SYTYCD Season 7 Top 3 Thoughts/Power Rankings
Oh what a great show!!! And just so you know, I’m starting this post after only the second routine! Lol. Here are my Thoughts/Power Rankings.
John, Marianya and Amanda have each broken down why each of the three remaining contestants could win Season 7.
But now I have to rank how each of them did in tonight’s performance show. Our commenter beth said I should just say “no comment,” since it’s such a hard Power Ranking to do.
But something tells me I couldn’t get away with that. Sigh. Gulp. Here we go.
Kent and Lauren Bollywood – This was a wonderful routine! Lots of energy and character and it really showed off Kent’s skills–acrobatics and theatrics. I was really impressed with Lauren, as well. She’s pretty phenomenal. However, Kent seemed to struggle with her weight at the end of the routine, which none of the judges mentioned. It’s hard to take anything they say seriously when they completely gloss over mistakes for some dancers and then nitpick others to death. I get it, it’s the finale, but I think they could’ve mentioned that he was a bit wobbly at the end.
(When Cat said, “Russian folk isn’t making a comeback is it?” and Adam said, “Sweet Jesus, no,” I totally expected Jeanine and Philip to run out in their folk costumes and that music to start. Lol. I was really disappointed.)
Lauren and Twitch Nappytabs hip hop – I agree that Nappytabs is having a wonderful out season and this routine illustrated exactly how solid Lauren is, to be able to dance so well alongside Twitch, of all the All-Stars. It was funny and hard-hitting and LoFro walloped us with her athleticism. I honestly couldn’t stop watching her, which is HUGE considering who she was dancing with. What I really loved about the routine was that Nappytabs didn’t choreograph some sort of relationship routine just cause they had a girl/guy combo. I think Lauren’s strengths encourage choreographers to give her routines where she can be tough and funky and sexy all at once and not just one thing at a time.
Robert and Mark jazz – I liked the routine while I watched it, even though I thought Robert and Mark looked a lot alike. I couldn’t tell them apart during the sections when they broke away from each other, and I didn’t really mind not being able to keep track of who was who during the unison sections. Marianya and I were talking about this happening ages ago and I’m glad that the two of them danced together. YET, I think Robert could’ve stood out more in a routine with a different All-Star than Mark. It’s a bit like the Kent-Neil Tyce baseball Broadway, except I think Kent was gifted with choreography that was more tailored to him. More than anything else, I hated that Nigel talked about Alex, Kent and Lauren, but didn’t actually talk about Robert.
During Kent’s chat with Cat, I loved the way she teased him and made kissy faces at him and then again after his solo. His solo was very “Kent-ish,” to borrow Mia’s earlier word. It wasn’t the strongest solo he’s done, but it was a’right.
Lauren and Robert’s Contemporary – LOOOOVED this!! It showcased them both so well. I thought it could’ve been a distracting prop, but it was used with such intention that it really amplified the performance, in my opinion. Especially that one particular lift that Nigel mentioned. They were so supportive of each other and you could see it in all the really intricate timing and collaborative stuff they did. The song was gorgeous, they both looked incredible and danced beautifully.
Lauren and Kent’s jazz – I thought they were both cute together and I love Mandy Moore. I’m glad that L&K defended her and very disappointed that the judges were kinda blah about her choreography when really, that would’ve been a great routine with two other dancers. Or Lauren and Billy again. Cause it really was like that routine with Billy, except it didn’t have the same loose flow coming from Kent. Before you boo me or throw the veggies, go and watch it back. Seriously. What I’ve started to realize is that maybe because Kent’s smaller than most of the other dancers, he prepares too much for lifts and big moves. You can see them coming a mile away. Tonight, I could see it in ALL of his routines and it made them pretty staccato.
Looooved Robert’s chat with Cat when he said that if he won, he’d look at his mom and say, “What do you want,” then use the money to get it for her. That was incredibly sweet. I thought his solo showed a lot of his growth over the season.
Kent and Allison’s contemporary – I have to say, I did love this. While I did notice some wobbling from Kent (ducks), mostly I thought the choreography, the music and the dancers added up so something pretty incredible. But I really didn’t know how to feel when Kent was acting like Rainman afterwards and the judges took that opportunity to effuse that he’d had an artist moment and grown up. I don’t know that I like serious Kent. Serious Kent seems pretty fake to me, actually. It’s the joyful, exuberant, thrilled Broadway Kent that I like the best, that feels the strongest and truest. I can hear the booing from here. Moving on quickly…
It was cute that Lauren said the prom dance with Kent was her favorite, too. Her solo was KILLER!! I agree with beth that you can see her fighting in her solos and not treating them like throwaways. I think if anything gives her the edge, it’d be this, and the fact that she’s hitting high notes at just the right moment.
Robert and Kathryn’s Broadway – This is one of the most amazing things ever. I loved hardcore criminal Robert and tough interrogator Kathryn. R&K are the closest thing we’ve had to old-school SYTYCD partnership and I love watching them dance together. He broke the chair in the rehearsals, then his pants on the show and I loved the interactions with Kathryn through it all. But what I really loved was that he had something of a solo at the beginning – and he held the stage! Plus, we’ve talked about Robert channeling Dmitry and looking like Mark’s brother but in this routine, Robert reminded me a lot of Neil. Maybe that’s crazy, but I don’t think it could possibly be a bad thing. 🙂
Lauren and Pasha’s cha cha – I think this put Lauren over the top. Okay, maybe it was the cumulative affect of all of tonight’s dances and the entire season, but that cha cha was stunning. She dances everything like she’s already an All-Star, like Adam pointed out a while back. She was so athletic and sexy and then Mia said that if she were still dancing, she’d want to dance just like Lauren. Whatever your feelings about Mia this season, having a dancer/choreographer say that to another dancer is just… Pretty unique. I think everybody (even the judges) are starting to realize that Lauren is the little engine who could – she hasn’t been overproduced and hasn’t had a lot of the big emotional, memorable routines that some of the other dancers have been gifted with. Yet – she’s danced everything well, with her own flair and style and athleticism.
And then there was…Robert and Kent’s Maelvos – Awful. Just awful, I’m sorry. But what a horrible way to end the performance finale. This is going to sound strange, but I think about 30% of the problem could’ve been cleared up by their pants being better fits. They seemed so loose and baggy that they looked like awkward little boys wearing their dad’s clothes. Even Robert, who looks damn hot in tailored pants. And their coats should’ve been cut shorter, as well. They looked stronger and had cleaner lines once they took them off. Another 40% could have been fixed if Kent hadn’t danced. (Ducks the serious veggies flying her way). He was so awkward and ill-prepared for this! I’ll be honest – my beloved Robert wasn’t much better, but he WAS better. Mostly, I think that the maelvos, like the male-male paso doble probably need hyper masculine dancers in order to work. We didn’t have that here, except somewhat with Robert. Oddly, Nigel and Adam almost completely ignored the dance itself when they talked. Mia was the only one who stepped up to the plate and even then, she excused their occasional limpness as “debonair.”
So…as for my power rankings. Let’s try something new because this is impossible.
-I’d like Robert to win because I think he’s had the most growth over the course of the season if you look at where he was dance-wise to where he is now, dance-wise. Plus, he was in the bottom the most and survived. And he’d buy something cool for his mom.
-I think Lauren is probably the best dancer of the three of them and that she has a good chance to win because she’s been peaking at the right time. Her last dance of the night was one of her strongest (her first dance being the other “strongest” dance) and her solos are always really amazing.
-I still think Kent probably will win because he’s been hyped the most and because the demographic of the show are tweens who favor slightly adrogynous, non-threatening boys in their dreamboats and idols. He’s had a lot of memorable routines this season, but probably none are as memorable as Nigel “finding” him in Wapakoneta like a diamond in the rough.
Oh, I’m gonna get some major veggies tonight. Time for bed while y’all hurl ’em my way. 🙂
John’s Update:
Since Emilie is too nice to make the power rankings, I’ll help her out:
1. Kent Boyd – Can you say Allison Holker and Stacey Tookey?
2. Lauren Froderman – Girl power!!
3. Robert Roldan – Come back kid, but not quite.
The good thing is that it seems the consensus is that most people would be happy with any of these 3 winning the show. That really is a first for SYTYCD. They’re all GREAT!!
