LITTLE ROCK — A reader in Monticello who claims to be ''inordinately obsessed'' with Dancing With the Stars made me pinky swear to put this information in the paper as soon as I found out.
ABC has announced the 16 new stars set to strut their stuff when Dancing With the Stars returns for a ninth season at 7-9 p.m. Sept. 21.
The 16 new hoofers include an Osmond, an Osbourne, two Grammy winners, a Cowboy, two models and a former U.S. House of Representatives majority leader.
A House what? Yes, this year's "stunt" contestant is former Texas Rep. Tom DeLay, erstwhile majority leader.
ABC labels DeLay "a prominent Republican and conservative firebrand." These days he's the president of a political consulting firm based in Washington and Houston.
DeLay, who served in Congress from 1984 to 2006, resigned his office when there were some messy legal problems. No need to go into all that here.
Every season seems to have a contestant who is there just for the opening hype. The most embarrassing was Tucker Carlson, a former employee of this very newspaper who went on to bowtied TV pundit status.
I like Carlson, but he spent the first half of his opening dance sitting in a chair. It went downhill from there and the judges awarded him 12 of 30 possible points. Ouch. He was the first dancer eliminated.
Last season the obvious klutz was Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, but he had spunk and lasted longer than Belinda Carlisle and Denise Richards.
There could be a surprise this season. Maybe DeLay is a ringer. All those years in Congress surely taught him how to tap dance and sidestep. More than likely, he'll be good for a few laughs and head back to his consulting outfit in Washington.
Who else do we have vying for the trophy?
Aaron Carter
- Triple platinum-selling pop singer/songwriter and worldwide teen sensation. Never heard of him? You need to root for that dreamy Donny Osmond.
Natalie Coughlin
- Ace Olympic gold medal swimming star. Coughlin was the most decorated female athlete of the 2008 Beijing and 2004 Athens Games.
Mark Dacascos
- Host of Food Network's Iron Chef America and a martial artist and actor. Remember him opposite Jet Li in Cradle to the Grave? No? Hmm.
Macy Gray - Raspy-voiced R&B singer, she has been nominated for five Grammys, winning Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 2000 for "I Try."
Ashley Hamilton - Actor, songwriter, comedian and the less-tanned son of actor George Hamilton. More importantly, Ashley was once married to actress Shannen Doherty for five months and to model Angie Everhart for three.
Melissa Joan Hart - You loved her in Clarissa Explains It All and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Hart, 33, is all grown up now and sheand her hubby have two young sons.
Kathy Ireland - The former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, 46, now heads her own billion-dollar design empire.
Michael Irvin
- Former Dallas Cowboys star wide receiver, Irvin is a three-time Super Bowl champion and a member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame.
Joanna Krupa
- Model and "actress," Krupa is one of E!'s "sexiest women in the world." Sure, but can she dance?
Chuck Liddell
- Former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion and the poster boy for the growing sport of mixed martial arts.
Debi Mazar
- Actress with the ice-blue eyes, she has starred in everything from GoodFellas to Entourage.
Mya
- Grammy-winning R&B singer/actress (full name Mya Marie Harrison) who appeared in Chicago.
Kelly Osbourne
- ABC bills her as a "singer, actress and media personality." I'll go along with the last item. Her folks are Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne.
Donny Osmond
- Former teen pop star and variety show host with his sister Marie, Osmond has done a little of everything in his career. He's now playing Vegas with Marie.
Louie Vito
- Professional snowboarder Vito is favored to make the 2010 Olympic team.
As usual, our hosts will be Tom Bergeron and Samantha Harris. Judges will be Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.
The TV Column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. E-mail:
Style, Pages 29 on 08/25/2009