You thought we were kidding when we told you about Skating With Celebrities, didn’t you? Well, quit laughing, its airing is imminent! The pairings will be announced in this article. In the very near future, But Can They Sing? will bring us celebrities (like Morgan Fairchild and Larry Holmes, right) with hopes of being pop stars will be airing on VH1. Details are right here!
Have you ever wondered if Morgan Fairchild can sing? Me neither, but we’re about to find out! VH1 has grabbed the reins of the well-traveled But Can They Sing? (formerly named Celebrity Pop Superstar and I'm a Celebrity But I Want to Be a Pop Star). The show premieres on VH1 on October 30, 2005 (just in time for a good Halloween scare).
The celebrities include a former Power Ranger, a former heavyweight boxing champ (not Evander this time) and a former daytime and nighttime soap siren! Meet the competitors:
Joe Pantoliano – veteran actor, best known for roles in The Sopranos and Dr. Vegas.
Michael Copon – long-standing Power Ranger (the blue one), and semi-regular on One Tree Hill.
Larry Holmes – legendary former heavyweight boxing champ with victories over Ken Norton, Leon Spinks, and Muhammed Ali. As recently as 2002, he defeated the nefarious Butterbean.
Morgan Fairchild – best known for her stint on Flamingo Road, she has also appeared in Falcon Crest, Paper Dolls, and the mini-series North and South. Her first gig was on General Hospital in, ahem, 1963.
Antonio Sabato, Jr. – made a name for himself in as a male model (including appearing opposite Janet Jackson in the love “Love Will Never Do Without You” video), then developed a rabid fan base as an actor on General Hospital in the mid-‘90s. Currently starring on the Bold and the Beautiful.
Kim Alexis – a bonafide supermodel, Alexis has done countless commercials and print ads, but she has also done a fair bit of acting. She has appeared in guest starring roles on Cheers, The Commish, Sunset Beach, and even hosted Saturday Night Live.
Myrka Dellanos – the gorgeous host of Spanish language Univision has been linked romantically to Latin crooner Luis Miguel.
Carmine Gotti Agnello – the grandson of famed mobster John Gotti, and current co-star of Growing Up Gotti is a reluctant heartthrob.
Bai Ling – Chinese beauty Bai Ling has appeared in the movies Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Lords of Dogtown, Beautiful Country, and Anna and the King.
These nine celebrities will compete in an Idol-style competition (but not to be confused with Celebrity Idol, which Fox still plans to spring on us at some point). None of the competitors have any significant singing experience, and each will be working with a vocal coach each week before performing in front of a studio audience.
No word on judges yet, but Ahmet Zappa (Star Search) will serve as host.
Meanwhile, production is well underway for Skating With Celebrities. While no definitive air date has been set as yet, we can tell you which celebrities are skating with which professionals:
Bruce Jenner will skate with Tai Babilonia. Bruce Jenner was the golden boy of the 1976 Summer Olympics winning the decathlon gold medal. Tai Babilonia and her partner Randy Gardner were multiple-times U.S. Nationals Pairs Skating champs and America’s hope of winning the only Pairs Skating gold medal in Winter Olympic history in 1988. Sadly, Randy suffered a groin injury and the pair had to scratch from competition.
Dave Coulier of Full House (and alleged inspiration for Alanis Morrissette’s bristling “You Ought To Know”) will take to the ice with beleaguered Nancy Kerrigan of the whole Nancy/Tonya debacle. Nancy is pretty sick of being paired with Tonya Harding in the annals of sports history and would rather you remember how close she came to winning the gold medal in the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Todd Bridges, once the poster child for child stars in trouble, is skating with Jenni Meno, who with her husband, Todd Sand, is a three-time U.S. pairs skating champ. Meno and Sand always represented themselves with elegance and class, yet never got much respect on the world stage, perhaps due to their lack of flash as compared to the Europeans in their day.
The original Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Kristy Swanson, will be skating with Canadian pairs champ Lloyd Eisler. Lloyd Eisler and his partner Isabel Brasseur were a ferociously athletic pair who peppered their programs with fearless stunts to accompanied their perfectly unified triple jumps. Kristy should bring extra padding.
Deborah Gibson (once Debbie Gibson from the ‘80s, and an American Juniors judge) has the daunting task of skating with Canadian champ and Olympic medallist Kurt Browning. Brian Boitano beat Kurt Browning at the 1988 Olympics, but in the world of professional skating, Kurt has had the upper hand. Browning’s uncanny ability to do triples, even at his advanced skating age, means he’s not likely to settle much with Deborah. She may want to shop for that extra padding with Kristy Swanson.
Former Good Day L.A. and current Fox Football pre-game weathercaster Jillian Barberie is skating with three-time national pairs champ John Zimmerman, who has some reality experience of his own. He’s been remade by the Queer Eye for the Straight Guy troupe. Zimmerman and his partner Kyoko Ina had always been on the brink of greatness, but never brought it home at the big events. There was some grumbling that the American pair were dissed by the international judges and their curiously low marks after perfect programs played a role in the revamping of the current figure skating scoring system.
Skating with Celebrities will be hosted by figure skating icon Scott Hamilton. Another icon in her own right, Dorothy Hamill, will be one of the judges.
Fox’s Mike Darnell says they were turning celebrities away for a shot at the show, saying some were, "so desperate, they were hanging on the walls (of the ice rink). It shocked me."
The celebrities invited had to have some advanced level of skating skill, so don’t expect too many single axels. "This cast gives us everything we wanted to achieve and were told we couldn't do," said Darnell of the likelihood that celebrities would be willing to participate in a situation that is so prime for injury. "Their partners are going to be Olympians. They have to be of a certain caliber."
Unlike Dancing With the Stars, the judges will be the deciding voices of who wins the six-week competition. Voting by America is not planned at this time.
Sting7 has been a respected published writer for many years, as a music editor, entertainment critic, columnist, and interviewer. He also has a curious love for pro-wrestling! You can email Stinger at stingseven@yahoo.com.
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