by Robyn Frazier

Created on: October 09, 2009   Last Updated: October 10, 2009

My first instinct would be to say "yes, because there's no Paula Abdul" but since she's no longer a factor, the question deserves a little more thought. Both shows, having the same creators and executive producers, follow the same format: initial audition rounds, a further winnowing in the big city ("You're going to Hollywood!" "Get your ticket to Vegas!"), and performance rounds. However, there are differences.

On American Idol, viewers choose the top twelve-or most of them, since they brought back the "judges' choice" last season. For So You Think You Can Dance, after the dancers are put through their paces in all sorts of genres the judging panel picks the top twenty. When it comes to performance voting, AI's singers are soloists, while SYTYCD's dancers are voted on as partners until they narrow it down to ten. Another key difference here is SYTYCD's judges, who have final say on eliminations from Top Twenty to Top Ten. I'm presuming here that the producers found the judges' knowledge and opinion of dance more essential to the show.

Which leads me to another factor: judging singing versus dancing. Clearly the voting public knows good or bad singing when they hear it, but do they know dancing? Thus the more intrusive SYTYCD judge. This could be a pro or con in that show's column. I say pro. Where AI's judges were increasingly a variant of "It was a little pitchy, dawg"/"I love your spirit"/"You sound like a cabaret singer on a wedding cruise," SYTYCD's judges (Nigel Lythgoe, Mary Murphy, and third-judge-of-the-week/soon-to-be Adam Shankman) bring a wealth of knowledge from their dance background that really help those of us viewers who've never taken a dance class in our lives. I will admit, sometimes it devolves into "Hot Tamale Train" shrieking. I still give a point to the necessity of judges.

Something else to consider: the hosts. Ryan Seacrest has parlayed his AI hosting gig into an entertainment mini-empire with E!, doling out reality shows to the C-list celebrity family of the week. As for SYTYCD's Cat Deeley, I have no idea what she does in her downtime and I'm glad I don't know. Ryan has his sardonicism and dude/bro/man-crush whatever thing with Simon but I will give him credit for keeping the show moving when the judges get antsy. Cat, meanwhile, is like the World's Funnest Summer Camp Counselor to whom you promise you'll keep writing long after you return home. Even when she has to ask Ryan-style leading questions she couldn't be nicer about it. Maybe it's the accent.

What finally makes up my mind is the purpose each show serves. Music has been big in pop culture since they started calling it "pop culture." You win American Idol, put out your first album in time for the holiday season and hit it big like Kelly Clarkson...or not. When So You Think You Can Dance started in 2005, could they have imagined making it to a Season Six? How long has dance had the (unfair) reputation of a stuffy ballet production or being relegated to the high school musical? SYTYCD gets viewers-especially teens and younger-excited to see a paso doble. Whose tango is hotter? Can a contemporary dancer keep up with a hip-hop number? The exposure to so many different styles of dance can only be a good thing a world where art and music programs continue to be cut. My vote goes to So You Think You Can Dance.

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