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So You Think You Can Dance eliminated four hopefuls last night, following a week in which no one went home. Who got the axe? A review of the evening's performances and decisions follows...

Top 20: Hip-Hop (Dave Scott) - The slow run made a return from last night; I guess Dave Scott was convinced that the slow-motion run was an emotionally grabbing element of choreography. The middle looked like a step aerobics class because all the dancers were lined up so equally with spotlights for each dancer.

The Eliminations: We started with Missy & Wadi, who were in the bottom three. All of Missy's hard work couldn't compensate for Wadi's wooden performance. Caitlynn & Mitchell and Sasha & Alexander were both safe. In the second set, Miranda & Robert, Melanie & Marko, and Jordan & Tadd were safe, with Iveta & Nick joining the bottom three; people probably forgot to vote for them. In the final cluster of couples, Ashley & Chris and Clarice & Jess were safe. Ryan & Ricky was the final couple in the bottom three.

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The auditions on America's Got Talent continued to hobble along last night, this time in New York City, where the freaks were out in full force.

Just imagine how paranoid Howie must have really been paranoid about germs, as he emerged from a zorb. That was one of the highlights of an otherwise mediocre evening...

Tomorrow's Contenders?
Snap Boogie - The street performer had the perfect sob story and the right song to fit his character (overcoming obstacles with the joy of dance). We've seen a lot of breakers, but I was genuinely impressed by his whole routine. I can see how he would increase his difficulty level for the following competition rounds.

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Following a shocking non-elimination last week, the pressure increased for the 20 remaining contestants last night.

Along with Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy, Debbie Reynolds sat in on the So You Think You Can Dance panel. Unfortunately, she thought everything was amazing and wanted to bring all the dancers to her home for some unknown reason, even those who struggled to earn passing grades...

Ryan & Ricky: Jazz (Mandy Moore) - Mandy wanted a sexual jazz routine and "Roderick" didn't seem like the type that would fit. While Ryan was sexy, there was something I didn't believe about Ricky involving their supposed sexual tension. Ryan had the right amount of camera mugging with partner eye contact and her leaps into Ricky were done with confidence. There were a few movements that Ricky did that were too feminine. My Grade: B-

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America's Got Talent remained Atlanta for night two of auditions yesterday, as the features of the best and some of the oddest of performers. Let's go over the children, bands and cavalcade of dance crews that hit the stage...

The Real Talent
Hershae Chocolatae - With the robe and wig Hershae was donning, I was afraid the performance would be really stupid. Luckily, the outfit was stripped off and I quickly turned happy watching the tinsel glimmering. The Macy Gray imitation came out of nowhere. I also didn't expect the dance moves. I would love to see her over the top persona on RuPaul's Drag Race performing a lip sync for your life.

Attack Dance Crew Audition

The Fiddleheads - The bluegrass group was good, giving a bit of minor cross promotion for The Voice. I hope that the group could pick a better song to bluegrass-ify during the Las Vegas rounds or even the live shows.

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From the boring Keri Hilson performance to the bland opening of Lady Gaga's music video, much of this episode felt like a waste of time.

The big question, of course, is which could would be eliminated after the previous night's performances on So You Think You Can Dance?

Here's our recap from beginning to end ...

Group Dance - Jazz: The dance reminded me of a 90s routine; the throwback factor was actually nice. Then again, I like anything Sonya Tayeh produces.

Pre-Elimination Drama: The first three couples were up and Melanie & Marko, Missy & Wadi, and Iveta & Nick were easily safe. Ashley & Chris and Caitlynn were safe, while Jordan & Tadd and Clarice & Jess were the first two of the bottom three. Finally, Ryan & Ricky and Sasha & Alexander were safe, leaving Miranda & Robert in the bottom three. I wasn't surprised much, save for Jess not having the fan base I expected.

Musical Guest - Keri Hilson, "Lose Control": If this routine didn't scream pre-recorded and lip-synced, I don't know what would. I think the highlight was when her feather earrings got stuck in her mouth. It's not like Keri was even dancing so intensely that she'd be out of breath.

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Megan Mullally is more than just Karen Walker. That was one lesson learned last night on So You Think You Can Dance.

This actress sat in with the judges, overseeing the season's first injury (to Mitchell), along with a slew of solid performances. We grade them all below...

Jordan & Tadd - African Jazz (Sean Cheeseman): Jordan's definition of Afro Jazz would be an amazing routine (Afro-sporting 80's jazzercise) but Sean explained that they were supposed to be a volcano. As the first competitive dance of the show, the performance had the fire, but there were moments of sloppiness like the lifts and holds. The two never seemed fully synchronized. I knew that Jordan would have picked up the choreography, but Tadd did a good job keeping up with Jordan. Nigel thought Jordan exploded all over the stage; I proceeded to vomit a little in my mouth. My Grade: B

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Really, NBC? You call this the "Summer of Talent?"

Then why did America's Got Talent waste the first 25 minutes of last night's show on bad acts and laughable contestants? Did anyone wanna see a montage of bad drummers, harpists, and lounge singers? Why did we need two nights of Seattle auditions?

As I rip my hair out in anticipation of Vegas, let's take a look at who stood out...

America's Got Talent Audition - Alaska

Original, But Rejected
Marylee - The Funeral Writer/Musician was a hoot. She "sang silently" for decades. Her singing was decent and her lyrics were okay, but I think the in memoriam montage was what made the whole performance. She kept getting the focus on commercials so I expected her to make it through and I was floored when she wasn't.

Alaska (above) - I wasn't sure if the freestyle dancer was supposed to be intentionally or unintentionally funny.  I liked how both Nick and Howie learned the dance immediately. How did double dream hands get buzzed within seconds of his performance and Alaska get through the whole song? I couldn't get that track out of my head because of the constant Dailies Contacts commercials that played.

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So You Think You Can Dance is down to its final 20. How did it arrive at that number? Read on for a review of last night's two-hour episode...

The Contemporary Dancers - Ricky, Miranda, and Melanie ended up as finalists. Of the three I loved Miranda's face when Nigel said "bad news" and how quickly she changed when she found out she was in. The fourth space was filled by one of the Mallory sisters. Sasha (the skinny one) was in, but Natalia (the diabetic) was cut, yet remained supportive.

Stacey Tookey Contemporary Routine - I'm usually upset when they use dry ice in performances, but there were enough leaps and the smoke moved around well with the dancers' turns. I'm not sure what the story was, but the performance covered some good area. I assume that all four dancers were supposed to be as lost as the song exclaimed, but it was mostly flowing ripped clothing looking pretty.

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So You Think You Can Dance became So You Think You Can Survive last night.

The excitement of the contestants called back to Las Vegas for seven grueling rounds of auditions was quickly replaced by a montage of blood, ambulances, tears and an angry Laurie Ann Gibson trying to rip weak dancers in half.

Robin Antin, Adam Shankman, Debbie Allen, Tyce Diorio, Mary Murphy and Nigel Lithgoe were all on hand to whittle the hopefuls down to 30...

The Main Storylines
The Mallory Sisters - We saw a lot of Sasha and Natalia, the siblings we met last week that often hit each other. The two performed the first solo as a group and made it through. While Sasha easily advances (who needs technique doing the Jive anymore?), Natalia suffered from a physically weak partner in the Jive and was forced to perform with Professor Lot, who was physically stronger and succeeded with lifts.

Things started to get cloudy for Natalia as she found out that she had diabetes and, while she survived the group round, she was given a free pass to the final solo. I'd be shocked if the two were the last to find out their fate in the green mile.

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America's Got Talent visited Houston and Minneapolis last night, resulting in some of the oddest auditions we've witnessed yet.

Did anyone else find the beginning of the Minneapolis auditions more interesting without Piers around? He just acts like a little bitch, getting up and storming off. I found that really unprofessional.

So, who stood out and who deserved to be sent home? If I can get all those Lady GaGa songs the show played out of my head, I can offer my thoughts on the episode below...

Houston 

STANDOUTS: The Rhinestone Ropers delivered the best danger factor in a very long time. I liked the Sandou Trio Russian Bar’s concept, but the act is one of those where I don’t see where it would go from there. She goes up, flips, and comes down hoping she doesn’t die.

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