Exciting news, everyone! Kieran, dim the lights…

American Idol returns February 18, with The Voice returning February 26 and The Masked Singer on March 6. Y’all know I can’t quit these shows, after recapping them since Iam Tongi was practically still in diapers, so I am launching my new subscription-based Reality Rocks Substack for all you fellow diehards out there!

For a low-cost subscription (with a one-week free trial to start), you will get access to my recaps of all three series. I am considering also writing about So You Think You Can Dance (which returns March 4) and maybe some RuPaul’s Drag Race too. You can subscribe in the handy widget at the top of this post.

Subscriptions are just $8/month. There is also an $80/year option, but to be fully transparent, the monthly option is probably better for most since I will be taking blogging breaks when those three main shows are not on the air. I have a little free intro post up now that goes into my history of ‘Idol’-atry, but paid posts will start on American Idol premiere night, the 18^th!

And, of course, many SYTYCD alums get work dancing in awesome music videos. Here are my picks for the best of the bunch. Cue music!

16. Rebecca Black, “My Moment”

All-stars Robert Roldan, Kent Boyd, Adechike Torbert, Channing Cooke, and Lauren Gottlieb (who choreographed) actually make this YouTube novelty star’s “Friday” follow-up genuinely watchable. Fun, fun, fun, fun.

15. Wayne Brady, “All Naturally”

Yes, Wayne Brady made a music video, and yes, it stars Season 8 runner-up Sasha Mallory. The video unfortunately doesn’t showcase everything this dynamite girl can do, but she definitely electrifies the screen.

14. Becky G, “Can’t Stop Dancin’”

Season 9 co-winner Chehon Wespi-Tschopp plays the sexy love interest in this teen sensation’s unsurprisingly dance-filled romp, and the camera clearly loves him.

13. Madonna, “Girl Gone Wild”

Kupono Aweau starred in literally the greatest SYTYCD dance ever, “Addiction” (the Season 5 Mia Michaels routine set to Sara Bareilles’s “Gravity”). He has since gone on to be one of Madonna’s regular dancers (as has Sasha Mallory), and he shows off his addictive moves alongside Madge here.Girl Gone Wild

12. Panic! At the Disco, “Ready to Go”

Season 3’s Dominic “D-Trix” Sandoval makes a cameo here as a chimney sweep, and he leaves everyone in his dust.

11. Todrick Hall, “#VX Safety Dance”

This slick and stylish safety video for Virgin America, featuring original music byAmerican Idol Season 9 contestant-turned-viral video sensation Todrick Hall, was co-choreographed by SYTYCD’s Christopher Scott and features a Dragonhouse fan favorite, Season 9 animator Cyrus “Glitch” Spencer, along with nine other of the show’s alums (including Sasha Mallory, Phillip Chbeeb, and Marko Germar). It looks like the skies have gotten a whole lot friendlier… and funkier!

10. Beyoncé , “7/11”

Season 10 runner-up Jasmine Harper may have trouble pulling focus from Bey in this enjoyably lo-fi clip, but avert your eyes from Queen B for just a moment to check out Jasmine’s also-flawless moves in “7/11’s” Y-fronted balcony dance sequences.

9. Pharrell Williams, “Happy” (24-hour version)

You’ll have to skip to the 10:52 a.m. mark in Pharrell’s “24 Hours of Happy,” but it’s worth the trouble to see Season 7 “Get Outta Your Mind” golden boy Alex Wong freestyle for two glorious, very happy minutes.

8. Christina Perri, “Jar of Hearts”

Christina got her big break in SYTYCD Season 7, when Stacey Tookey chose the song for a Billy Bell/Kathryn McCormick number. The song shot up the charts and led to Christina landing a deal with Atlantic Records. When it came time to make the “Jar of Hearts” big-budget music video, Kathryn got a role in the dance scenes, along with Season 2’s Allison Holker. Exquisite.

7. Christina Aguilera, “Candyman”

West Coast Swinger and Season 2 champ Benji Schwimmer gives a performance any dance fan can salute, in this military-themed, adorably retro clip.

6. Taylor Swift, “Shake It Off”

This is practically a So You Think You Can Dance all-star reunion! Season 5 hip-hop king Phillip Chbeeb (who also stars in “Don’t” by Taylor’s pal Ed Sheeran, also on this list), Season 5 “naughty ballerina” Melissa Sandvig, Season 6 B-boy Legacy Perez, and Season 10 co-winner Du-Shaunt “Fik-Shun” Stegall all shake their stuff here. Tyce Diorio did the choreography, too!

5. Ed Sheeran, “Thinking Out Loud”

While Brittany Cherry only made it to the top 20 of SYTYCD Season 10, she obviously came out a winner — not just sharing the spotlight in “Thinking Out Loud,” but also getting the opportunity to dance with Ed five hours a day, secretly training him for the video while she was on tour with him last year. SYTYCD Emmy-winners Tabitha & Napoleon D’umo, aka “Nappytabs,” are responsible for the lovely choreo.

4. Lady Gaga, “Judas”

Back on a Season 4 results show, an unknown diva named Stefani Germanotta performed that season’s theme song, “Just Dance,” making her network TV debut. That season also featured my personal favorite SYTYCD alum of all time, Mark Kanemura. Mark later became one of Gaga’s principal dancers. He’s appeared in her videos for “Telephone, “Alejandro,” and “Marry the Night,” but he’s most prominently featured in “Judas,” so this is the one that makes the list.

3. Ed Sheeran, “Don’t”

“Thinking Out Loud” aside, humble troubadour Ed usually prefers not to be the main focus of his music videos. But that’s fine. There’s no way Ed could have ever upstaged triple-jointed, rubber-limbed Phillip Chbeeb, who stars here.

2. Carrie Underwood, “Something in the Water”

This stunning tour de force, choreographed by Season 2 runner-up and Emmy nominee Travis Wall, stars Travis and his Shaping Sound dance company, which he founded with Season 1 winner Nick Lazzarini. Other featured SYTYCD dancers include Nick, Chantel Aguirre, Channing Cooke, Jaimie Goodwin, and Amy Yakima, all being amazing. Somebody give me whatever’s in their water, stat.

1. Muse, “Dead Inside”

Season 4’s brilliant Will Wingfield and Season 6’s equally brilliant Kathryn McCormick are true all-stars in this spooky, compelling, chalk-dusted epic by the over-the-top Britrockers. The moves are by SYTYCD choreographer Tessandra Chavez, but this video definitely gives off an awesomely freaky Sonya Tayeh/Mia Michaels vibe.

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This article originally ran on Yahoo Music.

This week, ready once again to prove true the old adage “those who can’t compete on TV talent shows, blog about them” — and perhaps emboldened by Taylor Swift’s fearless dorky dancing in her self-deprecating “Shake It Off” video — I signed up for a hop-hop dance lesson with So You Think You Can Dance choreographers Tabitha and Napoleon D’umo (aka “Nappytabs”). This time, there were no tears… but there was definitely a lot of literal sweat and some proverbial blood on the dance floor.

Yes, I was intimidated by Nappytabs’s SYTYCD pedigree (these are the people who choreographed last season’s Emmy-winning “Puttin’ on the Ritz,” after all, not to mention “No Air,” “Bleeding Love,” and “Outta Your Mind”). And it didn’t help that my fellow classmates were a girl who’d danced competitively for years and a guy who literally used to flip for Cirque du Soleil. But I still excitedly prepared to get bucc, crunk, ratchet, turnt-up, and any other adjective from The Unabridged Lil C Dictionary that might apply.

And then just when I thought I was getting the hang of it and might even score a ticket (albeit a coach-class one) on the Hot Tamale Train, Napoleon let it slip that this was a routine he usually teaches in his JUNIORS classes — as in, classes for KIDS. Ouch.

And then Tabitha excitedly told me I’d “turned dowwwwwn.” She said she meant to say “turned up,” but I think it was a Freudian slip… to go with the many times I almost slipped and fell on that slick studio floor. (Side note: At one point, Tabitha tried to high-five me, and I missed her hand. I needed more than one lesson.)

However, along the way, I learned a few cool moves and a few important lessons about the dance world. Such as:

Dancing outside one’s genre is hard, y’all – I’ve been taking ballet for a couple years (full disclosure: Season 5′s Melissa Sandvig and Season 9′s Eliana Girard inspired me), but that in no way prepared me to get down ‘n’ dirty with Nappytabs to a grimy “Turn Down for What” megamix. Now I have new respect for current SYTYCD finalists Zack Everhart and Valerie Rockey, tap dancers by trade who had to dance outside their specialty style almost every week this season.

Booty-popping is hard, y’all – In what was probably the most awkward moment of my Nappytabs tutorial, Tabitha got right behind me in an attempt to help me work on my twerking skills. Seeing I was clearly a lost cause, she quickly excused herself to grind up on one of my looser-hipped, more able-bootied classmates instead. I have new respect for Miley and Nicki now. Seriously.

Singing and dancing at the same time is hard, y’all – Napoleon had us sing the words to “Turn Down for What” while we rehearsed, which he explained would make it easier for us to remember the steps than traditional counting. Maybe so… but by the time we were done with our second run-through, I was winded. Now I see why so many dancing pop stars choose to lip-synch. Britney, Ashlee, Milli, Vanilli, all is forgiven… well, not quite, but almost.

Music clearance is hard, y’all – While DJ Snake and Lil Jon are clearly thrilled to lend their music to SYTYCD (and many rising musicians have actually launched their careers on the show), not all recording artists are on board. According to Tabitha and Napoleon, Justin Timberlake won’t give Fox the greenlight because his songs are so associated with his own iconic dance moves, and Eminem has turned down (no pun intended) SYTYCD repeatedly because he insanely says his music is “not made for dancing.” How shady of him!

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This article originally ran on Yahoo Music.