Since we’re now just over a week away from the start of Dancing with the Stars 8, here’s a little backstage scoop to get you warmed up:

Julianne Hough: Three months ago the two-time champion announced she would be taking a hiatus to pursue her music career. So what made her change her mind? A boy.

Hough said ABC used her real-life boyfriend (singer Chuck Wicks) to rope her back in. “It was a last minute deal,” she wrote in her blog. “I was set on taking this season off and then last minute the show asked me to do it because they had asked Chuck to do it and they thought it would be cool if we danced together.”

“At first I still said no because I wanted to focus on my music,” Julianne explained, “BUT then I thought about it for a day and figured this out. I can still write, go on tour and work on Julianne Hough the country singer because Chuck will be my partner and that will be a huge luxury.”

Gillies Marini: Will an injury keep Sex and the City‘s hunk from steaming up the dance floor? Although the 33-year-old sought out treatment from a doctor on Friday afternoon, the female fans of DWTS will not be disappointed.

Marini said he was rehearsing with Cheryl Burke when he started feeling pain in the groin area. Ouch. “It’s like you dance with a knife next to your thing,” he explained. “It keeps stabbing me.”

Despite being diagnosed with tendonitis in both his groin and shoulder, anti-inflammatory meds should keep Gilles in the game. “He’s in great shape. He’ll be fine,” his rep assured everyone.

Jewel: Gilles isn’t the only celebrity dealing with tendonitis issues. Earlier this week, Jewel wrote about the problems she was experiencing. “I guess I really over did it on the rehearsal front! My knees have been hurting so badly that I finally broke down and talked to Ty’s knee doctor yesterday. He said I have tendonitis in my knees and that I have to start a course of medicine to try and bring the swelling down.” The singer also admitted being “worried” about not being able to dance.

Fortunately, it looks like Ty Murray will still get a chance to square off against his wife. On Thursday, Jewel provided an update on her blog. “So, I went to the physical therapist yesterday and I can say that I am feeling better! He said if I take time now to heal that I will be good to go by next week. I hate missing these days, but it’s all for the best in the long run, because I’m in it for the long haul and I wanna win it!”

(You can follow all the Dancing with the Stars 8 news here.)