Who wins: Beat Freaks or Quest Crew? Along with the announcement, there are some special performances from all the crews.
There have been a lot of different styles this season. There have been a lot of surprises, especially Fly Khicks' surprising run to the final three. Mario welcomes us and apparently there were nearly 20 million votes cast. Mario welcomes the nine crews. G.O.P. Dance still seems out of place. They are followed by Boxcuttuhz, Team Millennia, Ringmasters, Dynamic Edition, Strikers All-Stars, and Fly Khicks. The finalists are introduced: Quest Crew and Beat Freaks. Mario says hello to Shane, Lil Mama, and JC.
To fill up the extra time of an hour-long show, all the judges have created The Judge’s Choices. Each judge will pick three crews to perform together. Shane picks Strikers All-Stars, Quest Crew, and Dynamic Edition. Shameless advertising from a phone, and then some practicing; same format as always. They all want to make sure that they do Shane proud. The three groups actually seem to work decently together. Dynamic Edition gets the first full solo and it is better than I remember them being; they benefit from a better choreographer. Strikers hit hard as well. Quest stands out from the other two, because of their style. There’s a lot of group step and group clog; it actually works well together.
Dj Rashida plays some music while Fanny Pak dances behind her. Mario continues the Judges’ Choice with JC. He has picked: Beat Freaks, Boxcuttuhz, and Team Millennia. They call themselves “Team Beat-Box.” All of them seem obvious to go together. They dance to “Just Dance” and start with the head spins. Beat Freaks have the first solo and it’s boring. The ‘cuttuhz actually impress me more since we didn’t see them as much. Their performance overall is pop fun.
Randy Jackson recently re-opened/pimped out a Dance Theater in L.A. He’s purchased some better equipment and brings the crews to say hello to the young dancers. The crews walk in and teach a little bit of dance steps and isolations. I’m still on Randy overload though with Idol on three times this week.
Lil Mama’s crews are Fly Khicks, G.O.P. Dance, and Ringmasters. Clearly, she got the scraps. She makes the excuse of making a Caribbean/Latin explosion. They actually get to use the scaffolds on the sides of the stage. It’s quite interesting. I really do think G.O.P. dance got a bad draw. The couples dancing is sexy and the actual group choreography is good. The isolations are decent and the booty shaking is always a crowd favorite. Lil Kim claps in the audience.
Mario gives a little clip of the new MTV show, Taking the Stage. It’s actually the same commercial with a little more information. If they didn’t have this clip on, the show would have ended on time.
Layla Kayleigh talks to the two crews in the back. Dominic was just happy that they got to do their last orchestra performance. Teresa is just happy that the ladies have a chance to spread the message of following their dream. They remind America to “Freak the Dream.”
Quest Crew and Beat Freaks stand on the stage. We get a clip show of Quest Crew’s progression. They point out creativity as their biggest strength. They think that their last performance was their biggest accomplishment. Beat Freaks emerged as front runners and they get a video clip show. They want to show the ladies are out to perform. Their breakout dance was the magic trick week. Beat Freaks stayed true to themselves to the end.
The two now dance together to the song “Beggin” and the two have a faux battle. They actually work well together and their two styles fit real well together and it overall is a good hip-hop performance. The judges give them a standing ovation. Shane gives some final thoughts of Quest Crew. He thought that every performance killed. He loved the blindfolded Britney challenge. Shane was nervous that the Beat Freaks would beat them but they stood up to the challenge. JC talks about the Beat Freaks: basically, they are the total package. Each girl is a great example for America. They were athletic and creative; JC’s favorite was the robotic automation in the Boys vs Girls challenge. Beat Freaks were the most professional and he loves their attention to detail. Lil Mama commends both teams. She was charmed by Quest; their performance was passionate. Beat Freaks were an example of “change” that young women could be winners. She thinks that they are all superheroes and to her, Quest = Ninja Turtles.
After all the drama, Mario announces the winner: Quest Crew. The boys are in tears and they thank Beat Freaks. Dreams can come true. Beat Freaks are also thankful for all the support. The girls have their final walk-out. The door shuts on them and they are hugged by the other losers. Randy Jackson comes out with the B-Boy Trophy. Is this new? Was there always a trophy and did it always bobble? Randy Jackson is wearing his Tuesday huge watch from American Idol. He awards them with $100,000 and the Trophy. They drop the huge banner and explosions emerge from the sides.
Quest Crew performs to “On Top of the World.” Their final does yet another focus on individuals and it’s actually funny to see the trophy bobble while they hold up the award. Dominic continues to spin until the end. He then starts stripping. That’s always a good ending to a show.
