'Dancing With the Stars': Bristol Palin is back in the limelight

While her ex-fiance and father of their child readies his run for elected office in Alaska, Bristol Palin will be dancing in front of the whole country.

The eldest daughter of ex-governor and former vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin easily is among the most surprising contestants lined up for the 11th season of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars," which begins Monday, Sept. 20. The 19-year-old knows she's stepping way out of her comfort zone, but she maintains she's ready for it.

"I haven't really thought about the publicity factor, but I'm just excited to get to work," Palin tells Zap2it. "I feel like I'll be talked about anyway, so I may as well do something that's positive. There's not much controversy with this at all, and I'm excited for that as well."

Seen recently in an episode of the ABC Family drama series "The Secret Life of the American Teenager," Palin allows she's been approached about doing other shows, some in the reality genre. "There definitely have been a bunch of offers," she confirms, "but with something like this, this is me.

"It's something that I'm actually looking really forward to, but I think people are going to wonder, "Why is she there?' It's not like I'm a celebrity or anything."

Palin's 20-month-old son Tripp will be with her as she goes through her "Dancing" odyssey.

"Back home, I work an 8-to-5 job," she reports, "so I don't think that will be much of a change. We travel a lot, but that's usually for a few days or a week at a time. In that sense, (being away from Alaska for so long) will be a huge change."

Whether her former flame Levi Johnston will attend a "Dancing With the Stars" telecast is anyone's guess, but Palin hopes others in her world will be present at least once. She says her family members are "all really excited" about her participation. "Hopefully, they'll get to come watch the show. They're always supportive of what I do."

And there's someone else, in a general sense, that Palin would enjoy seeing at the studio. Since weekly musical guests also are in the "Dancing With the Stars" formula, she says she'd like to welcome "a country singer, maybe. I think that would be really cool to watch."

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