‘So You Think You Can Dance’: Bye Melinda Sullivan, “Beautiful Monster” By Ne-Yo

No huge surprise last night, we predicted that Melinda would be going home. She was incredibly composed when the judges let her know that she was eliminated (or perhaps it was her inability again to show America any “vulnerability”). But we were shocked when Cat broke the news to Billy and Robert that they would be dancing for their lives. This evening’s happy moments: a recreation of a favorite SYTYCD routine, Ne-Yo’s performance of “Beautiful Monster”, and a taste of Viva Elvis so good that we had to cook up a fried peanut butter and banana sandwich after. Jump below for everything you missed.

Before we jump to the recap, can we just take a moment to praise the most important non-dance element of SYTYCD, Cat Deeley? Those unfamiliar with the show’s format are always surprised that it’s not a carbon copy of American Idol, expecting Cat to be the female Ryan Seacrest. If anything she’s the anti-Ryan. We only bring this up because episode after episode we have been marveling at the warmth and compassion she brings to her hosting duties. She stands beside contestants after they’ve given everything that they have to a routine, and then have to sit through a tough judges critique or hear that America has voted them to the bottom three. And yet some how, she’s able to give them the kindest words and bring up the most genuine compliments of their strengths. She is the epitome of sincerity. We don’t know how she does it.  Can someone give Cat her own talk show?!

Okay, onto the dancing. Last night opened with the Top 9 dancing to a routine to the uber-dramatic song “O Fortuna”. We weren’t sure if we were watching a Contemporary routine or the trailer to the latest Nicolas Cage action thriller. We kid.

Then we were introduced to a new segment on the show. Nigel explained that this was our chance to look back at our All-Stars from their original seasons and see the routines that made them great. Of course we’ve called this new segment “We Only Have 9 People Left When We Would Normally Have 18 Dancers Left And We Needed To Find A Way To Fill Time In This Show So Here’s A Dance You Probably Watched On YouTube Or Saw On The SYTYCD Tour”. It was great seeing Courtney and Mark dancing together again, but now that we’ve seen her dancing with Robert to Sonya Tayeh’s choreography we kept having to remind ourselves that it wasn’t Robert.

Next then were treated with a number from the Vegas Cirque Du Soleil show Viva Elvis choreographed by NappyTabs and Mandy Moore. Thankfully, what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas.

We saw Billy, Robert, and Melinda dance for their lives. Robert’s dance really stood out for us last night. We thought it was fun and really highlighted his personality. Melinda finally took the judges note of tapping acapella, but as we now know it was too little too late.

Then Ne-Yo took the stage with his performance of “Beautiful Monster”. As you may recall, this song was used a few weeks back in a Jose and Comfort hip hop routine choreographed by Tabitha and Napoleon.

Then the moment of truth came. The judges were unanimous and Melinda was headed home. About the only surprising moment about the ruling was when asked for comment, Melinda said that she was happy to get to share her gifts with the world. Usually, contestants humbly mention the best thing was learning and being surrounded by talented dancers, but we think this lack of visible humility is one of the reasons there was a disconnect between Melinda and America. She is a beautiful girl and we’re sure she has a long career in one of her. We predict that by this time next year Melinda will be a star of a CW show.

Tune in next week when the remaining 8 dancers will be paired with a new All-Star—and each other!