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| Network: | Fox |
So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition reality show, which returned for its eighteenth season on March 4, 2024.[1] [2]
An eighteenth season of So You Think You Can Dance was announced on December 5, 2023, with a judging panel composed of series creator Nigel Lythgoe (which would have been his seventeenth season as judge), season 2 contestant and season 7–11 and 14 All-Star Allison Holker,[3] and former Dancing with the Stars pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy. Comfort Fedoke guest judged during the auditions. Cat Deeley returned to her role as host for a seventeenth consecutive season.[1] [2]
In January 2024, Lythgoe departed from the show following a sex abuse lawsuit from former judge Paula Abdul.[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] He was replaced by season 17 judge JoJo Siwa.[9] [10]
The season premiere ended with a tribute to season 4 runner-up, former judge, and Holker's husband Stephen "tWitch" Boss who was found dead by suicide in December 2022.
On May 20, 2024, Anthony Curley was crowned the winner.
The auditions for season 18 of So You Think You Can Dance took place in Pullman Yards in Atlanta, Georgia where all the dancers had to audition in front of judges Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Allison Holker, and special guest judge Comfort Fedoke.[11] From the thousands that applied through video submissions, the Top 100 were invited to Atlanta to audition in front of the judges. Unlike previous seasons, this season took more of a documentary style and taught the audience a little bit more about the dancers' background. Notable dancers included Easton Magliarditi who auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation, Jin Lee, who had dedicated her dance to Allison Holker's late husband Stephen "Twitch" Boss,[12] Kenidee Allen who had trained with Maks,[13] Kaylee Bays, a dancer that had been diagnosed with Ehlers-Danolos syndrome that left her in a wheelchair,[13] and Mariyah Hawkins who had previously auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance: The Next Generation.[14]
Like season 17, the Callbacks/Academy Round was renamed the Choreography Round and took place over one day, as opposed to one week like past seasons. The Choreography Round consisted of two rounds led by choreographer, Galen Hooks. The first round had the contestants dancing in different groups, and the second round focused on partner work. 35 contestants made it to the choreography round and were eliminated after each round until 10 remained to advance to the studio shows.
| Contestant | Age | Home Town | Dance Style | Elimination date | Placement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dakayla Wilson | 18 | Tampa, Florida | Jazz | May 20, 2024 | Runner-Up | |
| Madison Rouge Alvarado | 21 | Chicago, Illinois | Jazz Funk | May 20, 2024 | 3rd Place | |
| Mariyah Hawkins | 21 | Dallas, Texas | Contemporary | May 6, 2024 | Top 5 | |
| Avery Gay | 19 | Scottsdale, Arizona | Ballet | April 15, 2024 | Top 10 | |
| Olivia Alboher | 22 | Totowa, New Jersey | Contemporary | April 15, 2024 | Top 10 |
| Contestant | Age | Home Town | Dance Style | Elimination date | Placement | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Curley | 19 | Phoenix, Arizona | Contemporary | N/A | Winner | |
| Easton Magliarditi | 19 | Las Vegas, Nevada | Contemporary | May 13, 2024 | Top 4 | |
| Jaylin Sanders | 20 | Los Angeles, California | Hip-Hop | April 29, 2024 | Top 6 | |
| Braylon Browner | 18 | Killeen, Texas | Contemporary | April 22, 2024 | Top 8 | |
| Roman Nevinchanyi | 26 | Kiev, Ukraine | Ballroom | April 22, 2024 | Top 8 |
Contestants are listed in chronological order of elimination.
| - | + Legend | - | Female | Male | Bottom 3/4 contestants | Eliminated |
| Result show date: | 4/15 | 4/22 | 4/29 | 5/6 | 5/13 | 5/20 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Contestant | Results | ||||||
| Anthony Curley | Btm 4 | Btm 3 | Winner | ||||
| Dakayla Wilson | Btm 4 | Btm 3 | Runner-Up | ||||
| Madison Rouge Alvarado | 3rd Place | ||||||
| Easton Magliarditi | Btm 4 | Btm 3 | Elim | ||||
| Mariyah Hawkins | Btm 3 | Elim | |||||
| Jaylin Sanders | Elim | ||||||
| Roman Nevinchanyi | Elim | ||||||
| Braylon Browner | Btm 4 | Elim | |||||
| Olivia Alboher | Elim | ||||||
| Avery Gay | Elim | ||||||
For the first time this series, the judges are solely responsible for which dancers are safe and which are eliminated, with no audience voting. Previously, the dancers which received the most audience votes each week would be safe from elimination.
In this challenge, the top 10 were divided into two groups of five dancers; each group performed a music video together. The dancers were judged by how they performed both during the filming of the music video as well as the finished product. The judges determined the bottom 4 dancers; the bottom 4 each performed a solo and the judges eliminated two dancers.
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avery Gay | Contemporary | "All Around Me" — Justin Bieber | Phillip Chbeeb & Makenzie Chbeeb-Dustman | Eliminated |
| Dakayla Wilson | Safe | |||
| Braylon Browner | Bottom 4 | |||
| Roman Nevinchanyi | Safe | |||
| Jaylin Sanders | ||||
| Olivia Alboher | Hip Hop | "Juice" — Lizzo | Luther Brown | Eliminated |
| Mariyah Hawkins | Safe | |||
| Madison Rouge Alvarado | ||||
| Easton Magliarditi | Bottom 4 | |||
| Anthony Curley | Safe |
| Dancers | Style | Music |
|---|---|---|
| Easton Magliarditi | Contemporary | "The Blower's Daughter" — Damien Rice |
| Avery Gay | Ballet | "Can't Catch Me Now" — Olivia Rodrigo |
| Olivia Alboher | Contemporary | "Snowing" — Sonya Kitchell |
| Braylon Browner | "Life is Not the Same" — James Blake |
In this challenge, the top 8 were divided into two groups of four dancers; each group performed a Broadway piece together. The dancers were judged by how they performed both during the filming of the Broadway piece as well as the finished product. The judges determined the bottom 4 dancers; the bottom 4 each performed a solo and the judges eliminated two dancers.
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Curley | Broadway | "In the Mood" — BBC Big Band "I Got Rhythm" — Bobby Darin | Al Blackstone | Bottom 4 |
| Dakayla Wilson | ||||
| Jaylin Sanders | Safe | |||
| Madison Rouge Alvarado | ||||
| Braylon Browner | "Willkommen" — Cabaret "Money" — Cabaret | Sarah O'Gleby | Eliminated | |
| Easton Magliarditi | Safe | |||
| Mariyah Hawkins | ||||
| Roman Nevinchanyi | Eliminated |
| Dancers | Style | Music | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Braylon Browner | Contemporary | "Stabat Mater" — Woodkid | |
| Roman Nevinchanyi | Ballroom | "Beggin'" — Måneskin | |
| Dakayla Wilson | Jazz | "Demons" — Doja Cat | |
| Anthony Curley | Contemporary | "Punchbag Love" — Adam French |
In this challenge, the top 6 were divided into two groups of three dancers; each group performed a movie sequence together. The dancers were judged by how they performed both during the filming of the movie sequence as well as the finished product. The judges determined the bottom 3 dancers; the bottom 3 each performed a solo and the judges eliminated one dancer.
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Easton Magliarditi | Broadway | "When the Sun Goes Down" — In the Heights | Chris Scott | Safe |
| Madison Rouge Alvarado | ||||
| Jaylin Sanders | Eliminated | |||
| Anthony Curley | Jazz | "Footloose" — Footloose | Jamal Sims | Safe |
| Dakayla Wilson | Bottom 3 | |||
| Mariyah Hawkins |
| Dancers | Style | Music | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mariyah Hawkins | Contemporary | "Stuttering" — Jazmine Sullivan | |
| Jaylin Sanders | Hip-Hop | "Proud... Uuu" — TellaX | |
| Dakayla Wilson | Jazz | "My Mind" — Yebba |
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Rouge Alvarado | Hip Hop/Contemporary Fusion | "Church" & "Dreaming" — T-Pain | Fullout Cortland & Kyle Hanagami | Safe |
| Anthony Curley | Bottom 3 | |||
| Mariyah Hawkins | Eliminated | |||
| Easton Magliarditi | Bottom 3 | |||
| Dakayla Wilson | Safe |
| Dancers | Style | Music |
|---|---|---|
| Easton Magliarditi | Contemporary | "Lately" — Stevie Wonder |
| Mariyah Hawkins | "Lost One" — Jazmine Sullivan | |
| Anthony Curley | "Disconnect" — 6lack |
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer(s) | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Rouge Alvarado | Hip Hop/Contemporary Fusion | "I'm Good (Blue)" — David Guetta & Bebe Rexha | Hi-Hat | Safe |
| Anthony Curley | ||||
| Easton Magliarditi | Eliminated | |||
| Dakayla Wilson | Safe |
| Dancers | Style | Music | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Curley | Contemporary | "Still Alive" — Aaryan Shah | |
| Dakayla Wilson | Jazz | "My Immortal" — Evanescence | |
| Easton Magliarditi | Contemporary | "Perfectly Wrong" — Shawn Mendes | |
| Madison Rouge Alvarado | Jazz Funk | "Can't Be Tamed" — Miley Cyrus |
Each of the finalists performed two times: a duet with a fellow Top 10 finalist of their choice, and a solo.
| Dancers | Style | Music | Choreographer(s) | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madison Rouge Alvarado | Jazz Funk (w/ Braylon Browner) | "Not About You" — Haiku Hands | Kayla Radomski & Tucker Barkley | 3rd Place | |
| Anthony Curley | Hip Hop (w/ Mariyah Hawkins) | "Bang" — Jacob Banks & Tobe Nwigwe | Diana Matos & Ivan Koumaev | Winner | |
| Dakayla Wilson | Contemporary (w/ Easton Magliarditi) | "Change" — Lana Del Rey | Talia Favia | Runner-Up |
| Dancers | Style | Music | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Curley | Contemporary | "Better Alone" — Aaryan Shah | |
| Dakayla Wilson | Jazz | "A Palé" — Rosalía |