Julianne Hough Keeps "Dancing"

Julianne Hough performs at the Nightly Concert on the Vault Concert Stage LP Field Friday, June 6 in Downtown Nashville during the 2008 CMA Music Festival. Photographer: John Russell / CMA

Aug. 26, 2008 — Julianne Hough pulls double duty in the near future as she heads back to "Dancing With The Stars" for a new season, which finds her partnering with the youngest competitor ever, 18-year-old Cody Linley.

Cody may not be familiar to a lot of adults, but he’s certainly known by plenty of young women as a former "Hannah Montana" actor: He played one of the boyfriends of the series’ lead character, portrayed by Miley Cyrus. Among the other "Dancing" contestants are NFL lineman Warren Sapp, Olympic volleyball star Misty May-Treanor, soap opera actor Susan Lucci, R&B singer Toni Braxton and former ‘N Sync member Lance Bass.

ABC’s "Dancing" has become a perennial hit, which makes sense to Julianne.

"Everybody loves to dance," she told Dial-Global. "I don't care who you are, how old you are, if you're a horrible dancer, if you're a great dancer... There's just hidden passions for that. So, to see celebrities who people think so highly of and think don't ever have any flaws, you know, you get to see them and their personalities come out and see them totally out of their element — mess up and get frustrated and look silly. You know, they're human. I think people like that."

For now, Julianne continues to hold a spot on Brad Paisley’s GAC-sponsored Paisley Party tour, along with Chuck Wicks and Jewel. And her first single, "That Song In My Head," appears on the compilation NOW That’s What I Call Country, released on Tuesday. The disc has 20 hits, including material by Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, George Strait, Chris Cagle and Lady Antebellum.