The last performance night…I can’t believe it’s really the end! Seriously, next season—finale party. Tonight we’re getting all fancy in the ginormous Kodak Theater—home of American Idol and the Oscars—which is fun on one hand, and quite a challenge for the dancers on the other. How on earth are their solos not going to get lost on that huge stage? Cat reports getting chills as she walks out on the stage to the screams of 3000 fans, and marvels at the new location and set. As the top four run out for their mini solos, I pat myself on the back for picking three of these contestants as my top five at the beginning of the season. Of course I had Jeanine on my “who are these people, they will never make it list”, and my top five had one contestant that got booted the first week, so…prognosticator extraordinaire, I am not.
Cat delights in 3000 people saying “jidges”in unison, and tells us Adam is back oh YAY!!!Love love love him! Adam says he thought some of tonight’s top four would be here back when they were in Vegas, and some he didn’t see coming at all. Mary says that dancers feed off energy, challenges the audience to bring that energy, and hollers until they are loud enough for her. Also, she looks BEAUTIFUL tonight.
The top four will dance together first, and will be performing a Wade AND AMANDA Robson dance. VERY interesting that it’s not just Wade anymore. Are they going to be like NappyTabs, or will she drag him down? The dance is about two jocks that start hitting on cheerleaders, and the cheerleaders turn out to be more than they can handle. Well OF COURSE they are. Jeanine says she doesn’t think many people were expecting to see cheerleading on SYTYCD, but it’s the finale, so think big. I’m assuming she means that people didn’t think they would be SO LUCKY. They perform, and …hmm. I wonder who is responsible for the” sniff the armpit” choreography? I don’t think that will win an Emmy. OOOH but I want the sequin bloomers the girls are rocking!! Y’all know I love me some cheering, but I did NOT think this was good. I can’t believe the same guy who choreographed Ramalama did this. Really?
Our first couple is Jeanine and Evan, performing a Sonya routine about a clingy guy and a girl who is just over him. Girl Power! Oh on a side note—I heard that Victoria Beckham might replace Paula on American Idol. How fantastic would that be?!?! We see footage of Jeanine and Sonya beating Evan up, kind of for reals. I’m finding the big stage and the graphics a little distracting from the dance. Adam gives them a half hearted “that was great, guys.” He admits that he never saw Jeanine coming, and she’s been great every week, and now he feels bad that he underestimated her. I’m glad I’m not the only one! He tells Evan that he NEVER saw him in the top four, but this season will never be the same without him. That doesn’t even make any sense. Mary says she thinks they delivered, but Jeanine stood out a little bit more, but Evan “held his own.” They say that EVERY week about Evan, and he’s somehow managed to hold his own to the finale. Nigel encourages Evan to step up and be responsible for his own destiny. He acknowledges that Evan is loved by the public—despite the judges practically begging the audience not to vote for him-- and says he has to step up and be worthy of that. He praises Jeanine’s growth. It’s kind of lukewarm praise, and I thought the dance was very eh. They seem more focused on pointing out that Jeanine is brilliant, and Evan isn’t worthy.
Tonight we see Cat’s interviews with the contestants before we watch their solos. Brandon conveys how much Mia’s approval means to him. He confesses that he didn’t think he would make the show. Okay, I call BS on that. Also, he misses Janette the most. You and me both, Brandon! He performs, and HOLY CRAP is his solo good!!! Adam declares that he is competing, wonders about the choice of board shorts (seriously!!! They were like jailbird board shorts; all black and white striped and whatever), said it was a tad frantic. Mary says he was amazing, he defies gravity, he was born to dance, and that it’s still a privilege and honor to watch him dance. She starts crying again, the same way she did all those many months ago when he first auditioned. Aww. Nigel says that he’s amazing, and that he just wiped out the opposition. Okay, we get that you want him to win, y’all. But you still have three more contestants to go!
Brandon and Kayla have a Tyce routine. I love it when he gets all Brooklyn; why didn’t he do more of that when he was a guest judge? The dance shows them off to their best advantage; it highlights Kayla’s extension, Brandon’s strength, their flawless technique, including pirouettes a la seconde perfectly in unison. Kayla’s grandparents are beaming afterward. BTW where has her mom been during all of this? Cat asks Adam what he thinks, and he who has been perfectly calm all night FINALLY does his thing and leaps out of his chair with excitement. He confesses that these two are the two he always saw in the finale. He calls it an honor to have Kayla on the show, and calls Brandon an animal. Mary hollers a bunch of other superlatives. Nigel praises their amazing ability and compliments Tyce’s great routine.
Jeanine’s solo is next. Jeanine admits when she was younger, she wasn’t a very good dancer, and her parents had to push her to keep going. She also says that Russian folk dancing was a low point, and confesses to having a panic attack when she realized that she was going to have to go onstage dressed like that. Her favorite dance thus far was Travis Wall’s piece. Oh! Cat mentions the “full smooch-o-rama-rooney” and Jeanine enthusiastically points out that was NOT choreographed! Well well well! Her solo is incredible. She dances to a tango, and has a flower in her mouth the whole time, which is a bit distracting. But she does this pirouette with about a bazillion rotations, and lands beautifully—it’s really stunning. Travis and this year’s contestants seemed thrilled for her. Adam is amazed by her turns, which—aren’t we all? He praises the risk she took, said she just killed it, and genuinely tells her he is so happy for her. But he does say “what the hell was that stupid plastic flower”, which, yeah. Mary says she saw her coming (whatevs), she gets better every week, she’s peaking at the right time, and that solo is the best thing that she’s done on the show. Nigel says it was a brave solo, and she pulled it out, and she’s in the final two as far as Nigel is concerned. Good for Jeanine!
Evan and Brandon have a Laurieann piece. Laurieann is wearing the same humongous pink headphones around her neck that she was sporting the last time she choreographed. I think I need an accessory like that. And she has some assistant wearing a shocking pink shirt who looks REALLY into whatever she’s doing—which appears to be just holding a cord, but I’m sure it’s much more than that? They dance to Janet Jackson’s “Nasty” in leather jackets, and appear to be fighting. I like how every season the routine for the top two guys is a fight. Evan doesn’t do as badly as I thought he would. The judges disagree with me; Adam says “Evan, you got dusted”. I know the judges don’t want him to win; but comments like that will only encourage his very large fan base…do they not realize that? Anywho, Evan takes the criticism gracefully. When Adam says Evan’s sweetness hindered him, he gets booed, and kind of panics, saying “Oh no! I’ve never been booed! Can you guys go back to liking me again?!” Mary giggles and asks Evan “What’s the nastiest thing you’ve ever done?” Goodness! Evan blushes, his family dies laughing, and Cat admonishes “Meeehreh, his GRAMS are in the audience! “ Oh and so are his brothers; Ryan is wearing a tux and looking sharp! Cat cajoles “the grams” into put their fingers in their ears, and then conspiratorially asks Evan again what the nastiest thing he’s ever done is. Brandon pipes up “I’m excited!!” as Evan considers his answer. Ahahaha… I bet you are, Brandon. Evan just says that’s a toughie; the list is so long. Nicely deflected, Evan! Mary admits Brandon was just a little bit better in this routine. Nigel says that if you speak to the choreographers, they will all say that Evan’s work ethic is beyond reproach; but there isn’t a nasty bone in his body. He also says that he has a choochie face--I have no idea what that means—and that he just can’t do “Nasty”. I feel his pain; I was practicing my stank face the other day, and apparently I can’t pull it off either. Anyway, Nigel goes on about how Brandon outdanced Evan. Okay y’all, we get it. Brandon=good. Evan=bad.
The girls are up next with a Mia routine. They are on a journey, and the dance involves shedding layers of their skirts as a sign of their progression. It’s interesting, but at the end Jeanine seems to have difficulty unsnapping her last skirt; it’s a big moment and she’s obviously late. Quite honestly, I felt like Kayla did a much better job; I barely noticed Jeanine in this piece. Adam said bringing a concept piece like that to the finale was risky, and that he loved it. Mary notes that they are the strongest two women they’ve ever had in the finale, and that it was very well matched. Nigel loves it, says something about how he wishes it went on longer, and everyone giggles, assuming he means he wanted them to keep shedding clothes. I give him a pass; I think this is the one time he didn’t mean it like THAT.
Evan talks about how hard it was when he and his brother realized that only one of them would be on the show; Ryan is his best friend, and the memory of the audition still chokes Evan up. Evan’s fave routine of the season was the butt routine. Interesting! I thought he would say Tyce’s “Get me to the church on time” routine. I guess Evan is a butt man? His solo is cute—same old same old. Adam says it’s interesting, because it was a variation on his audition piece, which will either make people crazy, or make them be like “I’ve seen this before”. Cat asks Mary if it did it for her, and she half heartedly goes “You know… I think it did, Cat. “Nigel says he was good, but he hasn’t grown as much as he had hoped on this show, and he doesn’t think it was a strong as Jeanine and Brandon’s solo. Cat asks the audience if they liked it and they go insane. She reminds everyone that no matter what the judges say, it all depends on our votes. You know the judges could just kill her for firing up his fan base like that.
Kayla and Evan have a Tony and Melanie jive routine. This should be good for Evan, since he’s had this style before. Oh, and Kayla has to do this in cowboy boots. I have to say Evan seems a lot tighter than he was the last time. Also, he is wearing those man heels again. That is NO good. Adam says that while he loves Tony and Melanie’s work, he doesn’t think that was a finale level routine. This prompts more booing, to which he replies “Two in one night! Score.” Hee. At least he’s honest; I thought the dance was very eh myself. He liked Evan in this, but didn’t think it was competitive. Mary said she thought the routine was phenomenal. She said she didn’t think Evan’s kicks were strong, and thought they were like two dancers just doing their own thing. She says Kayla just stole the show—I guess Kayla wasn’t part of those two dancers just doing their own thing? Nigel says he thought they both came out with guns blazing. The whole auditorium starts chanting EVAN! EVAN! prompting Evan to tear up. I don’t blame him; the judges have basically been like “YOU SUCK” all night long; he’s probably so happy to get good feedback. I totally didn’t think he should be in the top four, and even I’m feeling sorry for him! He asks where Kayla’s personality has been this whole season; and says that if it had been there this season like it is tonight, she would be riding clear to the final. I’m sure that made her feel good.
Kayla tells us that she wanted to dance since she was two. They talk about her emotional grandpa and how proud her grandparents of her; she seems a little embarrassed by it. She likes her white lightning nickname, and her favorite piece was Mia’s addiction piece. I hope they do that one again tomorrow, I LOVED it! She performs her solo, and I think it’s okay. It didn’t grab me. Adam said he thought the solo was fine, but he wants to talk about the season. He says that this show has shown him some of the best dancers he’s ever seen, including Travis, Will from last season, Danny, and our Kayla. Mary says that Kayla is gifted and she’s been touched by an angel. Nigel says what’s been difficult for her is that when they praise constantly, oftentimes the audience will assume someone is safe, or decide that they want to decide who the best is on their own, and won’t call for that person. He’s happy that she’s made it to the finale.
Our last performance is Jeanine and Brandon, doing a Louis van Amstel Paso Doble. Interesting they are ending the night with a Paso Doble; this one must be really good. Jeanine falls during rehearsal; shocker. Louis raves about them as a pair. They perform to a song from the Matrix soundtrack, and whew! This is a good Paso Doble! Very passionate and strong from both dancers. They get a standing ovation from everyone, including the judges. Adam says they shredded it. Mary screams, praises the choreography and the dancing, and then really lets her hollers rip. I suppose the shrieking needed a finale of its own? Nigel screams back at her, and says Brandon and Jeanine have edged the other two out for him.
We have a few more minutes to kill, so Cat puts the judges on the spot, and asks who they think will win the competition. Adam says that Evan sucks, but whatever, America seems to love him; Kayla is brilliant, and the other two are wonderful, and he can’t pick one. Cat asks Mary to be “more of a man” than Adam, and Mary says she can’t pick either. Nigel reiterates that he thinks it will be Brandon or Jeanine, but assures the audience that no matter what, we’re having a Kasprzak on Season 6—does that mean that Ryan made the top 20? I guess we’ll know in a month!
I think Jeanine will be our winner tonight. Thoughts?
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