Short answer: Probably not.
Fortunately, that “probably” opens up a whole host of possibilities for me to ramble on about in the lead-up to the season 8 finale of So You Think You Can Dance. Melanie has indeed dominated her entire season on the show, but it is still possible for one of the other — very talented — dancers to pull off an upset and unseat the great Melanie Moore.
How could it happen? Let’s take a look at the competition (in order of upset potential).
Sasha Mallory
Sasha is probably the second-strongest dancer on season 8 of So You Think You Can Dance. Coverage of Sasha and her sister Natalia dominated the Las Vegas episode, and Sasha kept the spotlight firmly in place throughout the rest of the competition.
When Sasha is on, no one can stop her. The raw emotionalism of her dancing is very seductive, and there’s no one left in the finals who can match Sasha’s wild side. The judges (and, presumably, the audience) love her, no matter what.
But… Sasha does stumble. Blame Alexander all you want for Sasha’s one trip to the Bottom Three, but the fact is that not all of her dances have been on the mark. If Sasha can pull off a clean, heart-rending performance on Wednesday, she might just win. If not, then the competition is Melanie’s to lose.
Marko Germar
Melanie’s former partner is a pretty awesome dancer. The guy has a sob story to die for (someone shot him, for Pete’s sake!), a lovely attitude and the dancing ability to back it all up. While Melanie received the majority of their partnership’s raves, Marko proved that he could cut it on his own.
On the other hand, Marko has mostly failed to energize the judges. The Top-8 dance dedicated to his adorable mother did bring Lady Gaga and Mary Murphy to tears, but otherwise the judges’ table has been pretty blase about the man.
If Marko can find some way to get the audience excited, he may have a chance. But if he keeps going as he has, Marko Germar is likely to be a third-place finisher.
Tadd Gadduang
Tadd was the wild-card entry into the final four of So You Think You Can Dance and, as such, is the most likely of the dancers to fall into fourth place. Really, he has very little chance of pulling off a victory this season. But you never know…
At this point, Tadd has two main strengths: One, he’s good at everything. There is literally no style that can stump the B-boy. Two, Tadd is different. While other dancers flow across the stage in lyrical fashion, Tadd flips upside-down and performs entire numbers on his hands. That dance diversity may help.
Still, Tadd is far from perfect in his routines. That’s dangerous right now.
How Can Melanie Lose?
In the end, the competition may be Melanie’s to lose. A couple of stylistically-weird dances (Bollywood anybody?) or unusually lackluster performances could spell trouble. And then there’s the perfection issue: Could voters reach a point when they don’t want to see Melanie win, just because she’s so hyped?
It seems unlikely that the viewers would turn so fast, but it is possible. Thus, all chances of Melanie losing this season of So You Think You Can Dance seem to rest on a mistake coming directly from Melanie Moore.
And she hasn’t made all that many mistakes.
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Who will win this season of So You Think You Can Dance? Will Melanie take the title, or will one of the other dancers take the top? Who do you want to win? Let us know below!
(Image courtesy of FOX)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Laurel grew up in Mamaroneck, NY, Grosse Pointe, MI and Bellevue WA. She then went on to live in places like Boston, Tucson, Houston, Wales, Tanzania, Prince Edward Island and New York City before heading back to Seattle. Ever since early childhood, when she became addicted to The Muppet Show, Laurel has watched far too much TV. Current favorites include Chuck, Modern Family, Supernatural, Mad Men and Community. Laurel received a BA in Astrophysics (yes, that is possible) from Colgate University and a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and History of Science from Columbia University before she realized that television is much better than studying.
