Nowadays the basic-cable airwaves are bustling with all move-busting by lightfooted (and sometimes leftfooted) hopefuls on various dance-themed reality shows. So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With The Stars, Step It Up And Dance, Dance Wars, Jennifer Lopez's DanceLife, Master Of Dance...the list is the long, like a chorus line that never ends.

SYTYCD is still the granddaddy of all televised dance competitions, of course--but close on that show's high-kicking heels is America's Next Dance Crew, the Randy Jackson-masterminded MTV show that stole Shane Sparks away from SYTYCD and in the process also stole the hearts (and ratings) of street-dance fans desperate for rougher, grittier TV fare.

Season 1 winners JabbaWockeeZ are still popping up on MTV alongside Shane Sparks, demonstrating various don't-try-this-at-home moves from hit music videos on the supposedly instructional special Walk It Out With JabbaWockeeZ. But Randy and MTV execs know when they've got a hit on their hands, so

There's little doubt that reality television can be a fabulous launching pad for a career in music. Just ask Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Leona Lewis, Danity Kane, or even old-school Star Search country band Sawyer Brown. They've all done just fine...and they have TV to thank!

But reality TV may be an even better re-launching pad for some artists. The old adage used to go something like, "Old musicians never die, they just fade away"--but now it's more like, "Old musicians never die, they just star on reality shows."

Yes, many musicians whose glory days of groupie-shagging, stadium-headlining, and royalty-collecting seemed far behind them have managed to resurrect, or even redefine, their careers on the small screen. And sure, such career moves may have cost them credibility in the long run, but hey, credibility won't feed and clothe Flavor Flav's seven (and counting) kids, pay off Bobby Brown's divorce attorney bills, or keep Bret Michaels' bandanna closet well stocked, will

Well, after weeks of left-footed drag queens, decidedly unsexy men named Sex, and a whole lot of broken bones and broken dreams, the So You Think You Can Dance auditions are over...and the competition has started among the top 20. And whoa, there's not a Schwimmer in the bunch! What gives? I figured ole Mama Schwimmer would keep popping out tiny dancers well into SYTYCD season 18, but now I guess last season's Lacey was the final Schwimmer spawn to compete. No adopted brothers of Travis this season, either. So it's a whole new show, and it's anyone's game.

Going into tonight's top 20 episode, I of course already my faves picked out. Among the men, I was digging hunky Mark, who impressed me with his "Bohemian Rhapsody" dance routine even more than when past reality TV hunks Constantine Maroulis and Michael Johns sang that classic on American Idol. And among the women, I was partial to dark, gothy, utterly compelling Kourtni.

I was pretty neutral about most of the other ladies (I didn't

Some people may feel sorry for poor, poor Brett Asa Young...or "Ace," as he is more commonly known.

See, the season 5 American Idol also-ran is possibly most famous for nearly getting an asswhupping on national TV at the famous fleet-fingered hands of Queen axeman Brian May, who was none too thrilled with Ace's attempt to remake "We Will Rock You" as an R&B slow-jam. It was certainly a case of Queen beating the Ace that time around.

The seventh-place runner-up also gained notoriety this year when he returned to the Fox network on Bones, playing the rather undignified role of a karaoke singer who warbles Nickelback and later gets murdered. (Hey, he sang a Nickelback song--he had it coming!)

But yo, don't you feel too sorry for Ace. He ain't doing too shabbily. After all, the guy co-wrote the gibungous "It's Not Over" with former fellow finalist Chris Daughtry--meaning he not only made a massive chunk of change, but he got nominated for a friggin' Grammy.

So anyway, when Ace isn't