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.
