Lil' Kim with dancing partner Derek Hough
Photo: MTV News

"Dancing With the Stars" has always featured an incredible hodgepodge of celebrities competing in the world of ballroom dance and proving to the world they can drop it like it's hot. This season finds MTV-friendly faces like hip-hop bad girl Lil' Kim, "Jackass" alum Steve-O and Go-Go's frontwoman Belinda Carlisle.

"He's the perfect person for me, and I think that he's such a great teacher that he's going to make my dancing talent shine through," Kim told MTV News about the chance to work with Derek Hough. "I always wanted to do it. I just felt like when opportunity knocks twice, you have to say, 'Wait a minute ... I have to do this.' Dancing is in my heart."

"I think we can go all the way," Hough said, while Kim added that she is happy she has some say about what she wears during the competition: "They kind of create their own style for me. I get to adjust it, and that's very important for me."

Meanwhile, Steve-O decided to join the show to prove to everyone that he's ready to be healthy. "I'm in a new chapter in my life, which is all about being healthy and sober, and I think this is a good opportunity," he said. "It's a good, challenging, healthy way to get in shape."

Although he's done a lot of crazy things in his life, doing a show as tame and family-friendly as "DWTS" might prove to be his craziest endeavor yet. "I want to do as well as I can. ... It doesn't really matter how I do on the show. The fact that I get to be on it says a lot about me making some positive changes in my life."

Steve-O isn't the only one finding a healthier lifestyle on the show. Former Go-Go's leading lady Carlisle is also finding that all those dancing rehearsals have positive effects. "My butt's higher," she joked, "if you really must know!"

Carlisle didn't hesitate to join the show: "It's a dream come true for anybody. I immediately said yes. The morning after the first show, I was freaked out about it, but it's all a good time."

So does she think she can beat out Kim and Steve-O? "I just want to be good," she said. "Of course it would be amazing to win, but I just want to learn to dance. ... I think there's a lot of talented dancers this season, [so] you can't predict."

• Our Favorite 'Dancing' Stars

• Lil' Kim
• Steve-O
• Belinda Carlisle

June 2 [14:00 EDT] -- Former head Go-Go and 80s hit maker Belinda Carlisle is back with a decidedly un-Go-Go's album.

The former pop-punk bandleader behind hits like "We Got the Beat," "Our Lips Are Sealed," and "Vacation" adopts a more mature sound on "A Man & A Woman," as evidenced by the album's first single, "In Too Deep."

Carlisle and the Go-Go's made a name for themselves playing L.A.'s punk circuit before striking chart oil with their 1981 debut "Beauty and the Beat." After the group disbanded in 1984, Carlisle launched a successful solo career with a string of pop hits like "Mad About You" and "Heaven is a Place on Earth."

The singer is hoping to repeat the success she enjoyed in the 80s when "A Man & A Woman" hits stores on July 15.

• Belinda Carlisle