'SYTYCD' : Evan & Randi's Spank-tacular Love Story

If the last season of So You Think You Can Dance was all about hip-hop, this one has the vibe of yesteryear, and who better to express that than Evan and Randi, who on Wednesday danced an inspired Mia Michaels love story about none other than “the booty.” Randi’s booty to be exact. The racy spanking piece brought out the sexy Parisian in her and more of the debonair throwback in him. Nigel said it was “something that will be remembered,” if only as the “butt” routine.

And “what a difference Ade makes,” Nigel joked after Ade and his partner Melissa shined in a sultry Tony Meredith rumba set to Destiny‘s Child’s “Emotion.” New couple Kayla and Kupono (whose partners Max and Ashley were cut last week) also started things out right for themselves, hitting a Jean-Marc G n reux Viennese waltz magically set to “Sweat Dreams for You” by Jewel.

Janette, whose expertise is salsa, and Brandon, a contemporary dancer, took on a Dave Scott hip-hop routine, and thanks to Brandon’s locking and popping, the judges unanimously praised the performance.

But hip-hop has been a curse for other contestants after routines by Shane Sparks last week put four dancers in the bottom three, and a Tabitha and Napoleon number sent Paris and Tony home the week before.

And Wednesday, the curse continued: Karla and Jonathan, who climbed their way out of the bottom three last week, now appear to be heading right back in after a gangster love story earned them no love from Nygel, who said it was more like “a Sunday school outing.”

At the end of the night, things also didn’t look good for Jason and Caitlin, who performed G n reux’s paso doble, uncomfortably set to the eerie “Carmina Burana,” that looked like it could have come from 300: The Musical. And Jeanine and Phillip ended the show with a Tyce Diorio couch-jumping Broadway number that suited her but had the judges warning him that he better show some growth. — Jed Dreben

Tell us: Who performed your favorite routine of the night? Who is in danger of going home?