ERIN ELLIS AND STANISLAV SAVICH ARE ELIMINATED ON "SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE"

TOP 9 COUPLES WILL COMPETE ON THE NEXT PERFORMANCE SHOW WEDNESDAY, JUNE 21, ON FOX Rihanna to Perform on the Results Show Thursday, June 22

The second season of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE kicked into high gear this week, with the first performances by the Top 20 finalists on Wednesday and a special performance by Nelly Furtado and Timbaland last night.

The three couples who received the fewest votes after Wednesday's performance show were Erin Ellis and Stanislav Savich; Ivan Koumaev and Allison Holker; and Jessica Fernandez and Jaymz Tuaileva. After each of the six dancers performed a solo routine, the judges eliminated Ellis and Savich, as individuals, from the competition, ending their quest to become America's No. 1 dancer. Ellis, 19, is a jazz and lyrical specialist from Nashville, TN, and Savich, 21, is a ballet dancer from Brooklyn, NY.

Next week, the competition revs up on television's hottest show when the remaining 18 finalists (Dmitry Chaplin, Musa Cooper, Jessica Fernandez, Natalie Fotopoulos, Heidi Groskreutz, Allison Holker, Donyelle Jones, Ivan Koumaev, Martha Nichols, Ashlee Nino, Ryan Rankine, Benji Schwimmer, Joy Spears, Ben Susak, Jaymz Tuaileva, Travis Wall, Jason Williams and Aleksandra Wojda) compete as couples once again on a special two-hour performance show Wednesday, June 21 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). The following night, Def Jam recording artist Rihanna will perform, and the judges will send two more dancers home on the live results show Thursday, June 22 (9:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX.

Barbados-born songstress Rihanna had one of the most popular singles of 2005 with the hypnotic "Pon De Replay." The No. 1 dance hit is featured on her Gold debut album, "Music of the Sun," which has sold 1 million copies worldwide since its release last year. 2005 also saw Rihanna touring with Gwen Stefani, making her musical mark in Japan, posing for magazine covers in Los Angeles and shooting her first film role in "Bring It On: Yet Again."

Rihanna's new second album, "A Girl Like Me," also has been certified Gold. It features the back-to-back Top-10 singles "S.O.S." and "Unfaithful." With its hypnotic beat and enticing melody, "S.O.S." utilizes the electro-funk of Soft Cell's '80s classic "Tainted Love" to create a soulful anthem of young love. "Unfaithful," penned by Rihanna's label-mate Ne-Yo and Stargate, documents the demise of a relationship when one person starts cheating.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE was created by Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and comes from 19 Entertainment Ltd. and dick clark productions. It is executive-produced by Simon Fuller, Nigel Lythgoe and Allen Shapiro.