In The Media: DWTS

[truthaboutluv]

I think DWTS needs to follow American Idol's lead and realize it's time to throw in the towel. I know they've never gotten huge stars, but when you're recruiting 14 year old kids because they have a large social media following, it's time to go.

 

 

American Idol threw in the towel because the ratings had sunk pretty low and the audience was clearly no longer there. Thing is, DWTS is not recruiting those kids because the ratings are dying, in my opinion. They're doing it because they're trying to get a younger audience/demographic, which don't get me wrong, is stupid in and of itself. Yes, the show may skew a bit older but that demographic is what made it a hit show and continues to make it pretty successful.

 

And the funny thing is, the antics to try to get this younger audience will only succeed in alienating the older audience and kill the show because no matter what they do, the younger audience is not interested. This is just not a show that the 18-25 demographic will really be into. And you'd think they'd get that with the fact that all these young stars with huge social media following, never won. Bethany did the best coming in fourth but Willow was an early shock boot and Cody Simpson flamed out like in Week 3. 

 

I mean don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the show should never try to evolve and be stagnant and never try to bring in a new audience. But there are better ways to go about doing it that should not involve casting middle school/junior high contestants. That's just ridiculous. 

[Fish Pie]

From reading about Hayes I think him and Paula are going to get on very well.

[CurbUrEnthusiasm]

Lord no, Paula is a nice lady, she does not deserve Golden Boy.

Given her truly disgusting history and past behavior, she's hardly a "nice" lady. Derek bugs me from time to time but I do think he's talented and even he deserves better than that. All in all, I think her inclusion in the cast is pretty gross but I've learned not to expect much from the show anymore. I swear I'm such a glutton for punishment.

 

Anyway, I know DWTS is desperately trying to be "hip" and appeal to a younger demographic and all that jazz...but I just wish they'd just stop (for my sake). Watching some of the pros attempt the nae nae and whip in the recent promos made me alternately cringe and laugh for all the wrong reasons. Please stick to ballroom (and I say that as someone who absolutely adores all genres of dance).

 

And the funny thing is, the antics to try to get this younger audience will only succeed in alienating the older audience and kill the show because no matter what they do, the younger audience is not interested. This is just not a show that the 18-25 demographic will really be into. And you'd think they'd get that with the fact that all these young stars with huge social media following, never won. Bethany did the best coming in fourth but Willow was an early shock boot and Cody Simpson flamed out like in Week 3.

 

I mean don't get me wrong. I'm not saying the show should never try to evolve and be stagnant and never try to bring in a new audience. But there are better ways to go about doing it that should not involve casting middle school/junior high contestants. That's just ridiculous.

I totally agree with this post. I'm actually not too far removed from that 18-25 demographic but even I feel embarrassed by some of the tactics the show is using. So many of the changes in recent years have been utterly unnecessary and ridiculous.

Edited August 27, 2015 by CurbUrEnthusiasm

[Uke]

Just googled Hayes Grier.  He's 14 and his claim to fame is tweeting 6-second videos (vines)?  Nahhh-that can't be right.

Or, is that right?

 

So, if his fans are accustomed to 6-second vines, they'll somehow manage to sit still for a 2 hour show?

 

(still trying to wrap my head around this)

Edited August 27, 2015 by Uke

[BW Manilowe]

Entertainment Tonight Tweeted a few hours ago that "sources" confirmed to them the casting of Paula Deen, Chaka Khan, & singer Andy Grammer for this season. ABC has not confirmed & says they do not confirm stuff like that.

http://m.etonline.com/news/170727_dancing_with_the_stars_andy_grammer_to_join_paula_deen_and_chaka_kahn_season_21_cast/

This is *not* the casting announcement they mentioned, on Tuesday night, that would be made on Thursday's show involving 2 more cast members to come. They're still doing the Thursday announcement.

Edited August 27, 2015 by BW Manilowe

[WhosThatGirl]

Oh man, is this the saddest season yet? I'm not all that all excited for any of these people, really. I agree that it's time for this show to go away. The only thing I will miss is Tom Bergeron because he's a national treasure but nothing else, really. 

 

Don't get me wrong, Nick Carter is kind of awesome but he probably would have been more awesome a season or two ago and who knows how good he will be. Pop stars can be hit or miss on this show.  I just.. I don't know. This list is starting to feel like it's a list that could have come out when this show was first starting out. This show had a few really good seasons with some surprising stars and now it's back to struggling it seems.  I think the show could probably crank out one more all star season maybe and then be done. In fact the all star season should have been this past spring season, considering it was the 10th anniversary and all.

Edited August 27, 2015 by WhosThatGirl

[katha]

Why is it so offensive to you when the 14 year old is a 14 year old boy as opposed to a 14 year old girl last year (Willow)? What is the difference there?

 

It's funny to come here and see people sad about the celebrities when I think this season has the biggest celebrities I've ever seen on this show. Ages differences I guess.

 

Edit: also vines are not 6 seconds they're 8 seconds

Agree that the celebs so far look rather high caliber, considering the show is in its 21st season and someone A-List won't ever do DWTS. But plenty of people had problems with Willow being on the show last season. I think she did great, I think Mark did great with her, but IMO the show had questionable judgement bringing her on. She ran into the usual "really young fanbase will be iffy voting-wise" problem, they had to learn and create dances on severely limited practice hours and Mark was super restricted choreography-wise. And then when the inevitable boot came she took it rather hard, understandable since she was better than a few of the remaining contestants and probably didn't quite get that the main DWTS audience will usually favour showmances and Bachelors over youngsters, no matter how talented and that it had nothing to do with her dancing. DWTS is a lot of mind games and stress, I'm not sure it's a good environment for a kid that age. And Willow's run didn't convince me otherwise, even though she personally did awesome.

Edited August 27, 2015 by katha

[Stitsch]

Why is it so offensive to you when the 14 year old is a 14 year old boy as opposed to a 14 year old girl last year (Willow)? What is the difference there?

 

Willow is an actress. She is also part of a huge movie franchise. Hayes makes eight second videos. The most attention he's received is when his brother, Nash, made racist and homophobic comments. There is a world of difference. There's a GALAXY of difference.

 

Also, IIRC, there were huge stinks about Willow being casted.

[Buggin]

Plenty of people were annoyed at the casting of Willow last season because of her age. Also, Mark was 28 and Emma is 26. They're great teachers but they are so limited working with children on this show. If they're going to insist on having 8th/9th graders compete, surely they can find some younger professional dancers to pair them with. Watching a 14 year old boy rumba with an 18 or 19 year would be a little better, IMO. That's not to say Mark and Emma aren't good at what they do or would try to make things sexual - I know they won't - but still, it's not entertaining to me.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Buggin

[vibeology]

Paula Deen being cast means I'm done with this show. Internet stars, Kardashians and Bachelors I can deal with but Paul's Deen is racist. Openly grossly racist. Good to know the show is more concerned with a water cooler name than protecting their cast and crew from her vile behaviour. So I'm out. I don't care if she goes first. It's too much that it happened in the first place.

[radishcake]

Guys do not call each other out in posts. I'm going to start removing posts that contain infighting.

[Katydid]

So they finally got Paula. You know, years ago I remember listing her when discussing who I'd like to see on the show. Of course that was before the racist comments came to light. Now it just seems icky. I'm inclined to predict she won't last for long, due to both dancing potential as well as the racist baggage. But on the other hand, I can also see her potentially being someone that certain demos may vote for and keep around past her time regardless.

Not a fan of social media "stars" either. I suppose we should be grateful that at least they didn't get Sam and Nia of recent YouTube infamy, though.

But I'm still optimistic that it may be a decent season because there are others (Bindi, Victor) that I'm interested to see.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Katydid

[truthaboutluv]

Plenty of people were annoyed at the casting of Willow last season because of her age.

 

 

This. There was a lot of talk about Willow's age and Mark even talked about it in some press during the season and mentioned the fact that everyday all over the country, kids even younger compete in ballroom competitions. Which is certainly true, except these kids are competing with people their age. I am pretty sure no 14 year old boy/girl is being paired up with a 20-something year old man or woman.

 

Ballroom dancing is a partner dance and it is unfair to ask these Pros to have to perform with these little kids. It's just crazy how much fuss was made some years ago when Shawn Johnson first competed and she was 17 at the time or when Cody Linley was cast at 17 even though he was paired with a 19 year old Julianne. And then it seemed like they would not go younger when Zendaya was cast at 16. But now it's like Shirley Ballas was right and they're eventually going to start pulling from kindergarten.

 

Watching a 14 year old boy rumba with an 18 or 19 year would be a little better, IMO.

 

 

I'm pretty sure the Pros can make some requests in a situation like that so I don't think they'll get the rumba. I know Mark definitely asked the producers to remove that as an option for him and Willow. 

 

Paula Deen being cast means I'm done with this show.

 

 

I really hope it does not become a Bristol Palin like situation with her. That was the one season of the show I quit half-way. I just couldn't do it. So hopefully she's eliminated fairly early but I fear she may have a decent sized fanbase which is disturbing in and of itself. 

[tarotx]

Hayes Grier is 15 (not that 15 is much better :p). And he seems to have actual fans unlike the burger model from last year. I don't have an issue with Internet stars bring on. The internet is a huge platform. Yes vines are short but they make a lot and then interact with their fans on social media.

I do have issue with the kids with adult partners. Mark is goofy and created character routines so it worked. But I fear for Emma and this little boy. I know she can be fun but...I will try not to pre judge.

http://www.people.com/people/mobile/article/0,,20948290,00.html

Edited August 27, 2015 by tarotx

[truthaboutluv]

And he seems to have actual fans unlike the burger model from last year.

 

 

Except they don't vote. We have seen it repeatedly with Bethany and that Cody Simpson guy. These kids that follow these people will tweet and get something trending but they seem incapable of actually picking up a phone and voting and again, they often just don't care about this show. Bethany had more followers than anyone during her season and a glance at her twitter and Instagram during the season showed that her fans were completely uninterested in the show, in voting, etc.

 

Cody Simpson had something like 6 million twitter followers and flamed out in like Week 3 or 4. I will always remember Witney's shocked face because you know she assumed she was golden with someone who was a "teen heartthrob." Unless the Nash kid ends up being really, really good and even then I still see him being a shock boot because I don't think Emma has enough of a fanbase to carry them through.

[tarotx]

They may not vote as passionately especially as time moves on but they still tweet and talk about the show. They generate buzz for the show with in the new media.

I don't think people can expect them to win because web fans get angry that the Internet star is trying to move on and are abandoning their fans. But early on they are exited and create buzz and excitement.

A lot of people don't get votes especially as the season moves on and fans realize the chance of winning is minimal.

Edited August 27, 2015 by tarotx

[MakeMeLaugh]

Paula Deen really surprises me. A redemption move on her part. Who's next, Bill Cosby?

[Buggin]

Pretty soon producers will be casting kids that weren't even born when the show started, lol. Getting the trending going on social media and garnering YouTube views must be the ultimate goal because these are kids who have pretty much never had to sit through a commercial break to watch a show they like and aren't likely to start tuning in to ABC on Monday nights to watch live. As it is, I only watch live because we don't have cable so we only get the networks and I'm an old lady at 32 with two young kids and nothing better to do on those nights. And that's only if we're not binge-watching something on Netflix. Last season we had Friday Night Lights going so I mostly just watched the dances I wanted to see on YouTube or Hulu the following day.

[Qoass]

All I know is that Carla Hall from The Chew is DYING to be on this show so it must kill her to see somebody else from Gordon Elliot's stable of cooking stars get cast.

[fishcakes]

Dribbling the cast list out two at a time is only highlighting how lame it is.

[Buggin]

All I know is that Carla Hall from The Chew is DYING to be on this show so it must kill her to see somebody else from Gordon Elliot's stable of cooking stars get cast.

 

Would prefer Carla 100000000x to Paula Deen. I could honestly see her making a good partner for just about any of the pros as far as personality goes.

[LadyMustang65]

Where is everyone getting this news from?  The only people I've seen confirmed so far as Bindi Irwin, Victor Espinoza, Nick Carter and Hayes Grier, and I haven't seen anything at all about who they're partnered with.  But reading here it looks like other have been confirmed, and partners are known.  Is it speculation or have I missed some announcements somewhere along the line?

[boyznkatz]

Where is everyone getting this news from?  The only people I've seen confirmed so far as Bindi Irwin, Victor Espinoza, Nick Carter and Hayes Grier, and I haven't seen anything at all about who they're partnered with.  But reading here it looks like other have been confirmed, and partners are known.  Is it speculation or have I missed some announcements somewhere along the line?

 

Nothing confirmed yet except the ones you mentioned. E-Online broke the story of Paula Deen and Chaka Khan, but they only quoted "sources." I sure hope they are wrong about Ms. Deen, but unfortunately she seems like the type of contestant they usually go for.

Edited August 27, 2015 by boyznkatz

[radishcake]

I'm going with confirmed on Paula Deen since TV Guide, E - Online, & Variety all have it. 

ETA: Chaka Khan has also confirmed on twitter and the sources mentioned above.

[LadyMustang65]

Thanks, boyznkatz. 

 

Some of the people mentioned an Alexa and a Carlos.   Who are they?

Edited August 27, 2015 by LadyMustang65

[katha]

Thanks, boyznkatz. 

 

Some of the people mentioned an Alexa and a Carlos.   Who are they?

Alexa Vega, actress from the Spy Kids movies, and Carlos Pena, from the boy band Big Time Rush (? same one James Maslow was from). They are also married to each other. Rumoured to be paired with Mark and Witney, respectively.

 

And a good deal of that info comes from Krystin Burtt and Courtney from the Pure website. I think people are taking it seriously because they both have inside sources and a good track record of getting these things right. Like 90% of the time. And a week beforehand is about the time when things start leaking in earnest, last season was an outlier with how mum everyone kept. I suspect that this time around with the new structure of the celeb rollout, they don't have things tightly under control and so news are trickling out all the time.

[legaleagle53]

Paula Deen really surprises me. A redemption move on her part. Who's next, Bill Cosby?

 

Eww, don't give them any ideas!

[ocelot]

About Paula Deen, the show has had plenty of openly homophobic people before (and Hayes Grier is homophobic too so...) so I don't know why people are surprised about a racist person being cast.

 

What if they give her to Keo lol.

Edited August 27, 2015 by ocelot

[boyznkatz]

About Paula Deen, the show has had plenty of openly homophobic people before (and Hayes Grier is homophobic too so...) so I don't know why people are surprised about a racist person being cast.

 

What if they give her to Keo lol.

 

Wow they should just change their name to "Dancing with the Bigots."  Shame on you, Rob Wade.

[radishcake]

Alexa Vega, actress from the Spy Kids movies, and Carlos Pena, from the boy band Big Time Rush (? same one James Maslow was from). They are also married to each other. Rumoured to be paired with Mark and Witney, respectively.

 

And a good deal of that info comes from Krystin Burtt and Courtney from the Pure website. I think people are taking it seriously because they both have inside sources and a good track record of getting these things right. Like 90% of the time. And a week beforehand is about the time when things start leaking in earnest, last season was an outlier with how mum everyone kept. I suspect that this time around with the new structure of the celeb rollout, they don't have things tightly under control and so news are trickling out all the time.

I will say I'm trying to go with sites that have celeb confirmations and have more than two media confirmations. 

[Buggin]

About Paula Deen, the show has had plenty of openly homophobic people before (and Hayes Grier is homophobic too so...) so I don't know why people are surprised about a racist person being cast.

What if they give her to Keo lol.

Can you fill me in on Hayes being homophobic?

[BoogieBurns]

Paula with Keo is the only way I'm watching a season with her on it. She'll pretend to gush over him and it'll be so ridiculous. 

[PTVjones]

If DWTS insist on getting contestants who are under the age of 18, I don't see the issue in getting a pro who's under 18 as well. Like Mark has stated, there are many teens in the competition circuit and pros were latin champions in their teens like Mark, Julianne, Val, and Lacey if I remember correctly. As long as they follow the laws of child actors (working/rehearsing a certain number of hours a day, getting their homework/tutoring) like all the other child actors in Hollywood, I don't see why they can't get a teen pro. Watching a Vine star like Hayes or a movie star like Willow dance with someone who is nearly 30 is slightly awkward. Even though Mark and Val have done excellent jobs in this regard still... just get a teen pro. 

 

Also considering Keo was born South Africa in 1989, during apartheid, it would be in extraordinarily poor taste on ABC's part to partner him with Paula Dean. 

[Danseur]

Chaka Kahn is supposedly with Keo.

[BoogieBurns]

Also considering Keo was born South Africa in 1989, during apartheid, it would be in extraordinarily poor taste on ABC's part to partner him with Paula Dean.

 

I know. I just wanted to see Paula squirm, not Keo. Fine, I take it back.

[Saylii]

http://www.etonline.com/news/170710_exclusive_dancing_with_the_stars_married_couple_alexa_and_carlos_penavega_to_compete_on_season_21/

 

Alexa & Carlos PenaVega officially confirmed by ETOnline.

[BW Manilowe]

Kim Zolciak, from Bravo's The Real Housewives of Atlanta & Don't Be Tardy, is doing the show, according to a report from E! which was quoted in the Radio-TV blog linked below from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The quoted E! report (&, therefore, the AJC blog) also mentions Paula Deen as another (supposedly) confirmed celeb.

http://radiotvtalk.blog.ajc.com/2015/08/27/e-kim-zolciak-paula-deen-join-dancing-with-the-stars/

Edited August 27, 2015 by BW Manilowe

[Uke]

ocelot, on 27 Aug 2015 - 04:23 AM, said:

 

Why is it so offensive to you when the 14 year old is a 14 year old boy as opposed to a 14 year old girl last year (Willow)? What is the difference there?

 

It's funny to come here and see people sad about the celebrities when I think this season has the biggest celebrities I've ever seen on this show. Ages differences I guess.

 

Edit: also vines are not 6 seconds they're 8 seconds

 

Hi Ocelot,

I think you might be replying to my post about Hayes Grier. (Sorry, I can't seem to find your original post.)  Just to clarify, I know nothing about Hayes except he's got a lot of fans who apparently enjoy the vine videos he tweets or posts elsewhere in social media.  He is certainly not offensive to me, as far as what I know of him so far. 

 

I do have an issue with kids under 18 (male or female) performing on this show.  A lot of the dances have sexy, suggestive moves that I don't want to see kids doing with adults.  All the pros are adults.  Two 14 year olds performing most (not all) of the dance styles, no problem. A 14 year old doing "sexy" dances with an adult, is...just...well, just something I don't want to see.  Mark did an amazing job choreographing for Willow (actually, I'll include Sadie,17, in this too). For many dances, he opted for high production or humor, keeping the flavor of the dance style even if he had to sacrifice actual techniques.  Mark also took a lot of criticism for "too much production".  He also had to work under a lot of restraints, like Mom/Grandma vetos (Sadie), Dad interruptions for "snack time" (Willow), not to mention all the child labor laws that had to be observed.  I do not like this pattern that might be developing of bringing in youngsters.  That's not what this show is.  If ABC wants a kids dance show, then great! Have a kids show.  But I really don't want kids on DWTS, regardless of how mature they might seem.

 

Oh, and I stand corrected about vine videos being 8-seconds, not 6-seconds. I was just going by Wikipedia. I've never made vines myself, so I didn't know.

 

Edited: I see from Tarotx, Hayes is now 15, not 14.

Edited August 27, 2015 by Uke

[smiley13]

I know. I just wanted to see Paula squirm, not Keo. Fine, I take it back.

Why would Paula squirm?  One of her closest and most trusted employees is a black man.

[BoogieBurns]

Why would Paula squirm?

 

Nope. I already took it back. 

[Uke]

Paula Deen really surprises me. A redemption move on her part. Who's next, Bill Cosby?

 

 

NOOOOO No No No No!  I don't want Cosby near any of our lovely lady pros.

[Buggin]

Well, this season quickly went from "Hmm...this might be interesting" to "Meh...I guess I'll be watching highlights on Hulu on Tuesday."

 

I'm going to guess Bindi will go with Derek, Paula with Artem, and Kim with either Val or the mysterious last pro (Tony?). If Shay Mitchell is still in the running, I'll assume she'll go to Val.

 

Is Allison the only female left whose partner we don't know?

[Uke]

If DWTS insist on getting contestants who are under the age of 18, I don't see the issue in getting a pro who's under 18 as well. Like Mark has stated, there are many teens in the competition circuit and pros were latin champions in their teens like Mark, Julianne, Val, and Lacey if I remember correctly. As long as they follow the laws of child actors (working/rehearsing a certain number of hours a day, getting their homework/tutoring) like all the other child actors in Hollywood, I don't see why they can't get a teen pro. Watching a Vine star like Hayes or a movie star like Willow dance with someone who is nearly 30 is slightly awkward. Even though Mark and Val have done excellent jobs in this regard still... just get a teen pro. 

 

Yes, there are many teens and pre-teens in the competition circuit, but the audience is different.   The audience at competitions would be parents, dance teachers and other dance enthusiasts who are very familiar with the dances, dance requirements, etc.  They will watch 10yr olds doing a rumba or samba and look at technical ability. Their mindset is different. 

 

Middle American watching dances on tv, I would bet most don't really know technique or requirements, they only know and vote on what they find enjoyable to watch. 

 

As for DWTS getting a teen pro, IMO just because a teen can dance well or even be extraordinary, doesn't mean they can teach other teens who may or may not care about learning to dance but just want to be on DWTS for their career development.  (Many of the current pros have really had their hands full with some of the stars (head cases) assigned to them.)   Also, the pros are responsible for more than just dancing and teaching dance, things like costuming, set design, the whole production of the presentation, understanding how to use the camera angles, leading the star through the whole process of DWTS/media/etc.  There's a maturity level involved. I question whether a teen pro who has spent most of his/her life in a studio learning to be extraordinary would have the life experience to be able to mentor a star through the whole DWTS experience. (Also, there may be child labor laws for the 18-and-under kids too.)

Edited August 28, 2015 by Uke

[Buggin]

I don't think they need to get an underage pro. They could use 18 and 19-year-olds, which would be easier since the pros have to be available to rehearse other numbers as well. Julianne was that age when she started, and Witney might have been 19? Maybe she was 20. Lindsay, Jenna, Witney, and Brittany are all 21 which, even though still adult age, makes them 5 years closer in age to Hayes than Emma. Maybe the height was a factor, maybe they just wanted to ensure Emma had a partner, maybe they thought Emma would be the best teacher for him, whatever. But they could definitely do things to make the age thing even just a little less weird for the at-home viewer.

[WhosThatGirl]

I'm just going to be honest here. Well last week when I looked at the rumor mill I was all, "not really that exciting but whatever" and then when the first two names out of the gate were Bindi and this jockey, I wasn't all that excited but I was a week bit hopeful considering those two names were nowhere on the list of rumors. I thought oh maybe there will be some other people who I may want to see. And Nick Carter might be the only one but even still I mentioned in forum- maybe this one or the speculation thread- that Nick is good, but probably a season or two ago. My honest opinion is that there's a good chance I won't watch or I'll put this on for the background noise. Other than that it may be on my DVR until I delete it without watching. I just don't know. None of the names interest me.

[Uke]

I don't think they need to get an underage pro. They could use 18 and 19-year-olds, which would be easier since the pros have to be available to rehearse other numbers as well. Julianne was that age when she started, and Witney might have been 19? Maybe she was 20. Lindsay, Jenna, Witney, and Brittany are all 21 which, even though still adult age, makes them 5 years closer in age to Hayes than Emma. Maybe the height was a factor, maybe they just wanted to ensure Emma had a partner, maybe they thought Emma would be the best teacher for him, whatever. But they could definitely do things to make the age thing even just a little less weird for the at-home viewer.

 

It just occurred to me, Lindsay and all the gals you mentioned, they all wear heavy makeup on the show.  Teen girls can easily be made to look older than they are. But there's not much you can do to make a boy look like a man. 

[BW Manilowe]

People magazine seems to be confirming singer Chaka Khan's participation in this article; it contains Tweets from the DWTS Twitter feed that seem to be officially announcing it.

http://www.people.com/article/chaka-khan-joins-dancing-stars-season-21

[truthaboutluv]

and Witney might have been 19? Maybe she was 20.

 

 

She was 18 when she started, same age as Julianne was. 

[Uke]

It appears Jessica Radloff (Glamour) has confirmed Andy Grammer:

https://twitter.com/JRadloff/status/637728460501221376

[Danseur]

I don't care to know what the Nae Nae is and I'm also already tired of seeing it.

If Paula Deen is paired with Artem (which several sites have guessed) and the rest of the pairs have either been confirmed or have a "consensus guess" it looks like the biggest news on September 2 will be who Val's partner is, who Kim Zolciak's partner is, whether Tony or Louis will dance again and if there is some major surprise celeb or Pro who has not yet been mentioned that will a big surprise reveal.

The partners: at PDWTS/KristtnBurtt/DWTSGossip:

Nick Carter and Sharna (Certain)

Alexa PenaVega with Mark (Certain)

Carlos PenaVega with Witney (Certain)

Viktor Espinoza with Karina (Certain)

Bindi Irwin with Derek (Certain)

Hayes Grier with Emma (guess but seems 99% sure)

Andy Grammer with Peta (same as above)

Chaka Khan with Keo (same as above)

Nick Viall with Allison (same as above)

Paula Deen with Artem (guess)

Kim Zolciak?

Val?

Tony/Louis?

This list definitely doesn't hold up to the proclamations by Rob Wade and Deena Katz in the interview where they said they kept wondering if the cast was "real" due to the nature of the status "gets"! Maybe on September 2 they'll reveal Angelina will be dancing with Hugh Jackman, the newest Pro and surprise us all.