What happened to "besides the 5 champs" ?![]()
Just going off of the performances posted, as a whole I'm not overly impressed. Measured against the winners from the first three seasons (even the runner-ups), I don't know how much I can expect from any of them.
I.Am.Me Crew: Crews like this usually have the easiest time adapting to whatever a given challenge calls for. Especially if their own style isn't enough to save them. B-
787 Crew: I get the feeling they'd be better on the large stage. They seemed to really have to restrict themselves on the smaller stage in the video. B
Instant Noodles: These guys honestly bored me to tears. D+
ReQuest: Here's the thing with these girls, they're not very complex, but their choreography is solid, and their ability to be as in sync as they were with their moves, for such a large crew, I thought that was very impressive. Between that and a history of some female crews lasting longer than expected based purely on sex appeal, I can see them getting pretty far. That fall at the beginning, though, that sh** can't happen on the show.B+
Phunk Phenomenon: I don't have much of an opinion on them. I know they won't win! B-
Street Kingdom: Outside of the areas its known for, no one cares about krumping anymore. I know I don't. C
FootworkINGz: They better tighten up their choreography for the show. Some of the dudes were slower than others, and some of the moves just looked sloppy. C+
Eclectic Gentlemen: Their video never gave me a good enough impression of them. All that editing and crap was annoying.
Iconic Boyz: This is kind of tough. Bringing in a younger crew like this screams "gimmick".
Good grading. But you never mentioned anything about Jag6ed.
I thought I Am Me turned the place out.
Out of the first five, I think they're the main competition. They've got a good blend of styles, and their tutting is definitely more elaborate than we've seen from other crews that specialize in that.
I worry about ReQuest, 'cause while I still think they're a fantastic crew, other crews have them beat on certain complex moves. There's always gonna be a level of favoritism towards the crews that do a certain degree of b-boying, but also advance gymnastic-type moves (flips, back handsprings, etc.), and ReQuest doesn't seem to do any of that stuff. And it's a shame, 'cause I'll give them points for being a very clean, intricate, energetic crew. And I loved that they really spared no expense, so to speak, with their performance last night. They used the whole stage, they nailed the theatricality, the had fun with certain portions, like makin' the doe-eye faces when they were doing the robot/doll moves, things like that are very difficult, 'cause those transitions have to be 100% smooth. A good judge will catch instances where it may fell more "start-stop, start-stop" (it's what I love about J.C. as a judge, 'cause having to do all that choreography during his N'Sync days, he's probably had choreographers offering up all the same criticisms and comments he's given out over five previous seasons). You don't have time to SEE what your crew mates are doing, you have to KNOW what their doing without you seeing them.
Which just angers me even more that Street Kingdom seemed to get such a blatant pass from the judges. They might as well told them you guys are safe right after their routine! Way wait for the official elimination portion of the episode?!?!