“Dancing with the Stars” returns on Monday evening and I know every college girl and her mother (maybe even her grandmother) is excited for the reality dancing competition to be back, especially after such a so-so “Bachelor in Paradise” season. Dedicated viewers are sitting on the edge of their seats to see if the red-hot chemistry incarnate known as season 18 winners Meryl Davis and Maksim Chmerkovskiy can be recreated or if the show will lose its sizzle this fall.
On Sept. 4, ABC announced on “Good Morning America” the season 19 stars and their professional partners. The cast isn’t too surprising and follows DWTS’s winning algorithm to become the most watched show on Monday and Tuesday evenings: seasoned athletes, old-time movie stars, fresh-faced newbies, and the quintessential pretty boy who you know will look good without his shirt on. In lieu of the Emmy-winning show's return, here is a quick peak at the 13 new contestants.
1. Jonathan Bennett “The Plastic” – Younger viewers will recognize this handsome actor from “Mean Girls.” That’s right, you read that correctly. Aaron Samuels is coming to “Dancing with the Stars.” Since the success of the teen cult classic, Bennett has been seen in front of the camera less and less as he becomes more of a producer than an actor. But come Monday, he will be front and center again with DWTS newcomer Allison Holker. (Don’t worry; some quick Google stalking proves her to be just as gorgeous as you would expect her to be).
Chances of winning: High. Especially if he wears his hair pushed back. I mean, what “Mean Girls” lover wouldn’t vote for him? That would just be un-American. If only October 3rd was on a Monday or Tuesday this year…
2. Tommy Chong “The Class Clown” – Who? Although my generation might not know who Chong is, our parents will remember him as half of the Grammy-winning comedy duo Cheech & Chong. He is also a New York Times bestselling author for the book he wrote chronicling his 9-month prison stint for shipping bongs across the country.
Chances of winning: Low. Even though Chong is partnered with hottie fan-favorite Peta Murgatroyd, there will only be so much the blonde bombshell can do for this 76-year-old.
3. Randy Couture “The Bad Boy” – Couture grew to fame through Mixed Martial Arts and is now a six-time World Champion and Hall of Famer. You might recognize him from “The Expendables” movie franchise, where he acted opposite Sylvester Stallone and Bruce Willis.
Chances of winning: Low. Because who has seen those movies anyway? We’re all too busy watching “Mean Girls.” And even though he’s partnered with past-winner Karina Smirnoff, she was eliminated the first week when partnered with last season’s bad boy Sean Avery.
4. Betsey Johnson “The Comeback Queen” – DWTS’s first fashion icon contestant, yay! Johnson has been known for her high-energy personality, as well as her exuberant and embellished designs for the past 45 years. She is partnered with Tony Dovolani, which is good because I want to see this quirky character go far and he knows how to win this thing.
Chances of winning: Mixed. She may be known as the “Comeback Queen” after her label filed for bankruptcy and was then revived, but Johnson is 72 years old. Nonetheless, she was seen doing high kicks, splits, and even cartwheels down the runway this past week at New York Fashion Week.
5. Lolo Jones “The Jock” – Jones is one of the greatest female track athletes and hurdlers of all time. She is a gold medal-winning Olympian and only the tenth American in history to compete in both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. Jones is also a devout Christian and speaks openly about her faith and waiting until marriage to have sex.
Chances of winning: High. Even though she is paired with newcomer Keo Motsepe, Jones is an Olympic gold medal winner and, hello, they always do awesome on this show. #girlpower
6. Bethany Mota “The Whiz Kid” – Mota has accomplished what every other teenage girl in America dreams of: she went viral on YouTube. This nineteen year old is famous for, and now makes her living by talking about fashion, makeup, snacks, and fun activities on her channel online. She also has a line at Aeropostale and a self-titled fragrance. (I’m twenty and I feel inferior).
Chances of winning: High. Mota’s partner is Derek Hough. I mean, duh. Plus, she has over seven million YouTube subscribers potentially voting for her, so this girl literally has no excuse not to do well.
7. Janel Parrish “A” – Parrish is best known for her portrayal as Mona Vanderwaal in the TV smash hit “Pretty Little Liars,” for which she won the “Choice TV Villain” award twice at the Teen Choice Awards.
Chances of winning: High. First, she is partnered with Valentin Chmerkovskiy, and since older brother Maks is out of the picture this season, we will have to fulfill our Chmerkovskiy need with Val. Second, Parrish was just brutally killed off in the “Pretty Little Liars” season finale so she not only gets the villain gone good vote, but the sympathy vote too.
8. Alfonso Ribeiro “The Carlton” – Most will recognize Ribeiro as Carlton Banks from the 90’s favorite “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” Today he dabbles more in television directing, hosting, and voice-over than onscreen acting.
Chances of winning: Mixed. The guy does have an iconic dance move named after him. But his big-eyed youngin’ partner Witney Carson and the viewer’s hopes of seeing a cheering Will Smith front row in the audience each week will only get him so far.
9. Sadie Robertson “The Duck Princess” – Robertson and her dimpled smile first broke out on the scene with the explosive success of her family’s A&E reality show “Duck Dynasty.” But the seventeen-year-old didn’t stop there and now has her own “daddy-approved” prom dress line with Sherri Hill, her own school supplies line, and a book.
Chances of winning: High. Cute and charming Robertson is paired with contemporary choreographer Mark Ballas and has the second most Twitter followers of all the contestants. And by that I mean like 1.28 million followers…Say what?
10. Antonio Sabato Jr. “The Jagger” – Sabato is most recognized for his role as hunky FBI agent Jagger Cates on “General Hospital,” but was once on a 90-foot billboard in the middle of Times Square in only Calvin Klein underwear. It’s no surprise that he was featured in People’s “50 Most Beautiful People” issue once as well. He still acts today, but is also a loving husband, father, and author.
Chances of winning: Mixed. Even though Sabato is paired with Cheryl Burke and will have “General Hospital” fans voting for him, only time will tell if he really does have “the moves like Jagger.”
11. Tavis Smiley “The Do-Gooder” – Smiley hosts both a radio show and late-night television talk show and is a New York Times best-selling author of 16 books, with his latest to be released later this month. More importantly, he is the founder of the nonprofit Travis Smiley Foundation, which aims to alleviate endemic poverty in America.
Chances of winning: Mixed. Time magazine named Smiley one of “The World’s 100 Most Influential People” and he recently received a star on the Hollywood Walk of fame, but competition seems steep this season so it will be interesting to see how far Smiley and partner Sharna Burgess go in the competition.
12. Lea Thompson “The Mom of the Group” – Isn’t that the girl from…? Yes, Thompson is better known as Lorraine McFly, Marty McFly’s mom, from “Back to the Future I, II, and III.” She has stared in countless films, television movies, and television series and can currently be seen on “Switched at Birth.” Thompson is also the actual mother of two daughters.
Chances of winning: Mixed. Thompson is partnered with UK Mirrorball Trophy winner Artem Chigvintsev, but I’m not sure the votes of daughters who watch “Switched at Birth” and their moms’ votes who were fans of the classic 80’s franchise will be enough to push this duo to the top.
13. Michael Waltrip “The Lightning McQueen” – Waltrip is a decorated professional racecar driver and best-selling author. He is one of only two racecar drivers in history to win in NASCAR’s three top tier divisions over four consecutive decades. Waltrip is the founder and co-owner of Michael Waltrip Racing and is regarded as one of the industry’s biggest and most respected personalities.
Chances of winning: Low. Waltrip was another contestant where my initial reaction was “Who?” Compared to some of the more well-known athlete contestants this season (cough, cough, Lolo), I’m not sure Waltrip will be able to gain enough traction. Although if anyone was going to do it, it might be partner Emma Slater, who always seems to be paired with the older dudes and sometimes makes it work, as was the case with comedian Bill Engvall.
And that’s a wrap! You can catch all thirteen contestants dance their little hearts out Mondays at 8:00 p.m. ET on ABC. Emmy Award-winning host Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews will be returning to host as well as all three beloved judges: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli.
But, fun fact, old-timer pro Julianne Hough will be returning to the ballroom to be a judge this season as well! And what are you doing on Monday nights until Chris the Farmer returns as "The Bachelor" anyway?
