Hyphen TV: Dia's Losing Her Religion, Marko and Tadd Are Dance Stars

June 28, 2011

Big cuts on So You Think You Can Dance, but our boys are going strong

Dia had another great week on The Voice. She sang R.E.M.'s "Losing My Religion," again putting her breathy and ethereal spin on the pop song (is it me or does she have a bit of a baby voice thing happening too?). This time she picked up a guitar instead of the piano -- how many instruments does this girl play?! Watch her performance here. Adam Levine put it best: "I thought it was awesome ... another atypical choice. The decisions have been really unique and that's what really set you apart from everybody." True! Dia's coach Blake Shelton (whom I hadn't heard of before the show began and now I kind of love the guy) was much more effusive: "This show just did what it was supposed to do. A girl ... left her heart and soul laying [sic] there on the stage ... gosh damn, I'm glad to know you." Aww.

The lighting shows that she's serious

On results night we found out that papa bear Blake split his vote between his two girls 50/50, but Dia beat out Xenia with the popular vote, getting a total of 106 points to Xenia's 94. Dia now moves on to next week's finale (almost over already?!), and though she's got some tough competition with Javier, Beverly, and Vicci, you just never know! Don't forget to vote Tuesday night.

Sorry, Xenia! Back you go to third grade or whatever.

This week on So You Think You Can Dance, the dancers all revealed secrets about their partners. And so we learned that Miranda has a crush on Tadd (get in line, girl), who has "OCD issues." He color coordinates and carefully folds his impressive collection of t-shirts, and he packs everything in plastic Ziplock baggies when he travels. Well that's not OCD, that's just smart. Tadd and his partner Jordan picked the Viennese waltz, prompting Tadd to later ask "Vietnamese waltz?" Been there, done that with that particular joke, pal: see Donyelle in season 2. Anyway, Tadd's haircut nicely complemented his sparkly vest as he sailed across the stage (watch here); what did the judges think?

I wasn't joking; take a gander at how great he looks

Nigel was nothin' but love: "It was just so beautiful ... I need to remind you that you are a b-boy ... probably the best I've seen a b-boy dance something like the Viennese waltz." Mary exclaimed, "You are the biggest surprise of this season! You had this perfect cool about you ... a tenderness ... I'm so proud of you." Guest host Debbie Reynolds compared the pair to Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire. That's probably a leeettle over the top, but I'm agreed that the performance was nicely done.

Marko, who loves to read romance novels ("I'm a softie; I can't help it") had to dance a Mandy Moore jazz routine with partner Melanie. As they got my favorite choreographer last week (Travis Wall), I guess it's only fair that they pulled my least fave this week. They had an old fashioned sort of performance that revolved around their bowler hats (see it here). At one point Marko lost his hat, but he collected it without missing a beat or his catch of Melanie after a big leap.

Melanie hangs onto Marko's hat for safekeeping

Again the judges were hearting it. Mary: "You're gonna be able to take on anything that we throw at you" (no small compliment on this show). Debbie called them "new musical stars" (I realize this is a bit of sacrilege since we're talking about an ACTual musical star, but Debbie was kind of useless as a judge this week -- bring back Megan Mullally!). Nigel agreed that Marko and Melanie are stars, saying that their pairing is a perfect combination and that they both possess passion and technique. Agreed!

All good news on results night, as Marko had a featured moment during the group performance (see it here), and both he and Tadd were voted to safety with their respective partners. We also got an adorable performance from the Rage Crew, though I was more than a little disturbed by the "sexy" outfits for the little girls, most of whom couldn't have been older than ten. Let them be kids for a second, you guys. We also got to see America's Best Dance Crew winners Quest Crew, which includes beloved SYTYCD alum Hok. Hey, Hok! Love ya! 

It's not just me, right? Kinda cute, mostly uncomfortable?

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Dianne Choie

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Dianne Choie's TV is in Brooklyn, NY. She has a cat, several reusable shopping bags, and other mildly annoying stereotypes of youngish people who live in Brooklyn.

Comments

Comments

just watched this episode of SYTYCD, and totally agree with you about the uncomfortable JonBenet Ramsey action. :(