By STEPANIE McGRATH
AllPop

Narrator: "Tonight, 25 girls leave their school, jobs and family". (What, are they going to war?)

Welcome to Episode Three of "Popstars", where sports-tops come in every shade and the tears flow like wine.

Tonight we follow the exploits of the 25 finalists as they enter Popstar bootcamp. After each day, three girls will be cut. At the end of the week only 10 girls will be left, five of whom will go on to become Canada's new girl-group.

The opening shot pans over the 25 girls in their glitter and tight-top glory as they exit vans and enter a club called "Lucky".

Once inside, the girls are wined and dined and meet (a.k.a. suck up to) the judges. This will be their chance to meet the other girls and relax before their intensive dance and vocal training sessions begin.

Narrator:

"For the majority of these girls, it's their first trip to the big city".

(Editor's Note: I'm not a native of Toronto, and although I think it's a great place, I'm getting really sick of the whole "Toronto as the glamorous mecca of fame-seekers everywhere" theme. Basically, it's a city like any other, but with snazzy red streetcars ... oops, there goes one now ...)

Quick pan of a streetcar, as we're told the girls are to begin their bootcamp at a "secret downtown location".

Two very serious choreographers tell the 25 finalists, who are wearing variations on "Flashdance" costumes, that they're looking to see what they'll "bring to the table".

And so begins the great and powerful dance-off.

The girls learn steps in a group and also get a chance to bust a move by themselves as the judges (Michael and the gang) look on.

Hoochie girl, hoochie girl, hoochie girl. Yes, I can see you shaking your top half, I'm sure the judges do too.

Hey, what's Olivia Newton-John doing auditioning? (Oh, her name is Jessica).

Allpop's fairness factor: Despite the vaguely sarcastic tone of this recap, all of the girls are better dancers than this writer and ... wow, there's that girl who auditioned with me. What is up with that Britney hair? (Her name is Dana, by the way).

The dance is done, and now ... you guessed it. Here comes the dreaded narrator:

"The reality is, cuts will have to be made. Some of them won't be back tomorrow".

Bop bop bop doooahhhhh - and commercial.

After a short montage of the girls singing for a vocal coach, it's on to the cuts.

Narrator: "It's time to decide who will come back tomorrow and who will go home."

As the judges sit and talk about the same things they've talked about on every single episode so far (she's got the look, not the voice, she can sing but she can't dance ...), we see a shot of the 25 girls nervously waiting to hear the good or bad news.

This time, the president of Universal Music Canada, Randy Lennox, has joined Michael and the gang for the cut-down.

Basically, three girls whom we never really saw any footage of got cut, and next week we'll say bye-bye to more popstar-wannabes.

A copious amount of tears follow -- and most of the criers are girls who made the cut.

Enough crying, let the guessing about the final five begin, based on what the judges said during the first Popstar bootcamp cut-a-thon.

Lee: She's extremely pretty and bubbly. The vocal coach isn't pleased with her voice, but the other judges love her and Billie even gave her a hug when she made it to day two.

Olivia Newton-John, a.k.a. Jessica: Another pretty blonde, Jessica has the whole "Grease" charm thing going on. She can sing and dance, too.

Andrea, a.k.a. bun-girl with funky style: Andrea is my personal favourite. Why, you ask? Because she wears her hair in neat ways, has cool clothes, and I have yet to see her in any animal-print tube tops. I also didn't see her shaking her top half at the judges during the dance classes, so bonus marks for her. Also, Universal's beloved prez said she had a "diamond in the rough thing going on". That's a good sign.

Latoya: By far the best singer of the auditioners, Latoya is also nimble on her feet. The judges love her, and I'd bet money on her for the final five.

Tall, spiky-haired girl: I don't know her name, but the judges didn't really have any criticisms for her and the camera seemed to follow her wherever she went.

Alternate: Dana - Dana's only a maybe. She's the same tinted-sunglasses girl that auditioned when I did, so I've been keeping my eye on her. She seems pretty talented but her tendency to show off last night in a huge way annoyed the judges, who told her to "tone down the dramatic" and show them "more of Dana".

Next week: A montage of audition footage, then tears, tears tears, and a judge is heard saying: "If she's not out today, she's out tomorrow". And more tears.

What are your thoughts on the show? E-mail us and we'll post your comments.

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