Well, I haven't even watched the Salt Lake City Auditions (I was on vacation and I just wasn't able to put off my Vegas episode expectation long enough to sit through that one before last week) and last week so drama-filled that, honestly, what could any of my sniping have added? Plus they never end up showing everyone and it was kind of the Alexa show, so there was nothing left to say. They cut some people I liked (like Brie from the Dallas auditions) but tonight, it's go time. The field gets narrowed down to the Top 20, and then, well let the blood, guts and ligaments meet the indie music scene as the show begins for real! Cat's all dolled up in a sequined mini-dress and Zooey Deschanel is joining the PAR-TAY so let's not dilly dally any longer.
IN within the first 15 minutes (and that's including an intro talking about the new rules-there'll be a guy and a girl winner this year) and without much fanfare is:
Alexa
George (who got like no air time last week right? I forgot about him)
Will
Amber (who made it on her third try, an underdog status that I always root for)
The contemporary dance (to Jessie J's acoustic cover of Rhiana's We Found Love) is choreographed by Tyce . I will never stop confusing Alexa with Ryan from last year and while all are definitely worthy of their spots, George is the standout here. He's sheer joy on legs. When Nigel says that if every light went out George would still shine, I agree with him, in a non-cynical way.
Segment 2 begins with Nick crying and unable to speak, and thank goodness he's made it through because that blubbering about "it's my time" would have felt really awkward if he hadn't made it. This isn't a Step Up movie and an underdog sports television series Nick!
Then they cruelly send in both Whitney and Lindsay together, who play up their friendship and Adam Shankman is just sick, y'all. But they almost GOTCHA didn't they?! They're both in.
IN:
Their Jason Gilkison latin routine to J.Lo (& Pitbull of course) is totally entertaining. Nick looks like a missing Jonas brother from far away
Segment 3: It's classically trained dancers time! Eliana is up first and after much hamming it up and "aren't I quirky?!" moments she's in. Next up is Daniel (aka hottie Australian ballet dancer) and Cheon (aka Swiss Ken doll) are pitted against each other in the Thunderdome of Tights. And they're both in too! What did they put in the judges drinks this year? It's sheer insanity!
IN:
Eliana
Daniel
Chehon
(The songs are Romantic Inclinations/Like A Shot/Fury but I can't find them anywhere)- Cheon's timing is all over the place though, and while I'm happy to see pointe/classic ballet represented very well, I do think it's clear that Daniel is the stronger guy here. Seriously, did you see those chaines?
Segment 4: Tiffany v. Audrey, it's the Clash of the Jazz Titans. Tiffany's in... so is Audrey? This editing is freaking me out. Janelle Bellydancer Isis is next. After reminding everyone of her star quality and uniqueness, she's...all together now...in, of course. Janelle is sitting out tonight leaving all of the Sonya Tayeh heavy lifting to Audrey and Tiffany.
IN:
Tiffany
Audrey
Jannelle
Set to Awolnation's Sail, I have to say Tiffany looked like the stronger girl.
Segment 5: This is where Amelia (the girl who's had the second most air time to Alexa) dukes it out with Jill Johnson and of, course, Amelia's in. Jill, we hardly knew you...at all...because Amelia was taking up all your air time with her Charlize Chaplin pomp and circumstance. So far, I have to say, Amelia is no Melanie. Sure she's pixie-esque, but there's something that doesn't feel genuine to me.
To Efterklang's Modern Drift, it almost feels as if the costumes at least are playing too much to Amelia's flapper persona, but it's hard to go wrong with a Stacy Tookey routine.
Segment 6: 7 guys are left, 3 spots remaining. It's disheartening because there are some good guys in there. Cole (Mortal Kombat) is in. Next up is Brandon and Devon, both steppers, but only Brandon makes it in. Feliciano and Cyrus are the last two standing/sitting. Feliciano hasn't gotten any airtime, that I remember and Cyrus is the "underdog" with personality to spare. I'm sad about the fact that the judges are making this a choice, I'll be honest. And Cyrus is through
IN:
Cole
Brandon
Cyrus
While I can't help the feeling that I'm sinking in a vat of Velveeta with the baseball themed routine, what I did like is that each of these unique guys got their chance to shine. From the song (Resolve by Nathan Lanier) to the solo moments, Christopher Scott choreographed something I couldn't help rewinding despite the schmaltz of the costumes. Not an easy task. I'm really interested to see how Cyrus fits in to this mix. Cole has presence and power and while all of them were great, I'm going to go out on a limb and put him up as one of my top guys.
Alright, now it's time for the all-girls Travis Wahl routine. I'm psyched, and curious to see if there are standouts. Danced to Sennen's "Where the Light Gets In" I love how at moments it looks like moving sculpture. It looks amazing. There's such a gut-wrenching emotion to so much of his stuff.
Next up is Sonya Tayeh's routine for the Top 10 boys. Sonya's not joking around in her rehearsal and she gets straight to the shirtlessness. Thanks Sonya! Set to Steed Lord's Precognition, it's impressive. Did you see the way they threw George around?
The finale is a Mia Michael's Top 20 routine to Kaskade's "Eyes" and it's pretty freaking wonderful. What I loved about it was that they were in uniforms with sunglasses so that only their dancing could set them apart, but they danced so beautifully as a unit too.
Overall the only thing I was slightly disappointed in was Zooey Deschanel's inability to be the kind of stand in judge that Jesse Tyler Ferguson or even Lady Gaga were. But then again, it's the introductory show, so she didn't have to do much. I'm still a big fan of hers though and cannot WAIT for New Girl to be on DVD. If you're missing it as much as I am, this might help you through, if not Tough Schmidt! you should watch it anyway. Max Greenfield is fantastic:
So...it's prediction time right?
Top 5 Girls:
Alexa
Amber
Elianna
Lindsay
Tiffany
Top 5 Boys:
Matthew
Daniel
Cole
George
Dareian
I'm betting on George being Top 3 if not winner in the boys' bracket.
Playlist:
Jessie J-We Found Love (Radio 1 version)
Jennifer Lopez f/Pitbull-Dance Again
Ballet routine-Romantic Inclinations/Like A Shot/Fury
Awolnation-Sail
Efterklang-Modern Drift
Nathan Lanier-Resolve
Sennen-Where the Light Gets In
Steel Lord-Precognition
Kaskade-Eyes
IN within the first 15 minutes (and that's including an intro talking about the new rules-there'll be a guy and a girl winner this year) and without much fanfare is:
Alexa
George (who got like no air time last week right? I forgot about him)
Will
Amber (who made it on her third try, an underdog status that I always root for)
The contemporary dance (to Jessie J's acoustic cover of Rhiana's We Found Love) is choreographed by Tyce . I will never stop confusing Alexa with Ryan from last year and while all are definitely worthy of their spots, George is the standout here. He's sheer joy on legs. When Nigel says that if every light went out George would still shine, I agree with him, in a non-cynical way.
Segment 2 begins with Nick crying and unable to speak, and thank goodness he's made it through because that blubbering about "it's my time" would have felt really awkward if he hadn't made it. This isn't a Step Up movie and an underdog sports television series Nick!
Then they cruelly send in both Whitney and Lindsay together, who play up their friendship and Adam Shankman is just sick, y'all. But they almost GOTCHA didn't they?! They're both in.
IN:
Nick
Whitney
Lindsay
Their Jason Gilkison latin routine to J.Lo (& Pitbull of course) is totally entertaining. Nick looks like a missing Jonas brother from far away
Segment 3: It's classically trained dancers time! Eliana is up first and after much hamming it up and "aren't I quirky?!" moments she's in. Next up is Daniel (aka hottie Australian ballet dancer) and Cheon (aka Swiss Ken doll) are pitted against each other in the Thunderdome of Tights. And they're both in too! What did they put in the judges drinks this year? It's sheer insanity!
IN:
Eliana
Daniel
Chehon
(The songs are Romantic Inclinations/Like A Shot/Fury but I can't find them anywhere)- Cheon's timing is all over the place though, and while I'm happy to see pointe/classic ballet represented very well, I do think it's clear that Daniel is the stronger guy here. Seriously, did you see those chaines?
Segment 4: Tiffany v. Audrey, it's the Clash of the Jazz Titans. Tiffany's in... so is Audrey? This editing is freaking me out. Janelle Bellydancer Isis is next. After reminding everyone of her star quality and uniqueness, she's...all together now...in, of course. Janelle is sitting out tonight leaving all of the Sonya Tayeh heavy lifting to Audrey and Tiffany.
IN:
Tiffany
Audrey
Jannelle
Set to Awolnation's Sail, I have to say Tiffany looked like the stronger girl.
Segment 5: This is where Amelia (the girl who's had the second most air time to Alexa) dukes it out with Jill Johnson and of, course, Amelia's in. Jill, we hardly knew you...at all...because Amelia was taking up all your air time with her Charlize Chaplin pomp and circumstance. So far, I have to say, Amelia is no Melanie. Sure she's pixie-esque, but there's something that doesn't feel genuine to me.
IN:
Matthew
Dareian
Janaya
Amelia
To Efterklang's Modern Drift, it almost feels as if the costumes at least are playing too much to Amelia's flapper persona, but it's hard to go wrong with a Stacy Tookey routine.
Segment 6: 7 guys are left, 3 spots remaining. It's disheartening because there are some good guys in there. Cole (Mortal Kombat) is in. Next up is Brandon and Devon, both steppers, but only Brandon makes it in. Feliciano and Cyrus are the last two standing/sitting. Feliciano hasn't gotten any airtime, that I remember and Cyrus is the "underdog" with personality to spare. I'm sad about the fact that the judges are making this a choice, I'll be honest. And Cyrus is through
IN:
Cole
Brandon
Cyrus
While I can't help the feeling that I'm sinking in a vat of Velveeta with the baseball themed routine, what I did like is that each of these unique guys got their chance to shine. From the song (Resolve by Nathan Lanier) to the solo moments, Christopher Scott choreographed something I couldn't help rewinding despite the schmaltz of the costumes. Not an easy task. I'm really interested to see how Cyrus fits in to this mix. Cole has presence and power and while all of them were great, I'm going to go out on a limb and put him up as one of my top guys.
Alright, now it's time for the all-girls Travis Wahl routine. I'm psyched, and curious to see if there are standouts. Danced to Sennen's "Where the Light Gets In" I love how at moments it looks like moving sculpture. It looks amazing. There's such a gut-wrenching emotion to so much of his stuff.
Next up is Sonya Tayeh's routine for the Top 10 boys. Sonya's not joking around in her rehearsal and she gets straight to the shirtlessness. Thanks Sonya! Set to Steed Lord's Precognition, it's impressive. Did you see the way they threw George around?
The finale is a Mia Michael's Top 20 routine to Kaskade's "Eyes" and it's pretty freaking wonderful. What I loved about it was that they were in uniforms with sunglasses so that only their dancing could set them apart, but they danced so beautifully as a unit too.
Overall the only thing I was slightly disappointed in was Zooey Deschanel's inability to be the kind of stand in judge that Jesse Tyler Ferguson or even Lady Gaga were. But then again, it's the introductory show, so she didn't have to do much. I'm still a big fan of hers though and cannot WAIT for New Girl to be on DVD. If you're missing it as much as I am, this might help you through, if not Tough Schmidt! you should watch it anyway. Max Greenfield is fantastic:
So...it's prediction time right?
Top 5 Girls:
Alexa
Amber
Elianna
Lindsay
Tiffany
Top 5 Boys:
Matthew
Daniel
Cole
George
Dareian
I'm betting on George being Top 3 if not winner in the boys' bracket.
Playlist:
Jessie J-We Found Love (Radio 1 version)
Jennifer Lopez f/Pitbull-Dance Again
Ballet routine-Romantic Inclinations/Like A Shot/Fury
Awolnation-Sail
Efterklang-Modern Drift
Nathan Lanier-Resolve
Sennen-Where the Light Gets In
Steel Lord-Precognition
Kaskade-Eyes
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