'Dancing With the Stars': Melissa Rycroft and Holly Madison join the fun
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As expected, injured celebrities Jewel and Nancy O'Dell were replaced during Monday night's premiere of Dancing With the Stars with Hugh Hefner's former gal pal Holly Madison and Bachelor dumpee Melissa Rycroft.
Stepping in for singer Jewel, Madison was able to get in a couple of more days of rehearsal time (five total) for her trip around the dance floor. Meanwhile, Rycroft is having to rely heavily on her own dance background as O'Dell's knee injury caused her to be an eleventh hour dropout and left Rycroft with only 48 hours to get ready -- the least amount of anyone on the show ever.
The other celebrities each had four weeks to prepare.
As host Tom Bergeron said, "Let's hope this Monday is kinder to [Melissa] than last Monday."
The show waited until halfway through the show's first episode of the season to make the announcement. O'Dell and Jewel gamely watched from the audience, although it's likely Jewel would have been there regardless to root for her husband, Ty Murray, who is partnered with last season's So You Think You Can Dance finalist Cheslie Hightower.
I guess these are best "stars" they could find on short notice.
ABC is trying to capitalize on the media frenzy that was spurred by last week's Bachelor finale. DWTS is in the same time slot as the Bachelor and is likely hoping for to carry over Bachelor's audience to DWTS, may be a smart move, who knows.
This year's lineup is weak anyway, this doesn't really change too much.
i think a lot of ppl will tune into to see the Bachelor's scorned Melissa. It was brilliant.
Actually she was very good--one of the best, I thought.
the thing with this show is that i don't consider playboy girls stars?? i don't really care to see somebody like that dance, i mean come on people. WTH..can't they get real stars. And, Melissa is not a star either....just because she was on the bachelor that doesn't make her a star...i think DWTS looks desperate, imo.
They may not be stars in the traditional sense but they are "Reality" TV stars. They both were on moderately successful shows. I do wish the show could get more mainstream stars. Nonetheless, I will be watching.
If you don't like it - don't watch. Very simple.
I agree that the word "star" has been stretched since its first season. One of the entertaining parts, however, is professional dancers teaching people from various backgrounds how to dance ballroom. But I admit it was much better when I saw celebrities (who I actually knew) stripped down to doing something that is not their expertise and then getting critisized for it...
A reality television star is a star in today's entertainment world. At least Melissa has a dance background. Anyone who saw the way she was treated by Jason on The Bachelor -- and a huge audience did -- would want to give her a chance for something. Jason is an idiot. Melissa is a star.
I think both girls were a fine choice. Football players are on the show and even gymnasts. Both of these girls have had publicity and deserve as much credibility for their hard work as everyone else. They are stars.