The cast for “Dancing with the Stars” was revealed during a commercial break in ABC's Sunday night primetime lineup. The names of the participants who will be hitting the dance floor this season were announced last night during an "All Night Name Drop" event in interstitials throughout the network's prime-time programming, which includes “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Desperate Housewives,” and “Brothers and Sisters.”

The celebrity ballroom hoofer contest opens its eighth season March 9 and the field includes Go-Go's lead singer Belinda Carlisle; rapper Lil' Kim; actress Denise Richards; actor-comedian David Alan Grier (Comedy Central's "Chocolate News"); Gilles Marini, who played the neighbor ogled by Kim Cattrall's Samantha in the "Sex and the City" film; Steve-O (MTV's "Wildboyz") and TV host Nancy O'Dell of "Access Hollywood." Another star athlete in the field is Lawrence Taylor, the former New York Giant and Hall of Famer.

Singer Jewel will be facing off against her husband, professional rodeo champ Ty Murray; they are the show's first celebrity couple competing in the same season. DWTS popular dance professional Julianne Hough will be paired with her boyfriend, country singer Chuck Wicks, and DWTS pros Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy just got engaged. So it is going to be quite interesting.

“It’s the most diverse cast we’ve had,” Deena Katz, Dancing’s Senior Talent Producer tells PEOPLE. “The women are phenomenal and the men are such great characters.”

All the pairings of dancers and celebrities is scheduled to be officially confirmed and announced on Thursday, February 12.