ABC’s dancing competition is the hottest comeback vehicle

Aug 27, 2015 13:45 GMT  ·  By

The celebrity lineup for season 21 of ABC’s Dancing With the Stars is turning out to be the most interesting so far. The first celebrity contestant announced by the network is Bindi Irwin, the 17-year-old daughter of the late Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin, and the second has just been confirmed as every teen girl’s old crush, Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys.

Us Weekly confirms Nick’s casting. In a separate post, it also throws Paula Deen’s name in the mix, though ABC is still to confirm she’ll be on board when the popular dancing competition returns to the small screen next month.

Nick is excited, somewhat nervous

Speaking with the celebrity publication, Nick says that he agreed to be on the show for 2 main reasons: first of all, his good friend (and former rival from ‘N Sync) Joey Fatone talked him into it. Joey competed on season 4 and 15 and had such a wonderful experience he wouldn’t stop talking about it with Nick.

Secondly, Nick’s brother, Aaron, was also on the show, and after experiencing that through his eyes, he wants to see how it feels to actually compete on the show on his own.

The third and most important reason, which Nick doesn’t mention, is that DWTS is a very hot comeback vehicle and it also pays well. Hey, we’re not judging.

Even though he’s been dancing his entire life, Nick admits he’s nervous at the thought of doing ballroom routines.

“I never considered myself a great dancer. Even though funny enough I've danced my entire life, I might have had a little insecurity on that end. But I felt this time around I had some time and I think it'll be a cool experience. I think they can teach me some stuff,” he says. “I hope maybe I can become a better dancer! It'll be a great experience to learn how to ballroom dance.”

He’s probably underselling himself on purpose, because saying otherwise would count as bragging and he’d lose votes when DWTS goes live.

Paula Deen also wants her comeback

And here’s another celebrity contestant to watch next season: the same celebrity publication says that celebrity chef Paula Deen will also be putting her dancing shoes to good use this year.

Her participation hasn’t been confirmed officially yet, but it would make sense if she were on board. DWTS producers courted her a lot last year, but at the time, she had to turn down their offer because she still believed her new business would be a success.

In other words, she thought she wouldn’t need DWTS to make her comeback, but it seems that she does, after all.