Monday, May 16, 2011

Zekeish's Review of ABDC's Justin Bieber Challenge

Now for my grading scale, I’m not a big numbers fan, so I have decided to do this review with words serving as my ratings. My scale is as follows
OH MY TITS= A perfect performance. Their transitions were on point, their choreography was squeaky clean, and they had wow moments that made you want to disrespect the nearest replay button. Basically the performance that makes a season
FANTABULOUS= Close to a perfect performance. There was just one thing that kept them from being perfection incarnated.
FREAK A LEAK= A great performance. Definitely an eye catcher, but had some problems with some aspects of their performance
GOODISH= A good performance. Had some noticeable problems but still had an overall solid performance that has rewatchablitly
MEH= An okay performance, nothing outside the ordinary. Had some glaring problems or provided no real wow factor.
INCREDIBLY MEDIOCRE= A very average performance. Worse than okay, but good enough to where I could sit through the performance, Barely.
WELL, THAT SUCKED= A less than average performance, nothing really went right here. Had some concepts that could have been executed better, but nothing really made you like the performance. You wanted to find the nearest dark place and hide there until the performance is over. And maybe binge eat your feelings. Whatever floats your suck fest boat.
ID RATHER WATCH A JUSTIN BIEBER CONCERT= A horrible performance. You’d rather be subjected to Beiber and thousands of 11 year old girls screaming in your ear… Like seriously, the crew might as well incorporate taking a dump on the stage into their choreo.
So let’s get right into it…
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-ICONIC BOYZ-
Ahhhhh, ICONic Boyz and Justin Bieber, a match made in heaven, that is, if heaven was thousands of pre-teen girls screaming their head off at the sight of someone their age giving lackluster performances, then yes, heaven. Anyway, to their performance, this week wasn’t very good at all, BUT, they did have a very good concept behind what they were doing. Their challenge was to do a basketball inspired performance. The story they gave was easy to see and clever. It started first with the stretching exercising choreo to begin the routine. It was clean, yet very basic. They then went into some jumping jack choreo, further telling their story. This part was boring for me, even though they were telling a story, they could have done so much more creatively with it. Just jumping up and down for a good amount of time is not acceptable. They then went into a cross transition where they changed levels. They did the same type of transition last week. Reusing choreography week to week is a strike in my book (they have re-used choreo earlier in the season as well). 


After this their performance picked up pretty nicely. One of the members did a jump over another member and they all went directly into some more basketball choreography. This part was clever. You saw them dribble the “ball” (the ball wasn’t actually there) and spin it on their fingers as well. Clever, yet still very basic. They then walked into a line and had Thomas Swagg and another member on the two ends of this line. As if avoiding the ball, the middle members ducked (out of sync and sloppily) as Thomas Swagg threw the “ball” to the other end member.  After this section they did their best choreography to date. They went into a small tutting section. Although it wasn’t clean, I respected the fact that they tried something out of the intermediate level of choreo. After their best section so far, they go into one of their worst. They went into some lazy looking choreography, and once again, they weren’t clean. This was probably the easiest section of choreography they have done on the stage, and you could tell they were just filling time until their supposed highlight. 

This highlight was T-Swagg lifting up another member in his shoulders, the other member making a circle with his arms (as if it was a hoop) and having another member dunking on this hoop. Lil mama was impressed that T-Gully did a lift by himself, I was unimpressed by the fact that the lift (I sound like a broken record here) wasn’t CLEAN. I feel like I need to get a massive bottle of Mr. Clean and spray it all over their performance. Afterwards they finished out the routine by lifting one of the members up on their shoulders as if he made the winning shot and won the game for them. Clever ending, but could have been executed better. Really, this crew just needs to focus on their execution of basic concepts. We know they aren’t going to be the most creative crew, or the most talented, but if they could just execute better, their performances wouldn’t be nearly as bad. And for that I doo say. BABY, YOU GOT A… INCREDIBLY MEDIOCRE
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-IAMME-
Week after week this crew has been blowing my mind, this week, not so much. As much as I love this crew, they took a chill week this week. After giving back-to-back amazing performances, they really held back this time around. The opening was great, although not as creative as we have seen from them. The execution was flawless though. They created a huge box, that contained a wicked tutting section from moon and Millie. This box featured some nice chain reaction tutting as well; a very good accentuation to the already great opening. After this, they went into some obvious Pacman inspired choreography and straight into another good visual. They paired up in two’s (in a line, one person directly behind another) and popped their arms down, each arm stopping at a certain point, making it look like a small, Very old school Donkey Kong level (ya know, the very first appearance of Donkey Kong? When Mario wasn’t even a named character, back in the 2D days). They then traced the outline they made with their arms, with their bodies. They then, still in pairs, did some unique waving visual, that I want to say was sloppy, but I'm not sure if it was meant to look that way. It reminded me of their peacock performance. After this they did yet another visual where moon jumped out and started running quickly in place. The rest of the crew then glided backwards toward moon, giving the visual that he was moving when he actually wasn’t. Very clever, and I enjoyed seeing a little spotlight shine on Moon for once. 


They then went into some more gliding choreo (their glides at this part weren’t really noticeable unless you really watch them) and once again, paused to give another visual. This visual provided that three members trace another three member’s arms and legs, all the while splitting them. At this point, their performance for me was so “stop-go” that I was getting a bit annoyed by it. They normally mix the formations and choreo in seamlessly, so much so, that you wonder how they formed it, but this time around everything was very “stop-go”, and I didn’t like it. I wanted it to pick up at this point and excite me, but it didn’t really do that here. Millie came up out of his sitting position and did a well-executed freeze, and even though I was ready for it to pick up, I.aM.mE went back into another “stop” point. They stopped to whisper in the ear of the two girls (when the song said “listen”) and to pick them up. Then (jaws theme) the camera angle strikes again! It zooms in; completely destroying the visual they were trying to give by gliding with the girls on their shoulders. (Seriously though, someone fire the camera crew).

FINALLY the performance picked up after this. They had 747 in the middle doing some (on beat) poses then going directly into their challenge, which was to do an Usher inspired glide section. I enjoyed the way they did this, and the glides were on point and even though they weren’t the best glides I have ever seen, they got the job done. They circled up and started doing glides, connected, in a circle. 747 popped out of the middle and did some glides to the corner of the stage. He then jumped off the stage and the rest of the crew formed a heart with their arms. I loved the ending to this performance, but the performance as a whole was not their best. I really didn’t like the fact that they stopped so much in the routine, and didn’t really evolve off of the last two weeks at all. I think they are saving themselves for the last three weeks, because I know they have better stuff to give us than what they gave us this week. COME ON I.AM.ME, STEP YO GAME UP…
I DUB THEE… GOODISH
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-PHUNK PHENOMENON-
Week after week this crew is slept on. They routinely give good performances, and as much as I see that, the general public doesn’t really seem to notice. Because of that, I hate that Phunk Phenomenon disappointed me this week. The energy level wasn’t there for me, the wow moments weren’t as great as they have been, and their choreography wasn’t as clean as they have been. Overall very disappointing. Their beginning section was the best part of the routine. They started out as they always do, with some flips and bboy moves. This time having a bunch of different members doing floorwork, and then having two of the members doing windmills. They then had their WOW moments with Bebo doing 3 consecutive air backflips (look mom, no hands!). This was another fantastic moment brought to you by THE ONE AND ONLY Bboy Bebo. Now for only 19.99! (Power moves do not include shipping and handling) We will return to your review after these commercial messages……..


And we are back. (I know, lame joke) but now getting back to their performance. After their WOW moments they went right into some well done, smooth choreography. They featured some chain reaction stuff as well. Which I felt would have looked better if they were closer together. That provided a good transition into a nice air chair spin, once again brought to you by Bboy Bebo. After this, the performance fell a little flat for me. They did some filler choreo that wasn’t executed as well as they normally do (and you all know how much I hate filler choreography). This went into their challenge which was to do a “step” inspired section. Their stepping was okay, it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t terrible either. It was actually a little sloppy too. The transition out of this section was not clean at all. Some of the members put their arms down before others, and it took away from the performance as a whole. Although, the house section right afterwards made up for the last section a bit. I love housing, and I love seeing it executed well, and Phunk Phenomenon ALWAYS executes house well. They did during Black Eyed Peas week, and they did here too. 


This led up to another trick by another two members (I think two of the brothers), the problem was, the trick was two more backflips. That makes 5 backflips in one routine. I would have really liked to see a different type of flip here, although I did like how they did a back handspring back tuck in unison. If they didn’t do those backflips in unison, it wouldn’t have been as good of a moment. They did some more filler choreography and one of the members did a 360 spin to cheater splits. Although it was a good moment, it was forgettable. Mainly because they led up to it with filler choreography and had filler choreography right after it as well. They ended it with a cute section. Right after a head slide to freeze (By Bebo) one of the brothers went into the audience and posed with some good looking girls. All in all, I was left wanting a lot more from this performance. The wow moments don’t compare to their wow moments in the past, and it’s getting to that point where each crew needs to step each week in order to impress America (unless your crew is under the age of 14). Phunk will not be able to get by on less than great performances. I'm hoping they haven’t run out of material, because they are an amazing crew. We will see what they can do with next week. GOTTA BLOW OUR MINDS PHUNK, we are pulling for you. I DUB THEE… GOODISH
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*Bottom Two*
You knew ICONic Boyz boyz were not going to be in the bottom 2, so out of all the crews to pick to be in the bottom (beside Iconic Boyz), these would be the most logical choice. Both crews killed it, which is surprising considering the songs they got. Both have two very unique styles, and this was definitely the best battle of the season so far. If fans want to see the best finale possible, they need to overwhelming vote for the best, and not the cutest. Stop just talking about how much the voting sucks, and do something about it.

-Instant Noodles-
Instant Noodles find themselves in the bottom two against Street Kingdom. Honestly, I thought it would be a death sentence. Mainly because Instant Noodles has not had that one OH MY TITS performance yet. BUT, and this is a big one, its Bieber week. Instant Noodles already have an advantage. After I had heard what their song choice was (Runaway love, Kanye version), I was all like “OOO dey got the best song of duh night doo!” Then I heard the actual mix. God it was awful. After two solid weeks of amazing mixes, they crap out this one. Instant Noodles needed a fantastic performance this week, although it was great, it was not what they needed. Anyway, let’s get started shall we?


They started out pretty explosive. It was high energy, high impact and sliding out of the chairs was a good visual, and they went into their perfected floorwork. After this though (with help from the camera angle) it got a little awkward looking. When they got together and did the “heartbeat” thing with their hands on their heart, it was meant to be funny but paired with the wigs and costumes; it was a bit too much. They then went into a formation using the chairs (which was their challenge) and started doing some locking while on the chairs. It was clean, in sync and on beat. I really enjoyed that section. After this, they went into some more floor and chair choreography, using the chairs to provide levels while displaying their incredible musicality. They hit every beat while doing their floorwork, and if it wasn’t for one part where they stopped and posed, it would have been a flawless part. But the pose in the middle of that part ruined it for me, mainly because that was a pivotal part in the mix where they could have done something really sweet, but it really stopped their momentum for me. But, they saved it by going right back into their floorwork, hitting every note once again. That was capped off by a sick elbow freeze done by one of the members. That was awesome, but made me wish they had made that one continuous section. 


After that one of the members had a little solo in the middle of the stage while the other members walked back and stood on the chairs, shaking their hands in the air. I wished they wouldn’t have walked back to that part because once again, it stopped a bit of their momentum. The Bboy doing the solo wasn’t doing anything we haven’t seen before, so my attention drifted a bit to the back and when I saw them walking into that, it made me a little disappointed. They then went back on their chairs and started to do a little slide back and forth. If you saw, the guy on the far left part on the stage fell out of sync there. So that part came across as sloppy and when that’s near the end of the performance, it sticks out for me. They then tossed their chairs to each other and put their foot through them and spun them around to reveal “Bieber” spelled across their six chairs. The way they ended their performance was very clever, and I appreciated that. Overall, it was a great routine that stood out from the others. It was too little too late unfortunately, and their musicality, their near perfect floorwork and their humor couldn’t save them. I like this crew, its unfortunate they had to go, but they did. Very classy and funny group and I hope they do big things in the future. I DUB THEE… FREAK A LEAK
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-STREET KINGDOM-
You could tell they came with that battle mentality. I was very skeptical as to what they could do with a Justin Bieber track but they thoroughly entertained me and wowed me at the same time. They opened up with something I have wanted them to do for this whole season: A HAT TRICK!  It was sweet and on beat -- awesome, A very good visual from them. After this though, it lost a lot of energy. Four of the members ran to the back of the stage (2 of them actually bumping into each other and almost missing their timing) and the other members were left doing a bit of filler choreography in an arrow shape on the stage. Three of the members that were just standing in the background lifted the fourth member up on the stage and carried him forward. This is when the performance picked WAY up. They did an awesome visual of an uppercut. Where one member did an uppercut motion and other members behind him popped up on different levels to create the effect. One member did a jump (and got some good hang time) to complete the uppercut. I loved this part, mainly because it came out of nowhere and it matched the lyric (“power”). 


Then they got into the best moment of the night. KRUMP CHOREOGRAPHY!  The crazy part was that it was clean AND hard hitting. I loved this part from them, and would like to see what else they can come up with! After this part they went into another amazing part where they formed up in separate groups and created a bit of a fighting scene. This provided for a fantastic visual and kept their energy level really high. They then went into another great section where Tight Eyez (who I didn’t notice until this section) got all R&B up in the camera as his other crewmembers were enacting yelling at each other, as if they were about to fight. The “pick it up” part was great too. They did a “jerk” type of step, but put a krump twist on it, which really gave the song a good visual. After this, they went into a 1vs1 fighting section center stage as the rest of the members acted as an audience. You could tell they were inspired by Mortal Kombat during this scene. The one on one fight was really well done, and their movement matched the beat of the mix behind them (By the way, this mix was 1000x better than the Runaway Love mix). During this, they stopped the fight and did a slow mo effect where one member reached out of the supposed “audience” and it made me think he was trying to play Shao Kahn (the emperor of Outworld (AKA Mortal Kombat Character (LOOK A PARENTHESES INSIDE OF 2 PARENTHESES))). 

After the 1v1 fight scene, they exploded out and had one of their members come through the middle and do some kung Fu moves with a hat in his hand. The routine finished with another member doing a 360 kick to knock him down. The member that did the kick then picked up a bowl of instant noodles, and vomited them back out (Figuratively). EVERYONE seemed to get pissed about this supposed “diss”. GET OVER IT people, it’s a battle, and Street Kingdom came to battle. PERIOD. They had the better performance easily. Instant couldn’t match up to the WOW moments provided by Street Kingdom. Street Kingdom had the attitude behind their movement, they included choreography into their routine and they had a story behind what they did. It was a great performance and would have been perfection if it has not been for the really slow start. STREET KINGDOM CAME TO WIN this night, and honestly, I don’t know if they could be beat in a battle. THIS KINGDOM IS…. FANTABULOUS
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*OH MY TITS MOMENTS*
1.    IAMME’s BEGINNING
2.    PHUNK PHENOMENON’s BEBO TRIPLE BACK FLIP
3.    INSTANT NOODLES LOCKING SECTION
4.    STREET KINGDOM’s CHOREO SECTION AND FIGHT SCENES

*POWER RANKINGS!*
1.    IAMME……………………………………. FREAK A LEAK + ½
2.    PHUNK PHENOMENON……………….FREAK A LEAK + ¼
3.    STREET KINGDOM……………………….GOODISH + ¾
4.    ICONIC BOYZ………………………………..WELL THAT SUCKED + ½
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HEY YO ZAKEESH, WHAT CHO THOUGHTS?
Well first off Chris, I'm Zeke-ish (ha-ah funny man). Anyway, the judges got it right. Street Kingdom had the better performance overall. Even though Instant Noodles killed this performance, it was too little too late. Their floorwork is enjoyable and fun to watch, and they will be a crew that can & will only get better. Overall thoughts on the night. Once again, very disappointing, and I agreed more with J.C tonight than anyone else. I refuse to acknowledge that Lil Mama’s judging existed. She is so biased toward ICONic Boyz that she might as well join up with Geo and help choreograph the routines with him. I hope Phunk Phenomenon steps it up and IaMmE doesn’t cruise next week. It’s going to be interesting to see who the bottom two is next week. A lot of surprises could happen.  OOOO, WATCH AND FIND OUT *scary theme music* YA DIG?

Alrighty, well this marks the end of my sixth review. I hope you all enjoyed this. Of course, comments are appreciated! I would like to give a shout out’s here as well. Go visit (after visiting mine of course) PulsePop’s Youtube channel (PulsePop = Koopa for those who don't know) and watch the Mos Wanted Crew promo. It’s very interesting and good to watch. And visit my YouTube Collosecru Channel. We will have our next routine up this week… I hope.  If not, there will be a solo video up.  ENJOY your week people; hopefully you have a good one!

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