Competing on Dancing With the Stars is a boost to any celebrity’s profile, but the public’s memory can often be shorter than the time it takes to say “cha cha.”

The knock on the ABC reality series, of course, is that the term “stars” is defined very loosely. The roster of talent is traditionally a combination of actors/singers you haven’t thought of in years, athletes and reality stars looking to cash in on their fame before their 15 minutes expires.

Still, the show continues to thrive, even though it can feel like a revolving door for hosts and contestants (did you remember Lisa Canning was a co-host during the show’s first season?).

Here are a few of some of the names you may be shocked to remember competed for the Mirror Ball.

Joey McIntyre
Season – 1
Finish – Third place
Third place sounds pretty good, but it’s not that impressive when you consider that McIntyre was in a boyband that leaned on choreography. The New Kid on the Block was all grown up and part of the original Dancing With the Stars cast. He’s since gone on to ride the retro wave with the band through tours and cruises.

Candace Cameron Bure
Season – 18
Finish – Third place
Bure is one star who really used DWTS as a springboard to advance her career. When she was cast on the show, there was a nostalgia factor because she was still mostly identified as DJ from Full House. After her run, she wound up hosting The View. Not too shabby.

Cody Simpson
Season – 18
Finish – Third person eliminated
The Australian import's star was rising when he competed: he had opened for Justin Bieber the year before (spurring talk of recording together) and his first album debuted inside the Billboard Top 10. Since then, he’s continued to sing (and act), but he hasn’t quite become the star many expected he would.

Kim Kardashian
Season – 7
Finish – Third person eliminated
The reality starlet would probably never consider the show in 2017, but back in 2008 — before the social media boom — she wasn’t as huge or omnipresent as she is today.

Billy Ray Cyrus
Season – 4
Finish – Fifth place
While daughter Miley was becoming a star on Hannah Montana, dad Billy Ray was shaking his moneymaker on the dance floor. He wasted no time capitalizing on the series – he dropped an album about two months after the season ended, which debuted at No. 3 on the country charts. He and Miley went on to perform "Ready, Set, Don’t Go" on the subsequent season.

Kate Gosselin
Season – 10
Finish – Fourth person eliminated
Gosselin was a tabloid fixture back in the early part of this decade, and rumor was she competed just so she could collect a paycheck. Heck, she has eight kids – of course she needed the money. She was the fourth person booted, which is pretty remarkable because she was...not a good dancer.

Ralph Macchio
Season – 8
Finish – Fourth place
Macchio has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years as The Karate Kid's nostalgia factor builds. Macchio held his own on the show, making it a lot further than viewers might have imagined he would.

Brandy
Season – 11
Finish – Fourth place
The singer-actress was a few years removed from her involvement in a fatal car crash when she competed. She earned solid scores, and her elimination was a total surprise, since she was considered one of the favorites.

Jerry Springer
Season – 3
Finish – Sixth person eliminated
Springer’s legacy as the host of a talk show where people throw chairs had long been cemented by the time he checked into the ballroom. As a DWTS contestant, he was — conversely — lacking the necessary drama.

Willa Ford
Season – 3
Finish – Fifth person eliminated
Once upon a time, Ford was a rising pop star. Then, it all disappeared before she resurfaced on Dancing With the Stars.

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino
Season – 11
Finish – Fourth person eliminated
One of the stars of MTV’s Jersey Shore, "The Situation" cashed in on his fame by competing. While he endured backlash and his star has dimmed, he does continue to make the reality show rounds.

Mel B
Season – 5
Finish – Runner-Up
The Spice Girl was a blast from the past for fans when she was cast, but her appearance proved to be a springboard for other reality projects. She’s gone on to lend her talent to various X Factor and America’s Got Talent series. She’s also taken a turn on Broadway in Chicago, so she’s definitely maximized her time on DWTS.

Rob Kardashian
Season – 13
Finish – Runner-up
Kim wasn’t the only Kardashian who took a spin on DWTS. Brother Rob managed to make it all the way to the end, so he can always rub Kim's nose in the fact he did much better. These days, though, he’s more known for his rocky romance with Blac Chyna.

Melissa Joan Hart
Season – 9
Finish – Seventh person eliminated
Like Candace Cameron Bure, Hart is a child star who burst back into the spotlight by taking part in the show. Unlike, Bure, though, it didn’t ultimately lead her back to the A-list.

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