SYTYCD Season 7 Top 11 Power Rankings

My first Power Rankings of Season 7!! It’s very different this year, since we don’t have those “weeding out” episodes at the beginning of Top 20. We’re not losing one girl and one guy every results show this time around, but just one dancer. Which is great…but also hard to predict who’s gonna go. We already have such a small number of dancers and the Meet the Top 11 and first performance show have been pretty killer. It’s really hard to guess how this is going to play out.

That being said… I’m game to try. 🙂 Aren’t I always?

Top Four

Alex – hands down, Alex had the best night. His performance with Allison was stunning and got rave reviews from the judges. I’ve never seen Nigel react the way that he did. Not only that, but the audience loved it and he earned Deely’s first chills of the season. 🙂 Alex managed to be humble, proud and adorable (like when he was mouthing along with Cat’s phone number speel).

Kent – had a solid performance with some slight wobbles. It wasn’t as spectacular as some of the other performances, but it was cute. It had loads of personality and he did look genuinely thrilled ot be there, with Anya in his arms. If you add all the screen time he got and how amusing he was talking with the judges – and Cat’s extremely odd and cute faces – you get a wide security net, in my opinion.

Ashley – her performance is incredibly memorable to me because the chemistry between Ashley and Neil was through the roof. They both seemed genuinely affected for a while after the performance was over and so was I. While the judges were talking, I kept thinking, stop talking, you’re not talking about the right thing. I wanted Neil back on stage with Ashley. Plus, it was a great routine danced beautifully. I think this brought Ashley to a lot of people’s attention.

Robert – had great chemistry with Courtney. This was a routine so natural to them both that it was just kinda like, “here’s some great dancing, no big thang.” I hope it stands out as much as it deserves to. I think it will. And Robert’s personality really shone through, particularly in his [weird] interchange with Mia. So, he probably came to a lot of people’s attention as well.

Middle Four

Billy – is maybe letting the competition get in the way of his dancing. He danced well, don’t get me wrong. It was a cute routine with Lauren. But it had none of the weight of some of the other performances and it was the first routine and several people have told me they don’t think Billy is dancing to his capacity lately.

Alexie – had a cute, competent routine with Twitch. It wasn’t everything it couldn’t been, but it was entertaining and charming and well-danced. I think this is one of the routines that suffered from the new-partner-every-week format of the show. If Alexie and Twitch had been partners for two or three weeks before this, I think it would’ve rocked more.

Adechike – also suffered from the new-partner-each-week thing, in my opinion. It was shocking to me that Chike and Kathryn didn’t have much chemistry because everyone has chemistry with Kathryn. A mop would have chemistry with Kathryn. The chair had more chemistry with Kathryn than Chike did. But, it was well-danced. It just could’ve been more than it was, like Alexie and Twitch’s routine.

Jose – was lucky enough to disguise his lack of experience and training within this routine with Comfort. So while I think it was more poorly danced than say, Cristina’s routine, for example, I think that his charm, the generosity of his choreographer and partner and his potential “journey” will keep him safe.

Bottom Three

Lauren – wasn’t all that bad with Ade, because they’re both strong dancers and Ade is a phenomenal partner. But I don’t think she was feeling Ade or the choreography and it showed. She seemed uncommitted to both. Then, she was kinda a bit of a brat when talking to the judges. She said something along the lines, “I’ll figure out how to earn your approval.” Which seems…kinda…fake… I think it surprised all the judges, when she said that. Her expression was very flat and blank after that, like she was trying to keep herself from saying something worse. I think it turned a lot of people off of LoFro, but not enough to get her booted.

Melinda – was adorable and charming with Pasha. They had strong chemistry. However, she was clearly overwhelmed by the routine. While she did a good job masking her legs (as the judges commented on) with her personality, I think she was one of the more obviously weak dancers. Jose was lucky enough to have some breaking added to the choreography so he could show his strengths while she was left smiling and oozing charm for all she was worth and couldn’t really display any of her dance strengths. She may suffer some stress tonight in the bottom 3, but I hope she doesn’t leave because I love her and I can’t wait to see what she can do.

Cristina – her dancing was better than Melinda, Jose and probably Lauren’s last night. However, it was early in the show and it kinda looked like Mark was slinging her around for most of the routine. I don’t think she got a chance to shine and I don’t think she has the fan base of some of the other dancers, including the ones who’ll likely be in the Bottom 3. When you factor in that she was the only dancer who was critiqued during Meet the Top 11, I think she’s the one in the most danger.

Alright – how off base do you think I am? Do you think the All-Stars’ popularity will rub off on their particular partners? How do you think tonight’s results show is going to go down? I’d love to hear your thoughts.