‘Dancing with the Stars 16’ spotlight Wynonna Judd and Tony Dovolani

Before striking gold with Melissa Rycroft and winning “Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars” last year, Tony Dovolani has long specialized on the show in working with celebrities who are either relatively inexperienced with dance, are on the older end of the spectrum on the cast, or come from a background that does not require much performing. While Wynonna Judd is a performer through and through, it’s hard to really imagine her being someone who has done much in the ballroom, and at 48 she is in the middle of the age range for the ladies this year (as both Lisa Vanderpump and Dorothy Hamill are older).

So does Wynonna have a real shot of winning the competition this year? Let’s just say that Tony’s got his work cut out for him if he wants his dream of a repeat to come true.

Partner – Tony Dovolani. We’ve already talked a great deal about him, but his strength more than anything else is probably his ability to really to try and bring elegance out of all of his partners. Wynonna’s a Kentucky gal whose dance experience is moving around on stage, so this could be quite a challenge.

Strengths – For one, you have to respect the country vote. More than any other genre of music out there, this is one whose artists are ardently supported by their fans. Wynonna will likely get some love in the early weeks regardless of how she dances, and she could be endearing in ways that make her part Kirstie Alley and part Billy Ray Cyrus (and we mean that in a good way).

Weaknesses – Her schedule is sure to be one, since we can’t imagine Wynonna as a performer having as much time to rehearse as some other people. She’s luckily cleared some of her concert schedule, but even still this will be tough to keep up. Wynonna’s biggest weakness, even more so than that, is just that there are some young ladies on her season in Zendaya and Aly Raisman who are almost guaranteed to be good dancers. She’s going to have to rely more on personality and on older voters, and this may be hard with both Lisa and Dorothy also on the cast.

Prediction – Just being a country singer alone will probably keep Wynonna safe for a week or two, but she’s going to need to be a strong dancer to get farther than that this season. While Tony won last season, there have been many times in which he was sent home early.

What’s your take on Wynonna Judd on “Dancing with the Stars”? We want to hear from you below! If you want to see some of our other dancer spotlights for the season, you can check them out by clicking here.

Photo: ABC