So You Think You Can Dance

Melanie Moore was prepared to come in second.

"In my head I really thought Sasha was going to win," the So You Think You Can Dance champion told reporters after she was crowned last night. "Just being up there and being named one of the final two I was like, 'Wait, is this really happening?' I just started crying."

Melanie Moore Wins So You Think You Can Dance

In fact, all Moore could muster on stage was a "thank you" in between tears. But she had more to tell reporters after the finale aired.

Saying she hopes to use the $250,000 to "go back to school," the 19-year old was also excited about one particular aspect of the competition being over:

And the 2011 So You Think You Can Dance crown goes to... Melanie Moore!

The frontrunner for most of the season, this 19-year old from Marietta, Georgia earned 47 percent of the vote tonight, defeating second-plane finisher Sasha in the process. How did we arrive at that result? A detailed review is below.

Katie Holmes and Kenny Ortega joined So You Think You Can Dance judges Nigel Lythgoe and Mary Murphy this week, as the final four took to the stage four times each - and it showed in a few sloppy results.

Marko & Melanie - Disco (Doriana Sanchez) - It's been a long time since there was a disco and I'm happy that Doriana hasn't stopped putting insane lifts in her routines. There was something unsexy about Melanie; she needed to let loose. She was worried about the lifts. There was something awkward when the two dancers went between lifts and placing Melanie down. The high amounts of color and sparkles covered up the mistakes. My Grade: B-

Sasha & Mark - Jazz (Sonya Tayeh) - The dance was an ode to Sasha; how she would overcome obstacles. Sasha was lucky to get a catered routine. As much as Mark is my favorite dancer, Sonya made sure that he was Sasha's accessory; Mark made sure that Sasha looked perfect in every scene. My Grade: B+

Tadd & Joshua - Hip-Hop (Lil' C), pictured - The dance was supposed to be about being a hustler, but Tadd looked too nice. The routine had strong choreography, but there were moments where Josh looked behind in timing. I was worried that Tadd would trip over his shoe, but it never fell off. I liked the floor gliding motions at the end, but there was nothing captivating overall. My Grade: C+

We're down to the final four on So You Think You Can Dance. Let's take a look back on the results show that just aired...

Group Dance - Contemporary (Justin Giles) - The huge flower was an interesting prop and because there are six dancers left, it was nice seeing the six as couples for so long circling around the flower. This also showed that the dancers worked well in a lot of different combinations. The ending with the petals falling was beautiful.

Solos
Sasha - The judges threw the term "fierce" around for Sasha but she executed a routine that defended why she’s so fierce. Sasha managed to place several hip-hop styled moves into her contemporary ones. She even did a vogue drop.

So You Think You Can Dance will take us the finals next week, meaning all the dancers were going as hard as they could to make it through last night.

Along with Nigel and Mary, the guest judges were Christina Applegate and Lil' C, with the former giving some strong comments, proving she is a fan of the show.

Melanie & Twitch - Hip-Hop (NappyTabs) - The concept was Little Red Riding Hood gone buck. They had time to set up several trees, which looked similar to the one that tripped up Sasha earlier this season. The dancing didn't seem as strong as it could have been and it wasn't Melanie, it was the boring choreography. The whole routine should have been harder hitting at every point possible, but Melanie tried her best to be as into character as possible. My Grade: B-.

In addition to the week's So You Think You Can Dance results, viewers were treated to a performance by the Mother Monster herself last night.

Having served as a guest judge the previous night, the hardest working woman in Hollywood taped an elaborate segment that aired Thursday.

Here's Lady Gaga doing "The Edge of Glory" and "You and I" ...

Lady Gaga - The Edge Of Glory (Live on SYTYCD)

Lady GaGa took to the stage and two more contestants took to the road on So You Think You Can Dance last night. A detailed review follows.

Group Dance - Contemporary (Tyce Diorio) - The group performed a circus themed piece with Jess as the ringmaster and it was interesting to see everyone’s moves used in a freaky kind of way. They managed to cover up Tadd's lack of contemporary skills by placing him on a rope swinging around instead of doing choreography. It was fun to watch because there was so much to look at.

Eliminations - The four girls were up on stage first to find out who was in the bottom. At this point, there was a clear divide between them. Sasha and Melanie basically could do no wrong, even with Sasha's forgettable Quickstep. Melanie also had the advantage of having Neil as her all-star.

The problem with Jordan and Caitlynn is that they fill the same dance-type: sexy contemporary. Jordan had a rocky night with an okay Tyce routine and an above average rhumba. Caitylnn was forgettable. After the commercial break, the top two girls were obviously Sasha and Melanie.

Rob Marshall and Lady GaGa joined the So You Think You Can Judge panel this week, as the dancers put in 12 performances. Makes me tired just thinking about it...

Sasha & Pasha - Quickstep (Jonathan Roberts) - Their dancing was over exaggerated in the beginning. It looked like Pasha was holding Sasha upright and, if he wasn't there, she'd fall right over. The dance was done well, but will probably be forgotten. There was something tribal about Sasha's dancing, but it could have been because of the headpiece. My Grade: B+.

Caitlynn & Ivan - Hip-Hop (Marty Kudelka) - Just like the song, the performance felt very 2004/2005 as if Ivan was a contestant instead of an all-star. Caitlynn fit perfectly during the routine, but the routine felt safe and cliché. My Grade: C.

Jordan & Ade - Jazz (Tyce Diorio) - Tyce proved again his Jazz routines are better than his Broadway. Tyce implemented all of Jordan's flexibility and sex kitten attitude to her full potential. The assisted lifts and jumps looked easy with Ade easily lifting and throwing her around. My Grade: B+.

I was expecting that the voting process would shift from the judges to America, but this season Nigel, Mary, and Neil Patrick Harris continued the eliminations.

This is definitely giving a buffer zone to the talented dancers that have fewer fans on So You Think You Can Dance. So who survived to dance another week?

Here's a rundown of last night's results show ...

Two of the top 10 were sent packing last night ...

Group Routine: Broadway (Josh Vergas) - We got another routine that was a bit too Fosse that really didn't work. The girls weren't synchronized and the guys had Jess in the front mugging for the camera. The coupling section was poor and the tricks looked more like time wasters then any form of cool intricate choreography

Results Part 1: Mitchell, Tadd, and Melanie - Mitchell had a lackluster Broadway routine and was obviously part of the bottom four. Mitchell marks his fourth appearance in the bottom, though the first was because of injuries. Melanie managed to overcome some of the stigmas of a slow Viennese Waltz and losing Marko. According to Nigel, Tadd out danced Comfort, this is enough to argue that we need a new hip-hop female. Both Tadd and Melanie were safe.

It seems like production value of So You Think You Can Dance went up this week in hopes that Nigel Lythgoe could get another Emmy nod.

A few extra camera pans in the beginning and increased set lighting, along with Cat Deeley's always cheeky hosting and guest judge Neil Patrick Harris' best fanboy comments, made for a fun night on the hit Fox competition.

The show definitely brought out the big guns, past and present, as the 10 remaining dancers competed to advance. Let's break down the performances ...

Marko & Chelsie: Samba (Jason Gilkison) - Just like on Dancing with the Stars, you just can't keep your eyes off of Chelsie and Jason made sure that there were sections where only Marko was dancing. The dance was filled with really hard choreography and Chelsie was swinging everywhere; while she kicked Marko in the head in practice, everything went perfect in the dance. Marko did a good job keeping up with Chelsie and that's all that he needed to do to succeed. My Grade: A-.

Sasha: Solo - While Sasha was a bit wobbly in her first pose, she upped the complexity of her solo this time around had a strong combination of ground work and aerial movements. Her solos have improved since she landed in the bottom three.

Jordan & Brandon: Contemporary (Dwight Rhodan & Desmond Richardson) - The dance was a run-on sentence of contemporary movements. Jordan looked effortless during the whole routine so the dance must have been catered to Jordan and Brandon's strengths. The side-by-side choreography was some of the strongest this whole season. Brandon did a great job supporting Jordan without stealing her spotlight. My Grade: A-.