Season 8 Top 12 Power Rankings and Poll
So, this is the really tough one. I’m going to base my Power Rankings on tonight’s routines and my perceptions of the fan support the dancers/couples have and of course, my own opinions. I hope you’ll let me know what you think in the comments and I’m going to include a poll so you can pick your Top 10 at the end of this post.
Top Three
Melanie & Marko – Not only have they been the most consistent in performance and approval through the season, but they had two hands-down great routines. Their tango was phenomenal and while they’re contemporary wasn’t as mind-blowing, it was strong and beautiful.
Sasha & Alexander – Sasha seems to have been carrying this couple most of the season with Alexander flying largely under the radar. She (or they) have been picking up steam approval-wise and have had some stellar routines, two of which were tonight. While they were the first to dance in both sets, I think their performances were both memorable enough to keep them safe.
Clarice & Jess – They had a great first routine and were the last performances of the episode. While their jive at the end of the episode wasn’t all that great, they have been picking up fans as a couple. A lot of people have been vocally supporting Jess in particular lately. But mostly, every time I put them in the Bottom 3, they’re safe, so I’m going to just call them safe now.
Bottom Three
Caitlynn & Mitchell – I want them to be safe and I think there are a lot of people like me who love Caitlynn and have enjoyed watching her relationship with Mitchell grow. But, they had two sucky routines this episode. I hate to say it, but I don’t think their hip hop or even their Travis Wall were all that great. I hope people vote for them like I did, though, cause I’d love to see Caitlynn in particular in the Top 10 dancing with All-Stars (ahem, Robert).
Jordan & Tadd – Their first routine was a FABULOUS Travis Wall routine, but their second one was a kinda awful Spencer Liff Broadway. I think people are getting annoyed with Jordan and her overuse of her one leg (I couldn’t stop rolling my eyes whenever she raised her one leg in the routines), but they’re loving Tadd more than ever. It’ll be interesting to see whether Tadd’s growing popularity and their awesome first routine saves them from the Bottom 3.
Ryan & Rickey – I hate putting them here, but of all the couples, they had the two worst or least memorable routines. I liked their Spencer Liff Broadway, but the judges panned it. I didn’t love their Louis cha cha, though Rickey got put on the hot tamale train for it. Ryan’s been losing popularity big time over the course of the season, so I’m afraid they’re probably going to land in the Bottom 3 and possibly go home.
—
I think if R&R land in the Bottom 3 and the judges stick with this season’s annoying eliminating couples together policy, they’ll probably go. However, if Clarice & Jess are in the bottom, I can see them splitting a couple and eliminating Clarice and maybe Mitchell. If the Bottom 3 I’ve predicted happens, I hope they split the couples and keep Caitlynn, Tadd and Ryan. I’d be okay with Jordan, Mitchell or Rickey leaving this week.
You know, this is really hard. Why don’t you help me out here and pick who you would like to see in the Top 10 (you can pick 10 dancers).
My choices would be the same except for swapping Mitchell and Caitlynn with Jess and Clarice, but it’s really close for these two couples based on tonight’s performances. I think Travis got a little lazy on the Mitchell/Caitlynn routine and just took a lot of lift sequences from their Mandy Moore number.
Ryan and Jordan are my least favorite females, but Ryan will probably be the one to go based on the judges comments.
For the guys, I hope Ricky stays, i.e., they spit a couple. (How unique this year!) They would probably keep Jess in that case versus Tadd.
In regards to the All-Stars, we have seen quite a few former contestants as assistants or in the audience. I have a feeling it may boil down to who is available on a given week, since they’re all trying to make a living from dance, literally all over the world. I think it would be nice to see some Season 6 top people get to go on a tour.
Always enjoy your power rankings and assessments. And the poll really forced me to decide where I stand on a few iffy dancers. Btw, is it possible to make the poll results in descending order? 12 people is a lot to sort through to see how the poll results are stacking up. Thanks.
I really hope ryan goes home this week. overall this season has been underwhelming and i am soooo sick of the lyrical hip hop. Frankly it sucks. it ‘s nice every once in awhile but all the time is way too much. also melanie and marko are really good but they seem to always be in their comfort zone so theirs something off about them.
Hmm. I suppose I agree with these rankings. I love love love Mitchell and Rickey, but I don’t really love love love Ryan and Jordan. Ryan’s confidence has been shaken so much after last week that she was a shadow of herself tonight. But Rickey KILLED that cha-cha and the broadway (and I’m with you–I actually liked the broadway number…much better than Jordan and Tadd’s which was atrocious, imo).
I would hate to see Tadd go, though. Without him, it’s a pretty boring top 10, you know? I would rather see Jess go (but they love him, so if he’s in the bottom, he probably stays). I try to get into him, but I can’t. He irks me. Even in the hip hop it seemed like he couldn’t feel the style–it was just his usual broadway to hip hop music, to me.
Anyways, I thought that Melanie and Marko killed, so did Sasha and Alexander–and everyone else had at least one killer routine. So who knows, really?
Also–loved the judging panel tonight! Sonya was a good judge and Jesse was hilarious. So kudos for the judging choices this season (except for Carmen Electra who was forgettable).
I think it will be Mitchell and Ryan going home tonight, although I wouldn’t mind seeing Jordan leave either. I think the decision to eliminate a guy will be the hardest. None of them really deserve to go, I really hope Ricky and Tadd stay. What a tough night for the judges.
I bet after the show there was a discussion between nigel and the choreographers , I do think most of the numbers that was noted to be bad was not of the dancers fault but more of the choreography itself, I don’t think that most choreographers took into consideration that the top 12 show was really important as it will be the pool of dancers that America would be voting individually for the weeks to come.
if Ryan will be on the bottom 3 this week im sure it will be a hard deliberation if the judges will save Mia Michaels’ “protege” (you know what I mean :),
im pretty much sure that they will keep the B-boy vs the other technical dancers if tadd will be in the bottom
@Lee: Trust me, I wouldn’t mind if you’re right and Caitlynn and Mitchell are safe. 🙂
@Bonita: Thank you – I’m glad you like my Power Rankings and that the poll forced you to weed out your iffy dancers. I don’t think I can edit the appearance of the results, I wish I could too. Even though the poll itself randomizes the dancer’s names, the results seem to put them in the same order that I did when I created the poll. Sorry about that.
@beth: I love how reluctantly you agree with my rankings. lol. But I wholeheartedly agree with you. I hope Tadd stays and I loved the judging panel.
yes, choreography was not strong last night.
my bottom 3 couples were jordan/tadd, mel/marko and can’t decide between sasha/alexander and caitlyn/mitchell?
i agree with gabby-melanie/marko are sailing along bc they are staying in their comfort zones (lots of jazz and cont.) Their tango was not good. She was leading him and they almost fell over a few times.
Ryan was not good at the cha cha but at least she let rickey lead and their Spencer broadway was very cute.
i think it’s time for Queen Develope (Jordan) and Tadd to go.
In this week, i feel like the numbers were either amazing or awful… So here are my power rankings
TOP THREE
Clarice and Jess
Why does everyone hate them? I think they are both amazing dancers and they had two amazing pieces! I absolutely ADORED the hip-hop, it was so cute, and they used power in their moves! Their jive was less memorable, but it was still great… Clarice shined in that one!
Sasha and Alexander
I actually noticed Alexander in these pieces for once! Their pasa doble could of been stronger, but i loved their broadway! I thought he was the star… even though they both interacted with each other skillfully!
Melanie and Marco
@Gabby i totally agree that it does throw me off that they are always in their comfort zone… their tango was below average and she looked angry… have you guys noticed that she always looks evil? Their lift at the end was amazing but you have to remember the dance before the lift wasnt very good. Their contemporary was great but they didnt use the stage much…
BOTTOM THREE
Ryan and Ricky
Well, their broadway was beginner, it was danced well but the choreo was not meant for Top 12. Their cha-cha was pretty good but she used her weird grin again and her top half seemed frozen…
Caitlynn and MIchell
Awful night for them. Their lyrical hip-hop looked like it could of two kids dancing not professional dancers… and they were awful hitting the moves… i didnt like their second one, and all the moves have been done before…
Jordan and Tadd
OK, they do not deserve to be this far with those dances. The only move she can do well is her overused lifting her leg. And Tadd was pretty good in the first piece (exept for his unconvincing strangling) but in the second piece he barely danced at all. His posture was also awful. Also, they kept showing them practicing “all those lifts” but there was only about one. Maybe the choreographer took them out?
So anyways I really want Jordan and Tadd to go tonight.
If they eliminate a couple (which I thoroughly hate about this season), then I’d have to vote for Ryan and Rickie to depart. I definitely want to see Tadd with someone other than Jordan. I think he has some strong untapped potential. I also want to see Caitlynn stay as well after her fantastic performance the first week.
However I’m crossing my fingers that they’ll eliminate individuals since they’re dancing as individuals starting next week. In that scenario, I’m fine with either Jordan or Ryan departing. Then either Mitchell or Rickie since neither have managed to stand out for me.
If Jess and Clarice end up in the bottom 3, I hope they keep both of them. I think they have lots of untapped potential that maybe will shine when they’re with the All-Stars. I think they both struggled a bit with their pairing but I give them both credit for the routines last night where they seemed to figure out how to be with a partner. I would give them most improved at this time.
I’d be surprised if Melanie and Marko or Sasha and Alexander were in the bottom 3. But, if they are, they definitely should go through to the top 10.
Interestingly, the poll concurs with my opinion (stated for the record in comments to the previous article :)) that Alexander and Ryan should be sent home.
[…] I’m dying to see if the results of our Poll predict who’s going home tonight. According to your preferences, Ryan and Alexander should go […]
[…] routine, chemistry with a popular All-Star and her own popularity (she came in 5th in our Top 10 Prediction Poll). I think it was the most memorable routine of the night. Plus, it came in the 2nd half of the […]