X17 News

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - ABC has announced the cast for the ninth cycle of Dancing With The Stars.

The new cast chosen actors, an Olympic athlete, a politician and two models.

This years dancers will be: Kelly Osbourne, Mya, Macy Gray, Donny Osmond, Debi Mazar, Melissa Joan Hart, Ashley Hamilton (Shannen Doherty's ex), Joanna Krupa, politician Tom DeLay, Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin, Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Irvin, pro snowboarder Louie Vito, UFC champ Chuck Liddell, Aaron Carter, Kathy Ireland and the chairman of Iron Chef America, Mark Dacascos.

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LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Dancing With The Stars co-stars Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy have split, Karina's rep confirmed to E! Online's Marc Malkin.

The dancing duo got engaged in December of 2009 after just seven months of dating.

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LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Brooke Burke may be returning to ABC's Dancing with the Stars, but not for a spin on the dance floor.

The former E! host and Dancing with the Stars champ tweeted, "Btw, the news about me hosting DWTS is true. I am screen testing next week for the job, fingers crossed! It would be amazing 2 be back!" You may recall, the mother of four scored the mirror ball trophy in Season 7 with dancing pro Derek Hough by her side.

It was just recently that Samantha Harris revealed that she was leaving the show, vacating the coveted co-hosting position alongside Tom Bergeron. Harris says she'd like to focus on her other hosting job at The Insider.

The upcoming celebrity cast will be announced on March 1st during the finale of The Bachelor. Season 10 of Dancing with the Stars premieres on March 22.

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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA (X17online) - TV ratings are showing that audiences may prefer dancing over singing. For the past two weeks, ABC's Dancing With The Stars has scored higher ratings than FOX's American Idol.

DWTS reportedly drew a larger average of viewers (23.6 million) the past two weeks than the Tuesday total for “Idol” (23 million), according to the Los Angeles Times.

But Idol has been able to beat DWTS in the ratings among adults 18 to 49, which is a coveted demo group. Many are speculating that this season's sexy DWTS cast has drawn more viewers. Kate Gosselin and Pamela Anderson are creating plenty of buzz around ABC's show, now in its 10th season.

Critics believe it's still too early in the DWTS season to predict whether or not the show will maintain such strong ratings.

Photo courtesy: ABC

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - ABC says that voting issues did occur during the Dancing With The Stars finale due to a "record amount of activity." Contestants received so many votes that the network says the online and phone voting systems were overloaded.

Critics have been saying for weeks that Bristol Palin was remaining in the competition due to unfair voting practices. Show producers released the following statement:

"Some viewers reported experiencing difficulties registering their votes for the Dancing With the Stars finale, which affected each finalist equally. The issue was promptly addressed [and voting times were not extended]."

Jennifer Grey was named the winner of DWTS ... taking home the mirror ball trophy.

Photo courtesy: ABC

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Dancing With The Stars winner Jennifer Grey underwent surgery last week to repair a ruptured disc in her back, which she suffered on the first night of the show's two-night finale.

The injury was discovered on the first night of Dancing's finale. The Dirty Dancing star said she felt pain in her lower back, and by the next morning Dr. Robert S. Bray Jr. says "She was in tears. She absolutely could not move, pain was shooting down her leg."

Dr. Bray decided to perform an MRI on the star where he found she had a ruptured disc "greater than one centimeter" which caused her to consider withdrawing from the ABC reality show. Her Dr. treated Grey with steroids, and last week removed a huge fragment from Grey's back during the operation.

The procedure was a success, and the Dancing season 11 winner is now resting: "I'm still recovering at home. I have to rest a bit more, but I feel great – completely pain free," she told PEOPLE.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Ratings for CBS’s Two and a Half Men are on the decline.

For the first time this season, ABC’s Dancing With the Stars stole the No. 1 spot from the CBS sitcom.

Despite the slip, Two and a Half Men remains the season’s overall No. 1 show.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Since its inception, Dancing With The Stars has been known for its ability to bring in big ratings, but this season is proving otherwise.

Last night, ABC's hit reality competition show premiered with a 3.5/9 amongst adults and 18.5 million viewers, down 34% from last spring's premiere and 13% from their fall debut, making it the show's lowest-rated premiere in 14 seasons.

Even with its premier reality show's drop in ratings, ABC still managed to salvage Monday night coming in second tied with CBS (3.1/8). NBC (3.8/10) came out on top of the three-way competition while Fox found itself on the outside looking in.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Lady Gaga and ABC's competition show Dancing with the Stars snagged the top honors at Saturday's 23rd annual GLAAD Media Awards held at Marriott Marquis Times Square in New York.

Dancing with the Stars, which included its first ever transgender contestant Chaz Bono, was recognized for outstanding reality program.

HBO's Cinema Verite, based upon the 1973 American Family documentary that featured the first openly gay character on television, was given the award for outstanding TV movie or miniseries.

Outspoken gay rights advocate Lady Gaga was honored for her hit record, Born This Way. In addition, Pariah collected the prize for outstanding film in limited release.

Harvey Weinstein presented a special award of recognition to Katy Butler, a 17-year-old who launched the Change.org campaign to overturn the MPAA rating on Bully, a controversial documentary that received an initial R rating.

The show, hosted by Glee's Corey Monteith and Naya Rivera, funds efforts to bring LGBT people and issues to American consciousness and brings in nearly $3.5 million every year.

LOS ANGELES, California (X17online) - Dancing With the Stars contestant Melissa Gilbert was rushed to the hospital during Monday's show after hitting her head while performing the Paso Doble with partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Host Tom Bergeron drew attention to Gilbert's injury at the end of the live taping, but ABC reps wouldn't comment further. An update will be given on Tuesday's episode.

The Little House on the Prairie actress earned her best scores of the season and judges called the dance her best performance yet. After hitting her head on the dance floor, Gilbert held it together to receive the judge's commentary before complaining of dizziness backstage. She was so weak following her dance that fellow contestant Gavin DeGraw carried her down the stairs to a waiting ambulance.

This is not Gilbert's first serious injury. In 2010 she underwent surgery for a broken back, after sustaining an injury in the musical production of Little House on the Prairie.