Dancing With the Stars, the award-winning televised dance competition, is well into its 21st season. The show features a variety of celebrities and many outstanding professionals including Allison Holker, Derek Hough, and Emma Slater, all competing to receive the Mirror Ball Trophy. Season 21 has a very diverse and entertaining cast, including:

–Hayes Grier is a 15-year-old social media icon who has shot to fame by making six-second videos on the famous app, Vine. With more than three million followers, he is most definitely a strong competitor this season. He is partnered with Emma Slater.

–Tamar Braxton is a co-host on the talk show, The Real. She is also a Grammy-nominated singer who recently released a solo album entitled, Calling All Lovers. Partnered with Valentin Chmerkovskiy, she has been one of the top scoring celebrities this season.

–Paula Deen is one of the most famous chefs on and off the camera. Writing over 10 cookbooks, Paula could be tough to beat due to her fame. As for her dancing ability, Paula has had many low scores this season, but is definitely improving. She is partnered with Louis Van Amstel.

–Nick Carter, the world famous singer from the Backstreet Boys, kicked off his singing career when he was 12. Now 35, Nick is becoming a great dancer very quickly this season. Partnered with Sharna Burgess, Nick has not yet been in the bottom two and can be a very strong contender for the Mirror Ball.

-Alek Skarlatos is someone you may not recognize by name. He is an Army National Guard Specialist who became known worldwide after he helped stop a massacre on a Belgian train. Heim and his two friends disarmed an attacker who began shooting on the train. The attacker was armed with a gun and a box cutter. This hero is a great dancer partnered with Lindsay Arnold.

–Andy Grammer is a world famous singer with many top hits such as “Honey, I’m Good” and “Keep Your Head Up.” With a bittersweet backstory, this successful singer has had many high points this season. Even though he was in the bottom two one week, he is definitely improving and may also go far in the season. Andy is partnered with Allison Holker.

–Bindi Irwin is definitely the star to beat this season. The daughter of the late, famous crocodile hunter Steve Irwin has starred in many shows, including “Bindi’s Bootcamp.” Bindi is incredibly positive despite her sad backstory and is one of the most talented dancers this season. She is partnered with Derek Hough.

–Carlos PenaVega, the popular TV actor, has had many high scores this season. One of the members of the band Big Time Rush, that started up from the musical comedy also entitled Big Time Rush, Carlos is a great singer and now a great dancer. This may hurt him in the end because he has to compete against his wife, Alexa PenaVega. He is partnered with Witney Carson.

–Alexa PenaVega is known for her role as Carmen Cortez in the wildly famous Spy Kids films. She has also starred in the show Nashville and the movie From Prada to Nada. In 2007, she made her Broadway debut in the show Hairspray, playing Penny Pingleton. Alexa and Carlos are almost inseparable this season, so it will be interesting to see who goes further in the competition this season and how it all pans out. She is partnered with Mark Ballas.

Season 21 has definitely been a season to remember so far and is only getting better. Stars that have previously been eliminated in the competition are Gary Busey, Chaka Khan, Victor Espinoza, and Kim Zolciak Biermann. Although Kim had to leave because she had a stroke, she was still eliminated, sadly.