"Our boys are so, so strong," Nigel Lythgoe said during Wednesday's round of "So You Think You Can Dance."
Tonight, we learned that the viewers agree. Consider:
-- The judges had picked six guys for the final 11. When viewers voted after Wednesday's show, all six escaped the bottom.
-- Judges picked five women for the finals; viewers promptly plunked the majority of them into the bottom three.
It was Alexie Agdeppa who was sent home. Judges had said she was just being cute, instead of capturing the emotion of the piece; still, Nigel Lythgoe said, "people vote for cute."
Sorry Nigel, wrong show. On "American Idol," cute gets votes; just ask Jasmine Trias, David Archuletta, Ramiele Malubay or, of course, Sanjaya Malakar. On "Dance," cute gets sent home.
(Cute, incidentally, can also get you a great video. I thought the Justin Bieber video that debuted tonight, with Usher in support, was beautifully made.)
This year's men are extraordinary: Alex Wong is a magnificent ballet talent whose performance Wednesday was triumphant. Billy Bell arrived as an acclaimed contemporary dancer; Kent Boyd -- a raw kid from a farm -- suggests early Billy. Jose Ruiz is a brilliant B-boy, a great swirl of fun. Robert Roldan is big and impressive; Adechike Torbert is sunny.
These guys are, indeed, "so so strong." It will be a fun summer.