Thursday 20 August 2015

ABDC Season 8 Episode 4

Damn, this episode was emotional, and had alot of cool routines!
I'm gonna start off with the stuff I usually leave until last, so get the negative stuff out the way firt.
Firstly, the whole thing that happened last week with Super Crew, people on FB have been saying "people take from art all the time" and some idiot is saying "they also changed clothes while doing it" at the end of the day, they still COPIED something, whether its from art, a dance crew, or whatever, I don't care, you shouldn't expect that on the ABDC stage, and to follow that up, I've seen my favourite crew go home, and the last 3 should be the best 3 crews in the competition, so the fact that Super Crew are still there really angers me.
onto other stuff, MOOOON, his gf, that was so emotional for me, I started crying, but it was beautiful moment because he had everyone he loved around him, the crew, quest crew, dancers in the audience, It really was nice! and he got emotional, and... uuuuuuh, It was a gorgeous moment :D


Super Kinjas:
The whole temple opening with the pillars falling was really cool, and they were nicely synced, the guys on the other dudes backs coming in slowly for an attack (I guess for an attack) was pretty cool, the new dude from SC wasn't in the middle, the next part with the 2 guys infront was cool, to the vocals, sensei has returned so thats pretty cool.
The whole forming an alliance thing was cool, the following choreo was cool and nice and smooth, suprised Super Crew could pick up this sort of choreo, the stairs section was really cool, the next part on the other contraption (forget what its called) was cool, but some of the guys were offsync, and a few of the guys sat up too quickly, the thing across the stage from right to left (new guy again) that was pretty cool, the 3 in the middle in front of the trophy was cool, I like that the trophy was included as this... like, Gem or... something, and I've just now noticed that theres 2 young girls that look about 10 or so in the audience and the judges have been swearing and all sorts, also notice a few other dancers ;0 I think that one guy who was in Walking Dead, I liked the use of the audience, and I do honestly feel like, if the audience wasn't included, that the judges would have picked the other 2, the other 2 felt much stronger for me, and it seemed that way to the judges too listening to their comments but... oh well~


IaMQuest:
The opening was cool, liked the spins and walking up the wall illusion, the next part with the brainbang was soooooo good, I'd really love to see how phillip comes up with some of this stuff, because its not all squared shaped tutting now, and it can be hard to watch it and get it with rounder shapes, but he does so well doing it, and Moon (not sure which one of them comes up with it, maybe both?) the next part of choreo was cool, and it was, looked like Feng was way too early with it though, was a little odd watching it back, seeing Tam do one of those flips with the little kicks with Steve was niiiiiice, Bebo coming out forward was cool, the following choreo was nice, but I think Feng was off a little bit again, D-trix doing the bboy stuff was noiiiice, I think that Brandon's footwork is a little bit too fast, it was offsync again, I liked the footwork, but I seems as if some are forgetting what beat they've gotta hit and just doing it all as one (which is what Feng seemed to do in that first part of choreo after the brainbang) the floorwork into the 4 towers looked cool, and then the tutting was nice, pretty on sync but maybe a little fast? the whacking was cool too, something I want to learn, Bebo's then thrown like a cannonball ;0 the swag was sweet, and then this part looked fun, the 3 who are best at tutting pop up behind the judges, Frankie smiles, he makes me laugh, fav judge ;0 the next bboy section was cool, and the choreo they did with the girl infront was good, though not sure if I was meant to see a bit more of that? the camera wasn't focusing on that part so, not sure when exactly it started~ the part on the right steps? that was pretty sweet, with Lisa? I think, rolling down, it was such a good routine.


Kinjas:
I've seen videos of Mike dancing with this guy before, and they're cool together, but I do honestly feel, even though its a cool performance, you can dance pretty much however, and then make sounds up for it, anyway... the popping was good, the small section of house was good, then the voice thing was kinda cute, the Mortal Kombat thing was cool, Goro? I think is the name of the character with 4 arms, the select your character part reminded me of their performance earlier in the year, the following housing / footwork was cool, and now we get some sick wubs, but I do feel somewhat odd with this routine, I loved it, but would have prefered seeing them dance to music.


Super Crew:
I don't know what to say about this, the freeze on the stairs was cool, most of the choreo was very one, two, three, four, with tricks in between, the 2 in the back spinning slowly with their hands on the floor (crouching) was a bit weird, the 3 guys on the things closer to the audience wasn't that great, I wish they'd had stepped on an audience members hand to be sent home or something, going through these watching, I've paused every one to rewatch but... I didn't with these... I cbb.


IaMmE:
We can see the boards, but the 2 girls on the left and right, that looked good, it was a nice illusion, they looked like they were floating, the judges kept saying how hard it is to use one of these boards so I'm really curious how hard, the popping and locking on them looked sweet, Bebo running over the other guys, I didn't catch it the first time because I was watching Phil with the girl doing some sort of Bicycle thing with her legs, Bebo's freeze was a nice touch with the others floating around him, went nice with the break in the music, I'm not quite sure what Moon was doing, the other 4 were doing something and Moon did something different, the spinning boards round Tam while she whacks followed by Emellio jumping off the board, how did that not slip and make him fall? was awesome, the following brainbang with new girl and phillip, but also bone breaking and brainbanging? that was pretty insane, the choreo after this was nice, and the footwork was nice and clean, the popping too, the ending was pretty creepy, ahhh I forget what the new girl is called, Lisa is the one from Funk'dation right? hmmm I'll have to check fb~


Quest Crew:
This was sad, them all sitting at the beginning as friends and then them (btw, who are the 2 girls in baseball jerseys behind Jayson?) all of them going away, it was pretty sad, the choreo was nice, and when the bassed dropped, the thing they did with their knees was cool, they're SUCH A BETTER CREW than the other Bboy crew, all their expressions <3 its so sad T___T Steves flip was cool,  the brainbang section, D-trix's face, he looks so sad at this point, the following chairography is sooooooo cool, then them coming back at the end sitting, It was an emotional performance, Teyana said "blah blah, no props" but... hey that big yellow chair is there, she blind?
T-pain getting upset, was soooo sad, gah this show, if ABDC comes back with season 9, I hope it doesn't get all emotional, what he said about believing in his music... its true, and this was a beautiful / emotional / amazing routine.

I'ma miss IaMmE :(


Friday 14 August 2015

ABDC Season 8 Episode 3

I want to start off by saying, we've seen alot of plagiarism in the past, with Monster MG copying Poreotics, that one Brazillian crew copying IaMmE's routine to Riri, I think there was something before about Diversity copying Phillipine Allstars too, So the fact I've just witnessed it, even though it wasn't taken from a dance crew, but a video floating around on facebook kind of dissapoints me to a point where I no longer have as much respect for a crew as I did.
So the video I'm talking about is one that was floating around where a group of 5 / 6 people hold hands and moves to their side, pretty much what Super Crew did, yea they didn't copy a whole routine but heres why i'm pissed at the fact they did it... They're a well known crew, and to bring any form of plagiarism to the ABDC stage is not ok, you don't expect that from ANY American dance crews as its usually the American crews that get copied, So, lets start with Super Crew.


SuperCrew:
I usually dislike Bboy crews because the breaking seems to be a bit "1,2,3,4" I mean... sure its cool what they can do, spinning on their heads, insanes tricks, the head into the hat was pretty cool,
and they kind of prooved me wrong with what I thought about them over the past few weeks, but what they did has kind of taken away alot of respect I had for them, they're "champions" so you don't expect it... Apart from the hat trick, and the 6 guys on the vinyls, and then it looked like they were about to fall, but the camera changed angle and they were fine, reminded me of Week 1 when We Are Heroes performed, looking at the routines on youtube, you see it repeats the failed part, I don't know if they had to redo the routine on stage, or it was a quick recovery from falling... it was a little odd.

Anyway, this routine didn't have much going for it, the choreo inbetween the stolen move, and the vinyls didn't really stand out, the only things I'll remember this routine for is being pissed off, and then them being shirtless, which isn't enough I'm afraid.


IaMmE:

Is it me, or do they come out and just KILL IT every week, the opening was a bit odd with the floorwork but not bad, the shadow part with the tutting was cool, I had a feeling those shadows were from behind the screen ;0 the shadows was pretty fun, I liked it, the following flip with Bebo was kind insane coz he went around and was flung by his feet without touching the floor, was a bit crazy!
the footwork was a little out of sync but not terrible, then that swag, that was pretty sexy, this weeks Brainbang was pretty cool, some cool waving in and out of parts, the following floor work was pretty cool, reminded me of being in photoshop and trying to make patterns haha, the fall at the end was also a nice effect.
I did love the routine, but I do feel a little bit like "Ok, you 3 go over there and do stuff, and us 4 will do things over here, then we'll regroup" which is a little odd, Kinjas also did that this week but more on that in a bit.


Elektrolytes:
This opening was pretty cool but as I said previously, the whole "you go over there" what are the others doing? anyway, this routine is very funky, the locking is really good, the following gliding using the walkers was cool, another part where the camera is focusing on 3 guys, but this is probably their best routine, it was funky fun.


Kinjas:
Theres the fun sensei voice again, the opening for me was a little weird, and a bit of an odd song choice for them I guess, they zipped up on the 4ths which was a little odd, then the last guys zipping up on its own was cool but, I didn't like this opening much, it just went up, then they stood there for a few seconds, was a little odd, the handkerchief part was really cool though, looked like a little flame.
The choreo is cool, but again, people running off to do their thing, though... the part with the red carpet (I'm reminded of the 9 tails in Naruto, and I know Mike watches Naruto and other animes so maybe related? ;0) Its cool, the butt part too :P then back to the other 3, the following flips were really cool with the 2 guys, again, I do like Kinjas but I'm expecting more from a crew thats made up of Kaba, Jabba, Poreotics~


Quest Crew:
Wow... just... wow, I don't even care if they weren't in sync for some of this, what frankie said was right, if someone were to do something like this in the past on ABDC, they'd probably not get away with it, the fashion... they all look so pretty... I loved the VT when Dtrix tried to break something and hurt himself (not really hurt) he's a comedian, I miss him as a judge and it was cool when Ru was dressed up too at the end haha, Fengs beard... It was just hilarious, his krumping was cool, the opening to reveal the gurls was funny,
The tricks were cool, and Dtrix doing a nice spin on his one leg, the following part to Nicki Minajs vocals was some cool choreo, a little offsync but was really good, the following with Steve (I really need to stop saying the following) was cool, jumping through the curtain, then the mini skirt, into a flip where he kicks his legs, the part with Hoks hair was hilarious and cool, a little brainbanging :D
Ryan did one of his flips landing on his head which is always cool, I do wonder if he suffers a mad headache after doing these! the scissors part was funny and cool, taking off their trousers (pants for you americans!) the pop sound made it sound like... something bad happened, either something went in, or something exploded x: maybe I shouldn't say that haha, the next part of choreo with the pink pants was cool, then the death drop (I think thats what they're called) that Hok did at the end... was just superb, this routine was my favourite of the night, it was fabulous, sexy! and Damnit, fengs beard haha.


So, maybe I'm a little angry this week, I'm in an odd mood and my head hurts, I'm liking the judges alot now... Frankies funny, and they seem to be giving a bit more critisism, not being SOOO nice like they were the first week, frankie falling to the floor when T-pain mentioned people taking their clothes off was funny, T-pain saying "thats what she said" Its fun, maybe they are better than Lil Mama and JC, and Teyana swore! It was a good thing I guess, it shows that she's passionate.
T-pain did a little waving after one crew performed and that was kind of fun, and at the end of the show he was on the stage dancing, and it was impressive!
It was a little sad to see Emellio crying too when Elektrolytes were voted off <3
I did think they'd be voted off next... efore ABDC aired, I thought that Elektrolytes would be the first to leave, but week 2, I thought We Are Heroes, Elektrolytes, Super Crew, Quest Crew, Kinjas and then IaMmE would be the winners...
But after their performance for week 3, I think that Super Crew deserved to go home, taking the whole facebook video out of the equasion, their routine in all felt pretty poor.
I do wonder what happens after this season finishes, Is there going to be a brand new season with new crews? If so when? or is it just champions and then we've got to wait a few years for a new season again?

Thursday 6 August 2015

ABDC Season 8 Episode 2.

Ok, so its week 2 and I've just finished watching, though I had a few spoilers following crews on facebook and a guy uploading to youtube, Its really a shame that MTV doesn't just upload the full episodes on their facebook, alot of these crews have huge fanbases worldwide, so surely it'd be better for MTV to get the views on youtube than people watch performances from others on youtube, and then not bother tuning in a year later on MTVs channel~
Anyway, lets start.


The Opening:
This was sick, I didn't think that I could be impressed by anyone else than The Royal Family dancing to "Started From The Bottom" but, the opening, introducing all the crews for a 2nd time, and it being smooth was kind of epic, I liked the whole... looking at the opponent type thing they had going on, and the piece just blew me away, I liked the music changing to different genres for each crew, the parts that stuck out the most for me though were IaMmE's brainbang (mainly because it was something we had seen before but they took it to a better level) and weirdly enough, We Are Heroes, I'm soooo dissapointed that We Are Heroes choregraphy, yet again... is better in the opening routine with the others than the routine thats meant to keep them there.


IaMmE / Birthday:
I hadn't actually heard this song before, or maybe I have and had forgotten, the opening was nice, I the trampoline bed was a nice touch, some little brainbanging with the balloons was cool, and Bebo spinning on his head, while wrapping the sheet around his head was cool, some nice whacking from Scarlette too :D it amazes me how Moon and Phil come up with these brain bangs, the next part with the connecting, its stuff that I've seen before, but this is in a different way and unique, and it was nice and smooth, which was a little different.
Emilio doing some stuff on the trampoline while it was rolling was pretty cool, I worried that he may hit his head on the side though as he was a little towards the back, the next part of Choreo was really nice and then... the next brainbang... was somewhat trippy, I think it worked well for them having the left and right sleves on their jackets different colours because it looked like it was 1 set of arms, but moving in an odd way, it was cool, then the next part, I thought they were going to go into that head roll thing they did for the Kanye West routine they did on ABDC back in 2011.
Scarlettes double backflip was cool but it didn't look like she landed too well, the same with Emellio, I thought that she was a bit close to the front or back end of the bed, the following choreo was cool, and then some sort of brainbanging backflips over one another, this was cool, it reminded me a little of IaMmE's routine for Black Eyed Pea's week on ABDC6, when they leant backwards into each others hands, it was all about timing so that one didn't fall on the floor, one wrong move and these flips could have gone horribly wrong! The ending was really nice, It felt like it represented someone growing through time, which Birthdays are all about :) was a nice routine.


Kinjas / Oh My Gosh:
This opening, yet again, cheesey but... I love it, It reminds me so much of Naruto (anime) I too, like Teyana want to kno whose voice it is, its funny, but good, anyway, the peace up, A town part was fun, the stepping down off the steps (I'd also like to mention, I like the use of crews using the stage steps and stuff this season, makes things somewhat bigger) the stepping down too, what I guess are hard kicks was cool, I wish I could have seen what the others were doing when the guy was doing stuff on one hand, the next part of choreo was pretty cool, then the next part was a little robotic and sexy... which was really nice, I loved the use of Usher's moves, the part where the guys are on their heads doing stuff with their feet was really cool, most of the sounds they picked out to dance to aswell, helps you hear sounds you usually wouldn't hear, in a way, they're a blend of Jabbawockeez, and Kaba Modern, but they also remind me a little bit of Mos Wanted too.


Super Crew / Uptown Funk:
The opening footwork was nice, the jumps left and right were a little cheesey, the following athletic stuff was pretty good, but the roll overs and unders, I've seen this done so much, so I didn't like it much,  the sliding across the stage, I'm really curious how the hell he did that, the next section with the locking was done really well, and then the section with the guys on the chairs looked pretty cool, but the following part where the guy jumps up on the judgeing panel was funny, Its funny, rewatching on youtube, to pause and see the judges aren't paying attention to the guy coming from the right, and they're just looking forward as he jumps up, and Teyana looks so confused, then she looks shocked when he jumps off infront, it was fun, the following bboy stuff was really cool, and nice little touches with the 3 guys on the chairs doing some little bits while the others were bboying, I wasn't too much of a fan at the ending of the guy saying stuff loudly~
But I enjoyed it.


Quest Crew / Turn Up The Music:
This opening was pretty cool, somewhat robotic, it shows that they're not just a bboy crew, but we've seen that many times with Hok's tutting and cool choreo, their arms coming out to the "bop bop bop bop" was cool, and then some cool bboying stuff and Ryan does a weird flip that goes into a worm kind of, I'm curious what that is what they're dancing with, is it just a light? the next part with Hok on his head was cool, the way he moves is so interesting, I'm loving the robotics :D sliding over to the right, and the guy loses his balance, which was a little sad but he did a good job at entertaining, and the slide D-trix did on the 2 guys back was pretty insane, I love it when the guys do something that been done before but take it to a whole other level :D


We Are Heroes / Freak On:
This was alot better than last weeks, to be honest... and it pains me a little, I'm going to be honest, maybe it'll sound a bit brutal but... its expected that they're in the bottom 2, Season 4 of ABDC was a little weird, didn't we have dancing cowboys? the crew from Brazil that wasn't really street but somewhat street? I spent the past few days looking at some stuff of theirs and looking back to guest performances, the crew doesn't paint a good picture for some of what appears to be brainbanging / connecting, its not framed well, I looked at their collab with Flavahz on ABDC7 and there was a part where the 5 girls from WAH stood and all did different things, It looked and felt weird watching.
I liked the opening to this, I don't think they put enough energy into the floor work, the jumping down off the stairs was pretty sexy, this was kind of awful, the new girl, who was dressed in pink... she didn't even dance, she came in half way, took a pic, moved the camera in a circle, leant over so reveal herself as being pulled too hard, and then dissapeared off stage... the choreo with the others was pretty good, but it makes me wonder... can this girl even dance, was she just in last weeks performance for doing flips and tricks? the music playing backwards part was pretty cool but, it reminded me of what I said above, they're all doing things seperately.
The part after which was actually some quite cool choreo, somewhat popping, then a pose, then some cool part followed by what appears to be their arms going up and down like the Johnny Bravo opening, the following was actually... sexy and done well, then the part where Marie Poppins and Hiro were on their knees with their arms out popping with their chest... wait... didn't we see this last week? just... the girl in pink... what was she doing throughout the rest of that routine, it was so bizzare, I had great hopes for this crew when I saw that Marie Poppins was going to be a part...
I'ma leave it there, just dissapointed.


Elektrolytes / Want You To Want Me:
The connection to last week was pretty cool, I like that they're playful with it, feel sorry for whoever had to clean up that popcorn, the Choreo is nice, and pretty sexy and smooth, again making good use of the stage, some cool tricks and more smooth sexy dancing, the following with the books was pretty cool, though felt like IaMmE's opening last week, well... just reminded me of it anyway, I feel as if all crews are making good use of the stage this week (btw I want that poster) but I feel like props are going to become a bit of a problem this season, I'd prefer if they just all dance.
Love the next bit on the stage where they all kinda shift to the left, again, somewhat sexy, felt kinda like grease ;0
was good.


So, We Are Heroes were voted off, I'm not surprised, and its a little saddening, I know they say "the first female group to win" and stuff, but there are other females representing that are better.
I think the judges were better this week, more honest and not harsh but said what had to be said, I think Frankie is going to be the one thats really honest, the mean judge, well... not the "mean" judge but the hard to impress judge. I did say last week they're too nicey nice, but I do like them, Frankie seems fun and playful, like when Elektrolytes blew a kiss and he was saying "It was for me" to Teyana, the other 2 do seem pretty fun too, but I like Frankie the most.

Oh yea, I'd also like to add, I'm liking that MTV are letting crews use their own logo's this season :D