Judging guidelines for the Usher challenge: How well did they bring a smooth and sexy Usher vibe to the performance and how well did they handle the challenge move.
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Jungle Boogie dancing to "Love in This Club" by Usher featuring Young Jeezy
Challenge: Incorporate glides into the routine.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? This crew just gets better week by week. I love seeing crews evolve and Jungle Boogie definitely did that tonight. They were on point throughout most of the routine. Only thing that takes away from this was spacing in their glide formation. 9 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? They delivered another solid routine. Their transition set up and framed great stunt work, yet they were able to keep the focus on their dance for a trick-heavy middle section. 9 pts
How well did they do the challenge? It was good, but we have seen better slide work from other crews. What they did was creative and they brought a smooth and sexy vibe to the stage. 8 pts
What were the highlights? The sliding formation.
Total points- 26 pts
Poreotix dancing to "Yeah!" by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris
Challenge: Incorporate some of Usher's moves in reverse.
Note- I really hate this song and it may cloud my judgement a bit more then normal, so I am adding +3pts to the routine.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? What the hell happened? This was a sloppy mess from beginning to end. At least one person was either out of sync with the rest of them or someone was out of formation or it was both at the same time. No sense of control to their moves and it felt like a safe performance. 3 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? Unlike their other routines, I could not tell where this one was going. It felt like there were two-routines-in-one and neither was talking to each other. Also, they really didn't build on anything like they normally do. 5 pts
How well did they do the challenge? Though this was basic and safe, it was done very smartly. They knew their limits and gave us something basic but did add a little to it. No real Usher vibe from this; it was neither smooth or sexy. 3 pts
Total points- 11+3=14 pts
Hype 5-0 dancing to "U Don't Have to Call" by Usher
Challenge: Incorporate choreography using Heelys.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? It was clean, with a few timing errors in it. Formations were together but this set had no energy. I was kinda bored watching it. 5 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? While it may have been boring, I can see they worked with what they had. The transitions worked well and they successfully incorporated the challenge prop. While not grea,t the routine did build on itself. 7 pts
How well did they do the challenge? It was done well. The smoothness was there, the sexy not so much. The challenge aspect of the heelys was used very intelligently and it was not overdone. 8 pts
What were the highlights? The transitions that used the heelys
What, if anything, took away from the performance? no energy
Total points- 20 pts
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THE BOTTOM TWO:
Did America get it right? I love these two crews, but I have to agree with the choice of them being in the bottom. They did not do as well as the others last week.
Blueprint Cru dancing to "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)" by Usher featuring Plies
Challenge: Incorporate a hand section that highlights one of the members in their crew.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? This was the Blueprint Cru I fell in love with. While the same level of super hard-hitting clean moves was not there, they managed to slow it down a touch and give great controlled power. It was just a touch sloppy towards the end 9 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? This was very well thought out. The transitions took them in to great formations that set up that part of the routine, and it built up and made each section stronger. 10 pts
How well did they do the challenge? This was both smooth and sexy without being dirty. The hand section was good but not great, though I do like the fact they dragged it out a bit in different spots. 9 pts
What were the highlights? The break away formations
Total points- 28 pts
Saltare dancing to "Caught Up" by Usher
Challenge: Incorporate fight choreography from the video.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? It was clean and together They seemed to focus more on the dancing than on their rope work. Sadly, the dancing was rather weak. 7 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? They did put thought into this and it showed. Transitions could have been a bit better and the stunts they did were fairly low key. I do appreciate the fact they tried to tell a story. 8 pts
How well did they do the challenge? It was there but it could have been worked on just a bit more. They did kinda bring an Usher feel to this. 6 pts
Total points- 21 pts
Did the judges get it right? Yes they did. Blueprint flat out out-performed Saltare that night.
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Thoughts on the eliminated crew- A gimmick crew that brought something new and was evolving into something more. I wish them luck in the future and hope things work out for them.
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Tonight's Rankings (based on tonight's score)
1. Blueprint Cru 28 pts
2. Jungle Boogie 26 pts
3. Saltare 21 pts
4. Hype 5-0 20 pts
5. Poreotix 14 pts
Power rankings (based on placement average)
1. Hype 5-0 (6-8)
2. Blueprint Cru (6.4)
2. Static Noyze (6.4) 6th place
4. Jungle Boogie (6)
5. Saltare (5.6) eliminated
6. Poreotix (5.2)
7. Royal Flush (4.2) 8th place
8. Heavy Impact (3.6) 6th place
9. Swagger Crew (1) 9th place
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Thoughts on the episode as a whole- I think the Boondocks episode "Tom, Sarah and Usher" (season 2, episode 2) severely colored my view on Usher. I didn't like him or his music before, and that show pushed it over the edge. As far as tonight goes, it seemed nobody except Blueprint Cru and Jungle Boogie had any spark of life in their routines. Maybe they should just stop doing iconic challenges for a bit.
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Click here to return to the first page and to leave comments. Thanks again, Teldon!
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SAFE CREWS:
Jungle Boogie dancing to "Love in This Club" by Usher featuring Young Jeezy
Challenge: Incorporate glides into the routine.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? This crew just gets better week by week. I love seeing crews evolve and Jungle Boogie definitely did that tonight. They were on point throughout most of the routine. Only thing that takes away from this was spacing in their glide formation. 9 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? They delivered another solid routine. Their transition set up and framed great stunt work, yet they were able to keep the focus on their dance for a trick-heavy middle section. 9 pts
How well did they do the challenge? It was good, but we have seen better slide work from other crews. What they did was creative and they brought a smooth and sexy vibe to the stage. 8 pts
What were the highlights? The sliding formation.
Total points- 26 pts
Poreotix dancing to "Yeah!" by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris
Challenge: Incorporate some of Usher's moves in reverse.
Note- I really hate this song and it may cloud my judgement a bit more then normal, so I am adding +3pts to the routine.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? What the hell happened? This was a sloppy mess from beginning to end. At least one person was either out of sync with the rest of them or someone was out of formation or it was both at the same time. No sense of control to their moves and it felt like a safe performance. 3 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? Unlike their other routines, I could not tell where this one was going. It felt like there were two-routines-in-one and neither was talking to each other. Also, they really didn't build on anything like they normally do. 5 pts
How well did they do the challenge? Though this was basic and safe, it was done very smartly. They knew their limits and gave us something basic but did add a little to it. No real Usher vibe from this; it was neither smooth or sexy. 3 pts
Total points- 11+3=14 pts
Hype 5-0 dancing to "U Don't Have to Call" by Usher
Challenge: Incorporate choreography using Heelys.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? It was clean, with a few timing errors in it. Formations were together but this set had no energy. I was kinda bored watching it. 5 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? While it may have been boring, I can see they worked with what they had. The transitions worked well and they successfully incorporated the challenge prop. While not grea,t the routine did build on itself. 7 pts
How well did they do the challenge? It was done well. The smoothness was there, the sexy not so much. The challenge aspect of the heelys was used very intelligently and it was not overdone. 8 pts
What were the highlights? The transitions that used the heelys
What, if anything, took away from the performance? no energy
Total points- 20 pts
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THE BOTTOM TWO:
Did America get it right? I love these two crews, but I have to agree with the choice of them being in the bottom. They did not do as well as the others last week.
Blueprint Cru dancing to "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)" by Usher featuring Plies
Challenge: Incorporate a hand section that highlights one of the members in their crew.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? This was the Blueprint Cru I fell in love with. While the same level of super hard-hitting clean moves was not there, they managed to slow it down a touch and give great controlled power. It was just a touch sloppy towards the end 9 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? This was very well thought out. The transitions took them in to great formations that set up that part of the routine, and it built up and made each section stronger. 10 pts
How well did they do the challenge? This was both smooth and sexy without being dirty. The hand section was good but not great, though I do like the fact they dragged it out a bit in different spots. 9 pts
What were the highlights? The break away formations
Total points- 28 pts
Saltare dancing to "Caught Up" by Usher
Challenge: Incorporate fight choreography from the video.
Was it clean/Was it Difficult? It was clean and together They seemed to focus more on the dancing than on their rope work. Sadly, the dancing was rather weak. 7 pts
Was it well thought out/How well did they handle the theme? They did put thought into this and it showed. Transitions could have been a bit better and the stunts they did were fairly low key. I do appreciate the fact they tried to tell a story. 8 pts
How well did they do the challenge? It was there but it could have been worked on just a bit more. They did kinda bring an Usher feel to this. 6 pts
Total points- 21 pts
Did the judges get it right? Yes they did. Blueprint flat out out-performed Saltare that night.
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Thoughts on the eliminated crew- A gimmick crew that brought something new and was evolving into something more. I wish them luck in the future and hope things work out for them.
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Tonight's Rankings (based on tonight's score)
1. Blueprint Cru 28 pts
2. Jungle Boogie 26 pts
3. Saltare 21 pts
4. Hype 5-0 20 pts
5. Poreotix 14 pts
Power rankings (based on placement average)
1. Hype 5-0 (6-8)
2. Blueprint Cru (6.4)
2. Static Noyze (6.4) 6th place
4. Jungle Boogie (6)
5. Saltare (5.6) eliminated
6. Poreotix (5.2)
7. Royal Flush (4.2) 8th place
8. Heavy Impact (3.6) 6th place
9. Swagger Crew (1) 9th place
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Thoughts on the episode as a whole- I think the Boondocks episode "Tom, Sarah and Usher" (season 2, episode 2) severely colored my view on Usher. I didn't like him or his music before, and that show pushed it over the edge. As far as tonight goes, it seemed nobody except Blueprint Cru and Jungle Boogie had any spark of life in their routines. Maybe they should just stop doing iconic challenges for a bit.
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Click here to return to the first page and to leave comments. Thanks again, Teldon!
