With apologies to the late James Brown, maybe Utah's own Donny Osmond deserves a piece of that "hardest-working man in show business" title -- at least for the next little while, as Osmond continues performing his music show with sister Marie five nights a week at Las Vegas' Flamingo Hotel and Casino, while following her dance steps by joining this season's "Dancing With the Stars" reality TV competition.

His sister's best advice so far? "Get a good masseuse," Donny Osmond told The Tribune in-between dance rehearsals this week in Provo. "But I can't find the time to get a massage -- that's the problem."

The pop idol, best known for teenage bubblegum ballads like "Puppy Love" and his famous bantering relationship with sister Marie, is one of four Utahns who will be gracing the ninth season of ABC's hit ballroom-dancing competition.

The competition will be even more fierce this cycle, as there are 16 celebs teamed with professional dancers, all vying for the trophy won last season by gymnast Shawn Johnson and dancer Mark Ballas.

This year, as in all past seasons, Utahns will try to cha-cha their way into America's hearts.

In addition to Osmond, who is paired with Australian dancer Kym Johnson, other Utahns on the show are snowboarding Olympic hopeful Louie Vito, who lives in Sandy; former Orem dance instructor Chelsie Hightower; and former Park City dancer Derek Hough.

Osmond, who was his sister's biggest cheerleader during her third-place finish two seasons ago, said that's when "the seed was planted" to make his own run at the dance title. "I certainly jumped into the fire," he said. "With five [Vegas] shows a week, six hours a day [rehearsing for 'Dancing'] ... to be honest with you I don't know how I'm doing it. It's very tiring, very arduous, but it's so fulfilling."

He added, laughing: "I've got to at least come in third. If I don't, Marie won't let me live it down. I have to win that trophy."

Meanwhile, Hightower and her partner, Vito, have been following their own rigorous rehearsal schedule but were able to spend a couple of days practicing back home in Salt Lake County while he competed in a snowboarding event.

"We were able to go see his house and meet his family and his snowboarding friends, and he was able to meet mine, and it was so great," she said about the advantage of their recent Utah visit. "I got to see more about his world, and I got to show him my old studio and give him the tour and see my old students dance."

With more teams in this season's mix and a larger crop of more athletic contestants, Hightower, 20, is expecting stiffer competition than last season, which was her first on the show.

Does she think the prospect of dancing on national television might affect her partner? "We just try and focus on what we do," she said, sounding like the dance professional she is. "I'm trying not to put the pressure on him that way and getting him to feel comfortable."

As for Osmond, 51, who has been entertaining America in front of the TV cameras for more than 35 years, he's counting on his professional experience to give him a leg up on the other contestants.

"I don't have the physique of a [UFC fighter] Chuck Liddell," Osmond said. "I don't have the youth of an [singer] Aaron Carter. But what I do have is experience. And our strategy is simple -- dance well."

So as for the usually cranky and blunt judges who will be dishing no-holds-barred critiques at him, Osmond offered three equally frank words: "Bring it on!"