Season 14 Cast Photo (Flickr)

Now that the Oscars and Grammys have all played out to varying degrees of epic French success, celebs are gathering to compete for another, much more prestigious award – the mirror-ball trophy.

That’s right, ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" has announced its 14th collection of celebrities procured to dance the season away in sequins, feathers, and that irrepressible sense of national humiliation that makes for entertainment gold.
The lineup?

Gavin DeGraw – singer-songwriter best known for songs such as “Chariot”, “In Love With a Girl”, “Not Over You”, and that irresistible “One Tree Hill” theme song. Also, almost never seen without wearing a hat or some kind of headwear. Remarkable. Let’ see if he can keep this streak up on the dance floor. Partners with reigning championess Karina Smirnoff.

Donald Driver – Wide Receiver for the Green Bay Packers, this season’s Hines Ward. His top advantage isn’t going to be the built in fan base back home, since everyone knows football fans are of the calm and fickle variety right? Haha, no. Look out for cheeseheads in the ballroom rooting for their receiver to take the top spot. Partners with Peta Murgatroyd.

Roshon Fegan – Remember that token Disney kid? This is him. Not their best pull as far as star power goes, but maybe his presence on the dance-revolved program, “Shake It Up” will help this youngster shake it up in the competition? Partners with Chelsie Hightower.

Melissa Gilbert – It’s Laura Ingalls Wilder!! Gilbert is best known for her child actressing days on Little House On The Prairie back in the 70s, though she has been in numerable TV Movies and such since. She was also the president of the Screen Actors Guild for 4 years, and was the original voice of Batgirl on the animated Batman series. Quite an entertainment repertoire, but can she dance? Partners with Maksim Chmerkovskiy.

Katherine Jenkins – a Welsh opera singer. Curious choice for the show but it works. She has straight up talent, as demonstrated when she sang in the DWTS ballroom last April. Now she’s back to take the trophy for her own. Partners with Mark Ballas.

Gladys Knight – best respect the Empress of Soul. She is best known for her work with the Pips back in the 60s and 70s. You may have Heard It Through The Grapevine but Gladys is going to bring a whole lotta soul into the competition. Partners with Tristan McManus.

William Levy – Former model and telanovela heartthrob, and People En Español’s sexiest man of 2011, this Cuban cutie is certain to bring come Latin spice into the ballroom. Partners with Cheryl Burke.

Maria Menounos – Partners with Derek Hough. Is there really that much more to say? Forget dancing, the sheer overload of charm from the duo of this “Extra” host and golden boy Hough may be enough to claim the top spot alone.

Martina Navratilova – Tennis super star. Since 1978 she has won 18 Grand Slam singles titles, 31 Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, 10 Grand Slam mixed doubles titles, and 20 Wimbledon titles. Guess she wants to add a mirror-ball trophy to that collection too. Partners with Tony Dovolani.

Sherri Sheperd – television PERSONALITY. This former “The View” co-host has won an Emmy for her outspoken antics. Surely to be a comedic highlight, let us only hope she brings a fraction of the sass to the dance floor. Partners with (Maksim Jr.) Val Chmerkovskiy.

Jack Wagner – He has quite a record in soap operas, appearing in “General Hospital”, “Santa Barbara”, “The Bold and The Beautiful” and “Melrose Place.” Let’s hope he leaves the drama for his mama and brings his dancing shoes in this genre switch which is certain to be entertaining. Partners with Anna Trebunskay.

Jaleel White – Can we just call it what it is? STEVE URKEL. Stever Urkel is in the Dancing With The Stars House!!! Though he has undergone a huge transformation since his days in suspenders on Family Matters, please, oh please let him say “Did I do that?” at least once. Partners with Kym Johnson.

So there you have it, DWTS Season 14 motley crew of celebrity star power. This season’s cast is impressively imbued with actual talent, bringing a renewed sense of sincerity to the show’s name. What exactly did Kate Gosselin and Bristol Palin do except have babies? What exactly did Rob Kardashian do except be born into the right family? I rest my case.

This is already shaping up to be a very eclectic and entertaining season, see you back here for recaps once the season airs on March 19th.

Reach writer Kelly Hanelt here