The fifteenth season of Dancing with the Stars premiered on September 24, 2012. Tom Bergeron and Brooke Burke Charvet returned as hosts. The Harold Wheeler orchestra and singers provided the music throughout the season, except as noted below. The returning members of the dance troupe for this season were Oksana Dmyrenko, Emma Slater, Sharna Burgess, Henry Byalikov and Sasha Farber. Sonny Fredie Pedersen replaced Kiki Nyemchek.
Season 15 was the first to feature an "all-star" cast, in which previous celebrities who have competed on the show have another chance to win the competition. Six of the returning finalists, however, had already won the title in prior seasons. Season eight saw the most returning contestants, with 3 out of the 13 contestants coming from that season. In addition, it was the first and so far, only season to offer fractional scores, and to feature three women as the celebrity finalists.
Season eight finalist Melissa Rycroft defeated season eight champion Shawn Johnson and season one champion Kelly Monaco to win the trophy. This also marks the first win for professional Tony Dovolani. Tony is also the third professional to win after being eliminated first the previous season.
In the season opener, previous contestants return and perform the cha-cha or the fox-trot. Competitors include Kirstie Alley, Emmitt Smith, Bristol Palin, Drew Lachey and Shawn Johnson.
