The second season So You Think You Can Dance (Malaysia) began airing on 1 May 2008 on 8TV. Auditions were held in Kota Kinabalu and Kuala Lumpur. Aishah Sinclair hosts this season, while Pat Ibrahim, Ramli Ibrahim and Judimar Hernandez return as permanent judges.
Contestants vied for RM50,000 and an 8TV scholarship as the grand prize. In the Grand Finalé on 1 August 2008, Cecilia Yong Ling Shi, known throughout the competition as CC, was crowned "Malaysia's Favourite Dancer" through popular voting.
On 7 November 2008, the second season of So You Think You Can Dance was nominated and won the Anugerah Skrin 2008 award in the category of Best Reality Program.
Early stages
Auditions SYTYCD auditions were held in two locations, i.e. the Imperial International Hotel, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, on 9 March 2008, followed by the Panggung Bandaraya DBKL, Kuala Lumpur (the sole audition ground in the first season) on 18 March. 8TV – So You Think You Can Dance Auditions 423 signed up for the preliminary auditions – 106 in Sabah and the rest in Kuala Lumpur.
Out of this, seven from Sabah and 123 from Kuala Lumpur moved on to the "main auditions" on 19 and 21 April, but it was reported that only four out of the Sabah audition qualifiers made it to Kuala Lumpur. The format in this stage is different from that of last season, in which one would either be sent straight to Boot Camp or the Callbacks – this time there is no Callbacks; just two stages of auditions which all who made it in the first stage will undergo the second.
Boot Camp From the main auditions, 70 made it to the Boot Camp – three days of intensive pre-competition training. Day 1 witnessed the judges training the dances; Judimar kicked off the Boot Camp by 'warming up' the contestants with contemporary dance. Little did they expect that Pat and Ramli broke out to them that they had been watching them too, reprimanded them for their lack of seriousness toward the competition, and shockingly sent off four of them. Thus, the pressure was on the remaining 66 to perform better as they were split into groups and performed in front of all three judges later in the day.
Halfway into the day, the dancers were split into two large groups: Pat called the hip-hoppers, freestylers and breakdancers while the rest who specialized on ballet, lyrical and contemporary went to Ramli, before the two judges switched groups to get the dancers "out of their comfort zone." After a session to adapt to unfamiliar dance genres, the dancers were split again into smaller groups to perform in front of the judges. The last elimination of the day saw the dancers divided into groups again to face the judges, 14 of which were sent away before the last group to appear were given another chance to prove their mettle. And from that group, three did not make the cut into Day 2.
On Day 2, choreographers were brought in to train four different routines: Boojay & Ali – hip-hop Azwa – Malaysian contemporary Suhaili Micheline – contemporary Fasilito – salsa
Early in Day 2 there had been one elimination – a contestant was late for training after oversleeping and had to be sent off. After each lesson from the choreographers, the dancers were divided into groups of six to show what they learned from their choreographers to the judges. For the first two genres, pleasant comments came from the panel, but after the third, the judges and dancers exchanged grouses. To settle them down, Judimar asked the dancers to hold each other's hands and scream to relieve stress, while Pat advised them to "have fun" in the next choreography.
The last choreography session required the dancers to pair up for the salsa routine. After they performed in front of the judges, it was crunch time on the end of Day 2, after which 35 dancers proceeded to Day 3.
On day 3, the dances performed solo dances in genres of their respective choices in their last chance to impress judges and enter the Top 20. At night, the judges took four hours debating on who should enter the real competition, leaving the dancers in extreme suspense. It was after midnight that the first dancer was called to face the panel – Joshua, who joined the first season and dedicated his journey in the competition to his late friend, was dejected in learning that he was turned away in spite of positive remarks by the judges.
Top 20 The following are the 20 contestants who made it into the competition rounds: Full name Alias Age¹ From Occupation² Specialty Position/Eliminated Ng Kar FeiProfil Black Black 25 Kuala Lumpur Freelance dancer Hip-hop 2008-08-01 Sarah Diana Michele DuraiProfil Sarah Sarah 29 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Sales and marketing executive Freestyle 2008-07-03 Mohd Hanafi bin RosliProfil Hanafi Napi 20 Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu Student, performer – 2008-06-19 Wong Sook KenProfil Jojo Jojo 27 Kuala Lumpur Dance instructor Contemporary 2008-07-24 Lim Chee WeiProfil Chee Wei Chee Wei 22 Kuala Lumpur Student, cheerleader, choreographer ContemporaryLyricalJazz 2008-06-26 Zefane Fara binti ZakariaProfil Zef Zef 24 Kuala Lumpur Boutique owner Ballet 2008-06-19 Ray Redzwan bin AwangProfil Ray Ray 28 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Cultural arts dancer at Istana Budaya Traditional 2008-07-17 Yap Hwee LengProfil Zen Zen 18 Melaka Hip-hop and yoga instructor Hip-hop 2008-06-12 Muhammad Fairul Azreen bin Mohd ZahidProfil Fairul Fai 20 Kota Tinggi, Johor Student ContemporaryTraditional 2008-06-12 Chan Wei Yee, VivianProfil Vivian Viv 25 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Rhythmic gymnastics and dance instructor LyricalJazz 2008-06-05 Hafizul MahmudProfil Sly Sly 21 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah Plantation company administrator Hip-hop 2008-07-24 Ho Cheng SimProfil Sim Sim 27 Petaling Jaya, Selangor Full-time professional dancer Contemporary 2008-08-01 Mohd Zulfaqar bin AwaluddinProfil Zul Belalang 28 Johor Bahru, Johor Choreographer, dancer Traditional 2008-07-03 Yong Li Shi, CeciliaProfil Cecilia/CC CC 21 Kuala Lumpur Student LatinBallet Winner Liew Jin PinProfile Raymond Raymond 21 Johor Bahru, Johor Student Contemporary 2008-07-10 Farah Hanan binti Mohd NordinProfil Farah Farah 26 Kuala Lumpur Medic Ballet 2008-07-17 Ong Tze HongProfil Hong Hong 27 Kuala Lumpur Dancer, dance instructor Commercial 2008-08-01 Yee Mei Er, SamanthaProfil Samantha Sam 28 Puchong, Selangor Accounting executive, dancer Jazz 2008-06-26 Yong Chun HaouProfil Billy Billy 22 Kuala Lumpur Student, choreographer Latin 2008-06-05 Lim Pei Ying, JoridaProfil Jorida J Da 19 Ipoh, Perak Student, freelance dancer and barista LyricalBallet 2008-07-10 Notes ¹ Ages were accurate at beginning of competition. ² Occupations were accurate before competition.
Competition The So You Think You Can Dance competition takes place in Ruums KL as was the previous season, aired "live" on 8TV every Thursday, 9.30pm.
DateSynopsis Round 1 Round 2Week 15 June 2008The first night of the SYTYCD showdown kicked off with a solo breakdance routine by Alam, winner of Season 1. Before the night, each of the 10 male dancers were paired with one of the 10 female. Next, each pair underwent training from a different choreographer, each of which fixed a routine for his/her pair to perform on stage. This course is repeated every week throughout the showdown.
After all ten pairs were done with their routines in Round 1, the judges chose four worst performers to vie for public votes to remain in the competition; one male and one female with the fewest votes would be sent home afterward. Ahli Fiqir guest performed before the elimination results were announced. Jorida won the show.Black & Farah – Hip-hop Ray & CC – Mambo Chee Wei & Sam – Contemporary Fai & Zen – Dancehall Belalang & J Da – Malaysian Contemporary
Napi & Sim – Viennese Waltz Sly & Viv – Tango Billy & Zef – Jazz Raymond & Jojo – Hip-hop Hong & Sarah – Street jazz Billy (eliminated) Viv (eliminated) Napi ZenWeek 212 June 2008Ramli was absent from the panel, his place taken over by Linda Jasmine. This time, six weakest performers were sent down to vie for public votes to survive in the competition.
Altimet guest performed. Belalang & J Da – Contemporary Raymond & Jojo – Broadway Sly & Zef – Afro-Cuban Contemporary Napi & Sim – Lyrical Jazz Ray & CC- Mambo
Fai & Zen – Malaysian Contemporary Chee Wei & Sam – Hip-hop Hong & Sarah – Malaysian Contemporary Black & Farah – Hip-hop Salsa CC Ray Zen (eliminated) Chee Wei Sarah Fai (eliminated)Week 319 June 2008All three main judges were present along with Yannus Sufandi, the Australian choreographer who had been involved in the show since Season 1. The remaining 16 dance to the tune of film soundtracks in their first themed night – "Night at the Movies."
Phlowtron guest performed before the elimination. Hong & Sarah – Hip-hop Napi & Sim – Cha-cha Belalang & J Da – Contemporary Sly & Zef – Rock and Roll
Ray & CC – Hip-hop Black & Farah – Malaysian Contemporary Raymond & Jojo – Salsa Chee Wei & Sam – Street Jazz Napi (eliminated) Jojo Raymond Zef (eliminated) Sly SarahWeek 426 June 2008Dida Malik, a UiTM lecturer who was mentioned as "preserver of Malaysian arts" by Aishah, was the guest judge of the night. Belalang & J Da – Hip-hop Black & Farah – Malaysian Contemporary Sarah & Hong – Lyrical Sly & Sim – Lyrical Hip-hop
Chee Wei & Sam – Contemporary Salsa Ray & CC – Viennese Waltz Raymond & Jojo – Pop J Da Chee Wei (eliminated) Sarah Hong Sam (eliminated) RaymondWeek 53 July 2008Manuela Oliveira, the Australian choreographer who is also among the dancers' trainers, joined the panel for the night.
Prior to announcing the eliminations, all 12 dancers were paired up again for the following week:
Sly & Jojo Belalang & Sarah Ray & Farah
Raymond & J Da Hong & CC Black & Sim
Nevertheless, two of them had to leave, i.e. the newly paired Belalang and Sarah. Ray & CC – Contemporary Jazz Black & Farah – Hip-Hop Contemporary Hong & Sarah – Malaysian Contemporary
Raymond & Jojo – Hip-Hop/Martial Arts Sly & Sim – Malaysian Contemporary Belalang & J Da – Foxtrot J Da Belalang (eliminated) Sarah (eliminated) Hong CC RayWeek 610 July 2008The Top 10 were arranged into new pairs, each of which perform twice. Tiara Jacquelina appeared as guest judge, while Nita from Malaysian Idol performed before the elimination.Raymond & J Da – Mambo & Pop-Rock Sly & Jojo – Hip-hop Fusion & Lyrical Waltz Ray & Farah – Salsa & Contemporary Black & Sim – Malaysian Contemporary & Rock/Pop/Hip-Hop Hong & CC – Contemporary Pop & Rock & Roll CC Hong Ray Jojo J Da (eliminated) Raymond (eliminated)Week 717 July 2008Eight dancers remained and the judges decided to decide the bottom four only. Arts performer Marion D'Cruz guest judged. The live telecast skipped footage of the dancers' rehearsals. Black, who had been praised as the most consistent dancer thus far, shockingly found himself at the bottom four – this may be attributed to his second routine of the night – yet he narrowly escaped elimination. Suki Low, winner of One in a Million (Season 1) performed before the elimination.Sly & Jojo – Paso Doble & Hip Hop Ray & Farah – Malaysian Contemporary & House Hong & CC – Hip-Hop & Gothic Waltz Black & Sim – Latin Fusion & Pop Jojo Ray (eliminated) Farah (eliminated) BlackWeek 824 July 2008In the penultimate week of the competition, Aida Redza sat alongside the judges. Six dancers performed their couple routines once, followed by all of them vying for audiences' votes by performing solo routines once for sixty seconds each.Sly & Jojo Black & Sim Hong & CCSly (eliminated) Hong Black Jojo (eliminated) CC Sim
Grand finale The final night of the competition was held in Ruums KL as in the previous weeks, but was brought to 8.30pm on Friday, 1 August. Voting lines were open from the moment the Top 4 were revealed the week before till the end of the Grand Finale.