Season 8 Top 10 Power Rankings and Poll

Thoughts….

Top Three

1. Sasha (& Twitch) – Sasha had the best combination of incredible 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 routines and towards the end is always a nice little bonus.
2. Caitlynn (& Pasha) – Caitlynn was 4th in the same poll and she had a breakout performance with Pasha tonight. This was one of the sexiest, most sensuous Argentine tangos I’ve seen. She’s quickly become my #2 favorite and I think this routine will help win over a lot of holdouts (if there are any).
3. Melanie (& Pasha) – Melanie came in first in our poll. Her Viennese waltz might’ve been just slightly better technically than the Argentine tango, but I’m going to put it in the bottom of the Top 3 because tangos seem to be a little more popular than waltzes. That could just be me, though.

Middle Four

1. Marko (& Chelsie) – Marko was 2nd in our poll and while his samba with Chelsie was really good, it was also the first routine of the night and I think the choreo showed off Chelsie more than him. I still think the combination of his own popularity and people’s excitement that Chelsie was back on the show will make the routine memorable enough to keep him safe.
2. Jess (& Kathryn) – Jess ranked 6th in our poll. While he’s not a favorite of mine, he probably danced his best routine tonight with Kathryn, who is a very popular (and talented) dancer. She brought out a lot in Jess tonight, but I can’t help wishing it’d been another dancer in Jess’s place, in the routine and with Kathryn.
3. Clarice (& Robert) – Clarice was 7th in our poll, but I think that dancing a strong Bollywood with Robert and being the last of the episode will help her a lot. Her solo surprised me tonight and it’s hard to tell how she’ll do without Jess. I think she danced better with Robert than she did with Jess, but that she still might be one of the weakest.
4. Tadd (& Comfort) – Tadd was 3rd in our poll and his solo rocked. If not for those two things, I think he’d be in danger tomorrow (and he might still). It was one of the weaker routines, or at least not my favorite because it felt very strange. Comfort redeemed herself a bit as an All-Star last season, but she’s not the most popular of the All-Stars.

Bottom Three

1. Rickey (& Allison) – Rickey was 8th in our poll and his solo tonight wasn’t as strong as it could’ve been. I think he’s picking up more of a following apart from Ryan. He probably danced his best in this routine and it was one of the later ones, but I had to put somebody in the Bottom 3, so I put him here because of his low ranking in the poll and his solo.
2. Jordan (& Brandon) – Jordan was 9th in our poll. I could see her trying to change up her solo, but she seems over-reliant on the same moves, not growing as much as other contestants. She danced the 2nd routine of the night and while it was beautiful, it might not be the most memorable. Some people struggled to connect to Brandon in his season and sometimes people don’t connect to Desmond & Dwight routines, so those factors might not do her any favors.
3. Mitchell (& Melody) – Mitchell was 10th in our poll, danced with one of the lesser known All-Stars and was unlucky enough to get the weaker of Tyce’s two routines, an awkward Broadway (hit or miss with voters). His solo was really strong, but he looked like he was wearing a large diaper. I thought he handled the judge’s comments really well – he’s come a far way in my opinion, but I think this may be the end of the road for him.

Because we can vote for individual dancers, they probably won’t arbitrarily cut 1 boy and 1 girl anymore. Still, it might be kneejerk for the judges and I think they might cut Jordan and Mitchell tomorrow night. Oh, wait, we’ll only lose 1 dancer a week now, won’t we? Well, if that’s the case, I think Mitchell will be the one to go tomorrow night.

And here’s a poll (you can pick up to 3 couples):