An all new cast of celebrities hits the dance floor on ABC's Dancing with the Stars with the highly anticipated two-hour season premiere MONDAY, MARCH 9, 2009 (8:00-10:02 p.m., ET) on ABC. Season Eight introduces viewers to 13 new stars including the youngest competitor to date, an NFL legend, a computer icon, a female rapper, three music artists, and a Wildboy. Additionally press notes state, love is a battlefield, when for the first time three real life couples take the ballroom floor. Husband and wife, Ty Murray and Jewel, compete for bragging rights while newly engaged professional dancers, Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff, go head-to-head. To top it off, country crooner, Chuck Wicks teams with girlfriend and two-time Dancing with the Stars champ, Julianne Hough.
Dancing with the Stars returns with new surprises and all the elements viewers have come to know and love including the Kids Ballroom competition. Macy's Stars of Dance, which features some of the most renowned dancers and choreographers of our time will also be back on Dancing with the Stars the Results Show along with its hugely popular Design a Dance competition. Design a Dance is sponsored by Macy's and made its debut last season. In addition, couples will once again take part in a team dance, group dance and face off as well as perform the Argentine Tango and East Coast Swing; a first in the series. And in an exciting new twist, the bottom two couples facing elimination will Dance Off to determine who is dismissed in the first weeks of competition.
As announced on ABC's All Night Name Drop, in alphabetical order, the 13 stars making their ballroom dancing debut are:
BELINDA CARLISLE -- Belinda Carlisle is not only known as the lead singer of the Go-Go's, the most successful all-female band of all time, but also as one of the late 80's most glamorous adult pop soloists. The Go-Gos' 1981 multi-platinum hit debut, "Beauty and the Beat," spawned mega hits "Our Lips Are Sealed" and "We Got the Beat" and made the Go-Go's the first all-female band (who wrote their own music and played their own instruments) to achieve a #1 album. The following years saw continued success for the girls with hits "Vacation," "Head Over Heels," and "Turn To You." Belinda led off her solo career with the gold debut "Belinda," and followed with huge mainstream hits "Mad About You," "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" and "I Get Weak," to name a few. Since then, Belinda has released 5 more albums, including 2007's French pop collection, "Voila," and continues to tour internationally, both with her Go-Go's sisters and as a solo artist.
DAVID ALAN GRIER -- Grier is often recognized for his work in television and film - in TV he is known from roles in In Living Color, Life with Bonnie with Bonnie Hunt, DAG, and most recently, Chocolate News for Comedy Central. In the feature film world, Grier has played memorable characters in numerous feature film roles, including Baadassss!, The Woodsman opposite Kevin Bacon and Mos Def, 15 Minutes, Boomerang, Bewitched, Jumanji, and Robert Altman's Streamers. A multi-talented and Yale School of Drama trained actor, Grier began his professional career on Broadway as Jackie Robinson in The First, for which he earned a Tony nomination. He then joined the cast of Dreamgirls, went on to star opposite Denzel Washington in A Soldier's Play; both actors continued their roles in the film version, A Soldier's Story.
JEWEL -- She grew up on a remote ranch in Alaska where her family were original pioneers. From poverty and teen homelessness, to the triumph of international stardom, the three-time Grammy nominee has enjoyed career longevity rare among her generation of artists and has sold twenty-seven million albums worldwide. Her debut album "Pieces of You" became one of the best selling debut albums of all time, going platinum twelve times. Last year, singer/songwriter Jewel released her first country record "Perfectly Clear" which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. In May 2009, she will release an album of original and traditional lullabies. Jewel lives on a working ranch in Stephenville, Texas with her husband, World Champion bull-riding superstar, Ty Murray.
SHAWN JOHNSON -- The youngest ever competitor on Dancing with the Stars, 17 year-old Olympian Shawn Johnson was the gold medalist in balance beam at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing where she also earned 3 silver medals in the team, floor exercise and individual all-around categories. The current two-time National Champion and high-school Junior Johnson appeared on a limited edition Cheerios box in early 2009, led the pledge of allegiance at last year's Democratic National Convention in Denver, was a headliner of last fall's Tour of Gymnastics Superstars and was named Choice Female Athlete at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards. Her debut biography Shawn Johnson: Olympic Champion: Stories Behind the Smile was released in December.
