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.