(S03E09) This week started out much like the last results show with a big production number featuring the remaining dancers. Shane Sparks choreographed the performance to Wade Robson's music. It was very fun with some break dancing and some big stunts thrown in for good measure. I think my favorite part of the opening though was that Sabra was highlighted in the big finish. If she won't step up and grasp the spotlight, might as well thrust her into it. And right about there is where the results show stopped making sense to me. Between the results of the vote, and the way the producers grouped the couples as the results were revealed, I was caught off guard right away and didn't really catch up until the very end.
When the first three couples called out were Lauren & Neil, Jessi & Pasha, and Jaimie and Hok I was lost. I didn't think any of them would be in the bottom three, but here they were. Surely one of them must have been. I thought it must be Jaimie and Hok, but in what was a huge surprise to me, Jessi & Pasha were the first pair slated to dance for their lives. Mary said that she was shocked by that result and extremely disappointed.
It only got more confusing with the next group. Lacey & Kameron, Anya & Danny, and Sabra & Dominic took the stage. I was pretty sure that the first two were good to go. It turned out though, in a nice twist by the producers, that all three of the couples were safe and will be back next week.
That meant that two of the last three groups, Sara & Jesús, Shauna & Jimmy, and Faina & Cedric, would be in the bottom three. Here I thought Shauna & Jimmy would be safe. Wrong again as it seems the majority of voters weren't as put off by the music in Sara & Jesús' pasa doble. They moved on and we had our bottom three teams. Mia was surprised by the results and said that she would only have put Faina & Cedric in the bottom three. Nigel added that he could see why Shauna & Jimmy were in the bottom three, but thought they were great last night. Then he went on a long winded explanation about how he thinks that Cedric just isn't right for the competition. Remember that, it will be important.
Jessi was up first in the solo round. The style of her performance was very much the Jessi we have seen before in the audition episodes, but it just felt a bit lacking. Watching her now, after having two really good looks at her with her partner, she looks better when she is with Pasha. That could just be the dance that she chose for the solo, but it wasn't a knockout performance.
Pasha followed her up with a very fast number that had a lot of quick steps in it, but no real wow moments. Nothing wrong with it, but nothing that made you stand up and take notice either. I thought it would be enough to get him through to the next round though.
Shauna was up next, and she did just the opposite. She hit this one out of the park and had what I thought was the best performance of all the solos. The spin she did to open her number was fantastic. She guaranteed herself a spot next week right there. The fans in attendance agreed as she got the biggest reaction of them all.
Jimmy answered Pasha's quick work across the stage by going vertical. His solo was a high flying affair full of jumps and acrobatic moves. I thought it was the best of the three male solos, although still a step below Shauna.
Faina's solo was fun, and once again she looked amazing. The camera just absolutely loves that girl. There really wasn't a lot to get excited about though. It was fine, but left a difficult decision between her and Jessi for who would have to go home.
Cedric came out and did his thing. It was very good, but it felt like we had seen it all before. Given the fact that the major complaint from the judges has been that he seems to only excel at this, trying something different might have been a better idea. After seeing all of them, I would have sent Cedric home, moving Pasha through to next week.
While the judges headed off to make their decision Daddy Yankee came out to perform his new single "Impacto." Not my cup of tea so I can't really say how good the performance of the song was. I did think that the mix was bad as the music could have been louder. Still, I do appreciate that they bring in musical acts for the results show. I like the variety show aspect of it.
The judges came back and Nigel started handing out results and confusion. The girls were first up and he told them that they were unanimous in their decision. He told Jessi that they didn't like her solo and if she remains in the competition she needs to step it up. As Shauna came forward the crowd started cheering. Nigel praised her solo and told her that she was safe. Faina was next and he acknowledged that doing a solo is more difficult for a ballroom dancer. He also mentioned that he thought she had been let down by her partner, and that was why she was here. But they had to put that aside and judge her against the other two girls, and she would be going home.
With the men came the confusion. Nigel started with Pasha, telling him that his solo was not good enough and didn't measure up to what they have seen in the past. But it was good enough to get him through to the next round. And that's where the whole thing kind of went off the rails. Nigel went on this long winded spiel where he separated Jimmy and Cedric into "really good dancer" and "uniqueness." He said that Mary had sided with the really good dancer, Jimmy. And Mia had gone for the uniqueness of Cedric. That left him with the deciding vote. Now, remember earlier that he had said that Jimmy was great last night. And he had told Cedric that the he wasn't right for the competition. So you know what he decided, right? Cedric is staying, of course. Yeah, it didn't make any sense to me either. He followed that up by threatening that if Cedric ends up in the bottom three again he won't support him.
So there we have it. Cedric and Shauna will dance together next week. For all the judges talk about America getting things wrong, this is two weeks in a row where I think the judges got it wrong. It does make it interesting though. I'll be curious to see how Cedric adapts next week.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-22-2007 @ 8:20AM
1L said...
Cedrick sucks! It's his fault Faina was in the bottom three but he gets a second chance?!? I feel sorry for Shauna - she has to dance with him next week...
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6-22-2007 @ 9:48AM
Kirby said...
This is so beyond messed up. Jimmy has such a range with his dancing that Cedric is to cocky to even attempt to really open himself up to other styles. He has to be able to adapt. This show is pissing me off this year. But I'm glad Jessi stayed.
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6-22-2007 @ 10:04AM
Porchland said...
Did the groups of dancers come out for the eliminations in the same order that they danced on Wednesday? Seems like they more or less did, but I'm not sure.
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6-22-2007 @ 10:10AM
Brett said...
That is a great question Porchland. I had to go back and look to see. It turns out that it was very close to that, but they shuffled Faina & Cedric out of the order, for dramatic purposes.
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6-22-2007 @ 11:53AM
Amelia said...
I am SO upset about the way the judges sent Jimmy home. My Husband and I were both pretty shocked about it. I thought that the show was about talent! Yes, I do think that Cedric is AMAZING! But he seems to only be amazing in his particular solo. He was ok last week in the hip hop number, but not great. I just think that the judges seem to be getting it wrong this year! I think that Ricky and Jimmy should still be on the show. However, I am totally ok with Faina going home. Shauna suprised me so much with her solo...I had thought for sure that she would be going home...what a great solo!
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6-22-2007 @ 12:57PM
Ryan said...
Pasha in the bottom 6 is pure crap. Plus I loved his solo. It was like a mix of Benji and Dmitry from last season and that is deifnitely a heap of praise. I was still reeling over Pasha being in the bottom all the way through the end.
The ludicrousness of keeping Jessi and Cedric in also made the episode gah!worthy. Jessi's solo was the worst of the girls and even though I DID think Jimmy was the worst solo (he didn't connect with his song for me), I still definitely thought he should've been safe over Cedric.
Anyone else thinking Cedric is the new Ivan?
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6-22-2007 @ 1:20PM
kenm said...
I was surprised that they kept Cedric, but I understood Nigel's reasoning. In addition to how they danced during their solo, the judges are also looking at who they think has the potential (if they're able to pick up the new dance styles) to win the competition. Jimmy was a good dancer but I don't think he had a chance of winning. He just didn't stand out at all to me. Cedric is able to move in ways that Jimmy can only dream of, kind of like Ivan from last year only a bit more unique. However, Cedric needs to improve significantly when he learns a new dance style this week. if not, he's going to be gone the next time he's in the bottom three.
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6-22-2007 @ 1:15PM
David said...
I have lost all faith in this show.
Cedric sucks! ALL the judges said that, they said he was as good as gone and then they come back and get rid of the other guy who could dance everything well! Jimmy was great, they all like Jimmy during the real dance yet they just threw that out?
Fuck you judges, America should be able to pick who leaves completly!
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6-22-2007 @ 1:30PM
La-di-dah said...
Yea, Jessi was the worst solo, but I am happy she's still there for Pasha. They do great things together, and he won't need to break in a new partner; it would have to have been either Shauna (meh) or Faina (nooooooo).
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6-22-2007 @ 2:05PM
David said...
Jimmy was doing a fine job, I doubt he would have won it, but Cedric cannot win it! Cedric doesn't know how to dance the way the show needs him to, and he can't learn how and that is clear. The point of the show is to join some Los Vegas megashow. Cedric can not do that! he can't be taught how to dance and Jimmy could!
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6-22-2007 @ 2:24PM
stummies said...
The internet seems to have eaten my comment, I posted it hours ago and it's still not here, so sorry if this ends up as a double post...
But I think it's total crap that Jimmy was kicked off. I thought his solo was awesome, and the night before he danced really well. Cedric, while doing a good solo, did horribly the other night. So good solo + good performance is better than good solo + bad performance. Plus, Cedric has no depth. He is good at what he does, and that's all.
I also thought Jessi's solo really sucked, but I think the judges cut her and Pasha some slack since they shouldn't have been on the bottom.
The decision was just stupid because it will also affect future shows. Next time that Cedric is on the bottom, we know he's gone. There will be no suspense.
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6-22-2007 @ 4:25PM
dancersmom said...
Nigel was very hypocritical. He told Cedric that he was not a very strong partner and that he going to be in the bottom 3. He never gave Jimmy a reason as to why he was voted off. Jimmy was so much a better dancer than Cedric. Cedric was having a hard time dancing other styles other than the type he made up. Jimmy so robbed! Good choice with Faina leaving
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6-25-2007 @ 1:18PM
Where did my stars go? said...
I thought Jimmy got screwed, too. There is NO WAY Cedric can win this thing. He just doesn't have the background and the only thing he does well is his own style of dance.
I'm rooting for Danny and Anya at this point. Although, I think they will have trouble if they get Hip-Hop.
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6-23-2007 @ 5:42AM
Frietag said...
Dominic and Sabra sure have chemistry. When Cat unexpectedly announced they were safe (based on the order it looked like they weren't), they completely lost it; he landed on his back in amazement and she flung herself down on him. We were watching this tonight on DVR and my friend noticed that after they writhed around for a while, he was on top, and when he got to his feet to go hug Cat Deeley, his "wiener" was "on point". No doubt about it; we watched it in Hi-Def slow motion, and he clearly likes Sabra. A lot. And the second best part was the look on Cat's face as he hugged her, because she clearly could tell. As she led into commercial immediately afterwards, Cat was flushed over her whole body, and she almost lost her cool -- the only time I can ever remember her doing so. What a great show.
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6-28-2007 @ 10:41AM
Liza said...
Question all you SYTYCD addicts:
Anyone know how votes are counted?
If I dial my couple's number over and over again - do they track which telephone number these votes are coming from and discount my votes? Or does each one of my votes count?
I'm sitting here hitting "Redial" over and over, wondering if it makes a difference!
Thanks!!
-- Liza
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6-28-2007 @ 11:34PM
Amalia said...
Why was Jesse kicked out of the competition? She is clearly one of the best, extremely eclectic and she showed it today with the two performances. Was there anything they were not telling us about her sickness?
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