Rating: ★★★★★

Airdate: June 19, 2011, 9/8c on Oxygen

Harry Shum Jr. is easily the best coach the could have chosen for an episode that highlights dance.

“Dance Ability” as a theme poses a problem for many of the remaining contenders on The Glee Project because dancing is not their strong suit. This week’s homework assignment is to showcase the kids’ dance moves to Train’s “Hey Soul Sister.” Fittingly enough, the guest judge is the best dancer on Glee, Harry Shum Jr. I thought his comments and notes to the kids were a little harsher and more critical than what they’d heard from the other judges. Again, I found myself wishing we got more of Harry’s one-on-one session with homework winner Samuel.

We are starting to see some different sides to some of the contestants. I was shocked when Samuel told Nikki Anders he had created “skadoosh” when we know it is the signature freestyle Hannah created. Alex is an extremely annoying diva and full of himself in this episode and it leads to his being in the bottom three. Surprisingly, Matheus also develops ‘diva-itis’ but unlike Alex, he doesn’t have the voice to back it up.

The remaining contenders perform to MC Hammer

The video project this week is set to MC Hammer’s “You Can’t Touch This,” a personal favorite of mine. I thought the video rocked! Erik White does another amazing job editing the footage together to make each contestant shine. As always, watching them put together the video is one of the most interesting parts of the show. I’m intrigued every week watching them record the tracks in the studio, learning the dance moves, and then filming each segment. I would love to see more of this behind-the-scenes footage. Robert Ulrich, Zach Woodlee, and Anders are surprised by who really shines at the taping, and it’s the attitudes of Damian, Matheus, and Alex that make them stand out. I am still frustrated we get so little of some of the contenders. I still feel like I don’t know anything about Marissa, for instance. She gets a brief and hilarious spotlight for doing a “bootie pop,” but otherwise, she’s mostly in the background.

Hannah gets her rap on, Samuel wins the challenge, and Cameron forgets his personality.

I challenged myself again this week to try to figure out who would be in the bottom three. My picks were definitely Mateus and Alex, and maybe Cameron and McKynleigh. I’m getting better at this, or maybe I’m just getting a better handle on the judges’ tastes because those four are the ones pulled. Cameron is safe in the end, but he’s given notes not to lose sight of his character just because he’s concentrating on the dancing.

Alex performs because of his huge ego and utter lack of humility, which I still feel is very much on stage with him as he does an admittedly beautiful rendition of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” Ryan Murphy comments on the beauty of his voice but calls Alex on his bizarre behaviour in “letting someone else shine” in the homework competition. I think Murphy had no problem seeing through those sour grapes. I don’t believe for a minute that Alex tried his hardest to beat the others. If they’re looking for a different character to add to Glee, I’m not seeing how Alex is going to be any different from Kurt (Chris Colfer). I thought Alex’s behavior should have sent him home.

Matheus struggled in the video.

Matheus’ attitude lands him in the bottom three though. He takes Murphy’s previous notes – to be himself and embrace his sexuality – to heart in his strip tease to Jay Sean’s “Down.” However, I didn’t find it sexy at all, just embarrassing. Murphy is pleased with the result though and it earns Matheus a call back.

McKynleigh finally performs a country song, Carrie Underwood’s “Last Name,” and it’s easy to see and hear this is her strong suit. She finally shows us some personality! But it’s too little too late. She tells Murphy she knows she needs to show more emotion and character but she’s finding it difficult, and it’s taking her a long time to figure it out. I think this is one of the deciding factors in sending her home. The core of the contest is to develop a character who the writers can write to, and it’s very likely the one thing McKynleigh is never going to be able to deliver is the kind of character driven emotional performance that is at the heart of Glee.

Please weigh in below: Did the right person not get called back this week? Should the progress McKynleigh did show have earned her another chance? Should Alex’s huge ego have sent him home?

Tune in to The Glee Project next week at 9/8c on Oxygen.

All photos ©2011 Oxygen. All Rights Reserved.

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