I never thought I would think of Melanie and "bucc" in the same sentence... but she did it again.
Wednesday night's episode of "So You Think You Can Dance" cemented Melanie as the clear front-runner. There is literally no style she can't do. She easily kept up with tWitch in the very first number of the night, choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon.
And that wasn't even one of the biggest highlights of the night. For my money, her Broadway routine with Tadd was the best of the night. (And can we talk about that extraordinary solo that she practically made up on the spot?) The chemistry between them was palpable, especially compared to other routines, which ran the gamut.
Tadd, of course, grew by leaps and bounds, not just in that routine, but the one in which he hung on a chandelier and twirled around for what seemed like a full minute. I don't know if that Sonya Tayeh routine with Ellenore was dancing, per se, but I know what I like.
Sonya's second routine, which ranks in her top five of all time for me, showcased Caitlynn's growth as well, and might have also saved Marko from being in the bottom, after a so-so paso doble with Janette, in which it really seemed like he was following Janette's lead - not good for the paso.
Caitlynn, on the other hand, shined in the best Latin routine of the season, a stunning samba with Pasha. (And welcome back, Dmitry!)
So, it might be a lot closer than the judges think in the voting between Caitlynn and Sasha, as to which girl joins Melanie in the final four.
At first, I thought that Sasha was a shoo-in, in her powerful performance with Kent (though Tyce Diorio's "hitting a wall" choreography was a tad too literal for me), one that left guest judge Christina Applegate - and how great was she? - heartbroken (not to mention "double hashtag" Lil' C trying to hold back his tears).
But then came the whacking. Oh, dear. Just a thought for the future: the next-to-last week is not a good time to introduce a new dance style. Sasha and Ricky did their best, no doubt, but it was a bit too much of a disco/whacking hybrid, and just didn't work at all for me.
As for Ricky's other routine, there was little doubt he would nail a contemporary routine with Jaimie, even one involving drumsticks.
Unfortunately for Ricky and Sasha, voters have short memories and that whacking routine won't win them any votes. So I'm going to go out on a limb here and predict a Melanie/Caitlynn/Marko/Tadd final four. Though I will admit, I'm still not entirely clear if the judges are making the final call on who makes it to the finale. That just doesn't seem right to me, if that's the case, considering past seasons.
Really, aside from Melanie, it's anyone's guess who will make it to next week. So let's watch together, and find out, shall we?
And in the meantime, feel free to let me know what you thought in the comments, or on iReport.