Dancing With the Stars is gearing up for its 29th season and the celebrity line up was announced on Good Morning America on Wednesday.
Backstreet Boys’ AJ McLean, Tiger King star Carole Baskin, Selling Sunset‘s Chrishell Stause, former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe, former NFL player Vernon Davis, Jesse Metcalfe, Monica Aldama (head coach from Netflix’s Cheer), Anne Heche, Skai Jackson, One Day at a Time actress Justina Machado, The Real host Jeannie Mai, Grammy Award-winning rapper Nelly, Catfish host Nev Schulman, NBA superstar Charles Oakley and Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir, were all casted for ABC’s beloved dance competition series.
“I may have a Superbowl ring, but I need that mirror ball trophy,” Davis said in the announcement promo, while Aldama added, “This is one competition I was born to win.”
You may recognize Baskin from Netflix’s Tiger King documentary, and she’s hoping that her new gig will give the audience a different perspective of her. “The biggest thing for me is the longer my partner and I can stay in the running and in the competition it will keep the cats forefront in the viewers’ eye, and to me that was where Tiger King missed the ball,” she said. “It really should have been focused on the animals and I’m hoping Dancing with the Stars will do that. I am competitive but I am competitive with myself I want to do the very best that I can possibly do.”
Grammy-Award winning rapper, Nelly, also says he’s “up for the challenge.”
“I’m a Scorpio I feel like I can do anything so this is gonna be my biggest test yet, but I’m up for it,” he laughed, adding, “I love competition and I think this is one that will set me apart from others if I can pull this one off only because I got two left feet, and probably two right ankles, so I’m trying to see where we can go with this thing.”
We previously reported that Tyra Banks is set to executive produce the series. “I’ve been a fan of DWTS since its beginning … The fun mixed with raw emotion, seeing celebrities push past their comfort zones, the sizzling dance performances … it’s always transported me to my days of turning it up 10 notches on the catwalk,” Banks, 46, said in a statement. “Tom has set a powerful stage, and I’m excited to continue the legacy and put on my executive producer and hosting hats.”
