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Published April 11, 2016
In last night's episode of "So You Think You Can Dance," contestants Kevin Hunte and Channing Cooke went home.
Fox News caught up with Hunte to ask him how he felt about the decision from judges Nigel Lithgoe, Adam Shankman and Mary Murphy.
“[I'm] a little upset but you know just got to move on," Hunte told Fox News. "This is God’s will, you got to brush it up and keep it moving. I’ve got a lot out of this competition, Met a lot of beautiful people and I am blessed I am blessed that’s how I feel I am blessed.”
Hunte also added that he was thrilled to have made it to the final group before his elimination.
“I didn’t think I would get here but I can honestly say does it boost up your confidence and lets you know you are talented and lets you know you can do something big in life so I would say that I am excited about making the top seven boys.”
Channing Cooke had similar feelings about his elimination.
“Ya I also feel blessed as well," he told Fox. "I mean the experience was everything and more than I ever wanted so I am just walking away feeling a better person and meeting a bunch of people that I never would have met unless I came into this experience so I am really excited for what’s next.”
Meanwhile, the judges argued that it was difficult to send contestants home, but as Lithgoe said, it was a unanimous decision.
“It’s always tough now because you are getting rid of good dancers but I think they were the right ones. We were unanimous about who was going to go," Lithgoe said. "It made sense for what we have left there. Kevin we don’t feel has not really grown that much in comparison to the two boys he was against, Victor and Nathan, and that was the decision we took. With Channing it was a little tougher because neither Channing nor Karen really brought anything to their solos tonight. Molly we thought was outstanding so Molly was put to bed thank you very much and then you have to say when has Channing been outstanding as much as we believed when Karen was she did the Cha Cha and hip-hop. And we do think Karen is a star someone we never had before on the show. I don’t think she was this week and that’s why she is in the bottom three girls but that was the decision we took.”
Adam Shankman echoed his sentiments.
“I feel like it was the right decision for the big picture but that has nothing to do with the fact that I adore them and love them on the show," he told Fox. "I think Channing is a great technician but it never reached across the stage and touched us and it could have been the choreographers, it could have been the numbers, it could have been any number of things but it just never happened. Kevin, I saw that same solo basically last week and even in the clip package in Vegas he was doing that one legged hinge to the back and I was like not enough growth man, its just not enough growth. Victor tonight stepped up and fought for his life.”
Mary Murphy however, was a little more relaxed in the decision.
“Well you know they are really good dancers so yeah. I don’t think I am going to lose sleep over it tonight but that’s the fact of the matter," she said. "You know I don’t think Channing connected with us on an emotional level. I think she is a gorgeous dancer. You know was her solo the best she has ever done? I have seen her dance better so we had to take her and comparison we had three still contemporary dancers left and was she as good as them, no she is not. I don’t know what it is because I really do like her a lot but everything she does is just very good."
Murphy said the same of Victor: "We have not really had that with him but we felt like his solo tonight saved him. You know he really changed his solo from the previous weeks and I felt like he really was fighting for his life. There again I saw a dancer that has never really done anything that was bad or awkward when we think about Kevin even when we gave him high marks in the first week of the Cha Cha for me there were still many awkward body movements in that number. If you go back and watch it was it really that good? It was impressive that week because we didn’t except them to do anything but he preformed really well so his performance sold us that week even though he had lots of awkward moments. Victor didn’t have that. Nathan doesn’t have any awkward moment except for maybe a little bit in that salsa. Still it was missed connections there wasn’t anything awkward in his body with Kevin we see that.”
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/so-you-think-you-can-dance-exclusive-judges-eliminated-contestant-reactions