Del's Review of ABDC's Video Music Challenge

Let’s get this underway with one of the top 2 vote getters and known fan favorite: POREOTIX!
Creativity: 7 – We didn’t see much new with Poreotix here. The reason their creativity score is at a 7 is because they did have some very interesting and creative moves at the beginning of the routine, but once they got into the Rihanna portion it was pretty lacking and that’s not just in this area. Personally I think that their last two performances were amazing in the creativity department and after this performance I’m starting to doubt they were all that excited with having to do Umbrella. It kind of stifled them.
***Showmanship: 8 – One thing they are always good for though, is showmanship. The way they were selling the Rihanna moves out there was a good thing to see, because even though some might not have been alright with those outfits it didn’t seem like the crew themselves felt any different in them or the music they were dancing to. It was a great display of confidence on the stage, which they have in bundles.
***
Entertainment Value and Crowd Appeal: 6 – While Poreo was confident on the stage pretty much the only moment that was appeasing to the crowd was them changing into those outfits and maybe the body roll they did at the end. With just two specific moments to spot out in the routine there’s not much to go after, but they can definitely get improve on this next week.
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Musicality: 8 – They’re probably one of the (if not the) best crews in musicality. The problem this week with them was the Rihanna choreography. It wasn’t much so “choreography” as it was just Rihanna walking, walking, stopping, sexy move here, walk again and for Poreotix to have to do that it made them look worse than they usually do.  Is that a fault against the crew for not trying to work with the choreography and improve it to coincide with their style? Sure some could say that, but they were being judged on how close to the video they were, and while they were definitely close it wasn’t the most difficult choreography in the world. They redeemed themselves with the first part of their routine in this area, which is why they get 8.
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Execution & synchronization: 7 – Like JC said, that Umbrella section was off. Otherwise they did fairly average with keeping up with each other throughout the rest of that particular section. It wasn’t their best at all, and the main problem is that I think they got caught up in her moves rather than keeping up with each other.
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Difficulty: 6 – Nothing was all that difficult in this challenge. Like before the Rihanna moves are fairly simple and I can understand why they looked so toned down this week, but I think they could’ve at least added some more intricacy to their performance regardless of the fact that JC has a thing against isolation. At this point it seems that Poreotix can’t really please him anyway so if they have to go into tic-tic-tic­ to please everyone else then I say let them and judge accordingly. If anything I think the judging of their isolation is going to lead to them trying to accord more to the challenges and away from their popping robotic style and very solid isolation techniques. Which could hurt in the end.
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Wow factor: 5 – Besides the formation at the beginning with the whole roll through there was nothing that made me say “oh that was cool” in the performance. In Love Story and Day N Nite they had pretty much something cool or different every turn, and this week there was nothing to give me that feeling. Now let me say that I’m not comparing them for the sake of my judging, but I want to see that Poreotix on the stage all the time and I’m sure that’s what the viewing public sees.
***
Overall average: 6.7 – Not as good of a week for Poreotix as last week no doubt, but I know that there’s something better in their back pockets. Let’s hope that we can get as good as we’ve seen in the first two weeks and they go to what suits them once again.
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Up next we have JUNGLE BOOGIE
Creativity:  4 – I’m at a bit of a confusing stop here with Jungle Boogie. As I was browsing the site prepping for this review I came across the “worst performance” comment section, and there I saw the comment crackity made citing the Neutral Zone Adults routine from HHI (Hip Hop International) this past year. He spotlighted this routine in particular because they too had this wolf howl and JB’s is a very eerily similar structure to NZA’s. Not only this but I saw on District 78’s site that JB wanted a “Lycan Roar” involved in their routine’s ending, which has a similarity to NZA’s Lycan bit in their routine. Do I think that Jungle Boogie bit off of them? I must say that I take it into account, but I’m not going to straight up bash them or give them a zero because of it. I’d still like to know the facts regardless, and I will commend them on the platform they used in the routine. It gave a nice focus on Raqi.
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Showmanship: 8 - Jungle Boogie is a really really charismatic crew and all of their facial expressions throughout the routine were really hitting their marks. Throughout all of the stepping they had very hard determined expressions and when Raqi got down into her sexiness ( that walk at the beginning especially!) she had a certain fire to her despite flashing a huge smile here or there.
***
Entertainment Value and Crowd Appeal: 8 – Even though I’m a bit of a skeptic on that wolf howl it was a very entertaining addition to the routine. From that, to the platform usage, to the impromptu “throne fully equipped with pet” ending, Jungle Boogie was very very entertaining throughout their routine.
***
 Musicality: 8 The stepping was very good. Even though I caught some slight mistakes from a few of the other crew members that’s best saved for later on. I’m impressed from the way JB corresponds with the music overall week in and week out. You can tell that they feel the music and that helps them put a little more into each step.
***
Execution and Synchronization: 7 - Like I said just now, they hit their steps well. But one thing I have noticed is that it’s a bit wild (no jungle puns intended there) at spots and could use some refining. The other crew members weren’t hitting it as well as the natural steppers in the crew when the time came, and when Raqi came off the board I think it slowed a few of them down.  One thing that I might say is that if they do want to incorporate more stuff into the routines to clean up their moves a little bit in the fine tuning process. They’re good, but missing an extra pop in technique that I think crews like Poreotix and Blueprint have mastered. Something that it takes to capture that top crew attention.
***
Difficulty: 8 - That stepping was definitely nothing to play with. Due to this being a video challenge we really didn’t see that much else from JB, but what we did was still good. There was nothing all that simple in the routine, but it moved fairly quick so if there was then it must’ve been pretty swift and I missed it.
***
 Wow Factor: 7 -  It had its moments no doubt. The way Raqi just dropped down from that board no problem was quite the surprise to me and it still is every time I watch it, and the forming of the wolf howl formation was swift and seamless. Not the most eye popping routine, but it was still something to talk about afterward.
***
Overall average: 7.1 – Jungle Boogie had another strong showing this week and I can see them being safe once again. Once the rubber hits the road they are going to have to step it up and put themselves out there as a top crew. Right now they’re surely being seen as a front runner in some respects, but they’re going to need that special moment to stick them in the fans heads, and despite some of my earlier critiques I think that it’s not far away. I just hope that it’s something special.
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 For our next act we’ve got the creative characteristic STATIC NOYZE

 Creativity: 8 - I largely disagree with Omarion here. They used the carts in very creative ways and I’d actually commend them about that most because it’s so a large and overbearing prop. When dealing with something as big and distracting as a shopping cart it takes a lot to incorporate it into a short routine, but Static not only took care of that, they found ways to highlight the carts and add to the experience throught their routine.
***
Showmanship: 8 – I didn’t get to catch much of the crew’s specific facial expression throughout the routine (mainly due to those camera angles), but the showmanship they displayed through movement was more than enough for me to form an opinion. It wasn’t their best and that can probably be attributed to how much they had to go into and away from the carts, but they didn’t fall off in any respect and I still thought they did well with selling the music.
***
Entertainment Value and Crowd Appeal: 7 – Not much crowd pleasing activity from them and not much of their storytelling ability was displayed. We basically got the exact video on stage, while not bad, wasn’t exactly a crowd pleasing type of performance and can’t necessarily get the higher praise in this area that one would.
***
Musicality: 8 – The musicality in this performance was good. The music was a nice change of pace and they added the quirky type moves to accentuate that. Not much else to say besides they danced well once they were off the carts and their movements with them fit into their places.
***
Execution and Synchronization: 8 - I couldn’t really spot anyone out of the crew that was off at all, which is a very good thing, and I also liked the dramatic touch they put into their performance. From Suzette and Jessenia grabbing the carts in the front and Juan and Enrique throwing the papers up in the back to their ending in which the whole crew kind of flung themselves in dramatics, it’s a tribute not only to their showmanship but also to their ability to give an extra mile in their technique and complete their moves.
***
Difficulty: 7.5 – I think that this routine and incorporating the carts was fairly difficult, but besides that they didn’t get to do much else and it kind of put a slight on their number. At most I’ll give them love for working so well with the prop, but I can’t give extra marks due to the lack of extra choreography in the routine.
***
Wow Factor: 6 – With the flip at the beginning and the little moments throughout there wasn’t much “wow” in the tricks department. In the choreography it wasn’t there much either. There has been better from the SN6 in both areas so I know there’s more to expect, but we didn’t get any this week.
***
Overall average: 7.5 – Good week for Static Noyze. The ‘Tik Tok’ battle quite opened the eyes of a few people and I think this week will only help maintain their position outside of the dreaded ‘Bottom 2’. It was a good performance even with the shopping carts taking up a massive part of the stage (I probably mentioned those darn things 40 times in this critique).
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Now we’re going to see probably the most “controversial” of contestants this season, SALTARE …sigh. Here’s the deal with Saltare this week. I would give a critique of their performance just like the other crews, but I just can’t figure how to do it with that mangled product they put out. The trick they tried to do at the beginning destroyed the rest of the performance and I wish that the judges would’ve pointed this out, however they decided to give Saltare pep talks instead of the honest truth. Look, I actually do like Saltare but I honestly have no real way to score them in every area today. 
 
I know that they did a couple of great tricks here and there, but the fact that they took the very basic and very easy Metro Station video choreography to do in the jumpropes after whatever that beginning trick was didn’t impress me in the slightest. To put it simple, they were just not good at all this week and they need to be called out on such, which I’m sure is something Shane would’ve done had he been on the panel. I really, really hope they pull it together next week because despite my harsh criticism of them this week I think they’re all really good people and deserve better than this. 
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With that out of the way we move on to our large and in charge dance crew HEAVY IMPACT.

Creativity: 7 – I liked the early parts before they got into the video, and if there’s one thing Heavy Impact is it’s surely a group of smooth guys. Although some (okay this includes me I can’t lie) might view their “sexiness” as a bit awkward at times they still have nice ways to include it in their performances and this week was no exception.
***
Showmanship: 8 – Like I said, these guys are smooth and they sell that. While some of them have seriously serious facial expressions while dancing from time to time they still give off that very sleek movement whenever they’re on stage and this week especially they were feeling it the whole time.
***
Entertainment Value and Crowd Appeal: 7 – It seems like all of their moves and attitude is a crowd pleaser, so I can’t really give them anything extra there. Sure, people love the *big* thing in there but honestly besides the video parts there was just regular Heavy Impact choreo. Even still it wasn’t as interesting as it was in their past two outings.
***
Musicality: 6.5 – Sometimes you have HI going right with the music and others you can kind of spot them going off a little bit. I think that once the tempo and the speed picks up and isn’t in the slow and smooth vibe they stumble and try to just breeze through that section. I want to see Heavy go into each part of the music with the same precision they do the slower sections. If the music picks up they kind of go a little faster or can’t catch up, which I think is a bit of a problem.
***
Execution and Synchronization: 6 – I think this area largely ties into my problem with HI’s musicality issue. Some members are perfect with the song and then you have those that are lagging behind here and there. As a whole it makes the crew look a bit slower or faster at certain points and ultimately throws the rhythm off. Taking that into account, it’s an issue that can be fixed and overlooked by some if your moves are precise enough to change people’s minds, but Heavy Impact gets sloppy easily. They kind of rush moves and don’t complete others but that never gets picked on. I think it’s an easy fix and all that they need is to hear this from the judges, but I doubt that’ll be something that any of them pick up on. I can see it as a mistake early or later on but this seems to be happening throughout their entire performances.
***
Difficulty: 6 – The popping wasn’t much to deal with and their choreography was kind of here or there throughout the routine. I saw nothing outstandingly difficult and I feel like they could’ve delved more into their own style in the beginning and give it to us 100%. Something I didn’t really feel this time around.
***
Wow Factor: 5 – Eh, I wasn’t buying most of it. The popping got a good reaction, but besides that they didn’t really have something that could entice a “wow” response from even the most excited of fans.
***
Overall average: 6.5 – It was an “eh” week for Heavy Impact. Not as good as many of the other crews and that’s what I think is going to bite them in the voting. They weren’t downright terrible but they certainly weren’t all that memorable. We’ll see if they can step it up.
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For our last crew before the bottom two we catch up with Hawaii’s HYPE 5-0!

Creativity: 8 – The pole trick was absolutely perfect. Hype really added spark into Britney’s routine throughout their entire performance, and put all of their flare into her moves.
***
Showmanship: 8 - Like stated in the creativity section, they added to Britney’s video and played off of each other well. They kind of held back at certain points, but overall they did a good job displaying the attitude and working it to the fullest.
***
Entertainment Value and Crowd Appeal: 9 – This would usually just get an 8 because they did a good job playing to the crowd and having entertaining moves throughout, but at the very end they added that kiss and it just puts their rating that much higher. My personal feeling is that the kiss was a bit unnecessary to even include, but I can’t sit here and deny the fact that it did have an impact on the performance. It got everyone *hype* if you will. Which I’m sure to touch up on later (in a family friendly way of course).
***
Musicality: 8 – I kind of noticed that the grinding section wasn’t much with the music (partly due to the set up I’m sure) and it felt a little off, but besides that they did a good job with the rest of the choreography.
***
Execution and Synchronization: 7.5 – I can get what JC was saying about them fumbling a bit, but he made it seem like a bigger deal that it really was. Sure they had some tricks and choreo not all together, and in particular going back to their pole illusion I think that the guys weren’t getting into it as much as the girls in particular. Otherwise they held their own this week and it wasn’t as bad as JC made it seem.
***
Difficulty: 8 – Their movement was sexy, sleek, and while it moved fast everything they did hit on every point it possibly could. Even though I wasn’t really a fan of the girls standing on the back part of the stage that much I still feel as if it’s  a very difficult addition to have them up there dancing and then jump down right into the fray as the guys are doing moves. They seemed to handle it with no missteps so congrats to Hype for that.
***
Wow Factor: 9 – I’ve stated their tricks mainly with the pole, the stage, and the kiss at the end and I’d even like to spotlight the end pose as a big highlight in the routine. It looked so sick and could be a “defining moment” type of pose. It capped off the routine nicely before they got into the kiss, which obviously took center “WOW!” stage.
***
Overall average: 8.2 – Very, very good week for Hype. I think that this routine might not get as much praise because people have a very big opinion about the kiss at the end of it, but it’s really one of the best this week. I think currently it ranks as the best score I have, but we’ll see by these last two if this is the best of the week.
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Finally we’ve hit the bottom two. First up: ROYAL FLUSH.

Creativity:  8 – I liked Royal Flush’s stuff this week. I’ve been saying that they’re kind of like a chameleon in that they adapt according to the situation, and I think this week they tried to show America that they can be a very fun and eccentric crew as well, matching their song. The moments they had were nice, and the card trick at the end was something different despite me not really getting into it at first.
***
Showmanship: 7 – Besides Gissette I don’t think many of the other members were quite giving it to me to the fullest. Most of them were still getting into the feel of the song, but you can really tell that Gisette is going in 120% all the time when some of them look a little discarded at times.
***
Entertainment Value and Crowd Appeal: 8 – RF is entertaining in nature, and the choreography was very entertaining pretty much the entire time.
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Musicality: 8 – I thought they did a good job with the music. Specifically the highlights were little section where the rest of the group kind of freezes and we have 2 of the members kind of go up front and dance while crossing in the middle and the entire group‘s choreography to that fake Pitbull’s verse.
***
Execution and Synchronization: 7 – While they seemed together through a lot of the early parts of it there were some moments that I noticed a person or two not completing their moves or being able to keep up with the rest of the crew. When they all went into the floor work at the beginning even though the camera didn’t show it all you could kind of see a couple of them have trouble with their feet.
***
Difficulty: 7.5 – Despite their “B-boy problem” I guess, they had some pretty good moves in there. One thing I’d like to see from Royal Flush in the future is for them to kind of expand their techniques a little bit (which I’m sure they’ll do) and change up the formations more. I understand the need to highlight Gissette but it seems as if she’s in the middle a lot of the time in unnecessary spots. She’s not necessarily the strongest of them so I think they tone it down to accommodate featuring her.
***
Wow Factor: 6.5 – They had some nice moments. Nothing all that spectacular, but they had a couple of “oh, cool” spots in which they kept everyone entertained throughout. It was just “alright”.
***
Overall average:  7.5 – Disappointed that they had to go. I feel like Royal Flush was the best at improving out of all of the crews and that they really could’ve grown into a surprise crew toward the end.
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The problem with them was mostly fan support and this week they were thrown to the wolves by having to face our next crew: BLUEPRINT CRU

Creativity: 8 - The way they started off the routine and then seamlessly transitioned into the video was pretty impressive. I honestly didn’t notice the transition in my first viewing and was pretty surprised at how they did it, along with their other transitions and specific moves.
***
Showmanship: 8.5 - Blueprint hit every single step with attitude. I don’t think there was one piece that they didn’t hit with everything. Oh, and Derek played the perfect Omarion in this routine. He had the swagger, conviction, and even the haircut to match.
***
Entertainment Value and Crowd Appeal: 8 - They entertained and kept it flashy, but they didn’t really add any more huge crowd catching moves to the routine that wasn’t included in the Omarion video.
***
Musicality: 9 - Like I said earlier, they hit pretty much everything and the only thing I can really catch wrong with some of the choreography was that before they started to get into the chest bump it wasn’t completely with the music. I’m not saying that it’s a problem, but it’s pretty much all that stops them from being basically perfect with the entire number.
*** 
Execution and Synchronization: 8.5 - Honestly besides the headstand mess up there was nothing that they didn’t hit with precision and synchronization. They were all on the same level and no one was that off, so that bad spot on the routine kind of puts it down, but it doesn’t ruin what they managed to accomplish with the rest of it.
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 Difficulty: 8 -  The way that they made sure to have everything fit is remarkable sure, but the fact that a good portion of their routine was the Omarion steps kind of doesn’t give it much more in difficulty than they would usually have outside of it. While the Omarion steps were fairly hard and the headstand is nothing to scoff at I think that this was just above average in the difficulty category rather than “oh man I could never do that”.
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 Wow Factor: 7 - Their moves being so hard hitting and precise was the wow factor here. The chest popping and the headstand were pretty much the highlights and besides that it wasn’t really packing any heat here. The other areas kind of make up for this however.
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Overall rating: 8.1 – While I did have a lot of good things to say about Blueprint, they didn’t take overall best performance of the night because of one thing and that’s the “wow factor” category. Is it a little surprising to have Hype as my #1 performance? Maybe to some, but the fact of the matter with BP is that I think that them adding the much needed wow factor into their routines will only catapult them to the very top in every week in the end.
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Anyway, let’s get into the overall standings of all the crews after seeing all of the scores.
1.    Hype 5-0 (8.2)
2.    Blueprint Cru
3.    Royal Flush/Static Noyze
4.    Jungle Boogie
5.    Poreotix
6.    Heavy Impact
7.    Saltare 

Thanks so much to anyone and everyone who reads this. I really tried to touch up on everything in the performances and I might have been a little light in some areas and a tad harsh in others, but after all it’s just my opinion. If anyone disagrees then just try to tell me so without wishing ill will upon me please lol. I’ve had a lot of fun doing this and the live blogging with everyone during the show. Hopefully I can continue to provide some interesting feedback for the site and you guys enjoy it. Thanks again!

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