Dish Of Salt: Thursday TV Round Up (SYTYCD Crowns A Winner)

“So You Think You Can” Win

Twenty-year-old Boston native Russell Ferguson was crowned America’s Favorite Dancer on last night’s season six finale of “So You Think You Can Dance.” It was a triumphant win for the untrained dancer who earlier in the two-hour broadcast was in tears due to an injury.

As host Cat Deeley called the top six contestants to the stage, fellow contestant Ryan Dilello helped out Russell. “I messed my leg up,” Russell told Cat as he winced in pain. During the next rounds of elimination Russell sat on a stool to hear the results. When his name was called though he leaped out of his chair and started jumping around ‘Cuba Gooding Jr. Oscar’ win style — Even going so far as to rip off his shirt!

“It was a relief ‘cause throughout the season it’s just been like a work up… a build up,” Russell told me backstage just moments after his big win. “So once it came it was just like, ‘Ohhh!’ I didn’t care what was going on. I wanted to just fall. I wanted to take all my clothes off!”

And his earlier injury was not going to stop him from celebrating properly. “I mean something that adrenaline does is definitely heal you. I don’t care if my leg falls off. I have to do a little something tonight!”

First though, Russell will go to the doctor today for x-rays. He explains what happened that led to the injury, “There was a move that I did when I came off the stage and when I landed something inside my tibia shifted or cracked.”

The worst part of not being able to dance on the finale show was that his parents had flown in for the occasion. Hopefully though they will get to see him when he dances at this year’s Academy Awards. Judge Adam Shankman promised the top male and top female dancer (in this case, Kathryn) a spot on the Oscar telecast, which he is producing in 2010. “That’s gonna be, ‘Ahhhhh’ I can’t even picture that right now!” Russell exclaimed. “First I gotta take one step at a time with all this excitement!”

Season seven auditions are set to begin in January and it looks like the show is likely to return in the summer immediately following “American Idol” rather than in the fall again. Executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe told me its up to FOX but he believes the fall run for the show was too sporadic. “I think that’s where we will be,” he told me. “I like to know exactly what nights we are going out and with this fall season you really do bounce around the schedule.”

New “Idol” Dream
“American Idol” creator Simon Fuller is launching a brand new venture set to launch across multiple platforms including TV, Internet, radio and mobile handsets. It’s called “If I Can Dream” and it’s being billed as a documentary style project about five young people trying to make it in Hollywood – an actor, two actresses, a musician and a model. The group will live together in the Hollywood Hills and their every move will be streamed live online as they rehearse, write music, socialize and plan their careers. Viewers will be able to interact with them via text, blogs, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter as their stories unfold in real time. Each of the five participants will be given access to the best acting, vocal, music and modeling coaches in the business. Sounds a lot like “American Idol” if the cameras followed the contestants around 24/7 and we could interact with them.

Celebs Join “Sing-Off”

As fast as it started, it will be over. The live finale of NBC’s “The Sing-Off” is set to air on Monday, December 21 and several musical acts will take the stage. Natasha Bedingfield, Boyz II Men, Smokey Robinson and Bobby McFerrin (you know, the “Don’t Worry Be Happy” guy!) will perform a capella during the two-hour show. The winning a cappella group will be crowned and the winners will receive a $100,000 grand prize and an Epic Records/Sony Music Record Contract. The remaining groups in the finale are Nota from San Juan, Puerto Rico, the Beelzebubs from Boston and Voices of Lee from Cleveland, Tennessee.