JOY SPEARS AND JASON WILLIAMS ARE ELIMINATED ON "SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE"

TOP 8 COUPLES WILL COMPETE ON THE NEXT PERFORMANCE SHOW WEDNESDAY, JUNE 28, ON FOX Natasha Bedingfield to Perform on the Results Show Thursday, June 29

The second season of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE kicked into high gear this week, with performances by the Top 9 couples on Wednesday and a special performance by Rihanna last night. Compared to its average last summer, the first eight episodes of SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE show impressive gains, including +22% among Adults 18-49,+21% among Adults 18-34 and +17% among Teens.

The three couples who received the fewest votes after Wednesday's performance show were Joy Spears and Dmitry Chaplin; Aleksandra Wojda and Jason Williams; and Heidi Groskreutz and Ryan Rankine. After each of the six dancers performed a solo routine, the judges eliminated Spears and Williams from the competition, ending their quest to become America's No. 1 dancer. Spears, 18, is a jazz/lyrical/hip-hop specialist from Killen, AL, and Williams, 20, is a contemporary/hip-hop/jazz funk specialist from Wilmington, NC.

Having lost their partners to elimination, Wojda and Chaplin will pair up for next week's episodes.

The competition revs up on television's hottest show when the remaining 8 couples (Dmitry Chaplin and Aleksandra Wojda; Musa Cooper and Natalie Fotopoulos; Ivan Koumaev and Allison Holker; Ryan Rankine and Heidi Groskreutz; Benji Schwimmer and Donyelle Jones; Ben Susak and Ashlee Nino; Jaymz Tuaileva and Jessica Fernandez; and Travis Wall and Martha Nichols) compete on a special two-hour performance show Wednesday, June 28 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT). The following night, Natasha Bedingfield will perform, and the judges will send two more dancers home on the live results show Thursday, June 29 (9:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX.

British songstress Natasha Bedingfield began her music career at the age of 12, when she wrote her first song. In 2003, Bedingfield signed her first record deal and began working on her debut album, "Unwritten." In the U.S., the first single off the album, "These Words," quickly ascended into the Top 10 on the Top-40 airplay chart. Her second smash hit, "Unwritten," skyrocketed to No. 1 and became the first No. 1 pop single in the U.S. by a British female solo artist in 19 years.

Released in the UK in September 2004, "Unwritten" debuted at No 1 on the UK album sales chart and was platinum by its second week of release. This made Bedingfield one of only three female solo singers (along with Bonnie Tyler and Annie Lennox) to debut at No 1 with her first album. Her second single, "These Words," debuted at No. 1 on the UK sales, airplay and download charts. With this achievement, Bedingfield and her brother Daniel entered the Guinness World Records as the first siblings to have No. 1 singles in UK chart history. Bedingfield currently lives in Los Angeles and is working on her sophomore album.

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.