Lionel Hahn/ABACAPRESS.COM
Season 28 of Dancing With the Stars premieres on September 16th and until then it seems the season’s twelve competitors will be sizing each other up to figure out who the biggest and toughest competition of the season is going to be.
After the celebrity cast was announced on Wednesday, August 21, the stars talked to Entertainment Tonight about who they think will be the one to keep their eye on.
Former NBA player Lamar Odom admitted he isn’t “really ready” to dance in front of America yet but added that he thinks Karamo Brown and Ray Lewis might be his toughest competition. “Karamo Brown, he can move!” Lamar said. “Ray Lewis can move, too. But nah, no pressure. I’m not even supposed to be here. I wasn’t even supposed to survive what I’ve been through.”
Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek didn’t say who he thinks might be the best dancer, but did say how excited he was to meet Bachelorette Hannah Brown. “I watched the last three episodes of The Bachelorette, she’s so sweet!” he said. “I was like, ‘How are you doing?’ I was just like, ‘Can I give you a hug?’ I just wanted to make sure she was OK.”
Meanwhile Hannah Brown has her eyes on Kel Mitchell and Ally Brooke. “His dance moves, ugh. Kel is my competition,” she said. “And Ally Brooke. Yeah, ’cause she’s got some moves. But it’s OK, I haven’t shown all my moves just yet. I have some in my back pocket.”
Queer Eye’s Karamo Brown thinks there are a few who might be getting the most votes. “You know what, Kel has a lot of rhythm. He just has a lot of energy,” he explained. “Christie Brinkley is just gorgeous and beautiful, so it’s like, if you age that gracefully, I feel like you’re gonna be that graceful on the dance floor. And then James Van Der Beek. I’ve just been talking to him and literally you look at him, the 13-year-old little girl in me brings back. And I’m like, ‘I’ll vote for you.'”
Lauren Alaina, Kel Mitchell, Ally Brooke, Christie Brinkley, Kate Flannery, Sean Spicer and Ray Lewis weren’t quite sure who their biggest competition was going to be and are just excited to give it all their all each week.
Of course, another interesting twist of the season is that viewers won’t find out the pro partner pairings for each star until the season premiere!
The pros for season 28 include: Peta Murgatroyd, Brandon Armstrong, Lindsay Arnold, Alan Bersten, Cheryl Burke, Witney Carson, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson, Keop Motsepe, Gleb Savchenko, and Emma Slater.
Rounding out the cast of pros are two brand new ones! Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov.
Check out the full cast for season 28 with pictures here!
Dancing With the Stars premieres on ABC Monday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET.