SYTYCD: the Final 10 Decision
So there was one couple who were way below the rest. (Unfortunately a local kid – but hey, I can’t let that affect me) Then there were two couples who normally are excellent but had some bad performances. Given that I think it’s pretty clear who the bottom three will be and who will go home. Of course there may be surprises but here’s my picks.
Thayne and Comfort are just significantly below the rest. Thayne’s smile just bugs me for some reason even though it’s actually a pretty common thing around here. I will say that I thought his hip hop was pretty good. But the judges were right. There’s zero chemistry there and Comfort’s lack of training is showing through. I say they’ll be in the bottom three and be picked to go home no matter how great their solos are. They’ve been in the bottom three every week and they needed strong performances tonight and didn’t have it. Both their routines were among the worst.
Will and Jessica had the next worst dance with their quick step. Yeah it’s a death knell for nearly anyone who picks it. But man. They really were clunky. Jessica in particular. Which is sad because most of her problem is self-confidence. If they aren’t in the bottom three it’s purely because of their first dance which was among the best of the night by far and some of Jessica’s best of the season. Even though their quickstep was really bad though, can I just say how plain nasty Mia Michaels was? Wow. You could see Jessica just trying to hold it in. She wasn’t sad she was pure pissed. That was way over the line I thought. Michaels may be a great choreographer but she’s always been one of my least favorite judges. She either loves you in which case she excuses too much (such as with Thayne) or she doesn’t in which case she’s just mean.
Twitch and Kherington would be my final pick. They might escape just because I think a lot of people like them. But that last dance was just plain bad. And while Twitch nailed that other dance I thought Kherington looked awkward even when she was doing good. Then she got tired and the whole thing fell apart.
Could there be someone else? Perhaps. But I think the differences of the top three and bottom three were profound enough that it’s an easy decision.
What’s surprising to me is just how solid the top 10 couples are. In prior years it seemed like there would be 6 fantastic dancers in the top 10 and then 6 solid dancers below them. The prior two years it was a bit iffy of who would be cut the final week before the top 10. This year there’s a pretty clear division between the top 10 and bottom 10.
Next week when we have the top 10 I think there are a few dancers who will struggle but I’m really not sure who the final 4 will be whereas in prior years I thought I had a pretty good idea. Plus the remaining dancers with a few exceptions are technically pretty solid. Those who aren’t (Gev & Mark) are pretty solid in their own styles and typically manage to bring out good performances. Among the girls I think Jessica and then perhaps Courtney and Kherington are the weakest. Jessica’s a very strong dancer but really psyches herself out. If she can get over that she’ll go farther but I’m not sure she can.
Here’s my pick for the final 4:
Chelsie, Will, Joshua, Katee
But honestly Twitch could sneak in there even though I don’t think he will. There’s a chance Katee might fall out, but only if Joshua was really bringing out the best in her. I doubt that’ll happen though. Joshua might fall out as well, but I think he’s practiced a lot more styles of dance than people realize. He also is pretty amazing in his own style. He’s the person I hope wins even though I’m cheering for Chelsie who is our local girl. (We seem to have one each year in the top 5 – kind of surprising when you think how small the community is here.)
BTW – can I say how weird it is when artists use the term “honest” to express how well you fake something? That is the better “liar” you are the more honest you are. Huh? Worst word of the evening.
Comment by Clark — July 9, 2008 @ 11:42 pm
I’m not ready tpo pick the final four yet, though I agree that Chelsie and Mark seem to be headed there.
I think you’re right that Thayne and Comfort appear to be the weakest couple right now. I think they’re probably doomed.
Comment by MCQ — July 10, 2008 @ 12:00 am
I really like Mark but I don’t think he’s got the technique to make it to the final 4.
Comment by Clark — July 10, 2008 @ 10:34 am
What did everyone think of the Garden of Eden piece? At first I was thinking, “What the heck” and then at the end I was convinced it was genius. I have to watch it again. I missed the last 30 minutes of the show last night, have to watch it on my DVR still.
Comment by Susan M — July 10, 2008 @ 11:16 am
I loved the Garden of Eden piece and in it I finally saw what everyone is going on about with Will; he was just amazing in that piece. My problem, though, is Jessica. I don’t understand why everyone keeps saying she is such a great dancer with a self confidence problem; I’m afraid she has a pretty clear understanding of how good she is. I think she is a decent dancer who is way out of her league on this show and she knows it. Although I agree with you on one point with Mia Michaels as a judge–if she likes you she’ll be kinder to you than you deserve (Thayne) she hit in right on the head last night with Jessica. She has been carried through by Will so far, and I think, has really held him back from showing what he can do. She is not nearly strong enough to do a lot of the choreography she’s given and she looks “clunky” no matter what they’re dancing; the difference between hers and Will’s strength levels last night was profound. I think you’re right that Comfort will go home tonight, simply because she’s been in the bottom three so much, but next week once Jessica has a new partner who is not a strong enough dancer to pull her through, she’ll be gone.
Comment by shazbraz — July 10, 2008 @ 1:00 pm
I’d lay good odds Jessica would be the next to go unless she kicks it up a level. And I think you’re right that partnering will show off more weaknesses. (I suspect this will happen with Mark as well)
What I’m most curious about is how Joshua and Katee perform with others. With them it’s really hard to figure out if one person is carrying the other. I’m not sure why Katee gets as much praise as she does. But then I’m not really big into contemporary dance so maybe there’s something obvious I’m missing.
Comment by clark — July 10, 2008 @ 1:11 pm
I wonder about Mark as well. I like him, so I want him to continue to do well, but Chelsea is so engrossing that I forget to actually watch him sometimes so I’m not really sure how well he is doing. I
think Joshua and Katee right now are both pretty great, so it will be interesting to see if that changes with a change in partner. I do think Katee is pretty talented (I love Contemporary dance, though!) One of the problems in this style of dance is that everyone does the same stuff and kinda just looks the same as everyone else but Katee has something different. I don’t know that I could put it into words, but she has a nice quality to her movement that is a little more nuanced than you usually get with someone so young.
Comment by shazbraz — July 10, 2008 @ 1:35 pm
Oh, and Big Ol’ Yay for Siouxsie on prime time TV!!
Comment by shazbraz — July 10, 2008 @ 1:36 pm
Really? I need to watch the rest of it!
BTW, I was really surprised at how well Kherington did with krump. I thought she’d be a disaster but I couldn’t take my eyes off her.
Comment by Susan M — July 10, 2008 @ 1:44 pm
I thought she did good, too until the end, like others have mentioned. I actually wondered if she was sick or if she got hurt of something because she just kind of…stopped there at the end.
Comment by shazbraz — July 10, 2008 @ 2:53 pm
Bottom three: Kherington & Twitch (just because they seemed to have an off night, but they’ll be completely safe)
Will & Jessica
Thayne & Comfort
Thayne is totally gone, I think it’s a toss up between Comfort & Jessica who goes. Mia clearly doesn’t like Jessica, so since “her” Thayne is getting cut will she get to get rid of Jessica? Will they want a female breaker in the top 10 instead of another contemporary dancer? They’ve only split up one couple so far, so I’m almost leaning toward Jessica, but the Adam / Eve dance was AMAZING (Mia Michaels), so it may swing back to Comfort.
The non chemistry between Comfort & Thayne was painful to watch. I agree with Nigel that I wish another couple had danced the Mandy Moore routine. It would have been great to watch, then.
How fun was that Bollywood routine last night?
Comment by gabby — July 10, 2008 @ 3:51 pm
OK yeah the Bollywood was cool. And that Creatures song was even better than the dance routine!
Comment by Susan M — July 10, 2008 @ 8:45 pm
Hey, I called everything tonight. Next week Jessica is going home because there’s a significant gap between her and the rest of the women left. My call for guys is harder. Most of the guys at this stage are pretty solid. A lot will depend on partnering skills. I’m calling Gev but it could be almost anyone.
Comment by clark — July 11, 2008 @ 12:03 am
Comfort is hip hop not a breaker. They haven’t really shown any female breakers this year (unlike last year where one made the final 10)
Comment by clark — July 11, 2008 @ 12:06 am
I thought they specifically called Comfort a breaker, not a trained hip-hopper. Anyway. Glad she’s gone. As well as Thayne’s ridiculous smile.
This is where it gets crazy & harder to call – once they turn it over to America to kick everyone off individually & not as couples.
Comment by gabby — July 11, 2008 @ 8:24 am
Will deserves to win. It was impressive to see that pro dance troupe perform. And he really does measure up to them.
He seems like a bit of a ringer, though, being a Debbie Allen protege.
Comment by Susan M — July 11, 2008 @ 9:21 am
Will is crazy-good, but the dancer that was that good last year is not the one that won. It will be interesting to see if he wins over the voters.
Although everything kind of pointed to Comfort going home, I was still surprised by it once I saw their solos and heard the comments they made to Jessica. I thought that they might keep Comfort around for the tour, especially once they basically told Jessica, “we’ve been terribly disappointed in you throughout the competition and even tonight….but we’re keeping you anyway.” That’s weird to me. I wish the judges would give a little bit more reasoning why they make the decisions they do.
Comment by shazbraz — July 11, 2008 @ 10:30 am
See? I thought Jessica’s solo was tons better than Comfort’s last night. I thought Comfort knew she was going & just phoned it in.
And, yeah. I totally get the Danny vibe from Will as well…maybe not as bad, but still.
Comment by gabby — July 11, 2008 @ 12:22 pm
No, during the tryouts they called Comfort the best female hip hop person to ever try out.
I don’t see the Danny in Will if only because Will has that performance aspect that Danny was lacking. Plus Will is very humble and gracious while Danny last year came off as arrogant. I’m not sure that was intended but that’s what he communicated.
Jessica was kept because the judges feel she’s capable of so much more whereas Comfort never had that technical training. Plus for every really atrocious dance Jessica does she has one great dance. Comfort has always been kind of mediocre and lasted this long because of her early solos and because others were worse. (Like that Miami girl with the bad bleach job)
I’m not at all convinced Will will win. But he may really do much better once he’s not with Jessica. We’ll see. Next week should be very interesting with new partners.
Comment by Clark — July 11, 2008 @ 4:20 pm