or (some) of your favourites all over again
et voilà. Here we are, finale of Season 10. The SYTYCD finales always kind of depress me because they solidify that summer is officially over, but Season 11 has been confirmed by both Nigel Lythgoe and FOX representatives, so hey, it's not all bad, is it?
I actually wasn't spoiled until like an hour before I officially watched who won, either, which is kind of surprising because I was on every form of social media possible before the show. Dammit, tumblr.
Top 20 Performance; Wonderwall; choreography by Ivan Koumaev
Beyond neat performance. I was super surprised when I heard that Ivan was choreographing the performance, and I was super impressed with his choreography. I had my eyes on Paul in this number for the entire time. See it for yourselves;
Guest Judge Paula Abdul's Choice; Makenzie and Paul; Edge of Glory, choreography by Mandy Moore
They chose to go with the dress Makenzie wore in Lindsay Nelko's contemporary piece, dunno why, but they did. So glad they gave us another chance to see Paul and Makenzie dance together, but I dunno if they were super nervous or something because as much as I love them, I found the transitions to be very rocky and it just didn't have the same magic as the original.
Finalist Jasmine Harper's Choice; Jasmine and Marko; Blurred Lines, choreography by Ray Leeper
Jasmine surprised everybody when she went with the Michael Jackson/Janelle Monàe style fusion number with Marko, and I thought I would tear out my own fingernails if I heard that stupid Robin Thicke song again, but it was as entertaining as ever.
Guest Judge Adam Shankman (!!!!!)'s Choice; Fik-Shun and tWitch; Hello Good Morning, choreography by Luther Brown
We saw this one like a week ago so not overly exciting.
Guest performance by some actors in D-Trix Sandoval's new movie; Battle of the Year
I'm not a huge street/crew dance fan, but this was fun. And it was great to see D-Trix again.
Guest Nigel Lythgoe's Choice; Alexis, Curtis and Aaron; You Really Did It; choreography by Anthony Morigerato
Fun to see the tappers again. Alexis especially really shines in her own element, and it just proved how awesome SYTYCD newbie Anthony Morigerato is.
Guest Judge/Alumnus tWitch Boss's Choice; Hayley and Nico; Kiss of the Spiderwoman; choreography by Sean Cheesman
Kind of a weird choice for tWitch as his "favourite", but it was a stellar performance originally. The lifts were not as smooth as the first time; the over-the-head split lift looked laboured, and at one point Nico couldn't lift Hayley all the way up above his head.
Finalist Aaron Turner's Choice; Aaron and Kathryn; I'm Kissing You; choreography by Stacey Tookey
If possible, more stunning than the first time around. All-around gorgeous, and Kathryn's quality of movement has me in awe every time.
Top 10 Guys Routine Re-play; Sand; choreography by Christopher Scott
This was one of my top favourites from the entire season; the use of sand and how Chris Scott highlighted each member's strengths were so so neat.
Host Cat Deeley's Choice; Jasmine and Comfort; Run the World (Girls); choreography by NappyTabs
Wow, Cat really pulled for and loved Jasmine this season, didn't she? Anyways, loved to see this routine again that really showed Jasmine's inner strength, fierceness, and growth in confidence.
Judge Mary Murphy's Choice; Tucker and Robert; Medicine; choreography by Travis Wall
I love that they got a second chance to show this number, because as special as it was last time, everything was perfectly synchronized this time, whereas the first time it was performed a lot of the aerial stuff was not spot-on.
Re-play of the Top 20 Performance, Puttin on the Ritz, choreography by NappyTabs.
Two words; Nigel tutting.
Not sure who requested this one again?; Jenna and Mark; I Am The Best, choreography by Mark Kanemura
Again, just as fun and spot-on as the first time around. Poor Jenna with that hair, though - must have taken some getting used to.
Finalists Amy Yakima and Fik-Shun Stegall's Choice; Amy and Fik-Shun; After Party; choreography by NappyTabs
I don't understand why they chose this one over, say, Sonya Tayeh's contemp piece, or the Dave Scott hip hop piece or the Tyce Diorio hobo number, but still entertaining, and the characterization was spot-on.
Mary and Nigel Segment
I loved the video package where they basically replayed all of Nigel's cheekiness towards Mary over the season (my personal favourite being "I knew it was Paul's birthday, I didn't realize it was Mary's birthday too!", referring to the hundreds of candles onstage for Jenna and Neil's contemporary piece). It was cute, funny, and probably took all season for whoever edited this to complete it.
However, I have some problems with the "performance" they did. I'm sorry, but I'd rather watch Malece re-do her stunning In the Embers piece or Makenzie/Paul's effortless-looking Pretty Little Heart Hip Hop than watch Nigel and Mary dance badly. We know they were dance pros back in the day, but... I dunno... What I have the most issue with is Nigel purposely mocking Amy's fall in their Let's Get It On Chris Scott hip hop performance. Amy has already addressed how traumatizing that was for her to fall on national television and then end up in the bottom because of it; Nigel was in no place to, as light-hearted the intentions might have been, mockingly recreate, literally and figuratively, the only time Amy fell down in the entire competition.
"Online Poll" Choice; Amy and Travis; Wicked Game; choreography by Travis Wall
Really, SYTYCD? You thought there would be any competition whatsoever between the Wicked Game piece and the Silver Screen piece (w/ Malece and Jade)? The last numbers they showed were something like 80/20 in favour of Wicked Game... with no surprise. Slightly rockier and less flawless than the first time performed, but still one of the most beloved and stunning pieces this year.
Let's be honest here- this piece with Travis really finalized Amy's edge over Jasmine in the last couple weeks.
Top 10 + All-Stars Performance; Rock Lobster; choreography by NappyTabs
Fun tropicaly notion. Not much else to say, really, except that the All-Stars seemed to be front and center more than the actual Top 10 or even Top 4 (although, let's be honest, it probably took the Top 4 half the piece to climb up that huge lifeguard chair for their final pose).
So who won? ----->>>>
The SYTYCD Season 10 Winners are..
Amy Yakima and Fik-Shun Stegall
Surprising? Meh. Maybe. I wasn't sure which way the voters would lean in favour of the girls, and I wasn't sure who I preferred either; Jasmine's growth on the program has been second-to-none, whereas Amy has been consistently at the top for the entire competition. As for the boys, I still wish Paul had been in the Top 2 guys, but between the two last night, I'm happy with Fik-Shun, even though Aaron has had an incredible run as well.
Again; Season 11 has been confirmed by FOX reps.
What does this mean?
I would bet lots that S11 will very much follow the format since S9; two winners, one night. Out of curiosity, I looked up stats to see exactly why they chose the two-winner format; and I pretty much found my answer immediately. For some reason, female dancers are gaining more popularity than ever on the show; before S7, it was pretty even-split between the guys and the girls. However, since Lauren's win in S7, it's been all about the girls. In S8, combined, Sasha Mallory and Melanie Moore had an overwhelming 79% of the total of votes in the finale. Crazy. Plus, didn't Cat (unfairly) say repeatedly that it was a girl (Amy) who had the highest number of finale votes? Obviously, if it wasn't for the 2-winner policy, we would have another female winner.
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Alright, that's it for this year. I'll be updating sporadically with reader e-mails etc., so e-mail me your SYTYCD-related comments or questions at sytycdfansblog@gmail.com
Till later my lovelies xx
You know I felt the same way as you re: The Edge of Glory encore - but that was really upon initial viewing, b/c I've memorized the original, have held it up as pure perfection, and was comparing frame by frame. After re-watching like 30x now, I find the encore is still very beautiful and special ;) I agree they seemed rushed, maybe a little nervous/over-excited, and I do wonder if Makenzie's longer dress affected any of the movements/connections (did they lose the purple dress?). Paul's hand stand also wasn't as strong - he had his wrist wrapped in rehearsal footage from two wks. ago, I wonder if that had anything to do w/anything. Who knows? The first time was pure magic and nothing was going to approach that special moment in time again. It was everything leading up to the dance that contributed to the specialness - that this was their last dancing together after working as partners for 5-6 weeks; the cute little Paul does this, Makenzie does this video footage; the Mandy Moore rehearsal footage where our appetite for this forbidden love was whetted; the fact that the dance came in the middle of the show and really seemed like a break/moment apart from the competition; the reaction from the crowd and judges; all the screaming Paul fangirls, teeheee. As I said they do seem more rushed in the finale, where as on the original night they appeared to drink it all up a little more. But I really have no complaints when it comes to Paul and Makenzie. Did you notice Paul's little neck nuzzle w/Makenzie? That was new! And I died. Also the way he handles her again at the part when she spins and he helps lay her down, and then gently helps flip her over before he goes into a back-bend thing? Guuuhhhh....love it. I was really glad for the chance to see them together again, as they were MY breakout couple of the year (never got behind the supposed amazing partnership btw Amy and FikShun). I was watching Paul throughout both group routines actually - I really loved him in Rock Lobster (even though I totally agree the All-Stars were way more center stage in that piece, which I didn't appreciate, actually. Nice to see the contestants and AS's mix together, though).
ReplyDeleteAnd.....you can tell I am an official crazy Paul fan, lol. Whoah! Didn't mean to write so much about him ;) I can't help myself sometimes.
ReplyDeleteAs for the winners...well, let's just say it wasn't really a surprise. They seemed like chosen ones from the beginning - at least their partnership was vaunted as super-duper-extra-special from the beginning. But I really have no issue with either Amy or FikShun winning. I would have preferred Jasmine to Amy, as I felt Amy danced young and whenever she tried to emote serious, it just looked strained/forced like throughout her piece with Travis, esp. that moment where she walks away quickly). Jasmine was light-years ahead of Amy in that department. But Amy is still amazingly talented and likable and did show nice range this season. Jasmine just had more of an X factor for me, I guess, but Amy certainly is not without her own special star quality. I really wasn't invested in the guys after Paul, so I was going to be "meh" with either as the winner, lol. I do think Aaron was the better, stronger, more versatile over-all dancer, and I responded more positively to the maturity and experience he brought to his performance, over FikShun's youthful exuberance (FikShun just danced waayy too young for me - funny, "maturity" is my sticking point for both Amy and FikShun!). But I also think Aaron had been declining a bit the last few weeks (in all likelihood due to his shoulder injury) and FikShun clearly had the better performance finale night imo. So based on last week alone, I was pretty happy and agreed with the choice of FikShun as winner. Either way any of the Top 4 (or Top 6 really, even Top 10) had incredible rides, were worthy winners and will work A LOT, which is really all that matters.
I loved this season! Thanks for your great reviews, and for your sustained Paul love! I can't wait to see him on tour now, lol. The fangirling continues......