~ Dancing With Stars

 

Can Dancing with the Stars Resurrect a Career?

For all of the celebrities who have been involved in the show Dancing with the Stars there are plenty of questions about whether it is actually valuable to them or not.  With so many people looking for ways to really boost their career after a brief lull many celebrities are lining up for their chance to get on the show.  Trying to determine just how successful the show has really been is a huge series of questions though, after all the effect for each celebrity has been a bit different.

With the celebrities of season one including Trista Rehn, Evander Holyfield, Rachel Hunter, Joey McIntyre, John O’Hurley and Kelly Monaco there was very little that was actually gained for the celebrities.  Kelly Monaco is still acting on the soap opera that she appears in, and Joey McIntyre is presently preparing for a trip around the country with band mates from the boy band of the 1080’s New Kids on the Block.

Season two brought not only a larger selection of celebrities but also several that are making headlines.  Tatum O’Neal has recently been in the news for a drug arrest that occurred following her time on the show.  Additional figures have been Master P who has maintained a fairly low profile after appearing on the show, but still works on albums occasionally.  Additionally, Lisa Rinna has rejuvenated her career and is a television show host on the Soap Opera network.

For season three, it was a really star packed season.  With celebrities such as Joey Lawrence, Mario Lopez, Emmitt Smith and even Monique Coleman packed into the season it was certain to go somewhere.  With celebrities like Shanna Moakler, they returned to dealing with family issues, while other celebrities including Mario Lopez went onto star on Broadway in A Chorus Line.  Monique Coleman is a Disney star and has moved onto several new projects with the company.

The majority of the cast from season four was much less active prior to the show.  The biggest names of the show included Joey Fatone, Laila Ali, Billy Ray Cyrus and also Heather Mills.  The greatest attention from each of the celebrities has circulated around people such as Billy Ray Cyrus who is now best known as simply being the father of Hannah Montana Disney star Miley Cyrus and also Laila Ali who is the daughter of boxer Mohammad Ali.  Additionally, since the show ended Heather Mills has appeared in a few other television shows, but also managed to secure her divorce from former Beatle Paul McCartney.

The majority of the contestants from season five included Sabrina Bryan, Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and also Melanie Brown from the SpiceGirls.  Since the show ended, the Spice Girls launched an international reunion tour, and also Floyd Mayweather made a special appearance on WWE earning a nice paycheck for the appearance.

From season six, it appears that none of the celebrities who disappeared into the background before the show are really managing to break out from the darkness.  With celebrities such as Steve Guttenberg and Priscilla Presley, the largest promise was from celebrities such as Penn Jillette half of the magical duo Penn & Teller as well as actress Shannon Elizabeth.  Overall, the results of the show still seems to have settled with very few of the recent contestants making a huge splash after the show is over.  This latest season really will be the test of time to determine if the show is really good at resurrecting careers.

Changes to Dancing with the Stars

There has been extremely positive responses to Dancing with the Stars since it was first created.  The show has experienced a large number of changes over the seasons and many of these changes have been for the better.  Trying to really keep up with all of the changes is not always as easy as you may like, but in general, the changes made the show even better than it was previously.

Season one saw the show kick off with a total of six couples.  There were six celebrities and also six professional dancers.  The judges all awarded points at the conclusion of the dances and then audience members were permitted to call in and vote.

Season two increased the contestant count to ten couples.  However, there was no other changes made aside from adding contestants. 

For season three the vote scoring system changed a bit.  The votes of viewers still accounted for half of the final score however; it was changed to directly relate to percentages rather than actual points.  This was a significant change and was intended to help minimize the popularity vote that was seriously harming many of the less popular contestants that were much more talented.

Dancing with the Stars season four kicked off a few different changes.  With a total of eleven couples paired together, the season kicked off on March 19, 2007.  The biggest change of the season was the shift of time slots.  Dancing with the Stars was moved to a new night to avoid a conflict with the Fox hit show American Idol.  This proved good for the ratings as well.

The beginnings of season five started with twelve couples paired together.  This was the one year that had the greatest problems with viewer voting.  There was numerous complications with better dancers being kicked off in favor of contestants that were actually much more popular contestants that were not as skilled at dancing.  The celebrities that were voted off included Sabrina Bryan leaving early and also Melanie Brown losing to Helio Castroneves.

Season six offered relatively few changes with everything staying essentially the same as in season five.  This allowed for a very smooth flowing season and very few problems over all. 

As you can just imagine, those instances when significant changes took place created the opportunities where there were some very large complicated that took a bit of effort to smooth out.  For the majority of contestants adapting to the changes was easy enough.  However, it is also important to note that during the duration of the show voting was changed to require votes from viewers to wait until the end of the show, instead of permitting voting to occur during the actual show itself.  This change was made to help ensure that all voting was conducted in a fair manner.

All of the changes that have occurred so far during the show have worked to ensure that the show increases in popularity.  For viewers the changes to the show have helped to add a significant amount of value.  There are very few contestants who have found negative repercussions due to the changes which have further proven that the changes made to the show have helped to ensure that it is running the best possible.  While further changes are likely, at this point there have been no changes for season 7 released yet.

Continuing with Success Dancing with the Stars Season Five

With an ever increasing fan base, Dancing with the Stars returned on September 24, 2007 and brought with it an extra long premier week.  With three episodes offered initially it was an extremely long week and the season ended on November 27, 2007.  During the season, the co-host Samantha Harris took time off to have her baby and was temporarily replaced by season two winner Drew Lachey.

The season started with an interesting mix of twelve celebrities as well as twelve professional dancers all teamed up.

Josie Maran a successful model that has appeared in numerous magazines and photo spreads.  She was partnered up with Alec Mazo and was eliminated early in the competition the very first week on September 24, 2007.

Albert Reed another successful model who has worked with companies such as Abercrombie & Fitch danced with professional Anna Trebunskaya.  After a very limited stay on the show, they were eliminated on October 2, 2007.

Wayne Newton the favorite of many old western movies appeared and was partnered with former professional champion Cheryl Burke.  After just three weeks on the show, the pair was eliminated on October 9, 2007 and Wayne rode off into the sunset.

Floyd Mayweather Jr. a WBC welterweight champion boxer nicknamed “Pretty Boy” was tied to professional Karina Smirnoff.  The pair danced together for several weeks until they were eliminated on October 16, 2007.

Mark Cuban is an entrepreneur who was professionally teamed with Kym Johnson.  About halfway through the season they were eliminated on October 23, 2007.

Sabrina Bryan a member of the Cheetah Girls was paired with Mark Ballas.  After performing extremely well for several weeks, it was an outrage to many viewers when the pair was eliminated on October 30, 2007.

Jane Seymour an actress known for many different roles was paired with professional Tony Dovolani.  After remaining on longer than Sabrina Bryan, many were upset over the voting process.  Eliminated from the show on November 6, 2007.

Cameron Mathison an actor on All My Children the ABC soap opera as well as several different television shows.  Paired up to dance with professional Edyta Sliwinska they remained on the show for quite a while, only being eliminated on November 13, 2007.

Jennie Garth, best known for her role as Kelly on Beverly Hills, 90210 performed beautifully was paired with Derek Hough.  The pair performed wonderfully until they were eliminated on November 20, 2007 to finish in fourth place.

Marie Osmond an entertainer who had not performed quite as well as expected was paired up to Jonathan Roberts.  The duo came in third place on the November 27, 2007 season finale.  However, many were extremely upset that Marie Osmond made it to third place beating out several others that were more talented.

Melanie Brown, a member of the girl power group Spice Girls and called Scary Spice was paired to Maksim Chmerkovskiy for the season.  Performing beautifully the entire season it was expected that they would win first place.  However, they only pulled out a second place win during the season finale on November 27, 2007.

Helio Castroneves an Indy 500 Race Car Champion and speed demon on the roads was paired up with Julianne Hough.  Many were upset over the win for Helio and Julianne and claimed that the title was stolen due to Melanie being a substantially better dancer.  Regardless of the reason, the duo danced their way to victory and pulled out the first place finish for the finale.

As you can just imagine, the entire season was filled with excitement.  From a Cheetah Girl to a Spice Girl and even throwing in a boxer, racecar driver and a few actors it was a truly unique and remarkable season.  The overall shockers were fairly minimal except for the extended length that Marie Osmond stayed and the loss that Melanie Brown received rather than actually winning the title.

Dances from Dancing with the Stars

Each Season of Dancing with the Stars features some different dance techniques.  While some seasons have featured the same dances, there are also some seasons where a special style is thrown in to ensure that things stay interesting for the audience.  Looking over all of the different dance styles, there is truly something for everyone and it can be a lot of fun to see the different styles and watch how each professional handles it.

The first thing to consider is the styles that have been present for every season so far.  The Foxtrot, Cha-Cha-Cha, Quickstep, Jive, Tango, Paso Doble, Rumba and finally the Samba is the dance styles that is seen in every season.  Once you start looking at the different styles that have only been used periodically, you notice a much smaller list.  The first is the Waltz; this was only used for the first four seasons before being replaced in season five by the Viennese Waltz.  The final dance style that has been used is the Mambo; this was first introduced during season three and has continued through at least season six so far.

The Foxtrot is a dance style that was initially created by Harry Fox and premiered in 1914.  It has been developed and is not typically accompanied musically by big band music.  In the beginning however it was most often accompanied by ragtime music.  As one of the most popular dance styles it is really easy to understand why this has been a basic staple for Dancing with the Stars every season.

The Cha-Cha-Cha is a dance that originated back to its Cuban origins and comes to us from Latin America.  Pierre Margoli is the actual dance teacher credited for creating the ballroom style of Cha-Cha-Cha.

Another frequent style is the Quickstep.  Designed as a combination of several different styles including the Foxtrot, Shag, Peabody, One Step and even the Charleston the dance was standardized in 1927.  At a fast glance, it may seem extremely similar to the fast Foxtrot, however it is completely different with distinct patterns.

Jive is another popular choice.  This was created in the early 1940’s and originated with African-Americans.  The dance itself evolved from the Jitterbug as well as Swing dancing.  As an extremely quick dance, it is most commonly performed at the clipper speed of 44 bars per minute, though on some occasions it can be slowed down to as little as 32 bars per minute.

Tango is an intriguing dance, with two different styles to choose from the American and also the International style it is a favorite of many ballroom dancers.  Trying to really find the perfect style for each partnership is not always easy; however, the International style is typically much more accepted for competitions.

Paso Doble is a progressive style International ballroom dance and is not as widely used.  It is quite similar to the Samba.

Rumba is broken up into three different styles.  There is the Cuban Rubma, the Early American Rumba and finally the Ballroom Rumba.

The Samba is a very quick and speedy style.  With a speed that is easily adjusted, it can move from very slow to extremely quick depending on the music. 

As you can see, there is an extremely diverse mixture of dance styles that are heavily used for the show.  This provides ample opportunity to see a diverse range of dances as well as ensure a well rounded competition.

Dancing or Playing the Judges – You Decide

On every episode of Dancing with the Stars celebrities and their professional dance partners all take the stage and grace the audience with a short dance.  The actual dance is frequently nothing at all to do with the actual scores that are handed out by the judges.  However, it is also extremely important to realize that while the judges do play a large part of determining who wins the show, and even who goes home each week there are several instances where the viewers themselves will have a much larger impact on how the show proceeds.

In general terms it is typically widely accepted that the show is based heavily upon appearances.  Both the appearance of the celebrity and also the appearance of the professional dancer.  It is very seldom that anyone actually makes it through the competition by looking sloppy, uncoordinated and even badly organized.  If you are looking to ensure that you are well pulled together and are actually appropriately scored then it is critical that the contestants actually look the parts that they are trying to play.  For many this means stepping out of their comfort zone and wearing clothing that they normally would never wear.

In order to actually put together the true package needed to win the show it is very much necessary to take the time to pull together a great routine that is complete with perfect timing, great dancing skills, audience draw and even a great costume.  Someone is just not going to look as pulled together if they select the wrong costume.  There is no denying this at all, but if you do not take the time to actually select a good costume you could quickly find yourself leaving the show simply because the costume took too much attention away from the actual dancing.

In order to really move past the small details and determine if the judges really do decide the show based on actual dancing skills it is important to watch a season from start to finish.  There has been speculation for a very long time that the judges are not very concerned with the actual dancing.  This has been further proven by the lack of fairness that judge Mary Ann Inaba often shows to contestants.  However, while the show continues to plug along, there are times when it is noticeable that the actual dancing is the primary concern of the judges.

For most viewers it is extremely frustrating only having a partial impact on which contestants stay and which go.  The judges having at least some impact on which contestants are permitted to stay is intended to ensure that the competition stays focused on dancing skills, however it does still occasionally fall to the side in the event that some contestants are more favored by the judges and even the viewers than others who are more talented.  While the show has struggled to ensure that it is fairly judged there is still an uncertainness whether the actual dancing or the whim of the judges makes a greater difference in who will actually win.

Pulling your favorite star out of the crowd and giving them the boost needed to win is not just based on actual votes.  It is still required that contestants at least attempt to completely master the dances that they are trying to compete with.  This goes a long way towards helping contestants be absolutely certain that they are winning based upon their actual dancing skills, rather than just popularity but as many arguments have occurred, it is still undetermined just how effective this actually is.  Many feel that the dancers whom are actually more talented are actually penalized by the judges in terms of a contestant that is more favored, such as the case with Melanie Brown and her partner on five.  However, while the debates continue to rage on, there are still several theories that are discussed and the show marches on for a new season after each one ends, further increasing the popularity.

Dancing with the Stars Around the World

With the huge popularity that the show has received it is possible to find versions of Dancing with the Stars in several different countries.  With the success sweeping the world the show is popping up in areas that it never would have before.  While the original version is based out of the United Kingdom there have been franchises sold all around the world, which have further expanded the popularity of the show.

Australia – The show features four judges and has successfully finished seven seasons so far.  The very first season started in late 2004 and has run up until late 2007 so far.

Austria – This version finds a total of three judges with two hosts handling the show.  Season one hit the airwaves in the fall of 2005 and the show has so far enjoyed four successful seasons.

Brazil – Up against a history of five successful seasons, the show marches on further.

Chile – With the very first season starting on October 16, 2006, the show has been going strong ever since.  A total of four seasons has so far been completed.

China – The first season hit the airwaves in the end of 2007.  This was intended to mark the anniversary of the handover of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China from the United Kingdom.  The show is released under a joint venture between Hong Kong’s TVB and mainland’s Hunan TV.  Each station sends a total of five women and five men to the competition for a total of 20 competitors or 10 couples.  The actual match-ups are handled by SMS voting before the show begins.

Croatia – Features two hosts and four judges the first season kicked off on December 2, 2006.  The show began with eight couples paired together.  Season two started on November 3, 2007 and again featured eight couples dancing together.

Czech Republic – Season one danced to begin during the winter of 2006 and season two started a year later in the winter of 2007.  Each season featured eight couples and also four judges.  Two hosts were also used for the show.

Denmark – After starting in the Spring of 2005, the series began with seven couples.  At the conclusion of season four there were eleven couples competing.  A Christmas Galla in 2007 featured six couples.  There were three standard judges in the competition; however, occasional guest judges were used as well.

Estonia – Begun in the Fall of 2006 the show began with eight couples including several politicians and season two started on October 7, 2007.

Finland – Started in the Spring of 2006 it first featured eight couples partnered together.  The second season also featured eight couples.  However, when season three began in the Spring of 2008 it featured ten couples.

Germany – With season one started with eight contestants in April 2006 and season two began in May of 2006.  Season two expanded to ten couples.

Italy – The first season aired on Autumn 2004 and featured a start of eight couples.  For season two there was a total of twelve couples.  Season three offered fourteen couples and season five offered again twelve couples.

The Netherlands – With a series first starting in the late summer of 2005.  There have so far been a total of three full seasons and two additional specials. 

As you can see, this is just a small list and it has spanned a large percentage of the world.  

Dancing with the Stars Contestants – Where are they Now?

Several of the contestants on the hit ABC television show Dancing with the Stars have had some great success pulling their careers back into the public spotlight.  With a large number of celebrities getting renewed attention due to the show, many others are starting to look for new ways to revive their careers.  With a large number of celebrities starting to appear in the spotlight more and more following their stints on the show it is a great ability for many to locate a rejuvenated career.

Joey McIntyre has picked up quite a bit of publicity surrounding his performance.  After successfully finishing in a third place finish for season one his band New Kids on the Block decided to create a reunion tour and also is working on promoting an album of new material that the group has recently released.

From season two the biggest name to make a splash recently has been Tatum O’Neal who was recently in legal troubles after being arrested by police in California over drug charges.  The only other member of the season two cast to spark a huge career boost has been Drew Lachey who has appeared in all three Dancing with the Stars The Tour as well as also stood in for the show’s co-host while she delivered her baby.

Mario Lopez in season three brought back the attention that had since waned from his A.C. Slater days on Saved by the Bell.  By turning to Broadway to star in A Chorus Line, he has certainly seen a renewed spark of attention.

For season four the biggest contestants ended up being Billy Ray Cyrus who is working to heavily boost his image as the father of Miley Cyrus the star of Hannah Montana.  With plenty of publicity surrounding his teenage daughter he has made great advances in staying in the public spotlight, just not quite for his career per say.

In the midst of season five Melanie Brown of the Spice Girls spent a large amount of time in a very public paternity dispute with actor and comedian Eddie Murphy as well as working to organize a reunion tour with the girl power group Spice Girls.  All of the publicity that was extended also poured over to Floyd Mayweather Jr. who is nicknamed “Pretty Boy” and he made several appearances on shows that earned him additional publicity as well.

With all of the celebrities involved in season six; it is rather quite on the home front.  There have been so far no major attempts to really create massive amounts of publicity for the newest season.  However, with the season just ending at the end of May it is extremely early into the summer to see exactly how the publicity that the contestants received will really pay out.

For all of the attention that is drawn, many of the contestants disappear into the background once their time on the show is over.  For all of the attention and all of the viewers that the show pulls, it is also important to stay on the show long enough to actually gather a good following in order to see real results in the publicity and careers of each of the contestants.  With so much going on for a few of the contestants, it is true that the career really can see a huge boost after a great run on the show.

Dancing with the Stars from the Beginning

If you have ever wondered exactly where the show Dancing with the Stars has come from, it is really an amazing story.  With six different celebrities paired together with six different professional ballroom dancers, a phenomenon was born into the United States.  The show was already a hit in England, however trying to gauge exactly how well the show would perform in the United States was not quite so easy due to the dramatic differences between viewers.

With the start of the show on June 1, 2005, it was immediately obvious that the show was a hit.  The viewers for the very first episode hit an enormous 13 million viewers and climbed its way to the number one position.  This was an incredible feat for a show that was just starting out, and was success that would just continue to grow as the show went on.  Combining together celebrities from a wide field, incredible costumes and some fabulous dancing has all proven to be a great recipe for success for the show.

The initial cast of the show for celebrities included several people who had not been seen heavily for a very long time, and demonstrated that a bit of time away from the spotlights of Hollywood is not always fatal for a career.

The initial contestants for the show included:

Trista Rehn, her claim to fame was her time on the show the Bachelorette as well as also competing on The Bachelor.  Her time on the show was extremely short lived as she was eliminated on June 8, 2005 along with her partner Louis van Amstel.

Evander Holyfield, he dazzled the world as a major heavyweight boxer and proved that while he was not the most graceful on his feet; he certainly was not the worst.  Pulling all of his experience, as a boxer did not seem to benefit him greatly as his time on the show was tragically brought to an end on June 13, 2005 after just two weeks.  His professional partner was Edyta Sliwinska.

Rachel Hunter, as a famous supermodel it is standard that moving gracefully is required.  While dancing with partner Jonathan Roberts it was unfortunate that Rachel was eliminated on June 22, 2005, which brought their time on the show to an end.

Joey McIntyre, made famous by the 1980’s boy band, New Kids on the Block he has also done a few acting gigs, mostly plays though.  With his own semi-successful music career covering several years, it had been a while since he had been actively heard from.  Paired with professional Ashly DelGrosso he was eliminated on June 29, 2005 after coming in 3^rd place.

John O’Hurley was able to secure several acting jobs as well as numerous television show hosting gigs; however, his first stint at competing came on Dancing with the Stars.  Paired with Charlotte Jorgensen as his professional partner the pair was eventually awarded a second place finish on July 6, 2005 for the season finale.

Kelly Monoco, a successful actress with numerous shows to her credits including Baywatch, Port Charles, Hard Copy, Spin City, and General Hospital to name a few was declared the winner of season one on July 6, 2005 with professional partner Alec Mazo bringing a successful end to the first season for the show.

Due to the success of the first season, additional seasons of the show were quickly organized.  Each additional season of the show has increased the number of viewers watching and each features a unique set of celebrity contestants as well.  One of the key factors that has helped to influence the success of the show is the uniqueness compared to anything else that is currently on television.  Because the show pulls upon the success of contestants and offers no prize money at all, it is only a title as well as a trophy that the winning pair is awarded.  While many contestants are not as comfortable with this idea, many others are thoroughly pleased to simply be able to compete again and stay in the public spotlight.

Dancing with the Stars Grows During Season Four

With the latest season of Dancing with the Stars starting on March 19, 2007, the show hit the ground running and never looked back.  Several adjustments were made to the show though to improve the overall flow.  The first change that was in store was the shift in timeslots.  This was actually done to accommodate a larger audience that would otherwise potentially be wrapped up watching American Idol on Fox, rather than tuning into Dancing with the Stars.  Additional changes also included waiting until the end of week 2 to start actually eliminating contestants.  A final change was airing the show in the UK, which had not been done previously.

Pulling out the contestants for season four was a lot of enjoyment, with a range of athletes, singers, and even actors combined together it created a really enjoyable show.

Paulina Porizkova a supermodel was paired with Alec Mazo and was the first contestant that was sent home.  Paulina and Alec departed the show on March 26, 2007 after only two weeks on the show.

Shandi Finnessey has enjoyed a career as a former Miss USA and also a game show host.  Partnered up with Brian Fortuna she was also struck from the show extremely quickly and found herself removed on April 3, 2007.

Leeza Gibbons a talk show host was paired up with professional Tony Dovolani and only stayed for 4 episodes before being eliminated from the show on April 10, 2007.

Clyde Drexler a retired NBA player was teamed up with professional Elena Grinenko and was eliminated on April 17, 2007 after holding on for several weeks.

The former wife of Beatle Paul McCartney, Heather Mills was on the show for season four as well.  Her official job was listed as Charity Campaigner; however, this has not been verified since there is some difficulty locating her actual job.  It was rumored that her stay on the show was dragged out due to the publicity surrounding her extremely public divorce to Paul McCartney.  As the only contestant with a prosthetic leg, she only had one incident where her leg created a problem.  She was partnered with Jonathan Roberts and was eliminated finally on April 24, 2007.

John Ratzenberger an actor with credits including the hit television show Cheers was partnered with professional Edyta Sliwinska but was eliminated on May 1, 2007.

Billy Ray Cyrus the one hit wonder of the 1990’s was partnered up with Karina Smirnoff.  Presently best known as the father of Hannah Montana star, Miley Cyrus he was eliminated from the show on May 8, 2007.

Ian Ziering an actor with credits that include the popular show Beverly Hills, 90210 was partnered with professional Cheryl Burke for his stay on the show.  After an elimination on May 15, 2007, they finished in fourth place.

Laila Ali the daughter of Mohammad Ali and also a professional Boxing World Champion.  Partnered with professional Maksim Chmerkovskiy she pulled out a third place finish on May 22, 2007 at the season finale.

Joey Fatone from the 90’s boy band ‘N Sync was partnered with Kym Johnson and pulled out a second place finish.  Despite an extremely limited career outside of music before his appearance on the show, he was extremely popular with the audience and received a large amount of votes.

Apolo Anton Ohno is a five time Olympic Medalist in Short Track Speed skating.  After winning two gold, one silver and also two bronze medals in the Olympics Apolo appeared on season four of Dancing with the Stars and was partnered together with professional Julianne Hough and danced his way to victory yet again by winning the title and first place in the season finale on May 22, 2007.

With the wide range of celebrities involved, it was only natural for a bit of controversy to follow as well.  The biggest controversies included Vincent Pastore an actor pulling out of the show right before it began.  Originally partnered with Edyta Sliwinska he was replaced by John Ratzenberger.  There were two professionals who pulled out of this season as well, Ashly DelGrosso pulled out due to a pregnancy and Louis van Amstel pulled out due to personal reasons but still appeared as a professional dancer for performances and assisted with choreography.

Dancing with the Stars Season 2 Recap

Building upon the success of season one of Dancing with the Stars was something that sent audiences into overdrive.  Pulling the total number of competing couples up to 10, rather than just the six that season one offered was one of the largest changes.  However, it certainly was not the only change for the show, which allowed it to reach a wider base of viewers.  Another substantial change for the show was the change to an hour and a half time slot, rather than just the single hour time slot.  Added to this change was the addition of a results show that was aired the subsequent night, which ran for an hour.

Following many of the changes that were in store for the season it was extremely important to begin season two of Dancing with the Stars with a fabulous cast of celebrities pulled together.  In order to really do this, the show pulled out several well known celebrities to really give the show a serious boost.  The huge changes in the show paid off and it continued to grow in popularity.  However, it was also speculated that the viewer voting was creating problems in the results, as many people who received extremely low scores from the judges were actually given the ability to remain on the show an extremely long period of time.

Kenny Mayne was the first contestant to be sent packing.  As an ESPN sports commentator he was teamed up with professional Andrea Hale.  After an extremely brief stint on the show, he was eliminated on January 6, 2006 with the new season only starting on January 5, 2006.  As one of the shortest durations on the show, he was certainly passed over by many when discussing highlights of the show.

Tatum O’Neil was partnered with professional Nick Kosovich and was eliminated on January 13, 2006.  For her previous accomplishments, she was a successful actress and has even won an Academy Award previously.

Giselle Fernandez is a TV journalist who appeared in season two partnered with Jonathan Roberts.  Following the elimination on January 20, 2006, she was expected to return to her normal job.

Master P is the rapper that everyone loved to support.  Drawing the love of the viewers, he was kept around for many weeks despite the fact that he had no real skills in ballroom dancing.  After putting in very few hours of actual dance training, it was immediately obvious that the viewers were voting for him simply due to his popularity, rather than his actual dancing skills.  Partnered with Ashly DelGrosso the pair was eventually eliminated on January 27, 2006 after causing quite a stir over the voting process.

Tia Carrere is a model and actress who was partnered with professional Maksim Chmerkovskiy.  The duo was eliminated on the February 3, 2006 episode.

George Hamilton an actor was partnered with Edyta Sliwinska after a successful run on the show the pair was eliminated on February 10, 2006.

Lisa Rinna was designated as one of the best dancers in the competition and was paired with professional Louis van Amstel.  Despite best efforts and scores from the judges, Lisa was eliminated on February 24^, 2006.

Stacy Keibler an actress and also a former Diva for WWE was paired with professional Tony Dovolani.  The pair was eliminated on February 24, 2006 in third place; however, there was disputes that they should have rightfully beaten the second place finishers due to much better performances over the duration of the show.

Jerry Rice is a retired and highly successful NFL wide receiver.  After being chided by the judges continuously over his lack of ability, it became obvious that the reason he stayed for so long was due to the viewers voting for him.  The controversy surrounding the voting reached a fever pitch when Jerry finished second place.  Many attributed his win to the votes that poured in right immediately following his dancing which was often at the very beginning of the show.

The final contestant for season was Drew Lachey, brother to Nick Lachey and also member of the boy band 98 Degrees.  His professional partner was Cheryl Burke and they managed to secure a first place win on February 24, 2006.  This was the first major project that Drew was involved in for quite a while, and his wonderful performances on the show attributed heavily to his win.