So You Think You Can Dance Recap: The Top 10 Results

Hey all sorry again for the last post but I kind of fell asleep last night and then was doing shopping much of the day today. Anyway after reading some other blogs from the performance show it seems I was the only one who though the paso doble was halfway decent. But an interesting note is dialidol.com is predicting Jason and Kayla to be going home, with only Evan and Randi being definitely safe. Evan being safe does not surprise me, though if this is true it proves Randi is popular in her own right. I know Kayla is unpopular so I wouldn't be shocked to see her go, though she was very good Wednesday night. Jason also was great on Wednesday but I would assume he got more votes after that Travis Wall routine (which I watched again and STILL found boring, but oh well).

Anyway tonight Cat is wearing a shiny blue dress- it's almost blinding to look at, and must be ever more so in person.

The group dance is to "So Much Betta" by Janet Jackson. Maybe it's a Michael tribute without his music. The guys come out in black with pyramid hats, and then an angel girl is passed around them. Two other girls are fierce in white, and two others are fiercer in red. The routine seemed shorter than usual but I enjoyed it. The sychronization of the dancers at the end was great as well. It was a Wade/Amanda Robson routine. Hey I didn't know Wade's wife choreographed also. They're like TabNap but not shown together as often.


Cat then announces the four Emmy nominations for choreography the show received. I'm surprised the show is not up for Best Reality Show and that Cat was shut out of Best Reality Show Host. Anyway the nominations are for Mia's routine to "Mercy" done by Twitch and Katee (one of my faves from last year), TabNap's "Bleeding Love" routine done by Mark and Chelsie (another of my favorites even though I wasn't rooting for Mark or Chelsie last year), Tyce's routine to "Silence" (which got noticeably fewer cheers than the last two routines), done by Jessica and Will (don't remember this dance at all even though I really liked Will), and "A Los Amigos", a tango choreographed by Dmitry Chaplin (who was also on DWTS last year), done by Josh and Chelsie (another routine I don't remember at all, though it looked cool in the short clip).
The show was also nominated for Best Makeup. Congrats to all!

Oddly Nigel is not at the results show, but he has a good reason. He is getting an honorary doctorate from a school in England. Awesome! And that means it's ladies' night on SYTYCD- even more awesome!

First up is a recap of Wednesday night's show. Despite what Mary says about the strong girls I still think Brandon is going to win. The girls' group dance was better but both were entertaining. The producers chose to show Mary's critique of Evan/Kayla that criticized Evan, though they also showed Debbie's praise. Ade and Janette all got positive reviews. Jason and Jeanine's routine got a nice applause when it was shown on the screen, and the standing ovation is also showed. Cat oddly describes the paso doble as "fiery"- I though the problem was that it was not fiery enough. Brandon and Melissa ended the night on a high note. The recap ends with brief glimpses of all the solos- despite what other bloggers say I still wasn't crazy about Jeanine's. Still love Brandon's, Evan's and Janette's though.

SO pumped for Hell's Kitchen next week. Look for my blog on that show as well.

All the ladies are onstage after the break. Cat will reveal the bottom two- I'd guess Randi (worst Wednesday night) and Kayla (least popular). Both will dance solos, though those will have no bearing on who goes home- aka they are filler. Janette is safe (yay!). Based on the order they are standing in I'm guessing Randi will be in the bottom, Jeaninie will be safe, and either Melissa or Kayla will be in the bottom. Indeed Randi is in the bottom, which already means dialidol was wrong- more bad news for Kupono. She seems to be unsurprised by the news. Jeanine is safe (again deserved based on her strong partner dance). So it's down to Kayla and Melissa. Both were great last night, but Kayla turns people off for some reason and thus will likely be in the bottom. Plus overall her waltz was worse than Melissa's Broadway dance (though that was mainly Evan's fault). Wow Melissa is in the bottom instead. Well congrats to Kayla, who was excellent in the waltz, but I guess she is more popular than I thought, and Melissa is less so. Some other bloggers thought America is tired of ballerinas, and I guess they were right. And dialidol was completely off, since they had Kayla going home.

Next up are the guys. It will likely be Kupono and someone else. It should be Kupono and Evan, but who knows how popular Jason, Brandon, and Ade are. I hope Brandon doesn't fall into the bottom like Melissa did.

But before that we get another Season 6 preview. I still don't like how they are already pimping dancers for next season. One girl in yellow shows great passion in her movements. Today's featured dancer is Molly, who at 18 is auditioning for the first time. She is very perky in a cute way. I hate the weird version of "Against All Odds" playing in the background but I enjoyed her solo much better than the one from last week. The judges love her energy and potential. They don't actually show her getting through, but I think it's pretty obvious she does.

Now for the results. I am trying not to look at the order they are in so I won't be spoiled on the results like I was for the girls (I try that for Idol too but it usually never works- I can't keep my head away for that long!). First up is Jason- he should be safe based on how he did but who knows how popular he is. He is safe as well, so again dialidol was totally off. I did unfortunately glance a quick peek at the order, and Evan and Kupono are next. So Evan is safe, Kupono in the bottom, and either Brandon or Ade (hopefully Ade) in the bottom. BTW what is with Kupono's outfit??? Evan got fewer cheers than I thought he would. But indeed he is safe, which is bad news for Kupono, who is up next. Kupono got less cheers than Evan did. Indeed he is in the bottom- I partially want him to be safe because I want to see another shocked reaction from him. So it's down to Ade and Brandon- Brandon is more popular but I think people might not have liked Brandon's Hair routine because Tyce choreographed it. Plus his partner Melissa is already in the bottom. Yay Brandon is safe!!! That doesn't really surprise me (though it did seem to surprise Brandon). Evan and Brandon are more popular and Jason was great last night. So that means if Jason is great next week Ade could be the next guy to go.

I like both guys in the bottom but don't care for either girl. I hope Randi goes simply because she was worse last night and her solo was one of my least favorites as well. Ade has grown on me in recent weeks so I'll be sad either way with the guys but Kupono is so fun I hope he sticks around to redeem himself.

Next week Mia will be on the judging panel, and Ellen Degeneres will be on the show also! Cool. Then Thursday is the 100th episode, with dancers from prior seasons performing Emmy-winning routines, which will be great for me since I didn't watch any of those seasons. And of course the Katie Holmes routine we've all heard about will be next week as well.

Now we get the solos, which don't really matter so I won't comment on them in too much detail. Randi was much better than she was on Wednesday- very graceful. Mary calls her a "heavenly little creature", and she thinks Randi has been great every week but needs to take more chances. Really I think she is not memorable and benefited from Evan's popularity. Debbie though her solo last night was powerful (I disagree), but thinks she is in the bottom because of her paso last night (well duh).

Kupono does his animal solo from Wednesday night, which I like even better tonight. Mary says he has been a great asset to the show but had a poor night on Wednesday. She tells him to show more passion if he is not eliminated, and that the solo was not strong enough as well. Well it was better than his prior ones, though is still a bit weak on choreography.

I think they are all doing their solos from performance night. Melissa' solo didn't wow me then and still doesn't, though I am impressed with how long she stayed en pointe. Debbie thinks America is used to her legs and technique but needs more of a wow factor in her solo (and I agree).

I also like Ade's solo more than I did last night, though I still think the music selection was horrible. Love the flips! Mary says he's a star, and neither her nor Debbie seem to think he should be in the bottom.

And now as more filler we get the Black Eyed Peas, who apparently allowed the show to play their music during the first season of the show. I guess that move paid off! And they are doing their current hit, "I Got A Feeling", which I like much better than their last one, "Boom, Boom, Pow". Though my local radio station plays "I Got a Feeling" at least once a day yet I never knew who sang it until I saw the credit a few days ago on ESPN. Just shows how the radio station never says who sings the songs they play. Okay mini-rant over.

Hey they have the green lasers from their Idol finale performance! Man this song is so catchy- at least the chorus. The rest of the song I don't really know yet. A dancer comes in partway through and takes off her shirt to reveal a dress underneath, then walks off the stage after smiling at Fergie. That was random. There are actually more dancers in the back but you can't see them since the focus is on the Peas. And another random guy jumps on stage, which cues a mass spraying of confetti. Yet the dancers keep going without a slip. Still don't like the verses but the chorus gets stuck in my head whenever I hear the song. They are going on tour with U2, so that is exciting (and explains why they are on the show of course- to plug the tour!)

And now finally we have results. The girls are first. Like I said I don't really love either but Randi was worse last night. Indeed Randi is out, which for me completely invalidates dialidol. Melissa looks a bit surprised, though Randi does not (and for good reason). This is bad for Kupono though, because if no one voted for Randi they likely didn't vote for him either. BTW Randi looks so short next to Cat, who of course mentions Randi's butt during the intro to the recap. Of course her paso last night gets only a brief clip.

So it's down to Kupono and Ade. I know Ade has a better shot to win than Kupono, but like I said I want to see Kupono safe just so he can look all shocked again. But indeed Kupono is out, and like Randi he seemed prepared for the news. Well I'm disappointed but I figured it was coming so I've had two days to prepare. Plus I knew he had no shot of winning anyway. I'll miss his goofy personality though. And now I get to see a clip of his addiction dance from last week. I forgot about the crash test dummies dance! But only two seconds of the addiction dance- boo.


Both seem happy with the experience and are taking in the cheers at the end. Kupono almost seems satisfied to be leaving- he probably didn't expect to get this far.

So thoughts on the results? Were you surprised at Melissa and Ade being in the bottom (since I'm sure you weren't surprised about who went home)? Will you miss Kupono's personality too? Post your comments below.

So You Think You Can Dance Recap: The Top 18 Peform

Hey all so it's time for the next round of performances on SYTYCD. It will be hard for the contestants to live up to the greatness of last week. Also I think going in Asuka/Vitolio and Karla/Jonathan are in trouble because of their lack of fan bases.

Cat is wearing a red dress with a giant bow/ruffles on one side. It looks really weird and unflattering on her, as beautiful as she is.

Love Brandon's flip in his solo in the beginning. Vitolio does some cool hip hop moves to try to increase his fan base. Jonathan does a semi-cartwheel and looks very cute in a T-shirt and jeans- guess he's going for the tween vote. Asuka and Karla get by far the least amount of cheers. None of the solos really stood out to me except maybe Brandon's.

Tonight's guest is Lil C. He seems to be a good judge from what I've seen, though he of course is one of the judges who is lukewarm on Brandon. Hopefully Brandon can make Lil C change his mind. He thought last week was a very solid beginning, whatever that means. Cat and Mary make more jokes about her botox line from last week. Nigel tells the dancers to show off their strengths, not their weaknesses, especially those who will be doing solos tomorrow.

The theme of the pre-performance packages is the contestants revealing their partners' secrets to the audience.

Randi and Evan- Randi has a dog that she treats like a child, including calling him and putting him on speakerphone. Aw that's really cute. Evan loves cars- he even built his own from scratch. That's cool but not as interesting as Randi's secret. They got the jive, one of my favorite ballroom styles. Neither of them have done it before though. Louis Van Amstel teaches them to show their personality in their dance. The dance is also very "fun", so much so that it is said 14 times in their short package. The song is "Shake a Tail Feather" by Ray Charles. It definitely was "fun" and fast, and they were very in sync on their kicks. The only complaint is that Evan's arm was sometimes awkward while he was stretching it out and he looked a little bit off in parts. Still it was a great way to start the show.

Hey Ryan's in the crowd again! Lil C says Evan looked a little too smooth and subtle, so he needs to work on his approach a bit more, while Randi was a firecracker. I agree, she was great and showed why she was picked for the top 20. I actually thought she outshined Evan but Lil C thought they were equal. Mary says it was "fun" and the "fun" counter on the bottom of the screen goes nuts. She adds that jive should have been their best dance but it fell a bit short. I agree. She also agrees with me and states that Randi did better than Evan, particularly on the kicks where she says Evan was sloppy, but she still enjoyed it. Nigel gives props to Louis after he got none last week. He also was disappointed in Evan and says he didn't have enough bounce in his kicks. Weird since I thought his kicks were the best part but I agree it wasn't as good as last week but still solid and fun He thinks Randi did a better job tonight but loves them as a couple. Aka- don't forget to vote for them! They were good not great but they should be popular enough to get through to another week.

Melissa and Ade- Melissa is married, and her sister married her husband's brother. So does that means her husband is her brother-in-law? I always get confused with those kinds of things. Ade's real name is Adetokunbo Isaac Kayode Obayomi. No wonder he goes by Ade. Yet people still pronounce this shortened name wrong too! This week they have a jazz routine with Sonja, who gets a big cheer when she pops up on screen. The dance is about a girl playing hard to get and a guy who hates to lose. So a lot of back and forth between the two dancers I guess. I'm kind of torn on Sonja's routines- sometimes I like them, sometimes I don't. It looks cool in the package, though they are struggling through the pain. They dance to another song I don't know "24 Hours" by Terry Poison. I thought Ade was really good but Melissa seemed a bit too dainty and not powerful enough at times. Ade really shone with some lifts and a leapfrog jump over Melissa where he landed on his feet. Also I didn't really love the routine itself- it seemed more like jumping than dancing, but maybe that's just me. Lil C says it was "buck", his signature term. He predicts Ade could be a favorite to win, and if he dances the way he did in that last number he might be. Though early faves like Brandon, Phillip, and Evan will be tough to beat. He thinks Melissa tried to submerge into the character, though I don't know if she succeeded. Mary decides to give them some tough love- because it's tough to find anything not to love. Another fakeout by Mary. I still didn't think Melissa was that good but then again it was hard to focus on her with Ade being so good. Nigel thinks Melissa equaled Ade's strength, and I disagree, at least at some points in the dance. But Ade was so good and the comments were so positive they should be around for a while.

Caitlin and Jason- Jason used to be obsessed with Michael Jackson. And we get some awesome home video of a four-year-old Jason in Jackson garb and wig doing the moonwalk! Caitlin talks like a baby and a velociraptor (not at the same time). No cute home movies of her though... They are doing hip hop with Shane. I didn't like Shane's group routine last week but maybe I'll like this one. By the way, I didn't know Shane was black. He tries to emphasize chemistry and character, though Caitlin accidentally pulls down Jason's pants in rehearsal. Dang even the hip hop song I don't know- "Missin You" by Trey Songz. The song is slow and kind of boring which takes away from the routine, and the movements are slow to go along with it. Caitlin does have a great solo in the middle and then does a ground flip thing right after it. They also had great chemistry but I found the routine itself kind of dull and not memorable. Lil C did not love it- he did not understand the end of the number, and calls it a "nightmare". Ouch. He thinks it was corny because it was danced so sharply. I didn't think it was that bad- I just found it not memorable at all. Mary says it was like Michael Jackson and Britney Spears because they danced so differently so it wasn't in sync. I didn't notice that at all but the replay in slow motion does show how Caitlin was more flowing and Jason more sharp. She can't understand why they were so off when last week they were so good. I didn't think they were that good last week either and I found some other bloggers who agreed with me. Nigel says Shane did a different style of hip hop to make them look good, and he did that. I agree with what Nigel is implying here- the routine wasn't the greatest but the two of them danced it well. Still they may be in trouble this week, though I doubt the judges would send them home unless their solos were really bad.

Janette and Brandon- Janette had bad teeth when she was young. It was really just giant front teeth, though you can't tell now. Brandon has never worked out a day in his life, even with his great body. I'm sure he gets that body from dancing, but that is still pretty amazing that he got those muscles from dancing. They are doing dreaded disco with Doriana Sanchez. Usually disco routines are unpopular with viewers, though these dancers are so popular hopefully that won't happen. The routine is really fast and Janette has trouble with it at first, and she doesn't seem too confident they will get the routine. Usually when someone says that the routine turns out great. They dance to "Loving Is Really My Game" by Brainstorm, which may or may not be a current song. And it looks really good to me. I hate disco but this is my favorite routine so far. It is fast and fun like the earlier jive but I think they both dance it better than Evan and Randi did. Brandon was the standout with his flips and lifts, though I think Janette held her own with such a strong partner. The crowd doesn't seem too enthused though. Lil C starts talking about labor and then says he saw the birth of progression in both dancers. He thought it was amazing. Yeah the judges liked it too!!! (or at least one of them did). He points out a mishap at the end that I didn't notice but sure enough the replay shows she tripped at the end. I didn't notice at all though so she hid it well. Mary thinks the routine was on fast forward it was so fast. She's never seen a disco that fast but thinks they both nailed it. She jokes Janette needs to work on her flexibility (she did some splits) and that Brandon needs to work on his strength (he did several strong lifts). They embodied everything disco ever was. And we get the first Mary scream of the night. Nigel says he would scream too if he could and calls it one of the best disco routines ever on the show. That's probably true since all the past disco routines have sucked. Apparently the choreographer was in Dirty Dancing and Nigel adds that this routine had more in it than the big lift routine at the end of the movie. That's high praise indeed. It certainly was the best of the night so far and no doubt they are safe for another week. And the best part is Brandon got Lil C on his side!!

Ooh Mia is doing the group dance tomorrow. So Brandon is dealing with his two nemeses in the second week!

Asuka and Vitolio- I hope they do well since I like them but they are unpopular for some reason. Vitolio is obsessed with motorcycles and wants to be a rockstar. Asuka makes spitballs, and Vitolio barely knows what they are- ha! They promise to be better this week. They hope to show personality but that will be hard with a waltz that they will do with Louis. Tough break that the two personality-less people get a slow boring dance. They have trouble getting romantic with each other so Louis makes it a dance on Vitolio's tough journey and upbringing. That's a good strategy I think. The song is "Dream Are More Precious" by Enya. Well at least I've heard of the artist, though not the song. The dance is beautiful, especially the lifts at the beginning and end. I usually don't like waltzes but found this one captivating, and the two of them danced it really well also. I especially loved the emotion on their faces during the dance. Too bad Asuka is really not popular because I think this routine could keep them out of the bottom this week. Mary is speechless- is that good or bad? She's crying, so I guess that's good. She calls it painfully beautiful and says Vitolio danced as honest as she's ever seen him. She points out a few flaws but overall thinks there were more amazing things than bad. Asuka also gets props for her emotion on her face, which really was believable. Lil C points out the choppy steps but says that was canceled out by the sincere emotion. He adds Asuka has dominant submission, which apparently is a good thing. Nigel says anyone not touched by that routine is heartless. He feels like they are a different couple this week- maybe because they actually had a good routine this week! And Louis deservedly gets more props from Nigel. They should be safe based on how they danced but I fear their unpopularity may cause them to be in the bottom if no one else stinks up the joint.

Max and Kayla- Max is the "house dad" in his apartment, as he does all the cooking. Guys who can cook are great, especially for me since I can't cook to save my life. Kayla texts a lot, like every other person in their teens and 20s nowadays. Mostly she texts her mom to say she's okay. Aww. She texts 100 words per minute- that's impressive. They are working with Brian Frideman, who has not been on the show in a few years so I've never seen his work. Apparently it is a pop/jazz style, which sounds cool. Kayla is a princess and Max wants to steal her throne by seducing her. The routine is strenuous on the body, and the dancers are getting battered and bruised. Another song I don't know, this one "Hot Like Wow" by Nadia Oh. This routine is great too. Kayla starts out on the couch while Max shows off for her and then they get up and dance with power and precision. The night started off a bit rough but the last three dances have been really great. At the end Max "kills" Kayla and gets her throne. Lil C says dancing is a language and dancers have to pick up choreographer's vernacular, which both of them did. He can't even critique Kayla because she was so good, and he gives Max props as well. I actually thought there was a short part where Kayla lost her energy a bit but otherwise she was great, as was Max. And Kayla's grandparents are back to cheer her on. Mary was pleasantly surprised by Max but he could not overtake Kayla. I'm not a big Kayla fan but she was great in this routine (mostly). Nigel thinks Kayla is a frontrunner. She probably is a frontrunner for the girls in particular since there are not too many standout girls this year. He adds Max has the problem of keeping up with Kayla but with his character he did tonight. Between their strong dance last week and their perhaps better one tonight they should be safe for another week, and likely a lot longer.

Jonathan and Karla- With Asuka and Vitolio's strong routine earlier these two are likely in the bottom three for sure with their limited fan bases. Karla is a great hip hop dancer even though she specializes in contemporary. She even belongs to a famous hip hop group that I've never heard of. Jonathan loves to sing, but he's not very good, according to Karla, and I concur. They don't want to be in the bottom again. They are dancing contemporary, so they better be good in Karla's specialty. They have a new teacher Stacey Tookey, and they will learn a dance about strangers having an accidental meeting and feeling chemistry. Jonathan is having trouble learning a new style; he particularly struggles with the lifts. They dance to "Falling Slowly"- woohoo a song I know! I don't know this version- only the one Kris Allen did on Idol, but close enough. They seemed to dance it pretty well and the lifts were beautiful but I felt something lacking- perhaps the chemistry. Mary says Jonathan did that style better than he did his own specialty of ballroom the week before. I agree, mainly because he really did not impress me with ballroom last week. She correctly points out that they are underdogs, (aka they have had zero prior screen time) but still thought they were amazing. She loved Kayla's lines and Jonathan's feet. Nigel loved Jonathan's center of gravity and says they came back from being in the bottom last week to have a great routine this week. Lil C thought it was in balance and again calls a dance "buck". I didn't like it as much as they did, and I thought the same thing last week when they were in the bottom three. With other strong dances tonight they too may be in trouble with their small fanbase.

Jeanine and Phillip- Phillip is a big nerd, as he is an engineering physics major. Love stories about nerds putting aside their school smarts to become dancers! He even has a collection of reptiles in his room. Jeanine has a teddy bear named Spanky, whom she calls the perfect boyfriend. Okay.... They are doing a tango, but neither of them have ballroom training, so this could be really good or really bad. Phillip accidentally groped Jeanine in rehearsals! Then she kicked him in his privates! Tony Meredith says "I'm nervous" to the camera and Jeanine and Phillip hear him! Like I said with Brandon and Janette's dance whenever it seems really bad in rehearsal it comes out great. The song is "Violento" by Bailango!, which sounds like a great tango song. Tango is not one of my favorite dances but they did it pretty well. Jeanine in particular was good though Phillip lost his posture a bit early on and stomped around a bit too much. Also like some of the early routines tonight it wasn't memorable for me. Mary gives Phillip an A+ in attitude but a C- in technique. Phillip seems to agree with this assessment. Jeanine's technique was better though and she did great. Cat accidentally calls Jeanine Janette- don't feel bad Cat I get them confused too! Lil C says Phillip had no confidence in the routine and it showed. I didn't notice that but I did notice the poor technique the second time around. Lil C says Phillip's knees were too bent, but Mary counters they are supposed to be. Cat goes to Tony Meredith to break the tie, and he sides with Mary. Lil C takes his defeat with grace. Nigel loved Phillip's bent knees. Ha! He points out Phillip's huge fanbase and that the tango is a technical dance. He points out that Phillip showed strain when lifting Jeanette, which I did not notice until the replay. He says it was not good technically but was entertaining, which is probably why I liked it. He also points out that this show is a learning process and Phillip should be allowed to grow more on the show and learn technical dances. They should be in the bottom based on their performance but with Phillip's popularity they likely won't be.

Ashley and Kupono- Kupono has weird OCD- everything must be straight, and he organizes his closet in a weird color-coded way. Ashley vomited on her entire class in first grade. That sucks for her but the story is awesome! They are doing hip hop with Shane, which should be good for Kupono. Plus it can't be much worse than Shane's first routine tonight. Ashley is Kupono's shadow in the dancing. Kupono has a hard time with the slow walks, and Ashley with the fast movement. Kupono breaks out his to-do list again (that thing is adorable) and it says "Find Your Inner Shane Sparks". I love him! (Kupono that is, not Shane). The dance is to "Imma Be" by Black Eyed Peas, another artist I've heard of but not the song. I thought the dance was okay but not amazing. I tried watching to see if they were in unison and it looked like they were though it was hard to tell. Mary says it was okay- she didn't hate it but she didn't love it. She adds it wasn't memorable. I agree on both counts. Lil C says there was no synchronization because Kupono was struggling so much. He thinks Ashley did what she could and saved the routine. I didn't think Kupono was bad, I just didn't love the routine. Nigel says it stopped right when he started to like it. He was underwhelmed, and so was I, even though I liked Kupono in his first audition. Nigel points out how great it is to have Shane back even though both his routines tonight sucked (that last part was my views, not Nigel's). He doesn't think the dancers who did Shane's routines brought out the best in them, and I have to agree.

So the middle of the show was good but the rest was only okay. My favorites were Brandon and Janette, Asuka and Vitolio, and Max and Kayla, in that order. The bottom three should be Jason and Caitlin, Kupono and Ashley, and Phillip and Jeanine, though Phillip's fanbase might save their duo from the bottom. In that case I guess either Asuka/Vitolio or Jonathan/Karla might be in the bottom instead.

What are your thoughts on tonight's show? Who do you think will be in the bottom three? And who should be? Post your comments below.

So You Think You Can Dance Recap: The Top 20 Perform

Hey all so now the top 20 have been finalized and America will get their first chance to vote for their favorites. Going in there are plenty of people we haven't seen yet, and I think all of them are in trouble tonight. Also apparently Tony is pretty unpopular for his lack of technique, though I thought his Nigel photo dance was very creative. He is the one guy who has gotten screentime who may be in trouble.

Cat says it was a "Vegas Week like no other"- why is that? Because so many got cut? But lots of people get cut every year...

Now we get our first glimpse at the top 20 in alphabetical order. Ashley seems kind of blah right away, but I love Ade's spin. Brandon already has a very loud cheering section- and he does a split!. Caitlin is wearing very little clothing. Evan also gets loud applause, though not as much as Brandon, and I didn't like his solo as much. Jason gets loud cheers as well for someone with little airtime. He too has great spin moves. Jonathan gets few cheers but does a cool flip to get extra attention. Kupono and Kayla got fewer cheers than I thought they would, as does Max. Melissa does her whole "naughty ballerina" biting her nail thing. Hmm Brandon even got more cheers than Phillip- I guess Brandon is the early favorite to win. Tony does a weird shaking thing for his solo, and also gets a lot of cheers.

That whole thing where the audience yells out "judges" before they are introduced gets a bit annoying after a while.

Tonight's guest judges is Adam Shankman- yey I like him!

Nigel tells the contestants to feed off the great audience, and admits the judges are nervous too. Somehow I think the contestants are a tad more nervous. Mary tells Cat it is so hard to cut two people each week. Adam states he is a part of the dance community, and is also working on three films, including Step Up 3D, with Twitch, Katee, and Joshua. Wow I might watch that movie even though I didn't see the first two just to see the top 3 from last year!

Same format as last season- 1o couples each randomly pick a style. Bottom three couples dance solos tomorrow, and judges pick one guy and girl to cut. They don't have to be from the same pairing. Format remains like this until the top 10, with all couples staying the same until then unless eliminations break them up. In that case the dancers whose partners were cut will form a new team. Got it? Hopefully I did since I had to look up blogs from last season just to remember how this season works (last year was my first time watching the show).

First we get a montage of auditions and Vegas week, set to "You Found Me". We even see Mary crying at Brandon's audition and saying he had to make the top 20 or she would die. Good thing he made it then! They're not showing Kupono's to-do list from last week- that was the best part! We do have to see Evan's brother get cut again though :(.

First two pairings are Phillip and Jeanine and Asuka and Vitolio. That was good of the show to pair early favorites with those who got little screentime. If they put all those with no air time together then those groups won't last too long. Janine will last a while now that she's with Phillip.

Jeanine and Phillip- We see a short clip of Jeanine's first audition. It was okay but didn't blow me away. Apparently she used to be really bad at dancing but stuck with it because she loves it. Phillip is a self-taught popper. The two are doing hip hop with Tabatha and Napoleon- hip hop is good for Phillip, not sure about Jeanine. The routine is about a couple that can't fall asleep until they work out their issues. Jeanine is really bad at hip hop, according to her. Phillip is outshining her in rehearsals based on my observations. She does better in the live routine though, set to "Mad" by Ne-Yo. I still find myself drawn to Phillip, but Jeanine is certainly holding her own. She seems a bit dainty at times with the movements, but overall she is pretty good. Adam calls it "un-freakin-real" and agrees that Jeanine held her own despite having no hip hop training. He says no one will ever dance like Phillip. Mary acts like she will disagree with Adam, but of course she doesn't. She says Jeanine held her own and Phillip taught them a chemistry lesson. Nigel concurs Jeanine kept up with Phillip and has made a good first impression on the audience. I still think Phillip outshined her a bit but they were so good together they should be safe for sure.

Asuka and Vitolio- Asuka took dance classes in ballet and jazz at first and then moved on to ballroom/Latin in college. Vitolio's mother died, so he grew up in an orphanage, as we heard about last week. They are doing Broadway with Tyce, a tough first dance for ballroom and contemporary experts. The routine involves Vitolio directing silent movie actress Asuka. They look really good in rehearsals, though both must learn how to lock for the first time. It will be hard to top that last number though. They dance to "Hot Honey Rag" from Chicago. They do an okay job but I didn't get the wow factor that I got with the first number. Also the choreography (which I know was not their fault) didn't really match the music for me. All I could think of was Velma and Roxie dancing their hearts out in Chicago, this whole silent movie thing just didn't work for me. But the dancing itself was decent. Adam says it must be hard to follow the previous number, and that the character nature of the dance felt artificial after the prior emotional number. That's totally true. But he says they danced well. Also true. Mary feels a bit disappointed and thought it was too safe. In other words, it had no wow factor, like I said. Nigel says the lines were great but it lacked personality. I can see that as well. I fear these two may be in trouble this week even though Asuka was one of my early favorites.

Karla and Jonathan- Uh oh, two new faces paired together. That puts these two behind already, though Jonathan will get the "cute guy" vote. Karla was in two Broadway shows, including the tour of Wicked, but she wanted to challenge her self with new styles. Jonathan is a salsa dancer who started dancing when he saw the first season of the show. Well they have good backstories, I'll give them that. Their first dance is a cha cha, with Tony Meredith. Jonathan must flirt with Karla in the dance, though he is so young-looking that it may be hard for him. He wants to do so well that Mary will scream. Aw he's so cute! They're doing a cha cha to "Poker Face"- really? I mean it's a good song and all, but for a cha cha? They are better than the last number but still missing a little something for me. Karla was impressive with her hip shaking but I felt something lacking from Jonathan- maybe it was that sex appeal. The judges must disagree though, as they are all clapping. Adam points out a few flaws, particularly with Jonathan, but overall was happy for them and said Jonathan was dancing more like a man. Mary gives Jonathan his desired scream, and calls it "a whole lotta rough and a whole lot of fun". Nigel says no one knows who they are, until tonight. That routine should keep them safe for another week at least, though I still didn't like it as much as the judges did.

Randi and Evan- another favorite versus newbie pairing. Randi made it to the top 20 in her third year auditioning, and is a typical country girl. Evan of course auditioned with his brother and hopes to do him proud. He too is overwhelmed being in LA. They are doing jazz with Tyce, a style that is good for Evan's Broadway specialty. It's a love story routine, yet Randi is married, which is a bit awkward. Evan apologizes to the husband in advance- awesome! They dance to "I Only Have Eyes for You" by Jamie Cullen, who I don't know. The dancing, however, is really good. My second favorite routine of the night after the opener. I'm not sure if I totally believe the chemistry throughout the whole dance, but the dancing itself was amazing. Randi's husband is not in the house, so Evan won't get beat up after the show. And hey Ryan is in the house! Along with their geekier-looking other brother. He even has a shirt that says "The Other Brother". Their family is awesome! Adam points out how short they are, but their lines were so long it seemed like they were eight feet tall. He thinks Evan can conquer every style. He even adds it was the best routine Tyce has ever done. I actually didn't love the choreography but that's just a taste thing. Mary says the two of them were at the bottom of her pack before this routine but now they have risen up. She thinks they will be around a while. Nigel calls it fantastic, and he thinks people will talk about the pairing for a while. They would have been safe even with a so-so routine because of Evan's popularity but now they will be near the top of the pack votes-wise.

Paris and Tony- Both got a bit of screentime before this, though Tony got more. Paris has danced her whole life but was recently in a car crash, so one of her legs is numb from the knee down. Tony started out doing sports and dance, even getting a scholarship to play lacrosse but he turned it down to dance. They are doing hip hop with Tabitha and Napoleon also. That should be good for Tony- if he's bad in his own style he is screwed. But Tony is struggling with the fast choreography, more so than Paris. They dance to a Black Eyed Peas Song I don't know called "Let the Beat Rock". This definitely is heavier hip hop than the earlier hip hop number, but this one is just as entertaining. I think Tony loses it a bit at the end but they both still did a great job. Neither one of them stole the spotlight- I was glued to both of them the whole time. Adam thought it was really good, but he hated the costumes. He also tells them to attack the beat more. He doesn't want Tony to get by as the cute guy on the show, but I thought that was Jonathan's role. Mary doesn't think it will be memorable, but I disagree. She says Paris was just good, and Tony didn't hit it hard enough. Nigel also liked Paris but thought their "stank" stank and didn't feel believable. I actually loved their routine, though I do understand how they don't think it was hit hard enough. Between Tony's unpopularity and the fact the routine is in his own style I think they will be in the bottom, and his poor technique might not help him in his solo.

Caitlin and Jason- They should be early favorites considering Jason's sudden popularity and Caitlin's considerable face time. Caitlin had to survive losing her sister earlier in Vegas week and dancing for her life. She used to be a gymnast before moving to dance. Jason was another athlete who moved to dance later in life. They are doing Bollywood- cool! It's a tough routine, and Caitlin is struggling with the finger movements. The choreographer (don't know his name) thinks he might be giving them too much for week one, but thinks they will pull it out. OMG they are dancing to "Jai Ho" from Slumdog Millionaire- I love this song! They are doing the movements well and are really in sync even in such a fast dance. My only complaint is I don't get any personality from them. Jason stood out more towards the end but Caitlin was by no means bad. Ooh they kiss at the end- and he has lipstick all over his face! Adam says they were awesome and thinks Jason made it look effortless. He also thinks Caitlin did well, better than he thought. Mary is glad Bollywood came to Hollywood, and was impressed by Caitlin's handstand early on. She says Jason has charisma, and I agree- he's becoming one of my favorites. Nigel says it was fantastic, and says "Jai Ho" to them back! I think they will be around for a while because of their inherent fan bases but they certainly should be safe after that.

Janette and Brandon- Yeah two of my favorites are paired up! Janette is Cuban and learned salsa at home. Brandon of course auditioned when he was 14 and again last year, and he made Mary cry at his audition. They are doing a foxtrot with Louis Van Amstel from Dancing with the Stars. Well DWTS can take SYTYCD finalists as pros, so why can't SYTYCD take DWTS pros as choreographers! Luckily for Brandon he's not working with Mia or Lil C, his two detractors, this week. At first it was easy for them, but as they got more into the routine they found trouble. They dance to "Come Fly with Me" by Michael Buble and they look dashing in their costumes. Foxtrot is not one of my favorite styles of dance but the pair do it really well. I can't take my eyes off Brandon, but Janette seems to be holding her own. And what a great lift at the end! Adam says America must be sad to see Brandon dance in clothes, but it works. He says it was lovely even thought it came after such a high energy number. He also praises Brandon's character in his performance, which totally did come out in this number. Cat asks Mary to give her an eyebrow, and Mary says she can't because of her Botox- that gets a big laugh from the crowd but to me that was really random. Anyway she says Janette was elegant Ginger Rogers and proved she can do slower numbers. She adds Brandon is a powerhouse with those lifts, and says those who can't see his talent are crazy. Nigel thought Janette's grace was beautiful, and compliments Brandon's frame, thought criticizes his small feet- just a minor critique to get Brandon to improve. They too are likely safe for a while with Brandon's popularity, but after that number they should get plenty of votes.

Ashley and Kapono- Ashley made it to the top 20 after her fourth time auditioning. Kupono is the Hawaiian dancer who did crappy jobs for his father to pay the bills. They are doing jazz with Wade Robson. The number is about crash test dummies blown up and put back together- a crash test dummy love story! That's kind of weird... So they are doing the robot a lot? The music is a song called "Felt Mountain by Goldfrapp, and wow they really do look like crash test dummies in those outfits. That was really weird but I liked it. They even added a crashing sound effect for the ending. The crowd doesn't sound too impressed though. Adam says this routine was really diverse, but it was hard to watch the dancing because of the weird concept. He adds their technique was great, but Wade is one sick puppy! Mary bought the concept 100%, and gives props to a motor dog I didn't even notice. She says it was entertaining, which it certainly was. Nigel says Wade is a genius, and he knows the routine will be memorable. He adds the dancers adhered to the characters given to them, and the dancing was secondary to the story. That is totally true, but the dancing was still good enough that they should last another week.

Melissa and Ade- Ade really impressed me with his brief solo in the beginning so hopefully he will do well with Melissa. Melissa is strictly a naughty ballerina, but is also very muscular. She is also the oldest dancer at 29. Ade is a contemporary dance from Chapman University. He hopes to be a sound engineer if he doesn't become a dancer. They are doing contemporary with Mandy Moore, which is right up Ade's alley. Melissa promises they will keep it clean for the show. Ade's pick in his hair gives him powers, as he only does well when it is on (according to Mandy). They dance to a version of "Right Here Waiting", another one of my favorite songs. Ade's shirt is open!!! Anyway he starts out a bit heavy in his movements but they pick it up at the end, and it turns out really beautiful. And their lifts were really great as well. Adam starts crying and says the routine was "special". He says Melissa is just getting better with age, and Ade has great power yet is quiet. Mary screams for the thousandth time tonight and loves the power of the movements. She thinks Ade is a gentle giant and Melissa was great as well. Nigel says how great a top 20 this is. That's true- only one really subpar dance tonight. He compliments Ade's power lifts and how America has more to look forward to with the two of them.

Kayla and Max- Kayla was raised partly by her grandparents, who screamed when she got through to Vegas. Max is a ballroom dancer originally from Russia. His younger brother died in a car crash five years ago- sympathy votes! They are doing a samba with Louis, and apparently Louis knows Max from way back when. He should do fine, but it will come down to how well Kayla does. She has never done ballroom before, but she is getting double the training from Louis and Max. They dance to a song called "Jum Bah Day" that I don't know. The dance is fast and sexy, the way a samba should be. I think Max is doing better but Kayla is holding her own with the ballroom dancer. Adam is in tears again as to how good it was. He says Max is lucky for getting ballroom first and for getting Kayla. He admits he could not take his eyes off Kayla. Mary says they are on her hot tamale train and stands up and screams some more. Nigel even has earphones so he can withstand her this year! She is losing her voice from yelling so much. Nigel adds it was sensational and mentions how Kayla has been at the top of the judges' list in every round. He makes sure to mention how great Max was as well, though he mentions he was not as sharp as he has been in the past.

My favorites of the night were Jeanine and Phillip, followed by Evan and Randi. Honestly I liked all the numbers except Asuka and Vitolio's, who should be in the bottom for sure. Tony and Paris will also likely be in the bottom even though I liked their routine. It's hard to tell who the third couple will be, but I will get Kupono and Ashley just because their dance was of the "love it or hate it" variety. If I had my way Karla and Jonathan would be in the bottom instead of those two but I don't think that will happen.

Check back in tomorrow for my results show blog! And feel free to post your comments below!

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.