by Walter T. Runn

Created on: February 24, 2009

Every Wednesday and Thursday night, starting in January all the way through till August, many people hear familiar theme songs, Cat Deeley or Ryan Seacrest saying either "This is American Idol" or "Welcome to So You Think You Can Dance". Both are incredibly amazing reality TV shows that continue to give hope to millions of young singers and dancers each year. Both of these shows were produced by the same people, therefore the layout and concept is the same. First stage, millions and millions of great (some, not so great) singers and dancers audition to receive either a golden ticket to Hollywood or a plane ticket to Vegas. During Hollywood/Vegas week, the contestants who were good enough to grab the judges' attention had to prove themselves to have enough stamina, will power, and the star quality to be able to have a shot at becoming America's favorite singer/dancer. Once this grueling week is over, only a few contestants are left: So You Think You Can Dance keeps twenty contestants, ten male and ten females due to the partnering element in the competition, and American Idol keeps approximately thirty six of the contestants. Once the competition begins, all of the contestants perform, receive the judges' constructive/critical criticism, then America votes to keep their favorite performer. Week after week this continues, with fewer contestants at the results show each Thursday. The competition becomes fiercer and more heated up until the grand finale where the final two in American Idol and the final four in So You Think You Can Dance compete to figure out who is named America's favorite singer/dancer. By this time of both shows, someone's dreams has been recognized and placed into reality...a happy ending to the show each season.

So one might ask, which of these two shows are better? However, this question is not a perfectly 'valid' and fair question to ask. My answer to this question is neither one is superior over the other. Yes, American Idol has been running for more than twice the time that So You Think You Can Dance has been on the air. However, what does one have that the other doesn't? Guest celebrity appearances and performances, guest judges, or just pure entertainment? There are certain elements or factors that one might prefer over the other, but overall, both of these shows has had so much work poured into them, both of these shows realize someone's dreams while entertaining a whole nation. Therefore, an unbiased answer to this question would be that neither is better than the other. Dancers will generally like So You Think You Can Dance more, and singers/musicians will generally like American Idol more. But for me, as one who is in love with generally every field of the arts, I love watching both of these shows with a hope that maybe someday I might be able to show my face on that show though I know the chances are slim. So since both of these shows were designed to keep American dreams alive, the question isn't which show is more popular...the question is which show fulfills their purpose more effectively than the other?

Learn more about this author, Walter T. Runn.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.