Leaving Dance: Tony and Paris Dish on Exit and "Watered-Down" Routine

No sooner had So You Think You Can Danceintroduced its Top 20 dancers on Wednesday night, than Tony and Paris were the first two to go.

Interestingly, Paris agreed with judge Mary Murphy, who said that their hip-hop routine wasn't "extraordinary." "What's funny is that Tony and I, when we first learned our routine, we were killing it," she says. "[Choreographers] Tabitha and Napoleon were so pleased. ... [But] I think ... we over-rehearsed ourselves, to where it wasn't that original hitting it, it was watered-down. It was just becoming steps to us. So when the judges said it was good, but not great ... because of their honesty ... to tell us, 'that was forgettable' ... it made us more prepared to fight for our lives," she says.

Tony agrees: "It was a great piece that was not executed the right way," he said.

While Paris' Dancing stint was brief, she enjoyed her taste of fame. The contemporary dancer from Seattle overcame a car-accident injury that left one of her legs numb. On facing the crowd at the opening of Wednesday's performance show, she recalls: "The roar...was like nothing I've ever experienced before!" She regrets that she won't be able to try Latin ballroom, because she thinks she has a "spicy" flair.

For Tony, a New York native whose specialty is hip-hop, his biggest fear "was not being respected as a dancer," he tells TVGuide.com. "I don't know if I was able to prove that. ... I wanted to stay [a few] more weeks to prove that I was good."

What do you think of Tony and Paris' departure? Did the judges make the right call?