(S05E09) Oh my god, a group number? Who knew?

Group Number - "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)," Pitbull
(Hip-Hop, Dmitry Chaplan and Napoleon & Tabitha) Cat got a more dramatic entrance after this busy little number. I found myself enjoying the piece as we got into the middle of it. The beginning seemed overly long with the close-ups of the dancers undulating around in the dark. It was more posturing than dancing at that point. But when we got into it there were some nice moments, though no particular breakout stars.

Which actually sums up some of the problems with this season so far. Brandon is a force to be reckoned with, and I like Ade but I think by this point last season I was already seeing a lot of fun personality from Twitch, Joshua, Katee, Chelsea, Courtney, Gev and so many more. Where are those strong dynamic and unique performers this year? We have a lot of great dancers, but a real dearth of stars.

Nigel opened the show with a nice tribute to not only Michael Jackson, but also Ed McMahon and Farrah Fawcett. I fully expected that he'd address the loss of Jackson, considering his importance to the world of dance, but was touched that he reached out to the other two losses, now largely overshadowed by the death of Jackson.

BOTTOM THREE
Alas, the show must go on and for three couples, it was to be a long night. Cat started us off with Asuka &Vitolio, and of a staggering five couples on the stage, they were surprisingly shunted into the bottom. I know I predicted them there (if Phillip's fans kept him), but that was because there's just something about them that I don't think America is connecting with. Are they too ethnically diverse/exotic? I don't know what it is.

Janette & Brandon and Randi & Evan seemed obvious for safety, as they are two of the stronger pairings. Phillip brought Jeanine to safety because of his built-in fan-base, though she's deserving on her own. Melissa & Ade are a couple that surprises me, but they're both incredibly strong dancers. Another strong couple that deserved safety.

Karla & Jonathan were terrible, so there was no surprise seeing them in the bottom. The paso doble that wasn't didn't serve Caitlin & Jason well enough, which meant that America agreed with me instead of the judges. It also meant good news for new partners Kayla & Kupono. In fact, other than my tepid prediction that Phillip might slip to the bottom three, I nailed this one (if we count my Phillip fill-in pick ... which I'm going to).

GUEST DANCERS
The Rage Boys Crew - "Feel It," Colby O'Donis
Let's be honest, these guys get through more on the cuteness of the young boys in the crew than on any particular talent. Even the oldest dancers are but a pale shadow compared to some of the breakers we've seen here and on MTV's America's Best Dance Crew. Still, it was a feel good performance, so I'll give them that.

MUSICAL GUEST
The Veronicas - "Take Me on the Floor"
I was pleasantly surprised in the quality of this live performance. The vocals sounded great, even if the "dah-dah-dah" mic was needlessly louder than the main vocals during the choruses. I was also glad to see some intricate choreography from their dancers. After all, this is a dance show.

SOLOS
Asuka Kondoh - "Don't Trust Me," 3OH!3
Limited by ballroom, I though Asuka still showed some nice footwork, and as expected lots of sultry seduction.

Vitolio Jeune - "Viva La Vida," Coldplay
He's definitely strong, but I didn't see as much dance between his feats of strength as I think I needed to for this to be seen as a true dance solo. Plus, he stumbled a bit right out of the gate.

Karla Garcia - "15 Step," Radiohead
Now that was something truly unique, with a very tribal feel to it. I was glad to see something that stood out from the pack a bit, even if she seemed a bit wobbly in places.

Jonathan Platero - "The Hunted," Kodo
From that solo, I'm hard-pressed to say what Jonathan's perferred style is. Maybe a kind of ballroom or contemporary or ... gymnastics? There was a serious lack of musicality in that for me.

Caitlin Kinney - "Que Sera Sera," Jennifer Terran
Easily the best female solo of the night, Caitlin was elegant and beautiful, showing amazing flexibility. There was grace and a true sense of dance.

Jason Glover - "New American Sunday," Taking Back Sunday
A herky-jerky contemporary performance, there were some nice things in there somewhere. It was a real contrast to the flow of Caitlin's piece.

ELIMINATED
I'm a little disappointed that it's Asuka going on the girls' side, but I guess I can't argue with Nigel's logic. That said, Karla has shown real potential, and that potential needs to really grow to prove that she deseves to be here over Asuka. Jonathan's solo was such a mess that I'm not too surprised to see him gone.

If people were turned off by the diversity of Asuka &Vitolio, I'm not sure they'll be much more pleased with the quirky pairing of Karla & Vitolio. I can't wait to see what style they get and see if they can pull themselves out of the bottom the way Kayla & Kupono did.