SYTYCD 20
Couples ranged from good to outstanding; I don't remember it being this good this early in the competition last year.
Jeanine & Philip - Had a lot of luck tonight: they pulled Philip's specialty, and they got a genius routine from Tabitha and Napoleon, but then they worked it out and nailed it.
Asuka & Vitolio - Disappointing. I like Asuka very much (didn't see Vitolio enough in the prelims to know if I liked him), but unlike Jeanine and Philip, they didn't get any luck: they got Broadway, which is really not their thing, and it was a very stylized and didn't give them a ton of opportunity to demonstrate their personalities. It was technically good, but just not terribly enjoyable. I wish they'd gotten the Mandy Moore or Tony Meredith pieces.
Karla & Johnathan - Much better than I would have thought, having not seen much of them. Jonathan is adorable, Karla is talented. They were not technically the strongest, but they danced together, and with lots of personality.
Evan & Randi - Love them, love them, love them. So strong and fully together. They got my vote tonight.
Paris & Tony - Just not good. They didn’t get the “good” Tabitha and Napoleon number, either, but Tony should have hit that much harder. Paris did as well as could be expected, but like Asuka and Vitolio, they just didn't add anything at all to it (and they didn't have nearly the excuse that A&V had).
Caitlin & Jason - Didn’t expect that (Jason is great; why did they hide him?). Really interesting and fun, but I think they weren’t dancing together as much as I would have liked. And it suffers when you compare it to what Katee and Joshua did last year.
Janette & Brandon - Love Brandon, don’t understand the hate. I don’t know classic ballroom, but it looked good to me. Great lifts.
Ashley & Kupono - Kupono is an odd duck, like Mark from last year, but I like him. Not sure what I thought of the number, but they danced whatever that was very well.
Melissa & Ade - Melissa's ‘naughty’ pose is unbelievably irritating, but she and Ade danced the hell out of that. It was strong and smooth and beautiful. Really, really wonderful job.
Kayla & Max - Great job! When you compare Karla and Jonathan, you can see how much technically stronger Max and Kayla are. Both couples were very entertaining, but Kayla and Max put all the extra form touches in and their carriage is outstanding.
No one bombed, and most of the performances were really very good. I think Paris & Tony were the weakest, and Tony needs to worry about his future (he's lucky the judges have been favoring him throughout the process; he really should not even be here). Asuka & Vitolio will probably join them in the bottom three. Karla & Johnathan probably deserve to round it out, even though they did quite well. I can't imagine Asuka going home based on her strength in what she does, but I think the rest should be worried.
Jeanine & Philip - Had a lot of luck tonight: they pulled Philip's specialty, and they got a genius routine from Tabitha and Napoleon, but then they worked it out and nailed it.
Asuka & Vitolio - Disappointing. I like Asuka very much (didn't see Vitolio enough in the prelims to know if I liked him), but unlike Jeanine and Philip, they didn't get any luck: they got Broadway, which is really not their thing, and it was a very stylized and didn't give them a ton of opportunity to demonstrate their personalities. It was technically good, but just not terribly enjoyable. I wish they'd gotten the Mandy Moore or Tony Meredith pieces.
Karla & Johnathan - Much better than I would have thought, having not seen much of them. Jonathan is adorable, Karla is talented. They were not technically the strongest, but they danced together, and with lots of personality.
Evan & Randi - Love them, love them, love them. So strong and fully together. They got my vote tonight.
Paris & Tony - Just not good. They didn’t get the “good” Tabitha and Napoleon number, either, but Tony should have hit that much harder. Paris did as well as could be expected, but like Asuka and Vitolio, they just didn't add anything at all to it (and they didn't have nearly the excuse that A&V had).
Caitlin & Jason - Didn’t expect that (Jason is great; why did they hide him?). Really interesting and fun, but I think they weren’t dancing together as much as I would have liked. And it suffers when you compare it to what Katee and Joshua did last year.
Janette & Brandon - Love Brandon, don’t understand the hate. I don’t know classic ballroom, but it looked good to me. Great lifts.
Ashley & Kupono - Kupono is an odd duck, like Mark from last year, but I like him. Not sure what I thought of the number, but they danced whatever that was very well.
Melissa & Ade - Melissa's ‘naughty’ pose is unbelievably irritating, but she and Ade danced the hell out of that. It was strong and smooth and beautiful. Really, really wonderful job.
Kayla & Max - Great job! When you compare Karla and Jonathan, you can see how much technically stronger Max and Kayla are. Both couples were very entertaining, but Kayla and Max put all the extra form touches in and their carriage is outstanding.
No one bombed, and most of the performances were really very good. I think Paris & Tony were the weakest, and Tony needs to worry about his future (he's lucky the judges have been favoring him throughout the process; he really should not even be here). Asuka & Vitolio will probably join them in the bottom three. Karla & Johnathan probably deserve to round it out, even though they did quite well. I can't imagine Asuka going home based on her strength in what she does, but I think the rest should be worried.