SYTYCD

View Date: 7/30/09

This was the last elimination prior to the finale, where we got to learn who the four finalists were going to be. Jeanine and Brandon immediately made it into the final four, with Ade, Melissa, Kayla, and Evan needing to perform solos. Evan does perform the most entertaining solos.

Melissa was the final girl eliminated, which I was expecting. I honestly expected her to go home before this, but the breast cancer routine last week saved her. With her elimination, Kayla will be joining Jeanine in the finale.

As for the guys, this was a little more surprising with Evan joining Brandon in the finale. Evan actually seemed pretty shocked when it was announced that he was safe, but Brandon didn't really seem surprised. Honestly, I can see why Ade was sent home. He is a great dancer and a phenomenal physical specimen, but he seemed to always have at least one dance that wasn't as good as the other dances of the night. Also, he really couldn't compete when it came to the Latin ballroom dances. Additionally, Evan seemed to be really improving in the past few weeks. While he still isn't the best dancer, he was taking huge leaps and bounds forward.

However, my favorite part of the show was seeing the Emmy-nominated dances from last year. I absolutely LOVE the briefcase routine, and hope Tabitha and Napoleon win for it. While the other dances were good, in general they didn't compare to when they were performed in competition. The briefcase dance wasn't like that. I recently watched the original performance on YouTube, and noticed that there were several parts that weren't in sync, etc. This performance corrected all of those flaws and was at noticeably better than last year. The guys, particularly Marc, really grew up over the past year, and Chelsie improved by leaps and bounds by participating in Dancing With the Stars.

10 words or less: It should be a good finale.