So this summer I've been trying to get my reality-TV fix while watching clips of Britain's Got Talent on youtube. It helps me deal with having to wait another month for the American version (and by the way, Eli and Donald were robbed last season!). I of course have followed the Susan Boyle story from the start, though I do think she is overrated. In fact of all the finalists there is not one that I am really rooting for. I think my favorite is Aidan, the young dancer, which is odd since I usually root for singers on these shows. Yet the three S's- Susan, Shaun Smith, and Shaheen, do not excite me as singers. The one girl who I did sort of like, Hollie Steel, has become a controversial figure in her own right, which makes me not able to root for her anymore despite her talent.
In the middle of her semifinal performance, the 10-year-old Hollie forgot her words and began to cry in front of the audience and judges. They all seemed sympathetic to her, as did hosts Ant and Dec, who even offered her a drink of water. Some have suggested little Hollie was fake crying in order to get sympathy votes, but I do not feel that was the case- those were real tears of nerves up there, tears of a girl who feels like she just blew her shot to sing for the Queen. But I do think it was unfair for the judges to give her a second chance to sing. But they (specifically Simon) did, and she did sound impressive in her second attempt (actually, she sounded great the first time too until she forgot the words). No other contestant was given this luxury, not even favorite Susan Boyle, who was off on a few notes early in her semifinal performance. It's bad enough children with mediocre talent are sent to the finals on these shows just for being cute- Kaitlin Mayer from last year's America's Got Talent being a prime example. And while Hollie does not fall into this category, she did get a new form of special treatment last night by getting to start her song over again. Who knows? Maybe she would have made the finals even without the second chance. She certainly would have gotten sympathy votes, and the judges too may have put her through out of pity if she didn't win the audience vote outright. But despite her talent, I feel I can no longer root for after this incident. Sure, she is more talented than fellow semifinalist Greg Pritchard, but every time I see her I think of the unfairness of this moment and it ruins the whole experience. So I guess all I have to root for now is Aidan. Go little dancer go!!
Friday, May 29, 2009
Thursday, May 28, 2009
SYTYCD Episode 3 Recap
Hey all I'm back to recap Thursday's show and I promise I'll try to make it shorter this time- especially since I want to go watch the spelling bee on DVR when SYTYCD is over (that bee is addicting, though it makes me feel like an idiot sometimes...)
LA Auditions:
Love Cat getting down and dancing with the auditioners, even laying on the concrete sidewalk to see what it was like for those who slept on the floor all night...
Today's guest judge is Adam Shankman, aka the director of Hairspray! Woot I love that movie (and the show!)
Day 1:
The contestants get a surprise visit from last year's winner Joshua (fan of his) along with
fellow top 20 member Comfort (not a big fan of hers).
Bianca Revels: Another returning contestant who just missed out on the top 20 last year. Returnees have had good luck on this show so far. Her mother is also there for support. She does an a capella tap routine and every time the camera focused on her feet all I could think was "Wow her legs are skinny"! I don't love her somewhat stiff arms but the dancing itself was really good. All three judges give her a standing ovation and call her brilliant. Mary even says she is the best female tap dancer they've ever had. I didn't think she was that good but I haven't seen female tap dancers on this show before so I don't know how many they've had. She gets a ticket straight to Vegas.
Siblings Xavier and Brynelle Blanton- They go everywhere holding hands. That's kind of weird. There's also been a lot of siblings this year- is that always the case? Then they go out and do a very romantic routine that actually isn't horrible until you remember they are siblings, and then it is just gross. I do think Xavier was significantly better than his sister. They do mess up their lifts at the end though. The judges think it is strange and shows a lack of technique. Xavier is happy this competition brought him and his sister closer together. Nigel even says Brynelle dances like she is four even though she has been dancing since she was four. They are sent home even though I think Xavier has potential.
Debra Lawson dances badly in slow motion, then speeds up and gets worse, running around the stage like a mother looking for a lost child. Nigel says she must learn what works for her larger body. Debra is also Jewish, yet if she dances on Saturdays or in front of men she is breaking Judaism rules. Good for her for going for her dreams no matter what. Adam says she should not give up dancing since she loves it, but stresses she is not good enough to do it professionally (that's for sure). She seems like a sweet woman as she is sent home.
Suzanne Fernandez dresses like Britney and does a "fairy medicine dance". Nigel wonders what she is on. John Fleming dresses like KISS and tries (and fails) to dance to heavy metal. Michael Han hops on one leg and copies Rihanna's "Umbrella" routine. All were sent packing.
Calico Sequeira- Swing dancer in her last year of eligibility for the show. She is okay but her male partner is better. The judges find her enjoyable but only good at a social dance level, not at a professional level, which is fair. She too is sent on her way. Rough night so far.
Adam then says he would love to dance with Calico, so she invites him on stage. He even gets a label on the screen listing his name, age (21ish!!!) and hometown like the contestants get! Awesome! The music is slow at first and then speeds up. Adam has some moves (and gets a standing ovation from the judges!)
It gets better as Adam steps up to be "judged" by Joshua, Katee, Comfort and a girl I don't recognize from last season. Katee asks how much he wants it and Adam says he has wanted it bad for ten minutes! Adam reminds Joshua he put him through last year, which is all Joshua needs to give Adam a ticket to Vegas! That was hilarious! He even comes out of the audition room screaming and crying for joy like the other contestants who get through.
More returnees: Asuka Kondoh and Ricky Sun -International Latin ballroom dancers. Asuka made it to the last round before the top 20 last year (there's a lot of that going around tonight). They do a routine to "Mercy" by Duffy and they are really good. My favorites so far tonight, though it is still early. The dance started out a bit slow but then really picked up. I actually liked Ricky a bit better than Asuka. Nigel doesn't remember Ricky being that good last year, and notes Asuka is a great performer as well. Mary agrees, though Adam says he could not keep his eyes off Asuka. Both get tickets to Vegas! I hope to see more from them since they were both impressive.
Montage of great dancers who we don't get names for. One girl dances with a scarf, another in a white tutu. They sandwiched a guy who was really good as well.
Nathan Trasoras- He quit dancing in eighth grade since people always made fun of him. His brother told him to keep going and now four years later he is on this show. I don't love his choreography but he definitely has skills. One move gets a cheer from the crowd though it doesn't seem that impressive to me. The rest of his dance was really good though. Adam calls him bleeping impressive, and Mary agrees. Nigel loves his spins and centers. Unfortunately he is only 17 and thus too young for the show (apparently you must be 18 to audition). But Nigel gives him a ticket to Vegas for NEXT year, and he promises to come back. I don't know why he even bothered to audition if he was too young though. I'm also surprised the age limit is so high since on Idol you can audition when you are only 16.
24 dancers got through on Day 1- that's a pretty good number. No clips of the choreography since we didn't see anyone who got sent there.
Day 2:
Sammy Ramirez- A former wrestler with Allison Iraheta red hair. Now he's a locker who was taught by a dancer named Junior who went to jail for gang violence. The other thing I learned watching this show last season is that I'm not a big fan of the style of popping, but I have to admit this guy is pretty good. He's even kind of entertaining, though he spends a bit too much time moving his shoulders and not enough moving his legs or arms. The judges love him but fear he may only know this style. Nigel has Sammy show off his hair choreography, where he literally moves his hair. That's kind of cool. He is sent to choreography to see if he can learn other styles.
Stacey House does a super fast routine but she actually has some skill in there. She does a weird thing patting her head that is just annoying. I get tired just watching her! The judges thought it was too crazy and send her home. I thought she had some potential but what do I know.
Amanda Kerby- Her dad has MS but has been symptom-free for six years after barely being able to move a few years before that. She dances to a pretty song I don't know and does some impressive turns though the routine was a bit repetitive and it seemed like something was missing. Nigel agrees something was missing but still liked it. Mary loved it even more. Adam says the dance didn't fit the song, which I also agree with. She is sent right to Vegas.
Next up we are re-introduced to Philip, a dancer who made it to Vegas last year but got pneumonia and couldn't go. The judges spot him as he warms up and send him right through to Vegas without an audition. That was nice of them, though it does seem a bit unfair since other returnees had to audition once again this year. We only get to see a glimpse of his audition from last year but it looked pretty impressive.
This year Phillip has a partner, a girl named Arielle Coker who goes to his school. She was in a really bad car accident with her parents. She and her father had relatively minor injuries but her mother broke her leg and neck, among other things. Phillip drove Ariel to the hospital and cheered her up during that time. Aww such a sweetie! She taught him how to partner dance while she was in a wheelchair. That's pretty impressive. They dance together for her audition. The choreography is great and both of them are talented, though I think I like Phillip better. The routine also had a few too many lifts in it and not enough dancing. The judges had trouble taking their eyes off of Phillip but thought she was good as well. She is sent to Vegas after a fake-out from the judges, and she jumps right into his arms.
Alexie Agdeppa dances a routine to a version of "To Make You Feel My Love" sadly not done by Kris Allen. Despite that she does a great job, one of my favorites so far. Diana Vaden also dances well though the electronic soundtrack distracts me from her actual dance. Chanel Smith dances to "Then You Look at Me", another great song, and is another one of my favorites so far despite her weak choreography. All are sent to choreography.
Kevin Cormier- His nickname is "Shakiro" because of his hip shaking, not his looks. He promises something the judges have never seen before. That usually means bad dancing is coming, but he is actually not horrible at the belly dancing. There is not much else in his routine though. He's no Shakira, but he's better than I thought he would be. They say that his audition was just shaking and no dancing, which is true, and they send him home.
All that is left is the choreography round, where we see some of the others from earlier in the episode. Chanel lost her spark from her first audition and is sent home. Too bad I really liked her. She seems devastated by the news. Sammy is up next- I thought he looked great in the clip of his choreography, and the judges agree, sending him through along with Alexie and Diana.
Seattle Day 1: It's raining, of course. Maybe people can use umbrellas for props like that guy last week did.
Wow this is the last audition city- that was fast! Why doesn't Idol have only two days of auditions?? Mia is serving as the guest judge, and I realized last season I don't love her choreography but oh well.
Christopher Keller- He does mix of tangos and swing that will mix gender roles. If the judges didn't like the male partner dancers last week I doubt they'll like this. His partner is his friend from school who is not auditioning so she can stay in school. He gives an odd smirk to the judges as he starts. Then they dance like two drunk high schoolers at prom. There was lots of stiffness and stomping. The judges can't stop laughing before Nigel puts an end to his misery and stops them. Chris says it felt rough since he only had a week to prep. That doesn't surprise me. Again they get the "social dancer" card and are sent off.
Nick "Nasty" Salzman- An aspiring tattoo artist who looks like a wrestler with the muscles and huge tattoos and big earrings. He starts out kind of slow but then starts doing some madly impressive breakdancing/hip ho, complete with a flip. I don't know if his dancing quite matches the music but he certainly has a lot of talent. And of course as soon as I write that he messes up the roll-on-the-head part and stops. He said he wanted to come out and do something different and is happy with what he did. Nigel is offended by that, though I'm not quite sure why. Mary is so offended she switches her vote from a yes to a no!!! All three vote no!!! I thought he was great and should have gotten to do choreography at least! I don't get why what he said was so offensive. Other contestants said the same thing and the judges weren't offended. Though I agree if he can't last through a two minute routine he will have issues on this show. He did say the two ladies were nicer, but that isn't exactly breaking news. And it's no worse than what Idol contestants say to Simon.
Dmitrious Bistrevsky- Over six feet tall. Thought he was a good dancer until he saw himself on tape a week before his audition. I think his instincts were right as he tries and fails to breakdance to a hard rock song. If they didn't send Nick through they better not send him through. He's only been breakdancing three months, and it shows. Mary is scared for his safety. Mia thought the music was killing him, which leads to a cursing match among the judges. He is sent home.
The judges are so bored they are falling asleep during the dances, only to be woken up when one guy falls hard to the ground during his routine. They start being cranky towards the contestants, causing them to cry. Many of them are apparently not showing a lot of passion in their movements, causing Nigel and Mary to yell at those waiting to perform.
Next up after this tirade is Kelsea Taylor, who is begged by Nigel to be good. She is not the best so far tonight but she certainly is the best in the weak Seattle crop that we've seen. Nigel says she fits Sonja's style, which is very true. Then again I don't like Sonja's style which is probably why I didn't love it. The judges like her zany, new style and ask her to do choreography.
There she joins 23 others. Wow no dancers were shown getting tickets right to Vegas. Seattle must have as little dance talent as it has singing talent (at least according to Simon Cowell, who a few years ago called Seattle the worst audition city for Idol of the season, even with Jordin and Blake auditioning there). Kelsea loses some of her spark in her choreography but did a decent enough job to go through to Vegas. Only three other dancers from Day 1 join her. They weren't kidding about the lack of talent in Seattle.
Day 2:
Nigel tells this new crop of dancers to bring it after yesterday's disappointing showing.
-Kuponohi'ipoi Aweau- A Hawaiian dancer whose name is impossible to pronounce or spell. However we may be hearing his name a lot since his solo is one of my favorites so far. It comes complete with a chair and reminds me of some of the dances from the top 20 last year. Mary loved parts of it but thought it was too feminine. Really I didn't see that at all. He gets the comparisons to Mark from last year, which is odd since I didn't like Mark but I liked him. The judges give him a chance to do choreography. I wanted a ticket straight to Vegas for him but hopefully he will impress later on.
The day is off to a better start, with a girl getting invited to choreography and a very impressive guy in a white sweatshirt getting the same. So does another Asian guy. This gets the judges all happy.
But that will change with the return of a guy called "Sex". All I know about him is that he auditioned last year and was told never to do so again. That can't be a good thing. But he's back. His real name is David Soller, and he is a horrible breakdancer who I think is too old for this competition anyway. Nigel did tell him not to come back but that didn't stop him.
Meanwhile we meet Leonid Knyshov- a Ukranian who does grief counseling for a living. I can't really understand much of what he says though with his accent. He does a fast routine like Stacey House earlier in the episode. Then again since they hated her they'll probably hate this too even though I don't think it's that bad. As he slows down though he shows his poor technique more though. It reminded me of someone playing DDR. Leo claims it has elements of jive, though I couldn't see that and neither can the judges. Nigel says it was like it was at a rave party, which actually kind of makes sense. Mary says it was like little kids twirling around, and Mia wants a battle between him and Sex.
And on that note Nigel asks Sex onstage to see which bad dancer can out-bad dance the other.
The producers show footage of great boxing matches and them set up the Battle in Seattle- Leo versus Sex, aka Sex with Leo. That just sounds wrong. I think Leo is better from what I've seen of Sex, not that that is saying much seeing how bad Sex is.
Love the commercial for "Glee" with the kids calling themselves "Gleeks"!
And now the moment we've all been waiting for (well not really)- Leo versus Sex. I'd rather see if that Hawaiian guy made it through to Vegas. They do have an announcer calling the match like a boxing match. Sex wins Round 1 apparently. The second round is closer, and is called a draw after Sex hits the floor and Leo jumps in the air. Leo does a good double turn, while Sex comes back with the worm. Sex is pooped, so Leo wins Round Three. It is a draw, and the judges must pick a winner. Mia picks Leo, as does Mary. Nigel picks Sex, and gets arguments from the ladies. I do agree Leo did a much better job, especially with his twirls. I still think some of his moves are pretty decent, unlike Sex, who is just all around bad.
Nigel suggests Sex go to the choreography round!!! Really??? He does seem to think Sex will fail there, and he does it in hopes it will get Sex to stop auditioning every year. Well that actually does makes sense- maybe if he has some success he will give up. Then again success might encourage him to try even harder next season, and already he is comparing himself to Twitch, who apparently auditioned multiple times before making the top 20 last year.
All that's left is the choreography round. And unfortunately that is right when my TV basically dies. So I guess that is its way of saying my blog should end, though I'm hoping when I wake up tomorrow I'll find out that guy from Hawaii made it through to Vegas. He was one of my faves of the night, along with the Asian ballroom dancers, Sammy Ramirez, and Alexie. I also think Phillip is growing on me if he stops popping and does styles I actually like.
Thoughts on tonight's show? Anyone else think the tattoo artist should have gotten through? Post your comments below.
LA Auditions:
Love Cat getting down and dancing with the auditioners, even laying on the concrete sidewalk to see what it was like for those who slept on the floor all night...
Today's guest judge is Adam Shankman, aka the director of Hairspray! Woot I love that movie (and the show!)
Day 1:
The contestants get a surprise visit from last year's winner Joshua (fan of his) along with
fellow top 20 member Comfort (not a big fan of hers).
Bianca Revels: Another returning contestant who just missed out on the top 20 last year. Returnees have had good luck on this show so far. Her mother is also there for support. She does an a capella tap routine and every time the camera focused on her feet all I could think was "Wow her legs are skinny"! I don't love her somewhat stiff arms but the dancing itself was really good. All three judges give her a standing ovation and call her brilliant. Mary even says she is the best female tap dancer they've ever had. I didn't think she was that good but I haven't seen female tap dancers on this show before so I don't know how many they've had. She gets a ticket straight to Vegas.
Siblings Xavier and Brynelle Blanton- They go everywhere holding hands. That's kind of weird. There's also been a lot of siblings this year- is that always the case? Then they go out and do a very romantic routine that actually isn't horrible until you remember they are siblings, and then it is just gross. I do think Xavier was significantly better than his sister. They do mess up their lifts at the end though. The judges think it is strange and shows a lack of technique. Xavier is happy this competition brought him and his sister closer together. Nigel even says Brynelle dances like she is four even though she has been dancing since she was four. They are sent home even though I think Xavier has potential.
Debra Lawson dances badly in slow motion, then speeds up and gets worse, running around the stage like a mother looking for a lost child. Nigel says she must learn what works for her larger body. Debra is also Jewish, yet if she dances on Saturdays or in front of men she is breaking Judaism rules. Good for her for going for her dreams no matter what. Adam says she should not give up dancing since she loves it, but stresses she is not good enough to do it professionally (that's for sure). She seems like a sweet woman as she is sent home.
Suzanne Fernandez dresses like Britney and does a "fairy medicine dance". Nigel wonders what she is on. John Fleming dresses like KISS and tries (and fails) to dance to heavy metal. Michael Han hops on one leg and copies Rihanna's "Umbrella" routine. All were sent packing.
Calico Sequeira- Swing dancer in her last year of eligibility for the show. She is okay but her male partner is better. The judges find her enjoyable but only good at a social dance level, not at a professional level, which is fair. She too is sent on her way. Rough night so far.
Adam then says he would love to dance with Calico, so she invites him on stage. He even gets a label on the screen listing his name, age (21ish!!!) and hometown like the contestants get! Awesome! The music is slow at first and then speeds up. Adam has some moves (and gets a standing ovation from the judges!)
It gets better as Adam steps up to be "judged" by Joshua, Katee, Comfort and a girl I don't recognize from last season. Katee asks how much he wants it and Adam says he has wanted it bad for ten minutes! Adam reminds Joshua he put him through last year, which is all Joshua needs to give Adam a ticket to Vegas! That was hilarious! He even comes out of the audition room screaming and crying for joy like the other contestants who get through.
More returnees: Asuka Kondoh and Ricky Sun -International Latin ballroom dancers. Asuka made it to the last round before the top 20 last year (there's a lot of that going around tonight). They do a routine to "Mercy" by Duffy and they are really good. My favorites so far tonight, though it is still early. The dance started out a bit slow but then really picked up. I actually liked Ricky a bit better than Asuka. Nigel doesn't remember Ricky being that good last year, and notes Asuka is a great performer as well. Mary agrees, though Adam says he could not keep his eyes off Asuka. Both get tickets to Vegas! I hope to see more from them since they were both impressive.
Montage of great dancers who we don't get names for. One girl dances with a scarf, another in a white tutu. They sandwiched a guy who was really good as well.
Nathan Trasoras- He quit dancing in eighth grade since people always made fun of him. His brother told him to keep going and now four years later he is on this show. I don't love his choreography but he definitely has skills. One move gets a cheer from the crowd though it doesn't seem that impressive to me. The rest of his dance was really good though. Adam calls him bleeping impressive, and Mary agrees. Nigel loves his spins and centers. Unfortunately he is only 17 and thus too young for the show (apparently you must be 18 to audition). But Nigel gives him a ticket to Vegas for NEXT year, and he promises to come back. I don't know why he even bothered to audition if he was too young though. I'm also surprised the age limit is so high since on Idol you can audition when you are only 16.
24 dancers got through on Day 1- that's a pretty good number. No clips of the choreography since we didn't see anyone who got sent there.
Day 2:
Sammy Ramirez- A former wrestler with Allison Iraheta red hair. Now he's a locker who was taught by a dancer named Junior who went to jail for gang violence. The other thing I learned watching this show last season is that I'm not a big fan of the style of popping, but I have to admit this guy is pretty good. He's even kind of entertaining, though he spends a bit too much time moving his shoulders and not enough moving his legs or arms. The judges love him but fear he may only know this style. Nigel has Sammy show off his hair choreography, where he literally moves his hair. That's kind of cool. He is sent to choreography to see if he can learn other styles.
Stacey House does a super fast routine but she actually has some skill in there. She does a weird thing patting her head that is just annoying. I get tired just watching her! The judges thought it was too crazy and send her home. I thought she had some potential but what do I know.
Amanda Kerby- Her dad has MS but has been symptom-free for six years after barely being able to move a few years before that. She dances to a pretty song I don't know and does some impressive turns though the routine was a bit repetitive and it seemed like something was missing. Nigel agrees something was missing but still liked it. Mary loved it even more. Adam says the dance didn't fit the song, which I also agree with. She is sent right to Vegas.
Next up we are re-introduced to Philip, a dancer who made it to Vegas last year but got pneumonia and couldn't go. The judges spot him as he warms up and send him right through to Vegas without an audition. That was nice of them, though it does seem a bit unfair since other returnees had to audition once again this year. We only get to see a glimpse of his audition from last year but it looked pretty impressive.
This year Phillip has a partner, a girl named Arielle Coker who goes to his school. She was in a really bad car accident with her parents. She and her father had relatively minor injuries but her mother broke her leg and neck, among other things. Phillip drove Ariel to the hospital and cheered her up during that time. Aww such a sweetie! She taught him how to partner dance while she was in a wheelchair. That's pretty impressive. They dance together for her audition. The choreography is great and both of them are talented, though I think I like Phillip better. The routine also had a few too many lifts in it and not enough dancing. The judges had trouble taking their eyes off of Phillip but thought she was good as well. She is sent to Vegas after a fake-out from the judges, and she jumps right into his arms.
Alexie Agdeppa dances a routine to a version of "To Make You Feel My Love" sadly not done by Kris Allen. Despite that she does a great job, one of my favorites so far. Diana Vaden also dances well though the electronic soundtrack distracts me from her actual dance. Chanel Smith dances to "Then You Look at Me", another great song, and is another one of my favorites so far despite her weak choreography. All are sent to choreography.
Kevin Cormier- His nickname is "Shakiro" because of his hip shaking, not his looks. He promises something the judges have never seen before. That usually means bad dancing is coming, but he is actually not horrible at the belly dancing. There is not much else in his routine though. He's no Shakira, but he's better than I thought he would be. They say that his audition was just shaking and no dancing, which is true, and they send him home.
All that is left is the choreography round, where we see some of the others from earlier in the episode. Chanel lost her spark from her first audition and is sent home. Too bad I really liked her. She seems devastated by the news. Sammy is up next- I thought he looked great in the clip of his choreography, and the judges agree, sending him through along with Alexie and Diana.
Seattle Day 1: It's raining, of course. Maybe people can use umbrellas for props like that guy last week did.
Wow this is the last audition city- that was fast! Why doesn't Idol have only two days of auditions?? Mia is serving as the guest judge, and I realized last season I don't love her choreography but oh well.
Christopher Keller- He does mix of tangos and swing that will mix gender roles. If the judges didn't like the male partner dancers last week I doubt they'll like this. His partner is his friend from school who is not auditioning so she can stay in school. He gives an odd smirk to the judges as he starts. Then they dance like two drunk high schoolers at prom. There was lots of stiffness and stomping. The judges can't stop laughing before Nigel puts an end to his misery and stops them. Chris says it felt rough since he only had a week to prep. That doesn't surprise me. Again they get the "social dancer" card and are sent off.
Nick "Nasty" Salzman- An aspiring tattoo artist who looks like a wrestler with the muscles and huge tattoos and big earrings. He starts out kind of slow but then starts doing some madly impressive breakdancing/hip ho, complete with a flip. I don't know if his dancing quite matches the music but he certainly has a lot of talent. And of course as soon as I write that he messes up the roll-on-the-head part and stops. He said he wanted to come out and do something different and is happy with what he did. Nigel is offended by that, though I'm not quite sure why. Mary is so offended she switches her vote from a yes to a no!!! All three vote no!!! I thought he was great and should have gotten to do choreography at least! I don't get why what he said was so offensive. Other contestants said the same thing and the judges weren't offended. Though I agree if he can't last through a two minute routine he will have issues on this show. He did say the two ladies were nicer, but that isn't exactly breaking news. And it's no worse than what Idol contestants say to Simon.
Dmitrious Bistrevsky- Over six feet tall. Thought he was a good dancer until he saw himself on tape a week before his audition. I think his instincts were right as he tries and fails to breakdance to a hard rock song. If they didn't send Nick through they better not send him through. He's only been breakdancing three months, and it shows. Mary is scared for his safety. Mia thought the music was killing him, which leads to a cursing match among the judges. He is sent home.
The judges are so bored they are falling asleep during the dances, only to be woken up when one guy falls hard to the ground during his routine. They start being cranky towards the contestants, causing them to cry. Many of them are apparently not showing a lot of passion in their movements, causing Nigel and Mary to yell at those waiting to perform.
Next up after this tirade is Kelsea Taylor, who is begged by Nigel to be good. She is not the best so far tonight but she certainly is the best in the weak Seattle crop that we've seen. Nigel says she fits Sonja's style, which is very true. Then again I don't like Sonja's style which is probably why I didn't love it. The judges like her zany, new style and ask her to do choreography.
There she joins 23 others. Wow no dancers were shown getting tickets right to Vegas. Seattle must have as little dance talent as it has singing talent (at least according to Simon Cowell, who a few years ago called Seattle the worst audition city for Idol of the season, even with Jordin and Blake auditioning there). Kelsea loses some of her spark in her choreography but did a decent enough job to go through to Vegas. Only three other dancers from Day 1 join her. They weren't kidding about the lack of talent in Seattle.
Day 2:
Nigel tells this new crop of dancers to bring it after yesterday's disappointing showing.
-Kuponohi'ipoi Aweau- A Hawaiian dancer whose name is impossible to pronounce or spell. However we may be hearing his name a lot since his solo is one of my favorites so far. It comes complete with a chair and reminds me of some of the dances from the top 20 last year. Mary loved parts of it but thought it was too feminine. Really I didn't see that at all. He gets the comparisons to Mark from last year, which is odd since I didn't like Mark but I liked him. The judges give him a chance to do choreography. I wanted a ticket straight to Vegas for him but hopefully he will impress later on.
The day is off to a better start, with a girl getting invited to choreography and a very impressive guy in a white sweatshirt getting the same. So does another Asian guy. This gets the judges all happy.
But that will change with the return of a guy called "Sex". All I know about him is that he auditioned last year and was told never to do so again. That can't be a good thing. But he's back. His real name is David Soller, and he is a horrible breakdancer who I think is too old for this competition anyway. Nigel did tell him not to come back but that didn't stop him.
Meanwhile we meet Leonid Knyshov- a Ukranian who does grief counseling for a living. I can't really understand much of what he says though with his accent. He does a fast routine like Stacey House earlier in the episode. Then again since they hated her they'll probably hate this too even though I don't think it's that bad. As he slows down though he shows his poor technique more though. It reminded me of someone playing DDR. Leo claims it has elements of jive, though I couldn't see that and neither can the judges. Nigel says it was like it was at a rave party, which actually kind of makes sense. Mary says it was like little kids twirling around, and Mia wants a battle between him and Sex.
And on that note Nigel asks Sex onstage to see which bad dancer can out-bad dance the other.
The producers show footage of great boxing matches and them set up the Battle in Seattle- Leo versus Sex, aka Sex with Leo. That just sounds wrong. I think Leo is better from what I've seen of Sex, not that that is saying much seeing how bad Sex is.
Love the commercial for "Glee" with the kids calling themselves "Gleeks"!
And now the moment we've all been waiting for (well not really)- Leo versus Sex. I'd rather see if that Hawaiian guy made it through to Vegas. They do have an announcer calling the match like a boxing match. Sex wins Round 1 apparently. The second round is closer, and is called a draw after Sex hits the floor and Leo jumps in the air. Leo does a good double turn, while Sex comes back with the worm. Sex is pooped, so Leo wins Round Three. It is a draw, and the judges must pick a winner. Mia picks Leo, as does Mary. Nigel picks Sex, and gets arguments from the ladies. I do agree Leo did a much better job, especially with his twirls. I still think some of his moves are pretty decent, unlike Sex, who is just all around bad.
Nigel suggests Sex go to the choreography round!!! Really??? He does seem to think Sex will fail there, and he does it in hopes it will get Sex to stop auditioning every year. Well that actually does makes sense- maybe if he has some success he will give up. Then again success might encourage him to try even harder next season, and already he is comparing himself to Twitch, who apparently auditioned multiple times before making the top 20 last year.
All that's left is the choreography round. And unfortunately that is right when my TV basically dies. So I guess that is its way of saying my blog should end, though I'm hoping when I wake up tomorrow I'll find out that guy from Hawaii made it through to Vegas. He was one of my faves of the night, along with the Asian ballroom dancers, Sammy Ramirez, and Alexie. I also think Phillip is growing on me if he stops popping and does styles I actually like.
Thoughts on tonight's show? Anyone else think the tattoo artist should have gotten through? Post your comments below.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
SYTYCD Recap Episode 2
Hey all so I've decided this week to start quasi live-blogging my favorite summer reality shows, starting with So You Think You Can Dance. I also hope to do America's Got Talent and Hell's Kitchen once they get started up. As for last week's show, my early favorites were the tap dancer guy, the Japanese guy, the African-American girl (Arielle?) who was cut early during Vegas week a few years ago, and Brandon, the last guy cut from the top 20 last year. I did think Natalie, the last girl cut before the top 20 last year, was overrated, but then again I didn't see her last year since last season was my first time watching the show and I only watched from the top 20 on. Anyway on to Wednesday night's show...
Miami Auditions Day 1:
Yeah for the show's producers playing "Right Round" in the background during the introduction to Miami- that song is so catchy. Thought it is a bit weird that my 60 year old father has it on his iPod...
The guest judge for this round is Tyce Diorio. I do find this rotating third judge thing a bit weird since I'm used to the typical three judge mainstay on Dancing with the Stars and American Idol (until this year of course) but it is nice that they have experts on different styles of dance.
Tony Riendeau- He claims to have his unique "Tony" style where he moves like a rubber band. This could be really good or really bad. I'm guessing the latter. He's dancing to Footloose, which makes him cool in my book. Though I should put "dancing" in quotes- he's mostly just jogging in place and then doing a few sloppy breakdancing moves. And then he falls down trying to do a cartwheel (I think). Thankfully the judges don't like it either. Tyce calls him "flush it like a public toilet bad", whatever that means. Then he calls it "baahahahaaad". Nigel would have put him through to the choreography but the other two thankfully pass.
After his audition Tony starts feeling faint and asks for a medic. Yet as the show reminds us, during his pre-audition package he said he could go for hours and not get tired. I do hope he's okay though...
Priscilla Marrero- She claims to have been raised on rice and beans. Well whatever she was raised on it worked as she comes out with an impressive routine. The choice of music was weird though and kind of distracting. But she did show great toe-pointing (sorry for the lack of technical terms) and good choreography. She apparently was injured when she was a teen but never gave up. Sympathy points! Nigel loves her lines, Mary says she is captivating, and Tyce says she makes him happy to be a dancer. She gets a ticket straight to Vegas. Not one of my absolute favorites, but good enough to go to Vegas for sure.
Meanwhile Tony is still seeing the medic. To be continued...
After the break we find out he has eaten a banana and drank some water so he is now fine and dandy.
Next up are two more Season 4 returnees- Janette Manrara and Romulo Villaverde. Only Janette made it through to Vegas last season and she was cut before the top 20. It seems like this show gets a lot of repeat auditioners- moreso than on Idol. They have added a backflip lift to their act this time around. They dance a ballroom routine (a salsa) and are pretty good, especially with their lifts. Nigel says it was nice to see some salsa, Mary gives her patented scream, Tyce loved their lifts. They also get through to Vegas. I think that was well-deserved- they remind me of the pros on Dancing with the Stars, though I wonder how they'll do with other styles. Especially since Romulo's celebratory break dance looked like Tony style more than breakdancing....
The Guadix twins- Jennifer and Jessica. They claim to love all kinds of dancing. They do a routine that starts with them sitting and sliding across the floor and then look like drunk girls dancing at a hip hop party. I thought this show focused more on good auditions than Idol does but I guess I was wrong. I read on other blogs last week that the premiere episode had fewer bad acts than usual but I was hoping they were wrong. I guess not. They claimed they only had one day to practice. Nigel wonders why they did not dance in unison and one twin claims they were supposed to be. The key phrase being "supposed to be", as Tyce points out. Is it just me or does he seem Simon Cowell-esque obnoxious tonight? Or maybe he's always like this. Mary says she's never seen anything like that before. Tyce says it was fun yet tragic. Needless to say, they are sent home.
Speaking of Tyce, more shots of him being obnoxious to bad dancers. He calls one dancer a milkshake full of Tylenol. Another one makes him want to call the dance police, and another he compares to Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (and not in a good way). Okay he definitely is the Simon Cowell of this panel.
Joseph Smith- Claims he will "Schwamm" the judges, and I'm still not sure what that means even after he explains it. I'm not sure if he did that but he did do a very impressive hip hop routine, complete with a split. My favorite of the night so far. Nigel enjoyed it, and Joseph claims he will give a big "Schwamm" once he catches his breath. Mary says he is a great entertainer, but Tyce was only half impressed. They send him to choreography, which disappoints me a bit but I guess his routine was so comedy filled they needed to see if he could do more actual dance, which is fair. He does well with the choreography, at least to my eye. And the judges agree, sending him to Vegas. Good for him. The "Schwamm" is getting really annoying though.
18 dancers get through from the first day in Miami, which I think is a decent number though less than the number that got through NYC on Day 1.
Haha one girl dropped her ticket while celebrating and had to chase after it. I always wondered if those tickets were real or just souvenirs....
Miami Day 2:
Wislande Letang- She feels like she ate a bowl of butterflies before her audition, and during it she just looks like a bad dancer in a rap video. Her movements are ten times slower than the music playing, and her breasts are hanging out under her very short shirt. Mary says it was a dance for Nigel, Nigel says there was no personality in the dance. I think that was the least of her problems. He says it was full of basic step-ball-change moves done by little girls when they first learn to dance. Tyce points out how she shows her crotch during the dance, which is a big no-no as well. She tries to argue back but doesn't make any progress and she is sent home.
Montage of sad rejections, and Nigel crushing dreams, telling mediocre dancers they should consider other careers. Harsh, but someone had to tell them the truth.
Eric "Silky" Moore- A tapper who has done tap and hip hop since he was 10. He wants to bring tap back into the mainstream. He starts out with a cool hip hop slide and then goes right into some fast, smooth tap dancing to "Thriller". He even adds a moonwalk for good measure. Another one of my favorites so far. He then adds some hip hop at the end and he's just as good at that. He even does the worm! Nigel loved the hip hop especially and says he threw everything into that solo. Mary says she didn't want it to end and agrees it was one of the best today. Tyce says he came prepared, whatever that means. Eric explains he got his nickname because he was silky smooth at a dance battle. Then he says he starting tapping to get girls. This guy is awesome! And he gets a ticket right to Vegas! Wow I thought they might make him do choreography but I'm pleasantly surprised they didn't.
Paris Torres- Won a Miss Washington pageant and claims the girls there are actually nice. She comes out and does a pretty routine to a slowed down version of "Toxic". What's with the weird song choices today? It doesn't matter though because she was still really good. Nigel thought it was fabulous and she kept him interested. Mary calls it beautiful and says it was everything they are looking for. Tyce says she focuses too much on her legs and feet- he really is a party pooper. Tyce wants her to do choreography but the others overrule her and send her right to Vegas. She was the best female dancer so far tonight though I wasn't as enthused as Mary and Nigel.
Next up is a montage of dancers who got to Vegas. Henry Rivero does a great contemporary routine. Megan Kinney also impresses, though she does a bit too many handstands/cartwheels and not enough dancing for me in her short clip. Alex Wong is also pretty good- not my favorite, but he does have great lines as Tyce says.
Geo Smith- African dancer complete with headdress. He jumps off the stage and rushes the judges before coming back on and dancing some more. He actually isn't bad. I would send him to choreography to see what else he can do. The judges agree and send him off.
Talia Rickards- married when she was 18 and hasn't auditioned in two years. She was married for four years until her husband crashed his motorcycle one night and died. Wow I though she was going to say they got divorced but this is so sad. She learned not to take life for granted anymore. She does a sexy hip-hop routine that is a bit belly-dancerish for me but still really good. Also hated the music but what can you do. Nigel warns her not to scrunch up her face too much and says there wasn't enough material. Mary likes her fire but agrees on the lack of substance. Tyce says she was one with the music but says there was little hip hop and all energy, which is all fair. Tyce rejects her outright, but Mary says she wants her doing choreography. It's up to Nigel. I'm rooting for her, so I hope he says yes. He says "I'm sorry.... to have to disagree with Tyce!" Oh Nigel, you've been watching Simon Cowell too much!
On to the choreography round, where I thought both Geo and Talia were good but I don't know how to judge them. Geo does get through to Vegas, as does Talia! Good for her, she seems to have potential to be really good.
In all 32 dancers from Miami are off to Vegas... Now it's off to Memphis.
Joining Mary and Nigel is Lil C, a krump legend. All I know about krump from last season is that I hate that style. I do like hip hop though so he won't be too bad, hopefully. He can't be any worse than Tye.
Marico Flake- A local police officer. He claims he does a Memphis Juking? style, which is based on a rhythmic bounce, whatever that means. Based on his audition, it means bouncing in place a lot and doing some hip hop in between. Not really my style but I'm sure some will love it. I do wonder why the song he picked has a lyric saying "He was black not Jewish"- that's kind of random. Nigel enjoys it, as I figured. Lil C says it was just juking, with no fusion of other styles with great humor as well. Mary loves it as well, especially his performance value. They send him straight to Vegas. I have a feeling he'll be really popular even though I don't like that style of dance.
Dustin Dorough- His mother has been a cop for years and taught him how to be a man. Okay.... He is Howie Dorough's cousin from the Backstreet Boys! Wow that's awesome! I have a feeling he will be bad but he gets bonus points for bringing me back to my teen years with that reference. He even learned all Howie's moves for school dances, but that made him unpopular! More bonus points for actually dancing to a good song ("Poker Face"). Unfortunately he isn't good at anything else, from the poor dancing to the goofy grin on his face the whole time. I can't even tell if he is trying to do BSB moves or not. Nigel says that the hip hop community would be insulted by that dance. Dustin claims he had to cut out all his power moves because he just had the flu and bronchitis. This isn't Idol, dude- just because you have bronchitis doesn't mean you can't do power dance moves (not that his would be that good anyway). He claims he will come back next year. Mary wonders why he looked feminine with his moves and that it was too martial arts. Lil C says he should try "tricking" which is more a fusion of martial arts. That's good advice, I like him better than Tye already. And love the BSB music as he walks out of the auditions!
Christopher Carrozzaa- Another guy with his own unique style, which he calls electric. There's a lot of those tonight, aren't there? He basically blends a bunch of styles together and makes a new blend. Mostly he just jumps around and moves his arms over his head. It has a bit of a Bollywood feel to it but not really. Nigel says the choreography doesn't show if he's a dancer, which is true. Mary agrees with me that all he did was jump. Chris just seems happy to share his dancing with the world and had figured he wouldn't get through. Chris starts to walk off without hearing Lil C's criticism. Nigel thinks he is being rude, and Chris says Nigel is being rude for being critical. But that's their job, Christopher!!! Nigel must have read my mind since he says the same thing back to Chris. Chris says he had a good time and that's all that matters and he walks off again without hearing Lil C.
Next up is SYTYCD's Guide to a Good Audition. Why do I have a feeling this will be a montage of bad auditions with Cat saying this is what NOT to do.
1)Start with your best move. And sure enough we get montages of people falling down trying to do big moves.
2)Come dressed to impress. One guy rips off his shirt, another lookks like a goth, and a third wears his number on his arm, reminding Nigel of dancing Nazis. Okay some of the dancers in this group were dressed weirdly, but what's so bad about a number on the arm? I didn't even notice it until Nigel pointed it out.
3) Connect with the judges. Shots of contestants trying to dance to the judges and just looking like fools. Crotch-shower Wislande gets a second appearance.
4) Always follow directions. Apparently there are rules for the dancers to follow for their solos that Nigel gives them before hand- no lipsyncing the words to the songs (that should be a rule on DWTS too!), no dancing on the back of the stage, and don't look down during the dance. Yet dancers break these rules and are send home as result. One guy is told by Nigel to come closer to the judges when he dances, so he runs forward and falls off the stage and flat on the floor. Ouch that had to hurt! That clip was in the previews too and it still makes me cringe. Mia is the third judge in the clip, so it must be from a city we haven't seen yet.
Caitlin Kinney- Her sister was Megan Kinney, who auditioned in Miami, yet we only saw her briefly doing lots of cartwheels. Megan is better in the short clip they show while Cat interviews Caitlin. Caitlin is good as well but I like her sister better. Her sister has more energy, which makes her routine more entertaining. She's only been dancing five years, but Nigel says she is superb, and the camera loves her. Caitlin even had hip reconstruction surgery, which makes her dancing even more impressive, as Mary points out. Lil C says it was lovely to watch. They send her right to Vegas, and since her sister was not featured I guess she will make it further than Megan. I think it's just my personal taste that makes me like Megan better.
Six more dancers get through in the choreography round on Day 1, none of whom we get to see actually dance.
Day 2:
Anna Dunn- Her father killed himself about a year ago. Dancing is her outlet for coping with the pain. Sympathy votes! Hopefully she is better at dancing than fellow sob-story reality show contestant Danny Gokey at singing. She is, as you can see the passion as she moves around the stage. She picked a beautiful song to choreograph her routine too and she rolls around the floor like her life depended on it. She is my favorite from the Memphis auditions so far. Nigel says she overchoreographed by moving her head too much, which I did notice, especially early in the routine. Mary agrees that she loved everything except the head movement. Apparently Lil C's father committed suicide as well, and he tells her to use dance to ease the pain. Aw he made her cry.... They send her to choreography so they can see what her face looks like while she dances. Hmm I would have sent her right to Vegas but it seems like they really liked her from their comments, and just her poor choreography held her back. I think she'll get through.
Travis Prokop - From a small New Mexico town where his father is a football coach. Travis was made fun of for being a dancer and not a football player, yet his dad was always supportive and proud of him no matter what. He has potential but is a bit lazy with his moves. His arms don't go up all the way and the movements are just a bit slow. Nigel says he needs strength in his movements. Mary agrees he has a great future but he needs to be stronger. Lil C says he is graceful but has the strength of a hamster. Maybe that was what I noticed when I said he looked lazy in his movements. They tell him to stay for choreography, which surprises me based on their comments. I'm glad he's getting a second chance though.
Brothers Evan and Ryan Kasprzak Evan auditioned last year with a jazz routine and made it to the top 40. This time he has a Gene Kelly-like routine planned. I heard someone on a blog say there was a Gene Kelly-esque dancer on the show this year, so I wonder if this is him. Ryan is doing a more fun routine with a whoopie cushion accompaniment. That actually sounds pretty funny. Apparently choreographs all of Evan's routines. Evan is first and his style is very theatrical, which I guess could be a good thing for this show. He is very talented though, just again not really my taste. He ends with a cool backflip, and his brother claps in approval. Nigel hopes the other dancers in the building notice the great choreography, since that is what made it so great. Mary worries that solo wouldn't get a lot of public support, since viewers won't see how great of a dancer he is. I can see he's a great dancer, just too theatrical. Nigel worries about the other styles. Lil C calls it amazing but also worries about him doing other styles. But they still send him right through to Vegas. The question will be how long he will last there.
Before we see Ryan we see two sisters, Lauren and Lydia Guerra. They are dancing together- hopefully they are better than the other twins we saw before. And wow are they! They are in unison doing a contemporary routine and while I like Lydia better, both are very talented. They are two of my favorites so far. Nigel says Lydia was the better dancer but Lauren the better performer. He calls them a joy to watch. Mary says they have great technique and are solid. Lil C says they are different in how they dance but both are great. They both are sent to choreography. What is with all my favorites in this round going to choreography.
Now it is Ryan's turn. I thought his routine would be all fun but it actually is really good. He taps around the whoopie cushion, occasionally stepping on it for humor. At one point he starts to step on it but then shakes his head and keeps going! He is not as good a dancer as his brother but to me he is more entertaining. Nigel says it is a lot of fun and asks him what else he can do. He says he taught Evan what he knows and also has done other styles of dance. Mary thinks it is clever and pure entertainment. Lil C says he used his prop well. Nigel wants him to do choreography, but Mary and Lil C send him right to Vegas! I knew I liked Lil C!!
All that's left is the choreography round. I hope Anna and the twins get through. Twin Lauren is sent to Vegas, as does Anna (yeah!!!). Travis is surprisingly sent to Vegas since he improved with the choreography. The last one left is Lydia. Nigel teases her a bit saying he hates splitting up family. Then all we see is Lydia bursting through the door with a ticket in her hand! Double yeah!!!
15 Dancers in all get through from Day 2 at Memphis.
So while they were more clunkers tonight there were some standouts as well. My favorites were Joseph Smith, Eric "Silky" Moore, Megan Kinney (in what little glimpse we saw of her), Ryan the whoopie cushion dancer, twins Lauren and Lydia, and Anna Dunn.
Any thoughts on tonight's show? Feel free to post your comments below.
Miami Auditions Day 1:
Yeah for the show's producers playing "Right Round" in the background during the introduction to Miami- that song is so catchy. Thought it is a bit weird that my 60 year old father has it on his iPod...
The guest judge for this round is Tyce Diorio. I do find this rotating third judge thing a bit weird since I'm used to the typical three judge mainstay on Dancing with the Stars and American Idol (until this year of course) but it is nice that they have experts on different styles of dance.
Tony Riendeau- He claims to have his unique "Tony" style where he moves like a rubber band. This could be really good or really bad. I'm guessing the latter. He's dancing to Footloose, which makes him cool in my book. Though I should put "dancing" in quotes- he's mostly just jogging in place and then doing a few sloppy breakdancing moves. And then he falls down trying to do a cartwheel (I think). Thankfully the judges don't like it either. Tyce calls him "flush it like a public toilet bad", whatever that means. Then he calls it "baahahahaaad". Nigel would have put him through to the choreography but the other two thankfully pass.
After his audition Tony starts feeling faint and asks for a medic. Yet as the show reminds us, during his pre-audition package he said he could go for hours and not get tired. I do hope he's okay though...
Priscilla Marrero- She claims to have been raised on rice and beans. Well whatever she was raised on it worked as she comes out with an impressive routine. The choice of music was weird though and kind of distracting. But she did show great toe-pointing (sorry for the lack of technical terms) and good choreography. She apparently was injured when she was a teen but never gave up. Sympathy points! Nigel loves her lines, Mary says she is captivating, and Tyce says she makes him happy to be a dancer. She gets a ticket straight to Vegas. Not one of my absolute favorites, but good enough to go to Vegas for sure.
Meanwhile Tony is still seeing the medic. To be continued...
After the break we find out he has eaten a banana and drank some water so he is now fine and dandy.
Next up are two more Season 4 returnees- Janette Manrara and Romulo Villaverde. Only Janette made it through to Vegas last season and she was cut before the top 20. It seems like this show gets a lot of repeat auditioners- moreso than on Idol. They have added a backflip lift to their act this time around. They dance a ballroom routine (a salsa) and are pretty good, especially with their lifts. Nigel says it was nice to see some salsa, Mary gives her patented scream, Tyce loved their lifts. They also get through to Vegas. I think that was well-deserved- they remind me of the pros on Dancing with the Stars, though I wonder how they'll do with other styles. Especially since Romulo's celebratory break dance looked like Tony style more than breakdancing....
The Guadix twins- Jennifer and Jessica. They claim to love all kinds of dancing. They do a routine that starts with them sitting and sliding across the floor and then look like drunk girls dancing at a hip hop party. I thought this show focused more on good auditions than Idol does but I guess I was wrong. I read on other blogs last week that the premiere episode had fewer bad acts than usual but I was hoping they were wrong. I guess not. They claimed they only had one day to practice. Nigel wonders why they did not dance in unison and one twin claims they were supposed to be. The key phrase being "supposed to be", as Tyce points out. Is it just me or does he seem Simon Cowell-esque obnoxious tonight? Or maybe he's always like this. Mary says she's never seen anything like that before. Tyce says it was fun yet tragic. Needless to say, they are sent home.
Speaking of Tyce, more shots of him being obnoxious to bad dancers. He calls one dancer a milkshake full of Tylenol. Another one makes him want to call the dance police, and another he compares to Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz (and not in a good way). Okay he definitely is the Simon Cowell of this panel.
Joseph Smith- Claims he will "Schwamm" the judges, and I'm still not sure what that means even after he explains it. I'm not sure if he did that but he did do a very impressive hip hop routine, complete with a split. My favorite of the night so far. Nigel enjoyed it, and Joseph claims he will give a big "Schwamm" once he catches his breath. Mary says he is a great entertainer, but Tyce was only half impressed. They send him to choreography, which disappoints me a bit but I guess his routine was so comedy filled they needed to see if he could do more actual dance, which is fair. He does well with the choreography, at least to my eye. And the judges agree, sending him to Vegas. Good for him. The "Schwamm" is getting really annoying though.
18 dancers get through from the first day in Miami, which I think is a decent number though less than the number that got through NYC on Day 1.
Haha one girl dropped her ticket while celebrating and had to chase after it. I always wondered if those tickets were real or just souvenirs....
Miami Day 2:
Wislande Letang- She feels like she ate a bowl of butterflies before her audition, and during it she just looks like a bad dancer in a rap video. Her movements are ten times slower than the music playing, and her breasts are hanging out under her very short shirt. Mary says it was a dance for Nigel, Nigel says there was no personality in the dance. I think that was the least of her problems. He says it was full of basic step-ball-change moves done by little girls when they first learn to dance. Tyce points out how she shows her crotch during the dance, which is a big no-no as well. She tries to argue back but doesn't make any progress and she is sent home.
Montage of sad rejections, and Nigel crushing dreams, telling mediocre dancers they should consider other careers. Harsh, but someone had to tell them the truth.
Eric "Silky" Moore- A tapper who has done tap and hip hop since he was 10. He wants to bring tap back into the mainstream. He starts out with a cool hip hop slide and then goes right into some fast, smooth tap dancing to "Thriller". He even adds a moonwalk for good measure. Another one of my favorites so far. He then adds some hip hop at the end and he's just as good at that. He even does the worm! Nigel loved the hip hop especially and says he threw everything into that solo. Mary says she didn't want it to end and agrees it was one of the best today. Tyce says he came prepared, whatever that means. Eric explains he got his nickname because he was silky smooth at a dance battle. Then he says he starting tapping to get girls. This guy is awesome! And he gets a ticket right to Vegas! Wow I thought they might make him do choreography but I'm pleasantly surprised they didn't.
Paris Torres- Won a Miss Washington pageant and claims the girls there are actually nice. She comes out and does a pretty routine to a slowed down version of "Toxic". What's with the weird song choices today? It doesn't matter though because she was still really good. Nigel thought it was fabulous and she kept him interested. Mary calls it beautiful and says it was everything they are looking for. Tyce says she focuses too much on her legs and feet- he really is a party pooper. Tyce wants her to do choreography but the others overrule her and send her right to Vegas. She was the best female dancer so far tonight though I wasn't as enthused as Mary and Nigel.
Next up is a montage of dancers who got to Vegas. Henry Rivero does a great contemporary routine. Megan Kinney also impresses, though she does a bit too many handstands/cartwheels and not enough dancing for me in her short clip. Alex Wong is also pretty good- not my favorite, but he does have great lines as Tyce says.
Geo Smith- African dancer complete with headdress. He jumps off the stage and rushes the judges before coming back on and dancing some more. He actually isn't bad. I would send him to choreography to see what else he can do. The judges agree and send him off.
Talia Rickards- married when she was 18 and hasn't auditioned in two years. She was married for four years until her husband crashed his motorcycle one night and died. Wow I though she was going to say they got divorced but this is so sad. She learned not to take life for granted anymore. She does a sexy hip-hop routine that is a bit belly-dancerish for me but still really good. Also hated the music but what can you do. Nigel warns her not to scrunch up her face too much and says there wasn't enough material. Mary likes her fire but agrees on the lack of substance. Tyce says she was one with the music but says there was little hip hop and all energy, which is all fair. Tyce rejects her outright, but Mary says she wants her doing choreography. It's up to Nigel. I'm rooting for her, so I hope he says yes. He says "I'm sorry.... to have to disagree with Tyce!" Oh Nigel, you've been watching Simon Cowell too much!
On to the choreography round, where I thought both Geo and Talia were good but I don't know how to judge them. Geo does get through to Vegas, as does Talia! Good for her, she seems to have potential to be really good.
In all 32 dancers from Miami are off to Vegas... Now it's off to Memphis.
Joining Mary and Nigel is Lil C, a krump legend. All I know about krump from last season is that I hate that style. I do like hip hop though so he won't be too bad, hopefully. He can't be any worse than Tye.
Marico Flake- A local police officer. He claims he does a Memphis Juking? style, which is based on a rhythmic bounce, whatever that means. Based on his audition, it means bouncing in place a lot and doing some hip hop in between. Not really my style but I'm sure some will love it. I do wonder why the song he picked has a lyric saying "He was black not Jewish"- that's kind of random. Nigel enjoys it, as I figured. Lil C says it was just juking, with no fusion of other styles with great humor as well. Mary loves it as well, especially his performance value. They send him straight to Vegas. I have a feeling he'll be really popular even though I don't like that style of dance.
Dustin Dorough- His mother has been a cop for years and taught him how to be a man. Okay.... He is Howie Dorough's cousin from the Backstreet Boys! Wow that's awesome! I have a feeling he will be bad but he gets bonus points for bringing me back to my teen years with that reference. He even learned all Howie's moves for school dances, but that made him unpopular! More bonus points for actually dancing to a good song ("Poker Face"). Unfortunately he isn't good at anything else, from the poor dancing to the goofy grin on his face the whole time. I can't even tell if he is trying to do BSB moves or not. Nigel says that the hip hop community would be insulted by that dance. Dustin claims he had to cut out all his power moves because he just had the flu and bronchitis. This isn't Idol, dude- just because you have bronchitis doesn't mean you can't do power dance moves (not that his would be that good anyway). He claims he will come back next year. Mary wonders why he looked feminine with his moves and that it was too martial arts. Lil C says he should try "tricking" which is more a fusion of martial arts. That's good advice, I like him better than Tye already. And love the BSB music as he walks out of the auditions!
Christopher Carrozzaa- Another guy with his own unique style, which he calls electric. There's a lot of those tonight, aren't there? He basically blends a bunch of styles together and makes a new blend. Mostly he just jumps around and moves his arms over his head. It has a bit of a Bollywood feel to it but not really. Nigel says the choreography doesn't show if he's a dancer, which is true. Mary agrees with me that all he did was jump. Chris just seems happy to share his dancing with the world and had figured he wouldn't get through. Chris starts to walk off without hearing Lil C's criticism. Nigel thinks he is being rude, and Chris says Nigel is being rude for being critical. But that's their job, Christopher!!! Nigel must have read my mind since he says the same thing back to Chris. Chris says he had a good time and that's all that matters and he walks off again without hearing Lil C.
Next up is SYTYCD's Guide to a Good Audition. Why do I have a feeling this will be a montage of bad auditions with Cat saying this is what NOT to do.
1)Start with your best move. And sure enough we get montages of people falling down trying to do big moves.
2)Come dressed to impress. One guy rips off his shirt, another lookks like a goth, and a third wears his number on his arm, reminding Nigel of dancing Nazis. Okay some of the dancers in this group were dressed weirdly, but what's so bad about a number on the arm? I didn't even notice it until Nigel pointed it out.
3) Connect with the judges. Shots of contestants trying to dance to the judges and just looking like fools. Crotch-shower Wislande gets a second appearance.
4) Always follow directions. Apparently there are rules for the dancers to follow for their solos that Nigel gives them before hand- no lipsyncing the words to the songs (that should be a rule on DWTS too!), no dancing on the back of the stage, and don't look down during the dance. Yet dancers break these rules and are send home as result. One guy is told by Nigel to come closer to the judges when he dances, so he runs forward and falls off the stage and flat on the floor. Ouch that had to hurt! That clip was in the previews too and it still makes me cringe. Mia is the third judge in the clip, so it must be from a city we haven't seen yet.
Caitlin Kinney- Her sister was Megan Kinney, who auditioned in Miami, yet we only saw her briefly doing lots of cartwheels. Megan is better in the short clip they show while Cat interviews Caitlin. Caitlin is good as well but I like her sister better. Her sister has more energy, which makes her routine more entertaining. She's only been dancing five years, but Nigel says she is superb, and the camera loves her. Caitlin even had hip reconstruction surgery, which makes her dancing even more impressive, as Mary points out. Lil C says it was lovely to watch. They send her right to Vegas, and since her sister was not featured I guess she will make it further than Megan. I think it's just my personal taste that makes me like Megan better.
Six more dancers get through in the choreography round on Day 1, none of whom we get to see actually dance.
Day 2:
Anna Dunn- Her father killed himself about a year ago. Dancing is her outlet for coping with the pain. Sympathy votes! Hopefully she is better at dancing than fellow sob-story reality show contestant Danny Gokey at singing. She is, as you can see the passion as she moves around the stage. She picked a beautiful song to choreograph her routine too and she rolls around the floor like her life depended on it. She is my favorite from the Memphis auditions so far. Nigel says she overchoreographed by moving her head too much, which I did notice, especially early in the routine. Mary agrees that she loved everything except the head movement. Apparently Lil C's father committed suicide as well, and he tells her to use dance to ease the pain. Aw he made her cry.... They send her to choreography so they can see what her face looks like while she dances. Hmm I would have sent her right to Vegas but it seems like they really liked her from their comments, and just her poor choreography held her back. I think she'll get through.
Travis Prokop - From a small New Mexico town where his father is a football coach. Travis was made fun of for being a dancer and not a football player, yet his dad was always supportive and proud of him no matter what. He has potential but is a bit lazy with his moves. His arms don't go up all the way and the movements are just a bit slow. Nigel says he needs strength in his movements. Mary agrees he has a great future but he needs to be stronger. Lil C says he is graceful but has the strength of a hamster. Maybe that was what I noticed when I said he looked lazy in his movements. They tell him to stay for choreography, which surprises me based on their comments. I'm glad he's getting a second chance though.
Brothers Evan and Ryan Kasprzak Evan auditioned last year with a jazz routine and made it to the top 40. This time he has a Gene Kelly-like routine planned. I heard someone on a blog say there was a Gene Kelly-esque dancer on the show this year, so I wonder if this is him. Ryan is doing a more fun routine with a whoopie cushion accompaniment. That actually sounds pretty funny. Apparently choreographs all of Evan's routines. Evan is first and his style is very theatrical, which I guess could be a good thing for this show. He is very talented though, just again not really my taste. He ends with a cool backflip, and his brother claps in approval. Nigel hopes the other dancers in the building notice the great choreography, since that is what made it so great. Mary worries that solo wouldn't get a lot of public support, since viewers won't see how great of a dancer he is. I can see he's a great dancer, just too theatrical. Nigel worries about the other styles. Lil C calls it amazing but also worries about him doing other styles. But they still send him right through to Vegas. The question will be how long he will last there.
Before we see Ryan we see two sisters, Lauren and Lydia Guerra. They are dancing together- hopefully they are better than the other twins we saw before. And wow are they! They are in unison doing a contemporary routine and while I like Lydia better, both are very talented. They are two of my favorites so far. Nigel says Lydia was the better dancer but Lauren the better performer. He calls them a joy to watch. Mary says they have great technique and are solid. Lil C says they are different in how they dance but both are great. They both are sent to choreography. What is with all my favorites in this round going to choreography.
Now it is Ryan's turn. I thought his routine would be all fun but it actually is really good. He taps around the whoopie cushion, occasionally stepping on it for humor. At one point he starts to step on it but then shakes his head and keeps going! He is not as good a dancer as his brother but to me he is more entertaining. Nigel says it is a lot of fun and asks him what else he can do. He says he taught Evan what he knows and also has done other styles of dance. Mary thinks it is clever and pure entertainment. Lil C says he used his prop well. Nigel wants him to do choreography, but Mary and Lil C send him right to Vegas! I knew I liked Lil C!!
All that's left is the choreography round. I hope Anna and the twins get through. Twin Lauren is sent to Vegas, as does Anna (yeah!!!). Travis is surprisingly sent to Vegas since he improved with the choreography. The last one left is Lydia. Nigel teases her a bit saying he hates splitting up family. Then all we see is Lydia bursting through the door with a ticket in her hand! Double yeah!!!
15 Dancers in all get through from Day 2 at Memphis.
So while they were more clunkers tonight there were some standouts as well. My favorites were Joseph Smith, Eric "Silky" Moore, Megan Kinney (in what little glimpse we saw of her), Ryan the whoopie cushion dancer, twins Lauren and Lydia, and Anna Dunn.
Any thoughts on tonight's show? Feel free to post your comments below.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
How American Idol Can Learn From It's Former Producer
So for my first blog entry I will post some thoughts on the phenomenon that is American Idol. But no, this is not another one of those "Why did Adam Lambert lose" articles (though for the record, I think it was a combo of Adam not being mainstream and Kris getting votes from the Danny Gokey fans that did Adam in). Instead this is about how Idol can learn from the big summer reality competition show, So You Think You Can Dance, run by former Idol producer Nigel Lythgoe.
I have been a reality show fan for a long time, but I never really got into SYTYCD since I could never tell the difference between bad dancing and good dancing. Yet I watched the live shows last summer out of boredom and actually found it entertaining. This season I decided to watch the audition episodes as well, and I was shocked at the contrast between these audition shows and the painfully long Idol audition episodes. While I'm not sure if the audition shows are always this impressive or if this was just the result of unusually strong auditions in Brooklyn and Denver (the cities of choice in the two-hour SYTYCD premiere), I think Idol would benefit from following the dance show's format:
1) More Good, Less Bad- When I first saw that the premiere was two hours, I expected maybe three or four decent-to-good dancers being shown with as many if not more poor dancers shown. And I was expecting there to be at least two or three bad dancers who got ten minutes of screen time, while some great dancers would only get ten seconds on television. After all, this is what Idol has done in the past, showing the audience brief glimpses of Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta in the audition rounds while spending ten or fifteen minutes on "Bikini Girl"and Tatiana Del Toro. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I realized that in the entire two hours of SYTYCD there were eleven featured contestants who made it through, and others who were focused on made it to the choreography round of the auditions (more on that below). Only three or so dancers who were horrible got a huge amount of screen time, which will satisfy those who like laughing at bad auditions while still not taking away from the focus of the program- to find the best dancers in America.
2)Second Chances- SYTYCD also has a cool feature (which, from what I've read, seems to have applied in every season of the show so far), where those whose auditions show potential but do not warrant an automatic ticket to Vegas (this show's equivalent of Hollywood on Idol) can try learning some choreography for the judges to see if they are worth being kept around. Idol did something similar in Hollywood during season seven when everyone would sing for the judges first, and the best would get automatic tickets to the last day while the others would have to go through the dreaded "group day" in order to survive. However, Idol got rid of this format this past season, opting instead to have everyone go through all the rounds of singing, even those who were locks to make it to the final Hollywood round (Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert, etc). A return to this format would help those like David Osmond, who got cut in Hollywood when he lost his voice right before his performance for the judges. On SYTYCD the judges seem willing to give contestants second chances, so why can't Idol do the same? And speaking of the judges...
3) Constructive Criticism- On Idol the judges are known more for their personalities than for their critiques themselves. Everyone knows Randy for constantly saying "dawg" and, this season "for me for you", Paula for being the nice one, and Simon for being blunt and often using odd analogies in the process (Kara is a bit too new to be known for any one thing yet, though I fear she is becoming known for her verbal mistakes even though I'm sure many others on live camera would similarly mess up). Yet in an attempt to show these traits on a regular basis, the judges often do not make any sense in their critiques. So contestants like Lil Rounds end up confused by the judges' seemingly contradictory advice, and end up ultimately eliminated when they can't figure out what the judges want. Yet on SYTYCD the judges actually give good, honest comments without being overly critical like Simon. Sure Mary Murphy is obnoxious with her loud scream, and guest judge Sonja did seem too emotional when reacting to the auditions, but they all still made sure to give good comments. This was especially true with a contestant named Tiffany who bravely auditioned despite being born with only three vertebrae. They told her she was inspirational but needed to work on extending her arms and legs more before ultimately rejecting her. No random analogies or annoying repeated phrases to be heard!
I'm sure Idol will make at least some changes for the next cycle after one of the lowest rated seasons in history. But maybe they should take some advice from their former producer on how to make the early audition processes a lot more enjoyable.
I have been a reality show fan for a long time, but I never really got into SYTYCD since I could never tell the difference between bad dancing and good dancing. Yet I watched the live shows last summer out of boredom and actually found it entertaining. This season I decided to watch the audition episodes as well, and I was shocked at the contrast between these audition shows and the painfully long Idol audition episodes. While I'm not sure if the audition shows are always this impressive or if this was just the result of unusually strong auditions in Brooklyn and Denver (the cities of choice in the two-hour SYTYCD premiere), I think Idol would benefit from following the dance show's format:
1) More Good, Less Bad- When I first saw that the premiere was two hours, I expected maybe three or four decent-to-good dancers being shown with as many if not more poor dancers shown. And I was expecting there to be at least two or three bad dancers who got ten minutes of screen time, while some great dancers would only get ten seconds on television. After all, this is what Idol has done in the past, showing the audience brief glimpses of Kris Allen and Allison Iraheta in the audition rounds while spending ten or fifteen minutes on "Bikini Girl"and Tatiana Del Toro. So imagine my pleasant surprise when I realized that in the entire two hours of SYTYCD there were eleven featured contestants who made it through, and others who were focused on made it to the choreography round of the auditions (more on that below). Only three or so dancers who were horrible got a huge amount of screen time, which will satisfy those who like laughing at bad auditions while still not taking away from the focus of the program- to find the best dancers in America.
2)Second Chances- SYTYCD also has a cool feature (which, from what I've read, seems to have applied in every season of the show so far), where those whose auditions show potential but do not warrant an automatic ticket to Vegas (this show's equivalent of Hollywood on Idol) can try learning some choreography for the judges to see if they are worth being kept around. Idol did something similar in Hollywood during season seven when everyone would sing for the judges first, and the best would get automatic tickets to the last day while the others would have to go through the dreaded "group day" in order to survive. However, Idol got rid of this format this past season, opting instead to have everyone go through all the rounds of singing, even those who were locks to make it to the final Hollywood round (Danny Gokey, Adam Lambert, etc). A return to this format would help those like David Osmond, who got cut in Hollywood when he lost his voice right before his performance for the judges. On SYTYCD the judges seem willing to give contestants second chances, so why can't Idol do the same? And speaking of the judges...
3) Constructive Criticism- On Idol the judges are known more for their personalities than for their critiques themselves. Everyone knows Randy for constantly saying "dawg" and, this season "for me for you", Paula for being the nice one, and Simon for being blunt and often using odd analogies in the process (Kara is a bit too new to be known for any one thing yet, though I fear she is becoming known for her verbal mistakes even though I'm sure many others on live camera would similarly mess up). Yet in an attempt to show these traits on a regular basis, the judges often do not make any sense in their critiques. So contestants like Lil Rounds end up confused by the judges' seemingly contradictory advice, and end up ultimately eliminated when they can't figure out what the judges want. Yet on SYTYCD the judges actually give good, honest comments without being overly critical like Simon. Sure Mary Murphy is obnoxious with her loud scream, and guest judge Sonja did seem too emotional when reacting to the auditions, but they all still made sure to give good comments. This was especially true with a contestant named Tiffany who bravely auditioned despite being born with only three vertebrae. They told her she was inspirational but needed to work on extending her arms and legs more before ultimately rejecting her. No random analogies or annoying repeated phrases to be heard!
I'm sure Idol will make at least some changes for the next cycle after one of the lowest rated seasons in history. But maybe they should take some advice from their former producer on how to make the early audition processes a lot more enjoyable.
Welcome to my blog!
Hey all welcome to my new blog. Here I will discuss whatever is on my mind at the moment, most likely focusing on sports and/or television. Enjoy!
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