Tonight, we will finally answer a whole host of age-old, burning questions: Can DWTS audiences accept a man who used to be a woman on the dance floor? Which celebrity will have the coolest family members hanging out in the audience? And what exactly does Nancy Grace look like when not wearing a pants suit?
Thanks to the season 13 premiere of Dancing with the Stars, we will soon know all of this and more!
Basic Format
As far as Dancing with the Stars has bothered to tell anyone, most of what will happen tonight will seem very familiar to the seasoned viewer. Twelve celebrities will make their dancing debuts, paired with 10 familiar and two new professional partners. People in glitzy costumes will descend a staircase to the sounds of a live band. Judges will make bizarre and occasionally over-enthusiastic comments.
Granted, there are bound to be a few small changes. We’ve been promised a new dance floor, for one thing. Will that make things easier or harder on the celebrities? We can only wait to see.
Name Changes
When it gets down to it, it’s likely that the biggest changes during the Dancing with the Stars premiere will be in the names of certain participants. Not one but two of our DWTS season 13 cohort will sport brand-new names this time around: Both Brooke Burke and Ron Artest may be names of the past.
Brooke won’t be changing her name too much, of course. From this point forward, the DWTS host is planning to use her husband’s name, going by Brooke Charvet, according to a report from People.com. Brooke and husband David Charvet tied the knot in August, following a five-year engagement.
Observant viewers of the Dancing with the Stars season 13 cast announcement may have caught mention of the name.
The other name change is a little more dramatic. Earlier this year, basketball player Ron Artest petitioned the courts to legally change his name to Metta World Peace. The name was meant to be “personally meaningful and inspirational,” according to World Peace’s publicist.
The “World Peace” part is obvious, while “Metta” is apparently a Buddhist term meaning “loving kindness and friendliness toward others.”
That’s nice.
It is expected that Metta World Peace will explain the name-change, his reasons and what we’re expected to call him during tonight’s show.
And, while I absolutely refuse to take the time to go change any of my past coverage of the name (because I am lazy), I’m totally on board with the new name from now on. What could be more fun than critiquing Metta World Peace, after all?
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Are you excited for tonight’s season 13 premiere of Dancing with the Stars? Who is your pre-season favorite? How do you feel about all the name changes? Leave your comments below!
(Images courtesy of ABC)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
