Free SYTYCD Newsletter Want to receive the latest news on So You Think You Can Dance sent straight to your email? Join hundreds of other SYTYCD fans who subscribe to Pure SYTYCD for FREE!

Ashley Valerio and Max Kapitannikov Elimination Interview

Hello all, I am ecstatic to be publishing my first post!

I’d like to introduce myself a little bit. My name is Max. I’m from Montreal, Canada, and I love everything SYTYCD. I’ll be helping John out with posting, and maybe even with the Canadian version of the show, starting this Fall. I’d also like to say that if you, the reader, have any criticism whatsoever on any of my future posts, do not be afraid to vocalize it. Good, bad, I welcome it all.

Now, Ashley Valerio and Max Kapitannikov’s Collective Elimination Interview – Watching this interview, you’d never know it was because they were kicked off the show. Nonetheless, I felt that Ashley’s advice at the end was very inspirational. I am definitely sad to see the both of them go after so much hard work.

June 22, 2009 I Written By

Random Thoughts on the SYTYCD 18 Elimination Show

I must admit that I always get in a little bit of a funk the day after the So You Think You Can Dance elimination shows. I get so involved in the comments from my SYTYCD power rankings, on my twitter account and of course in the SYTYCD music, that the day after I usually just need a little break. So, in the future if you see me kind of disappear, then now you know why. I just need to bring on a second person to help me post to this blog. Any takers?

Now on to my random thoughts…

Bottom 3 Couples – Anyone that says they knew that those 3 couples would be in the bottom 3 is smokin something fierce. What a shocker. I bet Nigel and the show are loving that. Seriously though, when have they ever had 3 different couples from the week before. It hasn’t and that’s what’s so amazing. Most shocking of all was that Asuka and Vitolio weren’t in the bottom 3 and Kayla and Max were in the bottom 3. This actually might turn out to be a really good thing for Kayla, because now her fans will kind of wake up and start voting for her more. Maybe they just got a little bit complacent in the past since she did dance so well.

Solos – I don’t know why, but I’m still not such a big fan of the solos. I think people like Hok and Dominique from past seasons kind of spoiled us with great solos. The solos have been rather lack luster for me. I’m not sure I can really remember one amazing moment from any of the solos. I guess Phillip just needs to be in the bottom 3 to rectify it.

Max Gone – I think it’s unfortunate that Max got sent home. He worked so hard and really laid it all out on the line. That should be rewarded. Unfortunately, I’m afraid his look was the reason he got sent home. That just doesn’t feel right. I think maybe the judges should just be removed from this part of the equation altogether.

Ashley Gone – This was not really a surprise for me. However, I was honestly sad she’s gone. There’s something about her that makes her not as likable and I get that. However, Ashley really found a soft spot in my heart when I think of how many times and how hard she tried to be on the show. I would have liked to see her a couple more weeks. That said, I want to see Kayla and Caitlin more.

Shameful Lip Sync – Seriously, could that singer (Kristinia DeBarge) have looked any more like she was lip syncing? It was dreadful to even watch. The dancers were better than Sean Kingston’s dancers, but the lip syncing has got to go.

Amrapali Ambegaokar – I preferred the Indian dancing she did on Superstars of Dance more than her performance on SYTYCD. However, there’s absolutely no arguing that she has amazing talent. I can’t imagine how much practice it must take to do what she did. I wonder what Nakul Dev Mahajan thought of it.

Quick Hits:
-Mia’s been hanging with Wade Robson or Brian Friedman I think.
-The Lil C sequence was awesome
-Cat Deeley looked awesome in that suit. Much better than the previous red sheet.
-Kayla’s face was priceless when she was in the bottom 3
-Nice SYTYCD 6 promotion using Ryan Kasprzak
-Wednesday SYTYCD starts to get some competition with America’s Got Talent. Don’t they know they shouldn’t overlap my shows?!?!

June 19, 2009 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

SYTYCD 2009 Music

We’re back again with the list of the SYTYCD 2009 results show music for the top 18. Last night had a real hit song that a lot of people seemed to love called “Falling Slowly” The Frames - The Cost (Deluxe Edition) - Falling Slowly by The Frames. Feel free to take a look back at all the SYTYCD 2009 music.

Now for the SYTYCD 2009 top 18 results show music:
SYTYCD top 18Group dance to the song “Higher Ground” Stevie Wonder - Stevie Wonder: The Definitive Collection - Higher Ground—Stevie Wonder (Choreographer: Mia Michaels)

Special musical guest sang “Goodbye” Kristinia DeBarge - Goodbye - Single - Goodbye—Kristinia DeBarge (Original Kristinia DeBarge music video Goodbye)

Special guest Indian dancer: Amrapali Ambegaokar: Kathak

The bottom 3 couples did the following solos:
Caitlin Kinney: “Make You Feel My Love” ADELE - 19 - Make You Feel My Love—Adele
Jason Glover: “Superman” Robin Thicke - The Evolution of Robin Thicke (Deluxe Edition) - Superman—Robin Thicke
Ashley Valerio: “By Your Side” CocoRosie - La Maison de Mon Rêve - By Your Side—CocoRosie
Kupono Aweau: “Many Moons” Janelle Monáe - Metropolis: the Chase Suite - Many Moons—Janelle Monáe (Original Janelle Monáe music video Janelle Monáe - Metropolis: The Chase Suite (Fantastic Edition) - Many Moons)
Kayla Radomski: “Walking On Air” Kerli - Love Is Dead - Walking On Air—Kerli (Original Kerli music video Walking On Air)
Max Kapitannikov: “Footloose” Kenny Loggins - Footloose (15th Anniversary Collectors' Edition) - Footloose—Kenny Loggins

The Ashley Valerio montage was to the song “Already Gone” Kelly Clarkson - All I Ever Wanted - Already Gone by Kelly Clarkson
The Max Kapitannikov montage was to the song “On Your Own” Green River Ordinance - Out of My Hands - On Your Own by Green River Ordinance

June 18, 2009 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

SYTYCD Top 18 Power Rankings

It’s that time again for me to rank the 9 couples that remain on So You Think You Can Dance. Remember that these rankings aren’t a ranking of who danced the best last night. It’s not based upon their technical dancing ability. It’s not based upon their talent. It’s not even based upon their popularity. It’s based upon all of those things. At least that’s the goal. Take a look at this week’s So You Think You Can Dance power rankings or look back at previous SYTYCD power rankings to see changes.

1. Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak – Looking through the list, I tried to find the couple that deserved the top spot in this weeks power rankings more than Randi and Evan. However, Randi and Evan just couldn’t be topped. They had a solid performance. No doubt the Jive was the perfect platform for these 2 fireballs. Evan reminds me a bit of Benji Schwimmer as far as fan following. I think that Benji’s performance ability was a little bit broader and more appealing than Evan’s, but the fan following for Evan is very Benji like. Randi isn’t quite as popular, but all the Utah fans will be voting for her. No doubt they deserve the top spot this week.
2. Kayla Radomski and Max Kapitannikov – The judges were completely right about Kayla. She fully embodied her performance this week. I think Kayla and Max were ranked a little lower last week since Max got his own style. In a nice surprise, Max really showed America that he can do other styles quite well. Kayla and Max also lucked out to get Brian Friedman’s choreography. As a side note, if you liked Kayla’s costume in this dance, check out the second video down on this post. My only fear for this couple is that Max might not be popular enough to stay at the top. However, between their strong dance and Kayla’s popularity they deserve the second spot, for now.
3. Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb – Some might wonder why Jeanine and Phillip are at number 3 on my list after such a poor performance. Phillip wasn’t good at all in this, except for his face. I thought Jeanine was serviceable. However, they are both so popular, I couldn’t drop them any farther. I wanted to put Melissa and Ade above them, but compare the personalities of Jeanine and Phillip and Melissa and Ade during the judges comments. It’s like a night and day difference and something about Jeanine and Phillip draws people to them. They are just great on camera.
4. Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi – Another really strong performance by Melissa and Ade. They were lucky to get Sonya’s choreography, but they also executed it so well. I wanted to rank them even higher on the strength of their performance, but I just don’t see America falling in love with Melissa and Ade yet. Plus, America likes the underdog and Lil’ C gave Ade the kiss of death by calling him a favorite this early.
5. Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero – These two created what will be one of those memorable SYTYCD performances thanks to new choreographer Stacey Tookey and the most popular song of the evening, “Falling Slowly” The Frames - The Cost (Deluxe Edition) - Falling Slowly. There performance wasn’t flawless, but there were a few moments in the dance that just left your mouth open. Performances like this should really help Karla and Jonathan in the popularity department as well.
6. Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover – 2 really lovable and popular dancers, but their performance last night was just off. Something just looked off when it came to Caitlin’s legs. I’m not sure if she was flat footed or didn’t bend them enough to really get into it. It just felt off at a number of times. Caitlin is super flexible though. Wow! I did expect these 2 to really connect on this performance like they did in Bollywood, but they didn’t.
———————Line of Death….Known as the Bottom 3———————————
7. Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant – I may regret putting these 2 in the bottom 3 since they are quite popular. I just don’t think people enjoy the disco performance much at all. I really think Janette outshined Brandon with her disco like facial expressions. Her smile could be seen even from the long camera shots. Janette does deserve major credit for the amazing V leg lift. Another Wow!
8. Ashley Valerio and Kupono Aweau – I still think people aren’t buying Ashley (which makes me want to vote for her) and Kupono hasn’t been as strong as I would have expected. Their performance was just off. It had to be dead on synchronized and it just wasn’t. It’s too bad, because this performance synchronized would have been pretty good.
9. Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune – The judges gushed over this performance. Mary even cried (not that I believe anything she does is really that authentic). I enjoyed the performance. They had some nice lines and moments. However, it wasn’t a memorable waltz like when Jean Marc Genereux did one for his children (I think it was LaceyKherington and Twitch last season). That’s 2 weeks in a row that I think they got unlucky with their draws. If these two are in the bottom I think it’s a sure thing that Asuka goes home. Since the judges gushed over Vitolio’s story, he might survive another week.

Those are my thoughts. Let’s hear yours in the comments.

I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

So You Think You Can Dance Voting Results

I previously posted a poll asking for people to vote for their favorite dancers from the SYTYCD top 20. We’ve had almost 3000 votes on the poll and the results of the poll are quite interesting. Take a look at this chart of the voting results and below it I’ll add some commentary on the results.
So You Think You Can Dance Voting Results
First, I have to of course point out that this poll includes all of the SYTYCD season 5 top 20. Paris and Tony are already gone, but even that’s interesting. Paris was the least popular person and so I guess that’s why no one has come to the site complaining about Paris going home. Tony on the other hand was more popular than Paris, but still was near the bottom.

I’m not surprised at all that Asuka and Vitolio are near the bottom. After their first performance that makes a lot of sense. Ashley for some reason has never been popular. Maksim doesn’t have the looks he needs to be more popular (see Dmitry).

I should mention that the voting results are probably a little bit skewed in Jeanine Mason’s favor since I’ve had a lot of people coming to my site after searching for Jeanine Mason’s name. That said, you have to give Jeanine credit that a lot of people are searching for her name on Google. If they didn’t care about her, they wouldn’t be searching.

Anyone who thinks that Evan doesn’t have a great shot at winning this season is crazy. This poll shows that. Phillip seems to have a nice fan following thanks to his previous performances on the show.

I’m a little surprised that Caitlin Kinney actually got more votes than her partner Jason Glover. I would have thought for sure that he’d be more popular than Caitlin (even if I’m obviously bias to Caitlin myself).  Although, from the looks of it Kayla Radomski is quite popular herself.

Another surprise for me is Pono Aweau sitting in the middle ground. I would have thought he’d be a bit more popular than that. Maybe it will just take some time for people to get to know him. Although with that said, I think he could potentially rub people the wrong way.

All in all, I feel pretty good about these poll results predicting which people will make it to the top 4. We might see one or two people shift a little, but the top slots do seem to be some of the best dancers and the most popular ones as well.

June 17, 2009 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

SYTYCD Top 20 Power Ranking

Time to go ahead and do some power rankings of the 10 couples in the So You Think You Can Dance top 20. I was amazed at how hard this would be. I thought for sure it would be pretty easy to find the bottom 3 couples. Instead, I had a difficult time ranking them. Not to mention ranking the top couples. However, here’s the rankings of the strongest couples based on their dancing last night, their popularity (which really matters on SYTYCD) and other factors.

1. Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb – Phillip already has a really strong fan following. Jeanine turns out to be a great partner for Phillip. Between the popularity and their really nice performance last night, I’m placing them at the top of the power rankings.
2. Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak – I almost put these two at the top of the power rankings. Evan is wildly popular. Their dance last night was great to watch and well executed. The only reason I didn’t rank them above Jeanine and Phillip was that I don’t think Randi is more popular than Jeanine.
3. Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover – This couple is a really hard one. I think Caitlin is a pretty polarizing figure with a lot of really big fans and a lot of people that really don’t like her. Jason on the other hand seems to be very popular with a lot of people. Particularly with the ladies and we all know that the ladies vote more than the guys.
4. Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi – The biggest surprise dance of the night. Some people are hating on Melissa for her age, but when you saw them dance you had to be surprised. I know I was and that performance last night probably raised them 2 spots on this power ranking.
5. Kayla Radomski and Max Kapitannikov – Kayla is in a position a bit like Caitlin. A lot of big fans and haters. Max isn’t as sharp as Dmitry or Pasha and that will hurt him. Not to mention the receding hair line won’t get him any votes. A really strong dance last night, but Max was lucky to get his own style. Kayla did a pretty good job keeping up too.
6. Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant – I think these 2 dropped a few places on this list since they got the kiss of death: the foxtrot. It’s not as bad as the quickstep, but close. I think the judges let Brandon Bryant off easy on his performance. His frame was horrible and if it were any other guy Mary Murphy would have been all over him for it. She just has that little thing with Mia going on. The next dance I expect we’ll see the true Janette and Brandon come on. Now doubt Brandon has some faithful fans.
7. Ashley Valerio and Kupono Aweau – I think Kupono was a little unlucky to have Ashley as a partner. They both lucked out and got Wade Robson’s choreography and so they’re going to last. I think Kupono seems to be quite popular and people love him. For some reason people don’t seem to like Ashley very much. I love her story of trying out 4 times, but others don’t seem to have taken to it as much.
———————Line of Death….Known as the Bottom 3———————————
8. Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero – This performance fell a little flat to me. Karla has incredible lines and is beautiful, but she didn’t get the cha cha action which makes the dance special. Something in both of their legs was just missing. I think fans will really grow to love Karla over time, but after that performance I see them in the bottom 3.
9. Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune – Probably the worst performance of the top 20. It was pretty disappointing. No one on the judges panel will say it, but I will. Tyce Diorio’s choreography really let them down. It’s unfortunate because I like both of these dancers. However, they are going to be in the bottom 3 and I think Asuka is likely to be sent home. Paris getting sent home in her place is her only hope I believe.
10. Paris Torres and Tony Bellissimo – This couple is so cliche. Beauty queen. Untrained dancer. Dance ending injury. Degree of improvement. etc etc. There performance was enjoyable, but I think it was more due to Tabitha and Napoleon’s choreography than it was their performance. I’d be ok with both of them go home. Just don’t be surprised if Tony is kept around by the judges for the shock and awe factor.

June 11, 2009 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

Vote for Bottom 3 Couples on SYTYCD 2009

I’ve already created a poll for people to vote for their favorite SYTYCD individual dancers (since at the end of the day it is about the individuals). However, even more important at this point is which of the top 20 couples are going to be placed into the bottom 3 and have to dance for their life tomorrow night? Place your vote now for the couples you think will be in the SYTYCD bottom 3 tomorrow night (yes, that means you’re voting for the worst couples from tonight’s SYTYCD top 20).

June 10, 2009 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

So You Think You Can Dance Top 20 Voting

Someone asked me to post the numbers that people can use to vote for their favorites from the So You Think You Can Dance top 20. Your wish is my command. If you’re on the west coast, then this will also reveal the partners for the SYTYCD top 20.

Jeanine Mason and Phillip Chbeeb 1-888-TEMPO-01
Asuka Kondoh and Vitolio Jeune 1-888-TEMPO-02
Karla Garcia and Jonathan Platero 1-888-TEMPO-03
Randi Evans and Evan Kasprzak 1-888-TEMPO-04
Paris Torres and Tony Bellissimo 1-888-TEMPO-05
Caitlin Kinney and Jason Glover 1-888-TEMPO-06
Janette Manrara and Brandon Bryant 1-888-TEMPO-07
Ashley Valerio and Kuponohi’ipoi “Kupono” Aweau 1-888-TEMPO-08
Melissa Sandvig and Ade Obayomi 1-888-TEMPO-09
Kayla Radomski and Maksim “Max” Kapitannikov 1-888-TEMPO-10

Let me know if there is anything else I can do to help you enjoy SYTYCD even more. Also, don’t forget to vote for the SYTYCD top 20 and check out the SYTYCD top 20 music.

I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

So You Think You Can Dance Top 20 Poll

So You Think You Can Dance is so unique since it’s kind of a team competition, but it’s also an individual competition as well. So, in this poll you can vote for the individual dancer that is your favorite. You can vote for the couples on my other So You Think You Can Dance top 20 poll which I’ll post after tonight’show.

I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?

Ashley Valerio & Vitolio Jeune So You Think You Can Dance Top 20 Interview

Ashley Valerio & Vitolio Jeune talk about their experience in Vegas, their very first dance performance ever, their winning strategy and their new wardrobe! Ashley kind of gets left in the background in this video thanks to the talkative Vitolio. I still like the story of Ashley trying out four times and Jeune is going to entertain us each week with some witty comment. Check it out:

June 5, 2009 I Written By

Just call me Charlie...but where are my angels?