Cyrus's recap montage tells us he only auditioned to showcase his animation style for America, and it all just snowballed from there. His highest point in Vegas were his solos, duh, while his lowest point was Sonya's round, where he felt like he was letting down her choreography. On stage now, he delivers another animatronic solo that the judges seem to think was above and beyond what he's done before. Afterwards, Cat sends us to commercial with, "After the break, Tiffany's off the pole and back for a solo." Deeley, you rascal.

Tiffany's recap package is actually rather fascinating. We find out she actually had to go to choreography during her audition, and she talks about how she was basically ignored during the early rounds in Vegas. It wasn't until the ballroom round that she got any notice, and she tells us that Jason Gilkison's compliments to her from the judges' table were the first words any judge said to her in Vegas to this point. I'm riveted by this whole thing -- an actual underdog story in a way that reality TV pretty much never recognizes. We're used to underdogs like Cyrus, who are touted as underdogs from minute one, as they're given heaps of screen time and narrative and other such prompts for the audience to vote for them. We've seen time and time again that the biggest impediment to success on a reality show that relies on fan voting is lack of screen time, which makes Tiffany's accomplishment -- overcoming no screen time, no judge attention, and dancing her first routine with lookalike Audrey -- kind of amazing. And good on SYTYCD for talking about this angle, albeit late in the game. On stage, Tiffany dances to Fantasia's "I Believe," which is apropos, but kind of a bummer, as Tiff was my last chance this season to see someone dance a solo to Demi Lovato's "Skyscraper."

Cyrus and Chehon: Contemporary (Sonya Tayeh)
Sonya says she's not going easy on Cyrus with this routine, and between that and the lack of shirts on the guys in this routine, I say God bless her. The music and the movements are all very industrial, but they're touching and lifting and diving into each other, which makes for a nice contrast between hot and cold. "I'm gonna give it to you straight," Nigel begins, which always makes me nervous. He says he's so proud of Cyrus and how he grew and his outlook on life. He's an inspiration and Nigel's favorite person on the show. But he goes on that Chehon is his favorite dancer this season, saying it was great to watch him grow as a person. He then points out Jennifer Beals in the audience and calls her an "inspiration to an entire generation of dancers." Which, considering the fact that Beals didn't do her own dancing in Flashdance makes that a curiously worded comment. Anyway. Mary is also proud of the boys and their journeys, while Rob liked how they helped each other.