by Donna Reynolds

Created on: December 05, 2009

Dancing With the Stars (or DWTS as it has affectionately come known in the online circuit) is a show, airing on ABC and hosted by America's Funniest Video's Tom Bergeron, that pulls current and former stars from all genres of fame and pits them against each other on the dance floor. After each dance they stand before three judges to receive scores and criticism, be it constructive or otherwise. After the judge's scores the home audience is given a phone number to call so that they can vote for their favorite. In the end there can be only one couple to win. Their prize is a trophy which, to be honest, doesn't look too impressive. Then again what do they even need the trophy for when all the stars get a base of $200,000 with the winner getting an additional $100,000 and second and third receiving additional payments of $50,000 and $25,000 respectively. Oh to be a star...

The lineup for Season 9, I have to admit, was very disappointing. Some of these "dancers" came on with the prior experience in dancing that made viewers sit back and say, "Wait a minute, that hardly seems fair". Among the stars with the previous background in stage performing were: Donnie Osmond (danced with his sister back in the 70s as part of their sibling act), Aaron Carter (little brother to Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter and a performer in his own right), and Ma (a singer known for dancing in the video to "Lady Marmalade"). Hardly seems fair right? But they did throw in a slew of stars who had no previous background just to keep things balanced. The stars not already professionally trained were: Ashley Hamilton (actor and stepson of Rod Stewart), Macy Grey (award winning singer, though I'm still unsure why), Kathy Ireland (model), Tom DeLay (former US House Majority Leader), Debi Mazar (Actress, Shauna Roberts on Entourage), Chuck Liddell (UFC Champion), Natalie Coughlin (Olympic Gold Medal Swimmer), Melissa Joan Hart (Actress, Sabrina the Teenage Witch), Louie Vito (World Champion Snowboarder), Michael Irvin (NFL Hall of Famer), Mark Dacascos (Actor and Iron Chef Chairman), Joanna Krupa (Model/Actress), and Kelly Osbourne (Reality Star, Singer, and famous daughter to Ozzie and Sharon Osbourne).

Partnered with liwiska, the only professional to appear in all nine seasons, Ashley Hamilton was the first one to get eliminated. Following Ashley, and might I add painful to watch, was Macy Grey who had been partnered with Jonathan Roberts. Was it just me or did she look very uncomfortable with dancing?

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