"Dancing with the Stars" Season 11: Ranking the Competitors

By: Jessica Derschowitz
Topics: Television

The cast of Season 11 of "Dancing with the Stars."

(Credit: AP Photo/ABC, Craig Sjodin)

NEW YORK (CBS) Now that the new "Dancing with the Stars" cast has been announced, a new question is up for debate: Who has the best shot at winning?

Pictures: "Dancing with the Stars" Season 11
A Look at Past Champions and Competitors

We used our knowledge of past seasons and champions to make some early guesses on who will be frontrunners and who will head home early. Here's our (very unscientific) list:

The Frontrunners (Guys): Kurt Warner, Rick Fox. Athletes tend to soar on this show and have often won or placed highly. Expect Warner, a former NFL quarterback, and Fox, a former Los Angeles Laker, to use their training and discipline from the field and the court to their advantage.

Examples: Shawn Johnson, Apolo Anton Ono, Kristi Yamaguchi, Evan Lysacek, Chad Ochocinco, Jerry Rice and Emmitt Smith.

The Frontrunners (Ladies): Brandy, Jennifer Grey.* Brandy no stranger to the stage, and dancing experience from music videos and tours will definitely help her here.

Grey, of course, has experience from "Dirty Dancing," but Baby left the corner a long time ago. Her age, combined with her recent spinal surgery, might negate that dancing advantage (hence the asterisk).

Examples: Nicole Scherzinger, Donnie Osmond, Mya, Lil' Kim, Lance Bass, Joey Fatone

Likely to Leave Early: Florence Henderson, Michael Bolton. Sorry, Carol Brady. The older competitors never seem to make it very far.

Examples: Buzz Aldrin, Cloris Leachman, Tom DeLay, Steve Wozniak

As for Bolton, here's why we think he'll leave early: he'll get overlooked in favor of Hasselhoff when it comes time for fans to vote. There's only room for one male cheesy cult icon in the "Fan Favorite" category (see below).

Fan Favorites: Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, Margaret Cho, David Hasselhoff. These three all have big fan followings - Sorrentino (and his abs) from "Jersey Shore," Cho from her comedy tours and television appearances and "The Hoff" from "Baywatch," "Knight Rider" and just being David Hasselhoff. Expect these three to stick around because people love them (or love to hate them), not necessarily because their dance prowess warrants it.

Examples: Jerry Springer, Steve-O, Kate Gosselin

Ones We're Unsure About: Audrina Patridge, Kyle Massey, Bristol Palin.

Reality stars have fared both well (Melissa Rycroft) and terribly (Holly Madison, Kate Gosselin) on the show, so it remains to be seen whether Patridge will find her footing here.

Younger stars (Shawn Johnson, Cody Linley) have generally held their own, which should give Massey an advantage. However, votes talk, so it depends on whether his Disney audience will tune in.

Finally, people's feelings on Palin seem to be divided. We don't know whether she'll end up in the "Fan Favorite" category or if viewers will want to see her go home early.

Who do you think will win? Cast your votes below.

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by pwgrant August 31, 2010 4:14 PM EDT: Oh yes; go to a Libyan website for a video? Can anyone here the malware infections starting.; Reply to this comment


by hanskerni August 31, 2010 12:49 PM EDT: Its going to be amazing. Thats for sure. Did you see the amazing preview video? I am soo excited right now :)

p.s. you can watch it @ http://******/aQOl4r; Reply to this comment