All
four crews have a group performance to “Live My Life.” A lot of group
performances this season. It must be fairly demanding to do three of these in a
row, but this routine isn’t bad. It’s one of the more exciting group routines
this season. It’s thoroughly energetic and a lot of shuffling is incorporated. The
two kid crews are the ones that steal the show for this performance, setting
the tone from the beginning. What’s also memorable is when the Shuffle Bots
come out, composed of members of all four crews.
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Mos Wanted Crew- First saved, their
song is “Sexy and I Know It,” an emotionally driven song with heartfelt
commentary on society’s beauty norms. Or not. It’s actually a pretty bad song
choice, like most of the songs tonight. Their task is to create a catwalk with
wiggle-inspired runway modeling. Stripping is also a factor, which will clearly
be graded in their performance. Ryan and Hirano show up to ensure that MWC wear
bright Speedos and have fun. Ian is pointed out once again for being the crew’s
heartthrob, even though he’s not even that pretty and barely legal. In the
opening video, MWC talks about how Top 4 is great and how they really want to
win. (Spoilers: So do the other crews.)
They’re
wearing loose tank-tops with mouths on them and zebra-striped pants (but not
for long!) Even though the opening video does not mention it, it looks like Bam
is missing. I assume either it’s either a family emergency or he suffered a
graphic groin injury that the show won’t air. The crew tears off their pants to
reveal shiny, sparkly shorts. Brian and Ian head to the front to lead off on
the crowd-pleasing choreography. In their solos, Ricky does quick b-boying
while JP thrusts. During the “I work out” lyric, they do pushups and imitate an
exercise machine. The music builds up and suddenly halts as JP poses with a
peace sign (aka the Asian girl’s pose) for the cameras. The crew tears off their
shorts to reveal black underwear with a white handprint on the crotch. This
makes three performances in a row where they all have hands over their crotches,
although this time the hand isn’t theirs. They thrust their pelvises and shake
their booties some more. If I could describe this routine in one word, it would
be “Pandering.” If I could describe it in three words, it would be, “Pandering,
pandering, pandering.” They do their group catwalk to the front of the stage,
coquettishly kicking their legs out. In the end, the group members try to pull
off their undies and fail, and then they gather around Jawn as he reaches into
his boxers and pulls out a Speedo.
D-Trix
says that was their most entertaining performance. He said they basically gave
the ladies what they wanted, “Cute faces, buff upper bodies, and white-as-hell
skinny ol’ thighs.” Lil Mama, unsurprisingly, compliments Ian first. She says
this performance was good but not their best. She adds that they know how to be
funny and still dance. JC says it wasn’t his favorite (Audience: BOOO! EVERY
PERFORMANCE HAS TO BE YOUR FAVORITE, JC! BOOO!) He says they had the charisma
but the routine felt slow at times, and thinks they really need to step their
game up next week. While I agree it wasn’t their best, I think it’s the kind of
performance they really needed. Most of their routines have this rough swagger
to it, and this was their only routine where they expressed a loose, goofy
side. It’s memorable but not in a bad way, and that kind of variety is
essential for a crew. Sure, it wasn’t very aggressive in the way JC wanted, but
with that particular song, I don’t think it needed to be. The stripping does
nothing for me, though I can’t say the same for the massive teenage girl
fanbase. Wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle wiggle, yeah!
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Elektrolytes- All the grown-ups are
saved this week! Elektrolytes get “Champagne Showers.” The song may or may not
be about champagne. Their task is to make robotic movements and also create a giant
robot. Some of them can pop, but they’re more concerned about the giant robot. Much
like when Collizion Crew decided to form a car, I suspect forming a robot is
one of those tasks Elektrolytes might have prepared for beforehand. Hok and
Steve show up to advise them on their robot-making skills. Robots have been
formed a lot on this show, including by winners IaMmE and Jabbawockeez, so the
bar’s set pretty high. You might also be shocked to know that Elektrolytes,
much like MWC, really want to win this competition.
They’re
wearing funky goggles and tuxedos with bright green vests. I guess they’re
supposed to be robotic sommeliers. They begin by acting robotic until Marcus
leaps on stage with a sliding headstand. They set up a trick which ends up
looking like a wrestling maneuver. I’ll grant them this- I did not see that conclusion
coming. They do more robotic choreography, and parts of their choreography here
have some similarities to Poreotix’s, which is probably the desired effect.
They set up another formation where four of them create what looks like the
symbol for Pi (π). Hurray for math! They use a champagne bottle as a prop and
uncork it right as they fling Kyle into the air when the music shouts, “Make it
pop!” In the middle, Nico does a hat spin that also comes out of nowhere. In
their last trick, they form their ultimate robot, which resembles a mutated
totem pole. Their setups to these formations are still fairly obvious and
time-consuming, but they’re doing a much better job of keeping them interesting
with the smaller details (like the spins or the headstand freeze).
Lil
Mama says they transform every week into a suit that fits the challenge (thanks,
costume designers). She thinks that them being the underdogs has made them
fight harder. JC says that performance had all the elements it takes to be
America’s Best Dance Crew. Keep in mind, this is something D-Trix also said
about the crew during their J. Lo subway performance, but it’s weirder to hear
it from the judge who is more conservative with his praise. D-Trix says
Elektrolytes might have just become one of his favorite crews from all seven
seasons (he does not specify, so it could mean Elektrolytes are in his Top 50).
Even though calling Elektrolytes “underdogs” seems dubious (they got 1st
in USA HHI), I think they’re aware that their standing in the votes are
currently the shakiest and they have to work hard to combat that. This
performance felt a lot sharper than their earlier routines, and their robotic
group formations were unique. I can see them making a legitimate claim for the
title if they can put together another routine with a similar level of drive
and equally memorable moments.
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Rated Next Generation- Last week they
claimed “Top Four is the best feeling ever!” so they’re probably not that
bummed that they’re in the bottom this week, right? I mean, they already made
Top 4, which is the best thing ever in the world. Anyhow, their song is LMFAO’s
“Sorry for Party Rocking.” Lies, LMFAO’s not sorry at all, especially since
they keep talking about it. Their task is to recreate the 15-second dance
breakdown from the video, which featured several Quest members as well as
IaMmE’s Moon. They note that it’s hard to replicate the dance because the video
cuts back and forth a lot. Hmmm, sounds familiar. Don’t you hate it when clips
of dance do that?! Hok and Aris (aka Quest Member #8) show up to tutor RNG on
the exact moves. In addition, they also have to replicate the partnered jumping
threading from the video. And Erin hates jumping! Grrr! She no likey! RNG really
wants to win, and says they’ve worked too hard to go home now.
RNG
is having a party while the parents are away, as Alex discards her pink
bathrobe. They’re all wearing yellow striped pants and loud spotted vests. I’ve
never ever seen anyone wear that at a party. Even the Joker has better fashion
sense than LMFAO. They do a lot of head-banging and guitar-playing gestures,
which is more rocking than necessary. Bailey does a dolphin dive over a girl
sliding underneath. There’s a section where they do isos using their right arms,
but it’s not well highlighted so it’s easy to miss. There’s another clever section
closer to the end where they shuffle their feet quickly as the musical beats
hit, but that moment is also hard to catch. RNG has the rough habit of not
letting giving their intricate moments time to breathe sometimes. (The rapid
neck whips in the middle are a better instance of their more quick detailed
movements being captured.) I feel like if it takes me multiple tries to notice
it, I doubt Lil Mama would comprehend it on her first go. Three of them do a
group tutting section, and Bailey does some waving with his hands as two pairs
of girls do the partnered threading move. Their transitions and changes in
formation for this routine are very impressive. As their ending trick, one girl
leapfrogs over another into some half-splits.
JC
says it was a good performance and liked the fact that they told a story. He
said it was 80’s and very “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” That movie was more about
skipping school, which is what these kids are sort of doing anyways. He admits
the tutting wasn’t his favorite. He thinks the routine had the right kind of
energy, but he says he has to think about it further. D-Trix calls Bailey a
playa. He says the crew’s growth is amazing (they’re getting taller every day,
waka waka!) He wanted to see the challenge done to new heights, but thanks the
crew for growing so much this season. Lil Mama says this bottom two is very
tough and doesn’t want to see either crew go home. As opposed to most weeks
when she flips one crew the bird and tells them to GTFO? She says they used the
stage well and says they definitely have their own style, though she thinks it
wasn’t their best. I agree that it wasn’t their best (the stunts were just okay
and the tutting wasn’t great), but RNG has several strengths that the judges
tend not to focus on. The way they move through their dancing reminds me a bit
of ReQuest and Fanny Pak (although FP is better at adding an artistic element
to it) in that there’s usually a strong sense of fluidity and it’s not a
separated series of tricks and eight-counts. That being said, neither ReQuest nor
Fanny Pak won. That’s partly because the show has a tradition of
overemphasizing strong bits of dancing or moments rather than the routine as a
whole.
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8 Flavahz- Their song is “Party Rock
Anthem.” It’s LMFAO’s best song, but Quest Crew already performed to it
(arguably twice). Their task is to recreate the group blow-up from the video,
incorporating the T-step and “The Spongebob.” By the way, the first “Spongebob Squarepants”
episode came out 13 years ago. Spongebob is older than some of these girls, including
Charlize, who was too young to watch Quest Crew, apparently. Feng and Victor
show up to provide help. Tiara’s unable to perform this week due to a back
injury. At some point in the competition, MWC, Elektrolytes, and 8 Flavahz have
all performed with one fewer member. It’s like the ABDC gods thought eight
people in a crew was way too much. 8 Flavahz really wants to win the
competition. Man, this competition must be so hard, since EVERYBODY wants to
win!
They’re
in a combination of purple clothing and striped patterns, which is a tribute to
Quest Crew. Heck, most of the routine’s big moments are a tribute to Quest
Crew. If you’re going to imitate anybody, might as well imitate the winners. In
addition, they’ve all got the curly Redfoo hair and fake glasses. They start
out with some simplistic b-boy footwork, and one of them does a butterfly twist
(tribute to Steve). One of them imitates Hok’s kick from Quest’s Magic
performance. Four of them shuffle in the back while three in the front attempt
monkey rolls, which is not even something Quest was famous for. Strikers
All-Stars did that one. The group also attempts half-flares and knee floats.
The key word here is “attempts.” While they’re sloppy, they’re not outright
failures and you can at least see what they’re going for. They all do back
handsprings while Camren does a baby freeze. Their shuffling is pretty good, no
complaints there. They copy Quest’s show-stopping OrQUESTra flip, although this
one’s not actually over two people and the landing is messy. This routine in
general feels like a Mock Quest Crew performance, or a Diet Quest Crew
performance, or a SheQuest Crew performance, if you will. The group pops for a
while before heading to the front of the stage to pose.
Lil
Mama says they handled themselves like big girls. She says they had fun and
killed the T-step and the Spongebob. Lil Mama thinks they improved from last
week and are at the top. D-Trix likes the Quest references. (“I liked how you
reminded me of ME!”) He praises the crew’s technique, but wishes he would have
seen more of that tonight and thinks that would bring them back to the top. JC
says they had the LMFAO energy (and hair). He says it was fun from the get-go. He
says their transitions were awesome. He praises them for taking risks, even
though they messed up. That’s a pretty gentle way to say, “Ya dun goofed,” but
I guess JC admires their ambition. I agree that they overdid trying to emulate
Quest’s moments (maybe to please D-Trix) instead of focusing on their stellar
classical technique. It went from being a “Wow, that is impressive!” situation
to an “Aww, how cute, they tried” situation. There were still great moments in
their routine and the energy was there, but I think they could have more wisely
invested their time to other moves. I’m a huge fan of ambition and intelligently
applied ambition always leads to the best routines, but I think that 8 Flavahz
deserves at least a little heat from their moments backfiring, judges.
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Elimination- The judges choose to save
8 Flavahz over RNG, likely taking into consideration the number of times RNG
was in the Bottom before. Even if both crews were in the bottom for the first
time, I still wouldn’t be surprised if the judges ultimately selected the kid
crew that’s known for their big wow moments (8F) over the kid crew that’s known
for their seamless choreography (RNG). That’s kind of how this show has
operated, and every winning crew has embraced that fact in some manner or
another. Neither of these two crews performed at their best tonight, but the
judges still must have been uncomfortable being forced to dash the hopes and
dreams of children. In RNG’s final words, Jennique thanks both the
non-believers and the believers, and the crew dances for a bit during their “Walk
It Out” section. Next week, the three remaining crews take on the music of
David Guetta (who?) in the most important week of the competition. What’s going
to happen? Find out next week!
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