"Dancing With the Stars": The Couples Edition

Well, it looks like this spring’s “Dancing With the Stars” should be called “Dancing With the Stars”: The Couples Edition…

As the official press release from ABC proclaims, “for the first time three real life couples take the ballroom floor.” Professional bull rider Ty Murray will be competing against his wife, singer Jewel. Newly engaged pros Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff will be dancing against each other. And in a bit of a surprise, Julianne Hough will return to dance with her boyfriend, singer Chuck Wicks.

The official pairings (other than Hough and Wicks) have not been announced yet, but the 13 celebrities competing will be:

Belinda Carlisle, Singer
David Alan Grier, Actor/Comedian
Jewel, Singer
Shawn Johnson, Olympic Gymnast (the youngest contestant ever at 17)
Lil’ Kim, Rapper
Gilles Marini, Actor (“Sex and the City” movie)
Ty Murray, Professional Bull Rider
Steve-O, Comedian (or whatever you want to call one of the stars of “Jack--s”)
Nancy O’Dell, “Access Hollywood” Co-Anchor
Denise Richards, Actress
Lawrence Taylor, NFL Hall of Famer
Chuck Wicks, Singer
Steve Wozniak, Apple Co-Founder and Billionaire Genius (as Kathy Griffin always described him)

You have to admit it’s an eclectic group…

Honestly, I don’t know what surprises me more—that Julianne would return to dance with her boyfriend or that Chuck Wicks would do the show so early in his career. I guess they just really want to spend time together. But I hope Chuck is thick-skinned because you know how competitive she can be…

Since we don’t know the official pairings yet, I’m going to hold off on my prediction, but I can already tell you who I’m rooting for—Steve Wozniak. He will be terrible, but he’s just so darn loveable you can’t help but root for him.

And I think you all know who I’m rooting against—Denise Richards. I mean, do we really need to give that woman another TV show? I’m thinking she may be this season’s Heather McCartney, the one the fans love to hate…

The press release promises an “exciting twist” in the first weeks of the competition as the bottom two couples will “Dance Off” to determine who goes home…

The season starts Monday, March 9th with a two-hour performance show, with the results shows beginning March 17th…

Much more to come on this later, so Stay Tuned…