So Kayla and Evan went home first, and Jeanine won. I would like to mention that I was not necessarily dead wrong. My Kayla vs. Evan prediction was an attempt to course correct the universe. I have been aware that Jeanine was going to win for a few weeks now.
The only good thing about Jeanine winning was her joke about giving an acceptance speech at the Kodak. Very funny (also very cocky).
I think in the end Kayla lost a lot of steam. When she did her Samba with Max, it looked nothing like the first time she did it. Perhaps this competition is not meant for people like her, who are already great dancers. It's meant for the underdogs, the Jeanine's who rise from obscurity, the Sabra's who have only been dancing a few years, the Josh's who need braces.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Evan vs. Kayla: The Final Showdown
There are Jeanine fans out there, they were in my house tonight. I was all but convinced that Jeanine was getting by on mis-dials until I had two friends over tonight who could not stop singing her praises. One of them actually said, "Jeanine is the most beautiful girl I have seen in my entire life." I obviously disabled their cell phones before they left my place.
The Top Four dance by Wade Robson was way disappointing. Not at all up to Wade's normal caliber of dance. I also kept expecting Ade to pop out and I had to remind myself that he had gone home (inexplicably).
The Evan and Jeanine Sonya dance was so typical. All Sonya's pieces are the same. She has been totally overexposed this season. Next.
I thought Brandon's solo was sloppy where it should have been sharp. It did not compare to last weeks. He should have saved the best for last.
I was disappointed in most of the pieces tonight, starting with Brandon and Kayla's Broadway. The only cool part was when he flipped her while she was in a full split.
Jeanine's solo...whatever. I don't know why people lost their minds over it. She is so average to me.
Speaking of getting more praise than you deserve, that woman who choreographed Brandon and Evan's hip hip has not impressed me. Mad props for using "Nasty"by Janet Jackson, but the dancing did not match the intensity of the song. And way to set up Evan for failure. Of course, it seems the worse his criticism, the more votes he gets. I cannot think of a dancer that has endured more criticism and I cannot think of another dancer that evoked a CHANT OF HIS NAME from the audience.
Kayla and Jeanine's piece was the first piece of the night (and one of the only) fit for the finale. It was a beautiful battle for best dancer. It was an elegant fight set to magnificent music. It almost made me forget that Jeanine looks like a NFL linebacker compared to Kayla. Should I mention Nigel's wildly inappropriate comment about the girls completely undressing? No, better not to.
Toni and Melanie have been off all season. And they topped that effort with the western, cowboy, jive they made Evan and Kayla do. I was proud of Shanky for calling out the choreography as being bad. What might have been even more interesting was how Mary tried to stop him.
Kayla gave a below average solo, but it lead to what could have been the most powerful judges' comments of the night. Let it be stated: Adam Shankman said that Kayla is the best dancer this season, and one of the best of all the seasons put together (never have I felt such sweet vindication as when he named Danny as one of the greats). Then Nigel supported him by saying that if Kayla doesn't get a lot of votes it's because people assume she is safe, AKA, Nigel told people to pick up the phone and vote for Kayla. I thought Kayla had it locked up, until...
Jeanine and Brandon's Paso Doble. Wow. My favorite SYTYCD Paso Doble to date. Loved it. Didn't want to, but loved it. It is the kind of number that makes people pick up the phone.
Cat asked the judges point blank who they thought was going to win, and only Nigel would answer. Let's dissect his response. He said Evan was the most popular, and Kayla was the best, but that it would come down to Brandon and Jeanine. I think he meant the first part of what he said, but realized that people vote for who he DOESN'T like, so he threw in the part about Jeanine and Brandon to ensure that the majority of the votes would be for Kayla and Evan. Did you follow that?
I think this is a battle of the most popular vs. the most talented. Evan has a following and Kayla is the best.
And if Jeanine wins, there is no God.
The Top Four dance by Wade Robson was way disappointing. Not at all up to Wade's normal caliber of dance. I also kept expecting Ade to pop out and I had to remind myself that he had gone home (inexplicably).
The Evan and Jeanine Sonya dance was so typical. All Sonya's pieces are the same. She has been totally overexposed this season. Next.
I thought Brandon's solo was sloppy where it should have been sharp. It did not compare to last weeks. He should have saved the best for last.
I was disappointed in most of the pieces tonight, starting with Brandon and Kayla's Broadway. The only cool part was when he flipped her while she was in a full split.
Jeanine's solo...whatever. I don't know why people lost their minds over it. She is so average to me.
Speaking of getting more praise than you deserve, that woman who choreographed Brandon and Evan's hip hip has not impressed me. Mad props for using "Nasty"by Janet Jackson, but the dancing did not match the intensity of the song. And way to set up Evan for failure. Of course, it seems the worse his criticism, the more votes he gets. I cannot think of a dancer that has endured more criticism and I cannot think of another dancer that evoked a CHANT OF HIS NAME from the audience.
Kayla and Jeanine's piece was the first piece of the night (and one of the only) fit for the finale. It was a beautiful battle for best dancer. It was an elegant fight set to magnificent music. It almost made me forget that Jeanine looks like a NFL linebacker compared to Kayla. Should I mention Nigel's wildly inappropriate comment about the girls completely undressing? No, better not to.
Toni and Melanie have been off all season. And they topped that effort with the western, cowboy, jive they made Evan and Kayla do. I was proud of Shanky for calling out the choreography as being bad. What might have been even more interesting was how Mary tried to stop him.
Kayla gave a below average solo, but it lead to what could have been the most powerful judges' comments of the night. Let it be stated: Adam Shankman said that Kayla is the best dancer this season, and one of the best of all the seasons put together (never have I felt such sweet vindication as when he named Danny as one of the greats). Then Nigel supported him by saying that if Kayla doesn't get a lot of votes it's because people assume she is safe, AKA, Nigel told people to pick up the phone and vote for Kayla. I thought Kayla had it locked up, until...
Jeanine and Brandon's Paso Doble. Wow. My favorite SYTYCD Paso Doble to date. Loved it. Didn't want to, but loved it. It is the kind of number that makes people pick up the phone.
Cat asked the judges point blank who they thought was going to win, and only Nigel would answer. Let's dissect his response. He said Evan was the most popular, and Kayla was the best, but that it would come down to Brandon and Jeanine. I think he meant the first part of what he said, but realized that people vote for who he DOESN'T like, so he threw in the part about Jeanine and Brandon to ensure that the majority of the votes would be for Kayla and Evan. Did you follow that?
I think this is a battle of the most popular vs. the most talented. Evan has a following and Kayla is the best.
And if Jeanine wins, there is no God.
Belated Re-Cap
First of all, I LOVED the "Send in the Clowns" routine. Loved it. And it just goes to prove my theory that a good song is half the battle. Was it at all a coincidence that Evan was the clown that got left out of the box? Is that not a metaphor for his role on this show? The guy that doesn't fit in. Which leads me into my next topic....
Evan deserves a medal for all the shit he has put up with on this show, but he does not deserve to win. I could not believe Lil C said he was surprised that Evan was not "swallowed by Ade and Brandon." Way harsh. Yet, he is the weakest out of the three. NO QUESTION.
I am surprised they even had an Ade "goodbye montage" on hand. No one could have seen this coming. I keep picturing the guys in the editing room being like, "Ade? Really? We have to put this together for THIS week. But we have Evan's all set to go." It's just an unspeakable tragedy that he went home and it makes me question the validity of the voting/this show. I love Brandon, but a part of me acknowledges that Ade was better. Essentially, the best male dancer did not make it to the top four. Which leads me into my next topic...
The best girl is Kayla, then Janette (who is now watching from some Bank of America in Miami), then I guess it is really a tie between Melissa and Jeanine. However, I think I would have rather seen Melissa in the top four as Jeanine is getting all cocky these days. I must comment again on the overly mean face she made throughout her hip hop routine that was completely distracting and weird.
I have this horrible feeling that they are setting Jeanine up to win. And I literally will not be able to handle it. At this point, the only acceptable winners are Kayla and Brandon. Anything else and I may have to stop watching this show.
Evan deserves a medal for all the shit he has put up with on this show, but he does not deserve to win. I could not believe Lil C said he was surprised that Evan was not "swallowed by Ade and Brandon." Way harsh. Yet, he is the weakest out of the three. NO QUESTION.
I am surprised they even had an Ade "goodbye montage" on hand. No one could have seen this coming. I keep picturing the guys in the editing room being like, "Ade? Really? We have to put this together for THIS week. But we have Evan's all set to go." It's just an unspeakable tragedy that he went home and it makes me question the validity of the voting/this show. I love Brandon, but a part of me acknowledges that Ade was better. Essentially, the best male dancer did not make it to the top four. Which leads me into my next topic...
The best girl is Kayla, then Janette (who is now watching from some Bank of America in Miami), then I guess it is really a tie between Melissa and Jeanine. However, I think I would have rather seen Melissa in the top four as Jeanine is getting all cocky these days. I must comment again on the overly mean face she made throughout her hip hop routine that was completely distracting and weird.
I have this horrible feeling that they are setting Jeanine up to win. And I literally will not be able to handle it. At this point, the only acceptable winners are Kayla and Brandon. Anything else and I may have to stop watching this show.
New Idea for Voting
Judging by the final four, the show clearly needs to revamp the way dancers are eliminated.
Idea #1, Don't let the public vote
Why is America deciding in the first place? I get the whole concept of "America's favorite dancer," but I just cannot believe that is actually what is happening. What if there is a correlation between bad taste, and the number of times a person is willing to call and vote for a dancer? I think that is the only way you can explain Janette and Ade leaving. Why not leave it to the experts so that the person who wins actually deserve it.
Idea # 2, Paying to vote against someone
Another way to counteract bad dancers going forward is to allow people to vote against someone. For example, if you are unsure if you like Melissa better than Kayla, yet you know you really want Jeanine to go home, you could vote AGAINST Jeanine. In this scenario, a bad vote against you would take away five votes for you. You could control excessive bad votes by attaching a fee. So if you really dislike someone, you can put a dent in their numbers, but its going to cost you $1.50.
Idea #1, Don't let the public vote
Why is America deciding in the first place? I get the whole concept of "America's favorite dancer," but I just cannot believe that is actually what is happening. What if there is a correlation between bad taste, and the number of times a person is willing to call and vote for a dancer? I think that is the only way you can explain Janette and Ade leaving. Why not leave it to the experts so that the person who wins actually deserve it.
Idea # 2, Paying to vote against someone
Another way to counteract bad dancers going forward is to allow people to vote against someone. For example, if you are unsure if you like Melissa better than Kayla, yet you know you really want Jeanine to go home, you could vote AGAINST Jeanine. In this scenario, a bad vote against you would take away five votes for you. You could control excessive bad votes by attaching a fee. So if you really dislike someone, you can put a dent in their numbers, but its going to cost you $1.50.
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