Strap on your dancing shoes and hold on to the ass of your pants, cuz ABDC Season 5 is here! That’s right, after a craptastic fourth season, season five is bringing back the hype with new crews, a new format and a new judge. The best crews of seasons 1-3 brought “charisma” and “energy” to the table in heavy doses, something season 4 lacked. No one impressed me, no one stood out, no one really had (as JC would say) a “moment” that made me want to root for them. The fact that I couldn’t for the life of me find that special “audience connection” with any of the crews nearly broke my heart. Was this all that ABDC had to offer? Was this the best they could do after an amazing third season? Needless to say after hearing about the changes being made to ABDC, I was extremely doubtful.
Right off the bat, I was pleased with the formatting changes. With the addition of the regional episodes the season will run a bit longer and it gives the audience more time to find a connection and relate with the crews and their members.
I will say there was some concern about Shane Sparks. Well, not HIM per se, but his position as a judge for the show made the most sense out of the three. (Side rant: Really, Shane?! Really?! Well, I’m not all THAT surprised. At least someone finally exposed him for the creep we knew, deep down inside, he was. Jackass.) From a judging stand point he did give some of the best criticism for the crews to improve. Insert new judge Omarion. This one came straight out of left field, but it’s not all that unprecedented. Omarion did work with Shane in You Got Served, like JC he was in a boy band that danced (B2K who?), and he has an album coming out this year (i.e. MTV exploitation boys and girls. I could go on this side rant for quite some time, but that is another post for another day). My overall impression is that his capability as a judge is slowly coming along. He has more constructive criticism for the crews every week and it’ll be interesting to see how he develops as a judge by the end of the season.
Finally, the meat ‘n’ potatoes of this post, the crews! And the nine contenders for Season 5 ARE…
*Next to each crew denotes the crews safe spot or if they won the bottom three battle
South
Swagger Crew (1) Jungle Boogie (2) Royal Flush (WB)
East
Saltare (1) Blueprint Crew (2) Static Noyze (WB)
West
Poreotix (1) Heavy Impact (2) Hype 5-0 (WB)
And here’s even more fun! Early Season 5 Superlatives! Enjoy!
WTF Crew: Royal Flush
Every season has one. That one crew you just can’t stand and every week they seem to make it back. S3 had the God awful “Fly Khicks”, S4 had “Afroborike”, and season 5 brings you Royal Flush. I believe that Ghost was a better crew, but because of RF’s back story (of having attempted ABDC for 5 years) the judges leaned in their favor in the battle.
Underdogs: TIE! Static Noyze and Heavy Impact
Is this a surprise? Static Noyze (as Lil Mama mentioned) has a “Fanny Pak” vibe about them. With their classic and cultural based dance moves, I’ve gotta hunch we will see some interesting performances from them. Heavy Impact knew they would be underdogs, but you gotta admit that these boys (despite their size) can really move! I think that just by watching their regional performance earned them a HUGE fan base and we can’t wait to see more.
Favorite Crew Icon: Blueprint Crew
Good Crew likely to drop out halfway thru the season: Saltare
I’m just as skeptical as the judges. Their performance had lots of trick and little coreo. Now, ABDC has had its share of gimmick crews (i.e. BreakSk8, Dynamic Edition, etc) however those past crews based their gimmick off of the dancing experience they already had. Even then, they only lasted halfway thru the competition. Saltare is the exact opposite. They are medal winning jump ropers and their dancing abilities (I’m talking intricate coreo, NOT TRICKS) are yet to be seen. Another wrench in the works for them is that they have to carry and use a full time prop. That’s something that has never been done on the show, and more likely to get old really quick.
1st Impression Favorite to Win: Poreotix
Call me crazy, or that I just have a thing for Asian guys (love you sweetheart!) but I’m calling it in. These guys will be the Season 5 Champs. I guess the best way to review these guys is the first list everything they did right. High Energy. Charismatic. Theatrical. Comedic. Spot on Musicality. Precision Timing. So much thought and detail went into everything they did. They also proved that you don’t need to have tricks or complicated dance moves to make an impact. These guys have that “it” factor. They are the reason why I will anticipate watching every new episode.
(Note* This is MY OPINION, if you don’t like it go fuck a goat or shit a hat…whatever the kids are calling it nowadays. Yeah. THAT.)
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