Nick Carter, Paula Deen and Chaka Khan Join Dancing with the Stars

Dancing with the Stars has recruited an interesting range of new contestants for Season 21.

Nick Carter will be joining American Pharoah's jockey Victor Espinoza and Bindi Irwin when the ABC series returns, Us Weekly reports. And according to E! News, music icon Chaka Khan and disgraced chef Paula Deen will also be a part of the new cast.

Carter told Us Weekly he was inspired to join the show after hearing some encouraging words from former contestant and N'SYNC member Joey Fatone and watching his brother Aaron Carter's experience during Season 9. "My brother was on it; he did great; and he's a great little dancer and entertainer so I saw it through his eyes throughout that experience," Carter said. "And there's a lot of competitiveness in me, and I think there's a little something inside of me that says, 'OK, I'm going to go there and represent the Carter name and do even better than what he did!'"

American Pharoah's jockey Victor Espinoza joins Dancing with the Stars

This was the fifth year in a row Dancing had courted Carter. Deen, who lost her Food Network show in 2013 after she admitted to using the N-word, had also turned down the reality series multiple times in the past. "They did ask me and I said no," she said at the time. "Fat girls don't look good sweating."

In addition to the five announced celebrity contestants, nine of the 12 pros have also been revealed, including Karina Smirnoff, Val Chmerkovskiy, Derek Hough, Mark Ballas, Artem Chigvintsev, Allison Holker, Witney Carson, Sharna Burgess and Peta Murgatroyd.

The full cast will be revealed on Good Morning America on Sept. 2. Dancing with the Stars premieres Monday, Sept. 14 at 8/7c.