
So, what would you have them do? Make those pros sit out, or find a way to gage the popularity of the celebs coming on the show and make sure to give them to Tony, Louis, etc? In order for it to not be “predictable” or “boring” for you, something different would have to happen. Or you’re just talking. That’s fine…but nothing’s going to change because clearly it’s NOT about the pros fanbases AND others don’t find it boring or predictable. If they did, those same people wouldn’t make it to the end any longer.
Well, that’s how it came across to me, Heidi, and I’m sorry if I read it the wrong way.
I do not have a way to get those pros out early. I never said I did. I was, as you say, “just talking”. It’s fine if nobody else finds this trend boring or predictable, I don’t care about that. I was only stating MY opinion, and never claimed to be stating anything else.
And I still disagree that the pros fanbase doesn’t play a part it in. It doesn’t always get them the win, I agree with you there. It doesn’t have everything to do with it, but it does have SOMETHING to do with it, IMO, especially as they are on the show for more seasons. I don’t think Derek’s fanbase was so huge after only two seasons. For he and Maks both, I think their fanbases really kicked into overdrive around season 10. Especially these last two seasons, I don’t think Maria or Ricki get anywhere near top five without Derek. I don’t think Hope or Melissa get anywhere near where they did without Maks, even though Melissa probably had a sizable fanbase of her own. And it’s really hard to gauge, especially in Derek’s case, because his dances are so great, whether if he bombed or not if he could still carry a celeb as far as he does. We don’t know because it’s never happened and probably never will. With Maks, I think it’s easier–he hasn’t turned out nearly as many show stopping routines as Derek, and he still gets far nearly every time.
This is all purely speculation on my part. Really just thinking out loud, sort of.
I apologize for the “want someone else to win” statement. Something was nagging me to not put that in there, and now I remember. I take it back, because I realize it is dumb. Although I do have to point out, I’m not as hardcore as other people on this website. Haha! Derek is great at what he does, and I guess I can’t really say I don’t want him to win again after supporting Nicole for all of Season 10. It is always nice to see new faces to the winners circle; and we have seen that with these last two seasons in Karina and Peta.
I don’t know why I’m Anti-Derek, because he’s not doing whatever it takes to get another mirror ball, unlike some others *cough*Cheryl*cough*. You ladies have said it that despite the show being a competition, it’s just a reality television show, and Derek seems to be the only one that acknowledges that.
So again, I apologize for my mistake of saying “let someone else win.” As for Derek being paired with Mya? I try picturing the two in my head side by side, and they just don’t work for me. Could I be wrong? Um…duh. lol And even though I never said I wanted Mya to win in words, I realize I said it anyway (and I’m just realizing this) by saying I want her back for the All Star season. But we’ll see. There’s a chance she won’t even be on it, so I’m not going to get my hopes up.
And we don’t even know if they get their original partners. I remember Maks saying he was against it. I like the idea of different partners, but I won’t be upset if everyone has their old partner either.
I don’t mind myself different partners this time around as it can give us a different experience but i don’t think different partners every week would be a good idea as each celebrity learns differently and it would be hard for the celebrity to adjust to a new partner every week that being said i would think they can bring back the trio round or by week8 give the remaining pros a round off so they perform 1 routine with their original partner that week and the other with a different partner just for that week. This way they can properly match up the height of the celebrity with a pro thats a simile height.
Tony, you don’t have to apologize for having an opinion – but having an opinion means someone is likely to disagree with you and sometimes vehemently. 🙂
I actually don’t see Derek with Mya either, and I don’t know why. That’s the big problem with changing up partners – the producers USUALLY do a really good job of getting it right, in terms of personality, in addition to the simple height factor.
Ha. It was more of an apology for sparking the heated discussion that followed. Looking back, however, I was really against Jennifer and Derek winning. I think that’s the only time I didn’t want him to win. Aside from Ricki as well. I would have been okay with Maria winning based on the fact that I liked her more than William and she actually became a pretty darn good dancer towards the end of the competition.
And it was also a “I’ve seen the light” post as well. I won’t be happy, per se, but I understand why we need Derek on the show, and why his leaving (which very well may be soon) will be an EXTREME loss to the show.
If I had to choose, as I said above, I would want Mya with Val. I don’t know why, but I see these two working for some reason. I’m probably the only one that sees it, but I think they could work. And, I just really want Val to make it past the first 3rd of the competition.
Whoa, left some things out. “I won’t be happy if Derek wins again, per se, etc.” lol
Heh – Tony, just goes to show. I didn’t consider the conversation “heated”. 🙂 I can see why people would think that, but really I just hold strong opinions and the scientist in me can be rather forceful. 🙂 That’s what we do – we make arguments and have in depth discussions.
I would love to see Chaz Bono again and Ralph Macchio should certainly be back. Erin Andrews but please god don’t let them bring back Kate Gosselin.I so don’t ever want to see her face on television or any where ever again
I don’t think I want Erin back. I liked her well enough at the time, but in hindsight it seems like a shift in Maks happened when partnered with her (also right around break up with Karina, right? so that could have been it,too). Also, she just seems like a closeted mean girl to me.
God – NO Erin Andrews. I don’t know when we’ve had such a “mean girl” on the show before. Did not like her AT ALL. Her superiority complex was a turn off.