(S04E23) It all comes down to this. The season has been a bit underwhelming at times compared to seasons past, but it did indeed have its fantastic moments. I'm sure I won't soon forget Twitch and Kherrington's Viennese waltz or Katee and Will's pas de deux. Still standing at the end is a girl who is the ultimate underdog, a girl who would've quit, a guy with absolutely no formal training, and a guy who was #21 last season, just shy of making the top 20 dancers. Let's talk about the season finale of So You Think You Can Dance. For Real!
We got some more information about the prizes from Adam Shankman. He will be putting the winner in his new movie as a featured dancer. The movie is the first 3-D dance film, Step Up 3-D. We also found out later in the show that the top girl / guy would also get $50,000 in prize money. Not too shabby. 
THE OPENING PERFORMANCE
The top 20 dancers got together again for the finale with a Shane Sparks hip-hop piece to "Boom" by Sin featuring T-Pain. You know I was happy. Two magical words. Shane. Sparks. The piece was electric. He did a great job of using the 20 dancers, alternating with different size groups and solos. As for the performance, I have to give it to Kherrington who stood out the most for me. Gev was also great. I like how Shane spotlighted him. The freeze he did was dead on and his crazy jiggle underneath the girls' feet was fantastic.
JUDGES' PICKS
It was long finale. An entertaining finale, yes, but a long one. And some of these acts I didn't need to see again. Let's go through them briefly. Mary Murphy, Lil C, Nigel Lythgoe, Mia Michaels, Debbie Allen, and Adam Shankman were all on hand to pick some favorite dances as is customary for the SYTYCD finale. However, (and correct me if I'm wrong) I seem to remember that the judges and the final four got to pick their favorites in past finales. I remember particularly in season two when Benji said that he wanted to perform that mambo with Heidi again. Am I just completely mistaken?
Here are the judges' picks:
- Nigel picked Katee and Joshua's Bollywood dance. This one has such energy. I was happy to see it again. And any chance to watch Katee and Joshua as partners is always welcome.
- Mary picked Courtney and Gev's rumba. She said they mixed innocence and maturity perfectly in this performance. But where was Courtney's blue dress?
- Adam picked Comfort and Twitch's hip-hop number by Dave Scott.
- Lil C picked Mark and Chelsie's hip-hop performance choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon. I didn't really like this dance the first time. And I just fast-forwarded through it this time. I didn't think that we needed to see it again.
- Mia picked the pas de deux with Katee and Will. As she put it, the dance was a magical combination of legendary choreographers and brilliant dancers.
- Adam picked the Sonya jazz dance with Courtney and Mark.
- Mary picked the Katee and Twitch contemporary routine to "Mercy," choreographed by Mia Michaels. Another fast-forward for me.
- Debbie picked the Viennese waltz by Twitch and Kherrington. This number was so truly beautiful. The song, the story, the performance all made this so touching.
- They also did a repeat of "Five Guys Named Moe." Thank goodness they got better costumes this time.
- Nigel picked the first routine that Tabitha and Napoleon choreographed for the show, "No Air" danced by Katee and Joshua. The part when Katee pulls Joshua up and he propels himself off the floor never gets old for me.
THE POPPER BATTLEThis was a great addition to the finale. Robert Moraine and Philip Chbeeb engaged in an all out popping battle to Kanye West's "Stronger." It was very entertaining to say the least. I have to agree with the judges -- Robert is slightly better than Philip (at least this time around). All but Mia voted for Robert Moraine to win the battle. Debbie Allen pointed out that while Philip has incredible musicality, Robert has theatrics and theatrics always wins. I agree. But I will say that if Philip just worked on the theatrics a bit more, he could take Robert Moraine to school.
SPECIAL PERFORMANCES
The finale was full of special guests and numbers. I'm going to make a list.
- Mary Murphy did a Latin ballroom number to "Baila, Baila" with Dimitri from season two. It was nice to see her dance. I actually wish that she would still choreograph for the show. Then I wouldn't have to listen to her incessant screaming and twitty remarks. However, I wish she wouldn't smile so big. She looked half-way decent when she didn't open her mouth. And what was with that awkward ending pose?
- The Jonas Bros. were there. Whatever.
- We got to see a Wade Robson piece from his new project, Believe. It's a Criss Angel show in Vegas with Cirque du Soleil dancers. The piece was long. I was like, "Enough with the dancing rabbits. I'm going to have bad dreams." It was called "Homage to the Rabbits" by Eric Serra. Wade's choreography is wonderfully stylized though.
- The Debbie Allen Dance Academy performed a tap dance to "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind, and Fire. It was very good. And guess who showed up in the middle of it? Nigel Lythgoe. He looked like a giant dancing with all those kids. Do you think that those taps were pre-recorded? I know they can set up floor mics on the stage, but the taps were just too perfect.
- Finally, we caught up with some of the dancers from seasons past. After a video package, Cat said we were about to see "The Best of So You Think You Can Dance." And it certainly was the best. The alums danced to "Don't Stop the Music" by Rihanna. All of their solos were amazing. What energy. At the end, season four came walking through and danced with them a bit. I think this was my favorite of the night. Totally worth waiting for.
Courtney was eliminated first. Then Katee. I can't believe Twitch beat Katee. Twitch was the runner-up and Joshua is America's Favorite Dancer. I'm so happy for him. He made an inspiring speech about being able to do anything. I also liked how they did the eliminations this year. It's how they should have done it all along.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
8-08-2008 @ 10:52AM
Karen said...
Aaaargh! The channel went out right when they asked where Mary was. It froze. We thought it was a DVR problem and ran to another room. We were running bout 30 minutes behind.
Nope...not on that tv. either.
So we missed it. Missed it all! Wah!
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8-08-2008 @ 8:42AM
fowak said...
Wow - you must be insane to not have loved Mark & Chelsie's hip-hop. It's easily my absolute favorite dance from this season.
I was THRILLED to see the alums come back for some catch-up. It was the true highlight of the show for me, as I feel like seasons 2 and 3 were by far the best this show has seen. You said it perfectly when you said "It all comes down to this. The season has been a bit underwhelming at times compared to seasons past, but it did indeed have its fantastic moments."
Here's to season 5. I'm glad I can stop hearing the judges and bloggers over-hype Joshua now.
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8-08-2008 @ 4:10PM
goldie said...
Fowak, I completely agreed with your first statement - you have to be completely emotionless or something to not love Mark & Chelsie's piece - I too think it was my favorite of the season
8-11-2008 @ 2:27PM
Sarah said...
I agree- Bleeding Love by Chelsi and Mark was my favorite dance of the season. Perfect match of emotion to the song, and they acted it so well!
8-11-2008 @ 5:28PM
nattyff said...
Me too!!! that peace was just fantastic, Go mark!!! :)
8-08-2008 @ 9:07AM
JAS said...
Fowak - You must be on crack! This was the best season yet!
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8-08-2008 @ 9:07AM
Sarah said...
yeah, i am a little shocked at your comments too. i am so happy Josh won! i thought the finale was great all around. the only performance i FF through was the Viennese Waltz.
i dont think Nigel's performance was pre-recorded cause i saw him stumble a couple of times, but all of the special guest performances were great! i even sat through the Jonas Brothers. and i loved the Homage to the Rabbits piece!
i was great to hear from all of the alum of the show. that was fantastic, if not a bit confusing to watch on the show. the camera work on this show was a bit shotty all season.
also, i wouldnt say that Twitch beat out Katee. i think it was set up that way for two reasons. 1) so Cat could tell her that the top girl wins money without cutting into Josh's winning moment. she wouldnt have been able to hear it anyway above the screams for the winner. 2) more drama. no hip hop dancer has broken into the top 4 before, so to have two "untrained" dancers in the top 2 is a much better setup for the finale (even though Josh has had some training and Twitch was in the movie Hairspray).
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8-08-2008 @ 4:10PM
goldie68 said...
Thats exactly what I thought about how they announced the eliminations - I don't think it necessarily means Twitch beat Katee, it would be interesting to know for sure. And I also loved the rabbit piece too - Wade is one of my favorite choreographers. Wish he had done more this season!
8-08-2008 @ 9:13AM
Danielle said...
Def a great finale. I loved it how Mary and Nigel did a performance...very cool. Im glad to see Josh won..I think I wouldve been equally happy if Twitch won also.
I guess SYTYCD is getting more $ w/ giving Katee $50,000...thats new and what a great surprise for her!
The popping competition wasnt what I was expecting. I def think David did a better performanace. Very cool to see the "the best" of SYTYCD. Im glad to see all my fav dances perform again last night...my all-time fav is the Bollywood...very cool! I also loved the Mark/Chelsie performance. The Sonja dance w/ Courtney/Mark grew on me last night....loved the music to it..and to see the Twitch/Kerrington routine again was just so magical.
The Wade Robinson performance was freaky to me...Loved the Debbie Allen Academy dancing(I thought the tapping was prerecorded too...something just wasnt right) and they couldve done away w/ the Jonas Brothers...whatever
Overall, it was a great two hours!!!! *sigh* until next year. :(
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8-08-2008 @ 9:16AM
Philip said...
"I can't believe Twitch beat Katee."
Umm... he might not have. Nowhere did they say that the dancers were being eliminated in order. Twitch might have come in fourth, for all we know. I think the reason they eliminated Katee a little earlier was so that they could give her the $50,000 prize.
Joshua was my favourite from his very first audition, and I'm glad he won! YAY! First time my pick has ever won a reality show competition!
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8-08-2008 @ 9:23AM
I miss my stars! said...
Sorry, but I have to disagree with you Kristen. I think Mark and Chelsie's Bleeding Love routine was one of the best of the season and the Pas de Deux was a Pass the Remote moment for me.
I'm guessing the routines by both Mary and Nigel were pre-recorded. It is fun to see the judges get up there and dance. Mary can't help that she's got big teeth - I had no idea her legs were so long. Dimitri gets hotter looking every year - yum.
The Cirque du Soleil thing bored me and I enjoyed the popper battle - but it seemed to run a little long. Robert keep doing the same moves over and over toward the end.
Joshua did a fine job and is well deserving of the title. I wish them all well. (At least the top ten all have a gig until next season.)
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8-08-2008 @ 9:30AM
Danielle said...
I have a question on the tour thats coming up. Does anyone know if the performance are new dances or just dances that have been from the show?
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8-08-2008 @ 9:57AM
Jen said...
If it's anything like last year's, it is a little of both. They'll pick some of the faves then there are some group pieces.. etc. Last year they had a routine with Sara, Dominic, and Hoc that they put together.
Season 3 was my favorite, I was more excited over combinations of the entire top 12 or so - this season, not so much.
8-08-2008 @ 9:32AM
Grover said...
I pretty much agree with danielle on everything.
Was Ivan there in the 'best' of the SYTYCD dancers? I thought some guy in a hat was him, but it could have been somebody from season 1.
They should have shown the 'best of's of Twitch and Josh and then talked to both of them a bit about their 'journeys' like they did for Katee and Courtney before giving the results. Would have been nice to hear from them and see their journeys on the show. That's my only complaint with the finale... it was great otherwise. could have done without the Jonas brothers too
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8-08-2008 @ 4:10PM
goldie68 said...
Grover, that was Ivan in the hat - his hair is longer now, so he looks a little different
8-08-2008 @ 9:37AM
Saragee said...
I found this season finale so entertaining - so much more entertaining than the bloated AI finale. I got a real kick out of Mary and Nigel dancing! I'd like to see the AI judges sing during their finale!!
I can't believe you did not like "Bleeding Love" Chelsie and Mark's hip hop. That was my favorite dance of the season - and I don't like hip hop!!!
As for "The Best of SYTYCD" - where was Danny and Sabre from last year. Top 2 and winner?? I'm not sure this was truly the "best" up there, and yes, it was very confusing to see who was who.
I also don't understand the top girl getting a prize. That's great if she is the first runner up - but to be in third place and get a prize, then Twitch coming in second and getting nothing? I think they should do it like Survivor and give the top 4 something or at the very least the top 3 a prize. They all deserve it!!!!!
Other than that, a great night. Thrilled to see Joshua win!
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8-08-2008 @ 7:09PM
Susan said...
To clarify the inspiring speech made by Joshua, not only did he say to not let anyone tell you that you can't accomplish something, but he said that "It's all up to God, and with God all things are possible." I liked him from the start, but even more after he gave credit where credit is due!
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8-09-2008 @ 12:37AM
Doug Nelson said...
Just look at how well giving credit to imaginary friends worked out for Shirley MacLaine and Tom Cruise. Fans of Indian spirit guides and alien dictators like them better now, too.
8-09-2008 @ 12:58AM
Robert said...
wow, sardonic much?
8-08-2008 @ 10:10AM
fowak said...
Yes, Katee was 3rd. If you got to dialidol.com, it's quite clear.
And about the tour, for the most part (last year's tour) they do stuff from the show. Hok and Sara and Dominic all did a breakdancing number, which was really cool. And each person does a solo. Other than that, though, it is all routines from the show. I highly recommend it! It was sooooo great. I'm going back this year!
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