Season Four

The season continues to grow on me the more distance I get from it. Lots of good dancers. Lots of memorable routines. This was back when I wasn’t completely over NappyTab. I wouldn’t mind seeing solid representation from this group in the All Stars stable.

Contemporary

Mark – Oh, my pretty boy from Hawai’i. I loved Mark so much and his quirky style. He’s hopefully had time to work on the dead fish feet. That aside, he’s one of the best performers ever on the show.

Will – Grace. Beauty. Power. Speed. Technique. One of the top dancers ever on the show. He was adept at both contemporary and hip hop. (I still marvel at how he killed that hip hop with Jessica) Will’s another one that should’ve gone much farther than he did.

Katee – She was a total surprise to me. I started out really disliking her stank attitude, but she won me over with her dancing. She’s just mesmerizing and lovely to watch. One of the few times Uncle Nigel knew better than me.

Courtney – Really solid dancer with great technique and performance quality. I would happily take her over a more technically skilled but less likeable presence like Mischa Chan any day.

Hip Hop

Josh – What can you even say? It was a joy to watch him dance each week. And has there been a better hip hop performance than Josh and Katie in No Air? The more I’ve gotten to know NappyTab’s work, the more I realize that the quality of the performers in both No Air and Bleeding Love really made those routines happen.

Twitch – I wouldn’t have picked him to make the finals because I think he really struggled outside his genre, but as a hip hop dancer, he’s one of the best to ever be on this show. Super creative and well executed solos.

Gev – Great breaker and he held it down for the tradition of Russian hotness on the show. (Or ex-Soviet Union hotness? Eastern European hotness? Something like that) He’s another one who threw down consistently great solos.

Komfort – Not that there’s an extensive field, but she’s clearly the best female hip hop dancer they’ve ever had on the show.

Ballroom

Chelsie – The feet on this girl. I die! One of those people that was just born to dance. I actually liked her better in other dance styles than in her own, but there’s no denying she’s a great partner. She probably wouldn’t be able to participate what with the whole DwtS gig, but it would be great to have her in the All Stars stable

Season Five

Even though this was the beginning of what I feel has been a downward trend on the show, there were still some really great dancers. This season actually benefits from the restriction to the dancer’s own style, as lots of these folks were incredibly strong at what they do, but struggled to master other styles of dance.

Contemporary

Brandon – Loved him from the very first time they showed his audition for S4. He has so much power (I’d like to see a little more finesse, actually, and hope that he’s developed some since last we saw him) He’s really got unlimited talent and potential. I don’t think there’s a lot he can’t do in his own genre.

Ade – He snuck up on me as I didn’t have a huge impression of him from the audition rounds. Much like Brandon, I think he can grow a lot in musicality and subtlety and that will greatly improve his dancing. But he has great attack, super solid technique and amazing energy as a dancer.

Jeanine – Gorgeous girl. I have no quibbles with her win. She’s probably the best girl turner in the bunch. Just an amazing center on this girl. Yep, she’s fun!

Kayla – Another stank face, but I’m helpless to resist those lines. She has extension for days. She creates lines when she dances that are simply exquisite to look at.

Hip Hop

Chbeeb – I’ll take him but only because as an All Star he’d be limited to hip hop and the fool is amazing at what he does.

Ballroom

Janette – Firecracker. This little girl is fierce! She’s so good. I don’t even know where to start. Her Tango with Brandon was hands down the best Tango ever laid down on that stage. She looked like a pro. She’s a great, great partner.

Broadway

Evan – Again, I’ll take him but only because he would be limited to this genre and he is great at what he does.

Ballet

Melissa – Grandma Moses is lovely. So graceful and light. And her center is ridiculous, but why wouldn’t it be. Pointe is a bitch and if you don’t have a solid center, you’re toast.

Season Six

Poor little S6. I could only come up with 5 dancers I’d put into the All Stars stable. 5 of 20. That is not a good look. It’s all about the talent, y’all.

Contemporary

Jakob – Gorgeous. Lovely and amazing. Heavenly. Just a beautifully trained, versatile dancer. Got to be in the top 5 of male contemporary dancers ever on this show.

Kathryn – She is so elegant and my goodness was she ever a great partner. She built an incredible connection with everyone she danced with and she always managed to make her partners look good. She also managed to help them raise their games because she was so excellent. The little high talker completely charmed me and made me do a total reversal on my initial impression of her.

Ellenore – Another dancer with a center from god. She is so grounded. I think she’s the best modern dancer they’ve had on the show. She screams out Graham technique. There’s nothing better than seeing her in a deep plie. Fancy!

Hip Hop

Russell – Russell makes me smile. That’s all.

Legacy – I love him. I’ve seen him since the show finished in some LXD stuff and he is crazy amazing. Some of the stuff he can do is just not possible.

AI: really liking Crystal. She's got a set of pipes on her.

I LOVE Crystal. I want to walk around on Tuesdays with a shirt that says, "Vote for Mamasox!"

She gives me chills in the best way.

Usher is the guest judge. No one ever accused him of being the world’s best singer. Great entertainer though. Take your glasses off, fool.

Ryan has some kind of a mini-mohawk working. I don’t like it.

Siobahn/Through the Fire/Chaka Kahn - What are you wearing? Chaka Khan? Uh oh. She can’t rock it like that, y’all. I’m sorry. She’s on pitch, so there’s that. She has a great voice. But this is the totally wrong song for her. You could hear her pushing and the strain in her voice. She has a big voice, but nobody has as big a voice as Chaka.

I hate the look backstage. Down with the look backstage.

Cowboy Casey/Hold On/Sam and Dave – This kid has a lot of Velveeta in him. Although I will give him props for singing a new song. Y’all, this is bad. He’s so honky tonk. He’s not even Velveeta. He’s government cheese. This kid needs to stick to being a guitarist because he’s quite good at it. Once again, he’s on pitch and that counts for a lot. And it’s the kind of performance the judges will like. Right in his box. He learns quickly. And yes, we all know that Judge #4 would like to see more from Cowboy Casey, but that doesn’t mean Ryan had to go for the cheap joke.

Big Mike/Ready for Love/india.arie – Gorgeous song. I disagree with Usher. The last thing this fool needs is to go bigger. He needs to work on pulling it in and being intimate without being all pushed up on everyone all the time. Wow. He’s doing a really good job with this song. Very understated for him. Oh my god, swaybots. How can you not sway in time to a song this slow? That was actually kind of great. His best performance to date. I agree with the Dawg. It was really good for him to pull it back. He really, really needed that. Oh, dammit, Judge #4. You’ve never heard this song before? Why is she on this show? Seriously. She knows less about music than my father, who instantly recognized the song. Turn on a radio every now and again.

Didi Benami/What Becomes of the Brokenhearted?/ - Stop crying. It’s old. Whoops. She’s going off the pitch at the end of every line. And I know that kind of hiccup in her voice is kind of her thing, but it just really does not suit this song at all. And then, did she just start screaming at me? I’m scared now. Egads, y’all, that was bad. And why is Ryan all up in the Kool-Aid and not knowing the flavor? That ain’t right.

Tim Urban/Sweet Love/Anita Baker – Oh, hell no! He sucks ass even in rehearsal. Usher had to walk away from that fool. That “baby” is killing me. Killing me. This kid can’t sing. At all. This reminds me of that scene in Dreamgirls where the white group steals James “Thunder” Early’s song Cadillac Car and turn it into a light FM, muzak monstrosity. That’s what he’s doing to Miss Anita Baker. He’s turned this into something you’d hear at the dentist’s office – and promptly beg him to turn off. Oh, hell no! At least you sang in tune? Has it really come to this, American Idol? Just sing in tune? Wow. Ellen was hilarious. Don’t sneak up on us.

Andrew Garcia/Forever/Chris Brown – Really? Can anyone hear this song and not think of it as the official white people wedding anthem? When do the rhythmless groomsmen come shuffling down the aisle? He sounds better than he's sounded since . . . Straight Up. I’m actually enjoying this. This is making me remember that half second where I really liked him. Although, honestly, this thing – this acoustic deconstruction thing – is the only thing he does. And would you buy a whole album full of songs that sounded just like that? Exactly. Still, good recovery, cholo ex-banger. Respect. When you smile, the whole world smiles with you. So close, Ellen. So close. And Simon’s right. Personality counts.

Katie/Chain of Fools/Aretha Franklin – Yeah. I refuse. I can no longer deal with her on any level.

Lee Dewyze/Treat Her Like a Lady/The Cornelius Brothers – I think he can do well with this song. And from the jump, he sounds really good. But on the real? This kid is just incredibly boring. No charisma. No star power. He’s just kind of there. Despite the judges trying to pimp him, he’s unpimpable. He’s the most milquetoast guy around.

Crystal in stilettos? I’m all about it.

Mamasox/Midnight Train to Georgia/Gladys Knight and the Pips – That’s the jam right there. I think she is going to knock it out the box. Oh, my word. This girl can flat out blow. That was amazing. Best song choice of the night, for sure. I agree that I don’t need to hear that from her every week, but I loved hearing it tonight. And she looked fabulous.

Aaron/Ain’t No Sunshine/Bill Withers – OK, Kris killed this song last season so why is he doing it now? Wobbly, wobbly on all the held notes at the end of his phrases. That gone is going to need abuse counseling. And he did exactly what Usher told him not to do on the “I knows”. And then he went flat at the end of the song. So let’s see. Why did he do this song? I gotta ask it again.

There were actually a couple of people who were quite good this week. Mamasox, as usual. But Big Mike was the best he's been since the early audition rounds. Andrew made me remember why I ever liked him in the first place. Lee sang really well while still being boring.

I think Didi is going home. I wish it were Tim.

kat, I love your thoughts on SYTYCD and pretty much nodded right along through all the posts.

Drag Race! I really liked this challenge. This week pretty much also sealed my turnaround on Tatiana and Raven. I started out liking Tati and not liking Raven, and now I've flipped on both of them. I was not as impressed with Tyra as the judges were. The makeup she did on her mother was ATROCIOUS.

Jujubee's 2nd week in the bottom two... that's not good. And we had to say goodbye to Pandora! Sadface.

Just watched Idol, and, why are we having this competition? Couldn't we just give the prize to Crystal and let everyon eelse go home? I mean, there are a few others who aren't embarrassing themselves, but Crystal is the truth, man.

She's so much better than everyone else, it's a little embarrassing. She's a total natural.

AI: I will never forgive anyone who ruins Anita Baker.

I take this very personally. What do I have to do to get this guy off the tv?

S. can't understand why Tim's still there, but I keep telling him Didi or even Katie will go before him, because the teen girl vote is a lot stronger than the teen boy vote.