So You Think You Can Dance - The Top 20 Compete

Tonight’s live episode of So You Think You Can Dance will feature YOUR Top 20, as Cat Deeley so kindly reminds us, and we will find out who is partnered with who.  The show opens with a really impressive Christopher Scott group number with a Mad Men type theme. I'm so glad we are still finding a way to incorporate the group routines without a Thursday results show.

We welcome the “jidges” as we always do, and this evening’s guest judge is Kenny Ortega, who will soon be directing a remake of Dirty Dancing (boooooo), but also directed Michael Jackson’s This is It tour movie (RIP MJ). The paired dancers have chosen a style out of a hat for this week’s performance, and I am anxiously awaiting the result, so let’s get started!

Contestants: Witney and Chehon

Style:  Samba, choreographed by Louis van Amstel

Witney’s ballroom roots should put her right at home here, but Chehon’s ballet background makes me nervous. The samba is such a fast dance with continual hip movements, and that is quite an adjustment for him to make. Witney is crazy good. Crazy. Chehon has a Ricky Martin look going and though he does seem to have some hip issues, he is doing a pretty good job keeping up. They have decent chemistry for week one, and wow….Witney is….bendy and such. This is a great start to the night.

Judges Say: Nigel says Witney looks like a star, dances like a star and is a star. He doesn’t want to critique Chehon here (What? Isn’t that his job?), but he gives him some advice about keeping his core and relaxing more.  Mary notes Chehon’s foot problems but compliments the way he sails across the floor. Mary makes sure to tell Witney she got a first class ticket on the hot tamale train. I’ve always wondered what that train would look like… Kenny says Witney bought us into space (a space train?), and her compares her to Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, only hotter. He encourages Chehon to surrender to the choreographers and believe in himself. So…no one really liked Chehon in that performance.  Perhaps he should have undone those last 2 buttons on his shirt.

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Contestants:  Tiffany and George
Style: Contemporary, choreographed by Sonya Tayeh

The two dancers are lovers for this routine whose connection is so great – it takes their breath away. Sonya had hoped they would melt into one another, and they absolutely do. This is just beautiful. I’m not a contemporary expert (I did a few years of ballroom dancing, so I feel better about that commentary), but I think the lines and lifts here are absolutely amazing.

Judges Say: Mary is breathless and says both dancers surrendered to the choreography, and they really connected with one another. Kenny says George and Tiffany were really there for one another and supported one another and it was “exquisite” to watch. Nigel wonders if Sonya has found love given her movement away from quirky and toward romance. Sonya shrugs playfully. He says George and Tiffany dance all the way to their fingertips and overall the performance was superb.

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Contestants: Janaya and Brandon

Style:  Hip Hop, choreographed by (very preggers) Tabitha and Napoleon

The story is about a guy who is an alcoholic, and he has to choose between the love of his life and his addiction. Janaya and Brandon stay in sync and use their prop bottle of alcohol cleverly. The emotional connection between them is not consistent, unfortunately, but I think their movements are very good. Unfortunately, I don't think this routine had the impact it was supposed to.

Judges Say: Kenny loves that hip hop can be deeper and can tell a story. Nigel liked the story as well, and he is pleased that Brandon chose Janaya over the vodka. Mary loved how deep Brandon went into character, but she wants Janaya to be more gritty. See – I preferred Janaya to Brandon in that routine, but what do I know?

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Contestants: Alexa and Daniel

Style: Jazz, choreographed by Sean Cheesman

Alexa and Daniel begin on top of a scaffold and almost slither their way down to the floor in a very cool way. I do hope Alexa is with us emotionally tonight – I saw Tyce DiOrio in the audience, and he won’t hesitate to start screaming awful things at her during the performance. They are wearing these leathery red outfits that do not allow me to look away, and the routine is so up tempo, with so many things happening, I am mesmerized.  

Judges Say: Nigel says there was so much going on (in a good way) that there wasn’t enough time for him to take a breath and realize how great certain parts of the routine were.  Mary loved watching every single second, and she enjoyed watching Daniel smile because he is always so serious. She also compliments Alexa’s splits. Kenny notes that the piece was very demanding, but he didn’t feel that the performance took him anywhere. He also did not indicate where exactly he wanted to go.

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Contestants: Amber and Nick

Style: Viennese Waltz, choreographed by Jason Gilkison

Ballroom is Nick’s genre, so he should be able to help guide Amber here…..except that the rehearsal footage we see is of Jason yelling at Nick. A lot. Maybe the producers are just trying to fool us into thinking this might fall apart tonight. There are a couple of portions of this dance that are awkward, and the chemistry isn’t quite there. However, they do some really nice lifts though, which is commendable considering the Viennese waltz is often the SYTYCD kiss of death.

Judges Say: Mary thinks the whole thing was dreamy. She then tells Nick he is phenomenal and asks Amber if she’s ever worn shoes like that before. Kenny calls the performance fluid, flowing and lovely.  Nigel says Jason’s yelling brought the best out of Nick. He tells Amber she was very good but to be careful with her core.  If these critiques continue as they have been, I’m going to need to start a drinking game, taking a sip each time the word “core” is used….

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Contestants: Amelia and Will

Style: Hip Hop (?), choreographed by NappyTabs

Amelia’s character is a sophisticated house cat and Will’s character is a back ally cat. I am loving Amelia in this routine. She is very into her character, but Will seems a little unsure of himself at times. Napoleon had called this dance more “character pop” than hip hop, which was helpful since I didn’t see any kind of hip hop here at all. I do like the routine though – very different. NappyTabs absolutely took advantage of their strange contestants, and I prefer this routine to the first hip hop routine for sure.             

Judges Say: Kenny looks at Amelia and says the audience would agree with his assertion that “if we had a kitty like you, we would play with you all day long.” Ew. He then tells Will he did a great job playing with her. WOW. Nigel compliments the partnership because both dancers are a little crazy. He notes that the routine will be very memorable. Mary chooses the inevitable, saying the performance was purrrrrrrrrrrrrfect. Next.

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Contestants: Janelle and Dareian

Style: African Jazz, choreographed by Sean Cheesman

Sean describes this as “the rhythm of the jungle,” and I can definitely see that. This is very intense, very acrobatic, and just looks exhausting. I like these two as a pair though – this wasn’t my favorite dance tonight, but they might be my favorite couple so far. I'm also very glad that Janelle did not end up in the emergency room at the end of the performance.

Judges Say: Nigel says both are so exciting as dancers and thinks this is also a very memorable routine. Mary calls the performance a jungle dance off. It was almost a pants off dance off. She believes both of them will go far on the show. Kenny says the dance took him to Cuba, Paris, Brazil, and Polynesia which is pretty amazing since it was an African Jazz routine. Maybe that's where he wanted to go during Alexa and Daniel's number. He then tells Dareian and Janelle they were like two flames dancing across the stage.

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Contestants: Eliana and Cyrus

Style: Broadway, choreographed by Tyce DiOrio

Tyce is having them do a song from Hairspray….hopefully not in the style of Bob Fosse like 90% of all Tyce DiOrio Broadway routines. Side note (another one): Benji and Donyelle did a great Hairspray routine in Season 2. Check it out here. Back to Eliana and Cyrus now. I really don’t recognize Eliana without her Flashdance hair, but she is AWESOME in this performance. And you know what? Cyrus is pretty good too. His smile is genuine, he is truly enjoying himself, and he is absolutely embracing everything this show has to give him. Well done.

Judges Say: The audience quiets down and has a seat, but Mary can’t really get out her first thought because the camera cuts to Tyce who has stood up again doing sort of fist pump/dance combo. Way to take the attention away from the dancers, buddy. Mary says Eliana and Cyrus brought the house down. Kenny felt like he was in New York watching a Broadway performance. Nigel compliments Cyrus’ ability to immerse himself in the dance. He tells Eliana that she is the benchmark for all of the other girls this season.

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Contestants: Audrey and Matthew

Style: Contemporary, choreographed by Travis Wall (yay!)

Helloooooo Matthew. Anyway, Travis has set up his own Jack and Rose love story from Titanic. The scene where Jack is drawing Rose begins….but Rose is of course clothed in this scenario. This is ridiculously good, and OH MY GOD – Audrey just ran up the couch and did an outstanding leap into Matthew’s arms.  Best of the night. Hands down. I’m watching this again and then posting the link.

Judges Say: It takes a couple of seconds, but then we have a standing ovation. Damn straight! Kenny says it was exquisitely choreographed and gorgeously danced. Nigel enjoyed this performance more than any other this evening. Me toooooo. He compliments the maturity of Travis’ choreography, noting that the movements, the emotions and the music were perfect together. Mary called the performance breathtaking, saying Matthew showed great emotion and Audrey was “perfection.”

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Contestants: Lindsay and Cole

Style: Paso Doble, choreographed by Jason Gilkison

Typically a Paso Doble consists of the male matador and the female cape. In this performance Lindsay will be some sort of poison instead. Can’t she just be a poisonous cape? This begins in a very ominous fashion and then quickly escalates into awesomeness. I’m not sure that Lindsay’s poison ever stood a chance against Cole’s martial arts 8 pack, but she doesn’t seem to mind. This was amazing. The previous dance is still my favorite of this night, but this one is a very close second.

Judges Say: Standing ovation. Kenny says it was mesmerizing, electrifying and two of the best performances he has ever seen on SYTYCD. Mary says this was the best Paso Doble Jason has choreographed for the show. I wait for her to spontaneously combust…but she doesn’t. Nigel says this was the best Paso Doble any boy has done on this show. He also says Cole could not have been as dynamic as he was without Lindsay as a partner.

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Tonight may have been the best Top 20 kickoff in the show's history. There are SO many talented dancers, and I think we are going to see some extreme competition this year. Next week we will say goodbye to 2 boys and 2 girls after the bottom 3 of each group are determined. We’ll see what happens… Til then!

Duets - The Final Three

Tonight on Duets we will find out which of our Final Four will be eliminated as we move closer to next week’s finale. The remaining three amateurs will perform one song with their Superstar this evening and one song solo. The show opens with our Superstars singing The Temptations' “Get Ready” (good thing too – Robin needs something to do). Poor Kelly though. You can tell she wants to move around to this song, but due to her injury she is carried on stage by the backup dancers. She still sounds amazing!

Before we go any further though, we have to eliminate one of the poor souls who has worked their tail off preparing for this week’s performances. We start with Jason, and he is safe! Bridget, however, is in the bottom 2. J Rome is also safe, so we are down to Bridget and John Glosson. And tonight we say goodbye to…. Bridget. She looks incredibly disappointed, and given the sassy leather pants she is wearing this evening, my guess is she was ready to bring it. But someone’s gotta go, right? Again, everyone wishes her the best, and so do I.

Jennifer Nettles and J Rome                                                                                                          Song: “Breakeven,” by The Script

I love than Jennifer can turn any song into a dance song. Also, her outfit tonight requires mention as well. I have no idea what’s going on there, but she makes it look pretty badass. No real complaints here – the initial “I’m fallin to pieeeeeces” lines do not quite work for me, but J Rome and Jennifer figure out how to blend better shortly thereafter.

Other Superstars Say: Robin didn’t think the song would be right for J Rome’s voice, but he was pleasantly surprised. John says J Rome and Jennifer’s chemistry is infectious. Kelly is still mad because J Rome is so good, but she loved the performance.

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Kelly Clarkson and Jason Farol

Song: “Me and Mrs. Jones,” by Billy Paul

Back to the stools this week, but I have a feeling Jason will be able to let loose on his second song tonight, so there shouldn’t be any criticism regarding his stage presence here. Jason looks so comfortable singing with Kelly now, which can’t be easy given how effortless she makes singing look, and this is a great duet. I think at this point, Mercy might be my favorite Jason/Kelly combo, but I do love this. God, I am going to be so sad when this show is over. I would appreciate it if these two would make the talk show rounds and continue to sing together on TV.

Other Superstars Say: Jennifer loves that Jason has found his niche being a soul singer in a little Filipino body, and she loves where his voice is going. That's a whole lotta love. John thought last week was better than this week, and he believes that singing the same song Jason sang when he was almost eliminated is backtracking. Robin says when Jason sings that song to someone as beautiful as Kelly (grin), he needs to have a little bit of “naughty” in it. Kelly, however, notifies Robin that she has “enough naughty for both of us.” Let’s just go to commercial from there, shall we?

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Jennifer Nettles and John Glosson

Song: “The Prayer,” by Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion

Hmmm. Because both The Voice and American Idol featured this song in 2012, I’m initially a little disappointed this is the song choice. The stage is just lovely when John and Jennifer begin….and they are both a little off at the start (for me anyway). Then they nail the rest of the song. Just nail it. Well done, though I think this one is still my favorite cover.

Other Superstars Say: John (Legend) says John (Glosson) is wonderful and his voice is magnificent, and the performance itself was beautiful. Those are all very nice words. I hear Steven Tyler is back on the reality TV market.  Robin says John was off key for one note, but then his voice got going and it was magical. Kelly did not notice John being off key at all, and she says there is something very special about his voice – hypnotic.

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J Rome

Song: “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours),” by Stevie Wonder

J Rome is absolutely at home on stage. I’ve never seen him show any nerves, and he not only works the crowd, but the Superstars as well. Stevie Wonder is one of those artists who is alllllllways covered on singing competition shows, but I think this is probably the best cover of “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” I’ve seen on any of these shows.

No time to hear the Superstars…..

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John Glosson

Song: “Bless the Broken Road,” by Rascal Flatts

Good song and perfect for John’s voice. He hits notes that  Gary LeVox didn’t (and probably couldn’t) hit in Rascal Flatts' version. I love this guy, and I hope he gets a career out of this show. He's not really "mainstream" but we'll see what happens. 

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Jason Farol

Song: “Runaway Baby,” by Bruno Mars

Jason wants to be a Bruno Mars type of artist, which I can definitely see. I would have maybe preferred he sing “Grenade” but Jason still works this song. He makes me want to dance in my seat, and the crowd loves him, which makes me very happy. VOTE people!

Other Superstars Say: Robin says John sang the best but Jason brought the house down. John (Legend) loved Jason's song choice, but says J Rome should win it all. Jennifer felt like a stage mom during the performances. Kelly wants Jason to win (weird) but is still very impressed by the other two performances.

This is it! Quddus tells us that tonight's votes determine next week's "epic" finale. Again, I am rooting for Jason and Team Kelly. It could easily be my bias, but I think J Rome played it a little safe tonight. John is a very "fly under the radar" kind of guy, so I still think anyone could win. We'll find out next week - til then!

Duets Week 7 - Still LIVE

Tonight on Duets we will say goodbye to one more contestant and see how the Final Four measure up while singing their favorite Standards. We open this evening with Jennifer and Robin singing Queen’s “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” This woman must be a hoot to have around the house. I picture her dancing while making coffee in the morning. That's right - I also believe she makes her own coffee.

Quddus arrives now to let us know that we are LIVE again this week (woohoo!) and gears us up for songs by some of the biggest stars from back in the day. But first, we have to find out who is sticking around. Sooooo, whoever is eliminated doesn't get to sing the song they've been rehearsing for a week? That's a bummer for them. We start with Jason, who is SAFE! Whew. Olivia is told she is in danger, J Rome didn't appear worried for a minute and makes is way back to his seat, and John Glosson looks like he is sweating bullets when he is told he is safe. It’s down to Bridget and Olivia…..and I hope Bridget stays. Sure enough, Olivia is leaving. Robin believes her future remains bright, and everyone wishes her the best. Robin now has no remaining contestants on the show, so he can just spend the rest of the season sitting back and looking hot.

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John Legend and Bridget Carrington

Song: “Unforgettable,” by Nat King Cole

Bridget watched last week’s performance, and she wants to make sure she corrects all of the shaky and pitchy notes for this week’s number. Bridget is just gorgeous as she starts the song at the top of the staircase. She makes her way down to join John, who plays the piano and sings so smoothly I just want to close my eyes and sway back and forth like Steven Tyler does on American Idol. She does a much better job singing to the audience and not just to John this evening than she ever has before, and I am so happy she was not eliminated tonight.

Other Superstars Say: This was Kelly’s favorite Bridget performance so far, calling it effortless. Robin thinks it was lovely. Jennifer says Bridget brings such poise and class to the show.

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Jennifer Nettles and J Rome

Song: “God Bless the Child,” by Billie Holiday

Fan favorite, or at least the Superstars' favorite, J Rome wants to get back to showing his unbelievable vocal abilities after having some fun with the upbeat songs lately. He does not get to close the show this evening, but he and Jennifer give us a very bluesy, very remarkable version of this song. And can I just say how impressed I am with Jennifer? She just wins me over more and more every week. (Still Team Kelly though - make no mistake).

Other Superstars Say: Standing ovation from Kelly and Robin. Kelly is freshly crippled, complete with a sprained ankle and hairline fracture, so the fact that she stood up three times during the performance shows how great he is. She then says “you’re welcome” to America, as J Rome is now a gift from Duets. John says J Rome murdered the performance. Robin says it was a Grammy worthy performance.

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Kelly Clarkson and John Legend

Song: “You Don’t Know Me,” by Ray Charles

Swoon. Actually, double swoon. They sit simply on two stools and just sing the hell out this song. It's obvious that both singers have tremendous respect for one another and they make performing look so easy. Love it.

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Jennifer Nettles and John Glosson

Song: “Georgia on My Mind,” also by Ray Charles

John has a deep appreciation for sweet tea and macaroni and cheese....therefore I have a deep appreciation for John. Jennifer and John pay homage to their home state with this performance, tapping into their Southern roots without making the song Country. Once again, they blend incredibly well together, though John seems a bit drowned out by the music tonight. This is probably not my favorite John Glosson performance, but it's still really good.

Other Superstars Say: Robin says it was a perfect song for John’s voice. Kelly says John’s mic must not have been turned up enough because she couldn’t hear him very well. Maybe that's why he seemed drowned out by the band. John (Legend) says that performance “was the right amount of syrup.”

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Kelly Clarkson and Jason Farol

Song: “Feeling Good,” by Nina Simone

Yay! Jason gets the “pimp slot” tonight. He will have to take more of the spotlight this evening (stand a little taller?) due to Kelly’s incapacitation. Oh and by incapacitation, I mean she is sitting on top of the piano working it. No worries either way though – Jason is up for this challenge, and I greatly enjoy their performance.

Other Superstars Say: John is really impressed with how far Jason has come with his performances. Robin calls him adorable again (can we give him a little credit here?) and also says he missed a little bit of the soul due to the big band arrangement. Jennifer compliments Jason’s dedication, saying it is inspiring. Hmm. So he is most-improved but not vocally awesome? Interesting.

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Thank you to those who have been leaving comments. I certainly enjoy the input and "hearing" other opinions. Next week we go down to the Final Three, and because of Bridget's near elimination this week, I imagine she will be sent packing. I will definitely be voting for Jason tonight, and I am hoping we have a Kelly v. Jennifer showdown in the finale. Personally, I prefer John Glosson to J Rome, but I think J Rome will absolutely sail through to the end. We'll find out if Bridget lives to see another performance next week. Til then!