Exclusive

Jason Derulo Kicking Off New Season of Dancing With the Stars With Live Performance

E! News exclusively learns the R&B singer will be the first to perform live during the season's opening number

By Bruna Nessif, Jennifer Cooper Mar 08, 2014 1:44 AMTags
Jason DeruloBen Watts

The upcoming season of Dancing With the Stars will open with the sounds and moves of none other than Jason Derulo.

E! News has exclusively confirmed that the R&B singer will kick off season 18 of the competitive reality show, which premieres on Monday, March 24 on ABC with a special two-hour episode.

Derulo will take the floor performing his hit song featuring 2 Chainz "Talk Dirty," making this the first time a musical act has accompanied a season's opening number. Each couple will then perform a cha-cha, foxtrot or contemporary routine as they begin a new season vying for America's votes.

That's not the only new change happening this time around. In fact, season 18 of DWTS is full of twists!

Aside from replacing Tom Bergeron's co-host Brooke Burke-Charvet with Dancing alum Erin Andrews, E! News has learned that everybody will switch partners, with America voting on the new pairings. The power is with the people!

In case you missed the announcement, here's the full list of contestants and their pro partner:

Billy Dee Williams & Emma Slater
Candace Cameron Bure & Mark Ballas
Charlie White & Sharna Burgess
Cody Simpson & Witney Carson
Danica McKellar & Valentin Chmerkovskiy
Diana Nyad & Henry Byalikov
Drew Carey & Cheryl Burke
James Maslow & Peta Murgatroyd
Meryl Davis & Maksim Chmerkovskiy
NeNe Leakes & Tony Dovolani
Sean Avery & Karina Smirnoff
Amy Purdy & Derek Hough