BJHayPinoy's detailed review of ABDC's Magic Challenge

I’d also like to state that there was a discrepancy on the MTV page with who got what song. Hype 5-0 was said to have gotten Adam Lambert’s – For Your Entertainment, but instead had Morning After Dark by Timbaland (which was supposed to be Jungle Boogie’s song). Jungle Boogie received Lil Wayne’s – Da Da Da. Hopefully such mistakes won’t be repeated again.

OPENING NUMBER: This whole opening number caught my eye from the beginning until the end. I believe this was the best opening number of all five seasons, especially with the magical element. Tabitha and Napoleon Dumo did well to transition the dancing and magic. They both focused on fast paced and well worked transitions. Each crew was highlighted well. Poreotix was first and immediately gave the magic vibe. They showed that there was no one in the door, but the second time the door was opened Jungle Boogie bursted through to highlight their crankin’. Blueprint and Hype were followed. One of the major highlight’s was Lil’ Mama coming through a sort of vaulted door and danced in sync with the crews. This showed America that Lil’ Mama really can dance and knows how to dance and be on the level of professional that these competing dancers embody. The ending was great because I do not really know how all those people disappeared behind the ABDC banner. Mario appeared at the end to introduce Magic Night and that was a GREAT way to honestly start off the show.
*****
HYPE 5-0: Hype had the song Morning After Dark by Timbaland featuring Nelly Fuertado and Soshy.In the pre-performance video package, they tried different things like making a chair come alive, or a ping-pong ball. They tried to make a person as well also, but it looked a bit weird.  Their prop ended up being a cane it seemed like they were having a hard time. The performance started off well I believe. One of the first things I’d like to point out is that the routine overall was a great performance, but I believe it was lacking. This week, the magic was there for me I have to admit. That’s the first thing you want to show, but I believe Hype was pushing the canes a bit much and this time I have to agree with the judges on some points, but not on the choreography call-out. The crew was playing well to their choreography, especially with two great moments in the beginning. The lead into the ticking section was great, I didn’t expect that kind of detail out of Hype 5-0 because I usually see the “choreography” out of them and I think they’re one of the crews that pull out choreography very well. The next thing that I’d like to point out is the fake foreshadowing because I thought the “object coming to life” challenge was going to be used on Jon Ramones. There was a portion where Josh stuck his left hand out and Ramones seemed dead. Ramones glided and spun his body along Josh and ended up going to the front of him and going into a “trance-like/corpse-like/dead body pose.” It was great, but I wish Hype 5-0 played off that foreshadowing element a bit more. I also think the canes were focused on a bit too much and they tried to incorporate magic throughout the routine, but I believe Hype 5-0 could have came a lot of harder and been a little bit more creative with the challenge. The judges are correct when saying this is the episode the PUSHES you for sure into the finals. This is the penultimate that makes or breaks your position in the Final Two Crews, The Top Two. Next week I hope Hype 5-0 knocks America out of their seats because this time, it’s a two minute performance and the next challenge is the Hip-Hop Nation.
WOW Moments: The first WOW moment was the ticking section because I do not expect Hype 5-0 to be detailed and intricate with their choreography. The lead into the ticking and it seemed like they were going to end up in different contorted positions. I’d also like to really focus on the Josh and Ramones moment where Ramones ends up looking like a dead corpse. Ramones slides along Josh’s left arm and after spinning and twisting his body around, looks like an animated dead corpse. That was great. The over under was great as well, where they did an over under using the levitating cane, but I do not really see where Omarion comes out with “Hype 5-0 does the over and under too much.” Another great moment to me was when Jon, Will, and Josh took the canes and pretended to shoot down the last crew banners remaining to give a sense of they want to take the trophy.
Word of Advice: I believe that Hype 5-0 definitely needs to step it up and I do not want America thinking they’re the SoReal of Season 5. I also do not want people to keep constantly saying that Hype 5-0 does not deserve to be where they are because they do, but they got to step it up.
*****
POREOTIX (Right Hand Hi): Poreotix had the song Right Hand Hi by Kid Sister. Their illusion was to “move an object with their mind.” It’s like a form of telekinesis, that’s what I thought. Haha, the pre-performance package was enjoyable.  Franz Harary ended up helping Poreotix by pushing the wooden chair and broke it against the wall. The telekinetic idea was shown VERY WELL in the pre-performance package. I believe Poreotix didn’t have a killer performance, but nonetheless still had a GREAT performance. The first thing I’d like to point out is that Poreotix did well to embody the magical element and the challenge itself. The beginning started off with intricate choreography as well as a focus on presenting the box, so Poreotix did well to embody one of the original ways to show off a magic illusion (You know where the magician and a girl come out and they present the magic or the seemingly magic-less item). I’m not sure, but it seemed to shift from a seemingly regular, ugly and boring box/cube, but as the choreography continued on throughout the routine, the box seemed to transform into something nicer and sleeker with a nice black coating. It was cool when Chad was doing choreography and having a little showmanship in the box. What Poreotix did to embody the challenge as well was the way they used the cube. One of the things that stuck out most to me in my head was the use of the word “telekinesis” to play with our minds. Poreotix had a moment where they were pushing the cube forward and backwards between them to seemingly replicate “telekinesis.” And that point, I thought Poreotix was going to stop with the box and not do too much with it, but they kept the choreography flowing. There were many highlighting sections in this performance. The beginning was straight up choreography based and came out with the attitude of we’re just dancing and we’re going to show that this magic is a part of dance. Poreotix did not let the prop own them. The next part was the playfulness and comedy that Poreotix incorporated because they were beating each other up with the box and trapping each other up with the box. By the end of the performance, I was laughing with their facial expressions and attitude. When the box was pushed directly at five of the crew members by one of the crew members to emulate the bowling ball trick, I was thoroughly satisfied.
WOW Moments: The first wow moment was the tiny b-boy section in the beginning. While four of the guys started off with intricate choreography, the two b-boys broke away and slid to the front to incorporate extra style. This wow moment incorporated Poreotix being HIGH ENERGY with their moves and that’s something I don’t expect a lot. It was an element of their box which they performed fantastically. The next moment is the illusion itself when Poreotix was seemingly using their minds and “telekinesis” to push the cube back and forth.  The next wow moment is the beating each other up and trapping each other in the box moments which is a part of Poreotix, the humor. The last moment to me was the ending. It was amazing and I think that cube coming at them REALLY FAST at the end to emulate the bowling ball knocking down pins tidbit was great and also scary. I wouldn’t wanna be hit by that cube. Dumbo's ticking running man was a great moment that showed intricacy and body control also. 
Word of Advice: Only one real word of advice. The choreography wasn’t the best out of them this week. They really brought it in Disco Week and Usher Week but the popping wasn’t brought out tonight, or really for the past few weeks which detracted from the performance a bit. Poreotix is getting songs that really throw away their popping style and make them seem like the “asian crew” of the season.
*****
BLUEPRINT CRU: Blueprint Cru’s song this week was Pink – Funhouse. Their illusion was to become “lighter than air. In the pre-performance package, Franz Harary showed the crew how to levitate Nathalie. So far I believe that Blueprint embodied the “feel” of the magic the most throughout their whole performance. The way that Blueprint started off was with choreography and it felt as if we were at a circus and watching a circus performance. The one thing that Blueprint Cru did was to start off as if we were watching a magic show/circus performance. Derek presented the performance and it waved to the left of the stage to show that Vincent (being the assistant to the magic) selected Nathalie as a volunteer for the act to be performed. This was a good way for allow for showmanship, but the one thing that I caught was that the members were on stage only really staring at Nathalie come on the stage until a peel-away of choreography pushed the performance back to the feel of dance. That was the only portion of the performance that kind of detracted from the dance aspect, but I applaud Blueprint for allowing showmanship and also a different element to their style of dance, which is precise, coordinated, and a “blueprint” style of Hip-Hop that comes together. The magic was well kept through the performance. While Nathalie was being levitated, she kept a facial of expression of extreme shock and disbelief because she could not believe she was being levitated. In order to eliminate the whole “they used wires” tidbit, B-Boy Nichola slid under her and showed the audience that it was not the work of other things, but it was “magic.” By the end of the performance, the choreography was of course there and skyrocketed as well. There were many levels used that incorporated many different stunts also and I believe Blueprint, so far, did the best to embody their challenge.
WOW Moment: The first WOW moment was the illusion itself. The way the illusion was shown was great, especially with B-Boy Nichola’s slide under Nathalie to show the audience that the illusion wasn’t held together by strings and supports. The next wow moment to me was of course B-Boy Nichola’s breaking moves that complemented the choreography altogether well. I’d like to comment Blueprint for going come out of the box again this performance. The last wow moment was the different levels. TL was being flipped around near the end and ended the flips with a pose and pushed out foot to show understanding of keeping her position and attitude while two of the other girls were doing choreography upside down on two of the guys.
Word of Advice: Bring it harder and I think bring it less with the themes also. Blueprint is one of the crews I want to see embody their precision and blueprint style even more as a whole to showcase their talent more. I believe that they can take America by storm again when sticking to themselves more and more without adding too much to detract from it. The performance was a little slow in the beginning with the showmanship, but the thing that detracted from it was the crew members on stage not doing too much choreography to keep the dance element in.
*****
JUNGLE BOOGIE: Jungle Boogie this week had Lil Wayne’s – Da Da Da. The illusion was to “pass their body through a solid surface.” Franz came to help in with a mirror and showed Jungle Boogie that he stuck his hand through the mirror.  Jungle Boogie came out very well to me tonight and I believe that they had their best performance. The one thing that I’d like to point out is the use of props this week. I believe that some crews had GREAT props, while at the same time, others had okay and decent props. I thought Jungle Boogie would only have the use of the giant mirror. I love the way that the twins were able to utilize the choreography to give the illusion of actually looking in a mirror and looking only at your reflection. The thing that I noticed was that I could see the feet of the twin that was positioned behind the mirror under the giant mirror which detracted from the illusion as a whole itself, but I will not take that away from Jungle Boogie’s high energy performance. The footwork of Jungle Boogie was brought out well after they pulled the twin out of the mirror to make it seem as if there was only one of the twins and that the crew pulled out an exact replica of the same person. The footwork brought out the high energy of Jungle Boogie that lead straight into the crankin’. Jungle Boogie actually embodied their own style the most out of all the other crews. I saw that Jungle Boogie was trying to show America that “THIS IS CRANKIN’ AND THIS IS HOW WE DO.” I loved that Jungle Boogie was able to utilize their own style of dance to COMPLEMENT THE MAGIC, not let the MAGIC complement the dancing. I really want to commend Jungle Boogie because, as well as Blueprint, did well to always feel as if they were in the bottom to and not get complacent and lazy with their positions on ABDC.
WOW Moment: When Jungle Boogie pulled the twin out of the mirror after doing some choreography, I was like wow.. how did that happen. The next moment for me was the fact that Jungle Boogie stuck to their crankin’ throughout the WHOLE performance and I’ve wanted the crews to be able to embrace their original styles more because the show has taken away all the crews original styles and focused on making them dance differently most of the time. The last wow moment that truly stuck out to me was the ending where one of the twins stuck his hand through the other twin and it seemed as if it was his hand that was being pushed through the tiny circular mirror. Jungle Boogie embodied their illusion well also.
Word of Advice: Do not get comfortable and always keep your battle attitudes. I want you guys to be able to branch out and learn more styles to complement your crankin’ and high energy. You showed that you wanted to fight for the top three position and brought it all out to the dance floor and I’m glad that you guys pushed it out tonight.
Note to Jungle Boogie as the Eliminated Crew: Jungle Boogie, I grew to like you guys more and more each week. When I saw your regionals, I wasn’t excited that much but in the Nationals Episode with the How Low performance, you took America by storm and showed that you were top Southern Contenders. As I watched the goodbye package, I was saddened to see you guys go home tonight because I felt that you ripped it hard tonight. I want to commend the judges on a heart-wrenching decision and I hope to see Jungle Boogie in the future for sure. They’re one of the most amazing Southern Crews I’ve seen on this show to date.

ABDC5 Episode 9 Magic Challenge Rankings:
1. Blueprint Cru
2. Poreotix
3. Jungle Boogie
4. Hype 5-0


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