SYTYCD
Alex Wong was off the hook last night--so maybe his hiphop wasn't the strongest ever, but he absolutely gave it the right feeling, and he kept up with the fancy footwork. Very clever of NappyTabs to design the routine so that Twitch was supposed to be the elder/guiding figure, in the form of the psychiatrist. In fact that's one of my most-liked routines of theirs ever, despite not being a huge NappyTabs fan. As great as that was, though, it was his gorilla ballet solo to music from the Planet of the Apes soundtrack that completely blew me away. I went and voted for him, yes I did!
What else stood out... I still feel like Billy Bell is phoning it in. He looked ready to argue with the judges last night but either decided it wasn't worth it or didn't care. I would quibble with the judges slightly about not connecting with his partner. The connection was there, but it was all physical, in the form of mirroring, paralleling, accenting, etc all the movements they were doing together. He created beautiful shapes with his partner. And I think there was more emotional content there than the judges gave him credit for; his character was arrogant and uncaring of how much he had hurt his partner, and that's what Billy portrayed. Unfortunately, he's such a good dancer that his physical genius overshadowed his emotional performance and rendered it too subtle.
I thought the judges were far too harsh on Melinda, both in the critique and in flat out saying they'd made a mistake by keeping her. I mean, I agree, but once they'd made that judgment they should have stuck by it. Her feet were all kinds of messed up, but I disagree about her supposed lack of musicality. I think she's not afraid to experiment within the music. Any of that jerkiness that Nigel commented on I think was due to that shoe coming off. Plus, to tell a young woman who grew up dancing salsa that she doesn't understand it--that could be true, but still, ouch. I think she should go home this week, but she should have gotten more credit than she did this week.
José is totally sliding by on personality. He was moving around a lot, but it was hard to see any samba in what he did, apart from a couple of shoulder shimmies. No hip action at all. Though Anya didn't get to do much either. Even Mia Michaels accidentally called it a salsa routine, which to my eyes (and ears, what with the Shakira) was much closer to what they danced. His solo, though, was the best he's danced so far this season, and I'm finally seeing him as the equal of previous contestants like Hok or Dominic. The Bruce Lee stuff was pretty moving, and how wonderful that his daughter was there!
The other girls were good, but I thought each of them could have given it more in their partner routines. Excellent handling of the potential wardrobe malfunction by Lauren, though she isn't mature enough to really do sultry. Between Melinda's shoes falling off and the dress strap breaking, the wardrobe department deserves a good scolding. Ashley's contemporary duet with Ade was almost there, I just wanted more from her. I think maybe she goes a little too internal with her emotional content, which is something I can learn from.
Adechike was great--his hiphop was better than Alex's, but he got overshadowed by the massive performance that was Twitch and Alex. His solo was just beautiful. Now that I reflect more on it, I wish I'd called in a vote for him too.
Robert I didn't think gave it his all in his duet (which I suspect took him to some tough emotional places, I can't imagine pretending to choke your partner is an easy thing to do, but other performers have managed to take that discomfort and make something out of it). His solo was powerful and amazing, though. He's rather like Mark and Legacy thrown into a blender in terms of his tight muscle control and manliness.
Kent, eh. Obviously talented, obviously in great need of maturing. I think it was Mia who said his duet was rather dance competition-y, and I would say the same about his solo. I agree with Nigel that he's starting to overdo the facial expressions. Also, other boys in the competition are able to do hands-free cartwheels and flips, but he used his hands I think for all of his. It makes what he does look more like gymnastics and less like dancing.
What was up with Mia Michaels' fake eyelashes and eyeliner? Was her makeup artist drunk? It should have been a good look for her, but it was all so blockily applied it was distracting me when she was talking. Maybe it would have looked fine from a face-on camera angle, but the camera slightly overhead just made it look even worse.
I like that Adam Shankman is now calling all the boys honey. We'll see if the producers let him keep doing it.
My bottom three prediction is most likely the three girls, definitely Melinda for sure. If any guys are in the bottom three, I think it could actually be any of them but Alex, and it would have nothing to do with their performances but with the whim of the voters.
One of the numbers was to the second new M.I.A. single, XXXO, first time I'd heard it. Not so impressed, rather commercially bland for her. That probably wasn't the whole song, though.
This earl grey and lavender tea I am drinking is so good I might have another cup, but then my tummy will hate me :-\
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What else stood out... I still feel like Billy Bell is phoning it in. He looked ready to argue with the judges last night but either decided it wasn't worth it or didn't care. I would quibble with the judges slightly about not connecting with his partner. The connection was there, but it was all physical, in the form of mirroring, paralleling, accenting, etc all the movements they were doing together. He created beautiful shapes with his partner. And I think there was more emotional content there than the judges gave him credit for; his character was arrogant and uncaring of how much he had hurt his partner, and that's what Billy portrayed. Unfortunately, he's such a good dancer that his physical genius overshadowed his emotional performance and rendered it too subtle.
I thought the judges were far too harsh on Melinda, both in the critique and in flat out saying they'd made a mistake by keeping her. I mean, I agree, but once they'd made that judgment they should have stuck by it. Her feet were all kinds of messed up, but I disagree about her supposed lack of musicality. I think she's not afraid to experiment within the music. Any of that jerkiness that Nigel commented on I think was due to that shoe coming off. Plus, to tell a young woman who grew up dancing salsa that she doesn't understand it--that could be true, but still, ouch. I think she should go home this week, but she should have gotten more credit than she did this week.
José is totally sliding by on personality. He was moving around a lot, but it was hard to see any samba in what he did, apart from a couple of shoulder shimmies. No hip action at all. Though Anya didn't get to do much either. Even Mia Michaels accidentally called it a salsa routine, which to my eyes (and ears, what with the Shakira) was much closer to what they danced. His solo, though, was the best he's danced so far this season, and I'm finally seeing him as the equal of previous contestants like Hok or Dominic. The Bruce Lee stuff was pretty moving, and how wonderful that his daughter was there!
The other girls were good, but I thought each of them could have given it more in their partner routines. Excellent handling of the potential wardrobe malfunction by Lauren, though she isn't mature enough to really do sultry. Between Melinda's shoes falling off and the dress strap breaking, the wardrobe department deserves a good scolding. Ashley's contemporary duet with Ade was almost there, I just wanted more from her. I think maybe she goes a little too internal with her emotional content, which is something I can learn from.
Adechike was great--his hiphop was better than Alex's, but he got overshadowed by the massive performance that was Twitch and Alex. His solo was just beautiful. Now that I reflect more on it, I wish I'd called in a vote for him too.
Robert I didn't think gave it his all in his duet (which I suspect took him to some tough emotional places, I can't imagine pretending to choke your partner is an easy thing to do, but other performers have managed to take that discomfort and make something out of it). His solo was powerful and amazing, though. He's rather like Mark and Legacy thrown into a blender in terms of his tight muscle control and manliness.
Kent, eh. Obviously talented, obviously in great need of maturing. I think it was Mia who said his duet was rather dance competition-y, and I would say the same about his solo. I agree with Nigel that he's starting to overdo the facial expressions. Also, other boys in the competition are able to do hands-free cartwheels and flips, but he used his hands I think for all of his. It makes what he does look more like gymnastics and less like dancing.
What was up with Mia Michaels' fake eyelashes and eyeliner? Was her makeup artist drunk? It should have been a good look for her, but it was all so blockily applied it was distracting me when she was talking. Maybe it would have looked fine from a face-on camera angle, but the camera slightly overhead just made it look even worse.
I like that Adam Shankman is now calling all the boys honey. We'll see if the producers let him keep doing it.
My bottom three prediction is most likely the three girls, definitely Melinda for sure. If any guys are in the bottom three, I think it could actually be any of them but Alex, and it would have nothing to do with their performances but with the whim of the voters.
One of the numbers was to the second new M.I.A. single, XXXO, first time I'd heard it. Not so impressed, rather commercially bland for her. That probably wasn't the whole song, though.
This earl grey and lavender tea I am drinking is so good I might have another cup, but then my tummy will hate me :-\
.