‘Dancing with the Stars 21’ spoilers: Chaka Khan latest confirmed cast member

Remember when ABC said that they were going to reveal one cast member for the new “Dancing with the Stars” season a day until the entire crew was together? Well, this is clearly something that they abandoned strategically some time ago. Maybe they figured at this point that there was no point in hiding certain names that were already out there in the press … including Chaka Khan.

The legendary “Tell Me Something Good” singer is the latest addition to a cast that includes Backstreet Boy Nick Carter, Vine star Hayes Grier, jockey Victor Espinoza, the late Steve Irwin’s daughter Bindi Irwin, “Spy Kids” star Alexa Vega, and also Big Time Rush singer Carlos Pena. Clearly, we feel that the cast so far needed someone like Khan to appeal to the older viewers. Otherwise, this would have been one of the youngest casts that we’ve ever seen on the show. Grier and Irwin are both teenagers, and Carlos and Alexa are both in their twenties.

We’ll get more into how Khan could fare in the competition a little bit later during our spotlight series, but what she brings to the show mostly is a nice gravitas. She’s also a big personality, and that should make for some really great moments with whoever she is paired with. We actually hope that it is someone like Derek Hough, since we’d like to see what he could do with an older pro and it’s been several seasons since he’s received this assignment.

There are still many spots to be filled in the cast, and the premiere will air on ABC September 14.

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