| America's Best Dance Crew: Season of the Superstars |
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|---|---|
| Format | Interactive reality game show |
| Directed by | Michael Simon |
| Judges | JC Chasez Lil Mama D-Trix[1] |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Production | |
| Executive producer(s) | Joel Gallen Josh Greenberg Abe Hoch Randy Jackson Rob Lee Howard Schwartz Karen Schwartz Harriet Sternberg |
| Production company(s) | Warner Horizon Television |
| Distributor | MTV |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | MTV (U.S.) MuchMusic (Canada) |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Season 5 |
The sixth season of America's Best Dance Crew, also known as America's Best Dance Crew: Season of the Superstars, premiered on April 7, 2011 and concluded on June 5, 2011.[2][3] Auditions were held in four cities from January 21 through February 5: Chicago, Houston, New York, and Los Angeles. This season takes a different route from past seasons.[4] The crews must perform to the music of one specific artist each week, including Rihanna, Lil Wayne, and other popular stars. This season also features special guest appearances by various celebrities including Justin Bieber, The Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Nicki Minaj, and Kanye West.[5] Dominic "D-Trix" Sandoval, a former member of Quest Crew, the winner of the third season of America's Best Dance Crew, joins returning judges Lil Mama and JC Chasez as the newest judge.[1]
In the season finale, I aM mE was declared the winner of Season 6 and received the $100,000 (USD) prize.[6]
The specific locations for the ABDC Season 6 casting auditions were revealed via ABDCCasting.com during the second week of December 2010. This is the first season of ABDC to allow dancers of all ages to audition.[7][8] In promotion of Season 6, District 78 released the master mixes of the songs used for the callbacks at each of the four audition cities on their official website. The audition dates and locations are as follows:
| Location | City | Date | Callback song |
| Hubbard Street Dance | Chicago, Illinois | January 21, 2011 | "Power" by Kanye West featuring Dwele |
| SoReal Dance Studio | Houston, Texas | January 23, 2011 | "6 Foot 7 Foot" by Lil Wayne featuring Cory Gunz |
| S.I.R. Studios | New York, New York | January 29, 2011 | "Massive Attack" by Nicki Minaj featuring Sean Garrett |
| Alley Kat Studios | Los Angeles, California | February 5, 2011 | "We R Who We R" by Ke$ha |
Ten dance crews were selected to compete for the title of America's Best Dance Crew.[9]
| West Coast | East Coast | South | Midwest | Caribbean | Pacific |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Street Kingdom (Los Angeles, CA) |
ICONic Boyz (Englishtown, NJ) |
I aM mE (Houston, TX) |
FootworKINGz (Chicago, IL) |
787 Crew (San Juan, PR) |
ReQuest Dance Crew (Auckland, New Zealand) |
| Instant Noodles (Orange County, CA) |
Phunk Phenomenon (Boston, MA) |
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| Jag6ed (Crenshaw, CA) |
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| Eclectic Gentlemen (North Hollywood, CA) |
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| Eliminated | Bottom 2 | Winner | Runner-up |
| Week: | 4/7 | 4/14 | 4/21 | 4/28 | 5/5 | 5/12 | 5/19 | 5/26 | 6/21 | 6/5 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Dance Crews | Result | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | I aM mE | Bottom 2 | Winner | ||||||||||||||||
| 2 | ICONic Boyz | Runner-up | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Phunk Phenomenon | Bottom 2 | Bottom 2 | Elim | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | Street Kingdom | Bottom 2 | Bottom 2 | Elim | |||||||||||||||
| 5 | Instant Noodles | Elim | |||||||||||||||||
| 6 | 787 Crew | Elim | |||||||||||||||||
| 7 | ReQuest Dance Crew | Bottom 2 | Elim | ||||||||||||||||
| 8 | FootworKINGz | Elim | |||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Jag6ed | Elim | |||||||||||||||||
| Eclectic Gentlemen | Elim | ||||||||||||||||||
| ^Note 1 : A non-elimination episode meant to showcase the top two crews. | |||||||||||||||||||
*Aired on April 7, 2011
The season premiere began with the first five crews doing a dance number to a mastermix of "6 Foot 7 Foot" by Lil Wayne featuring Cory Gunz.[10]
| Crew | Song[11] |
|---|---|
| I aM mE | "Right Above It" featuring Drake |
| Phunk Phenomenon | "A Milli" |
| ReQuest Dance Crew | "Knockout" featuring Nicki Minaj |
| Eclectic Gentlemen | "Fireman" |
| Street Kingdom | "I Am Not a Human Being" |
*Aired on April 14, 2011
The episode opened with the last five crews doing a dance number to a mastermix of "We R Who We R" by Ke$ha.
| Crew | Song[12] |
|---|---|
| FootworKINGz | "Tik Tok" |
| 787 Crew | "Blow" |
| ICONic Boyz | "Your Love Is My Drug" |
| Jag6ed | "Sleazy" |
| Instant Noodles | "Dirty Picture" featuring Taio Cruz |
*Aired on April 21, 2011
The remaining 8 crews received a challenge from The Black Eyed Peas to incorporate into their routine.
| Crew | Song[13] | Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| ICONic Boyz | "Just Can't Get Enough" | All members must stay connected for part of the routine. |
| Phunk Phenomenon | "Don't Stop the Party" | Must include a "slo-mo" section in their routine. |
| I aM mE | "Meet Me Halfway" | Must come together and create a robot. |
| Street Kingdom | "Imma Be | Incorporate light sabers in their routine. |
| 787 Crew | "Boom Boom Pow" | Create an illusion that they are teleporting. |
| Instant Noodles | "My Humps" | Create video game-like visuals on stage. |
| FootworKINGz | "I Gotta Feeling" | Create the illusion that someone is floating. |
| ReQuest Dance Crew | "The Time (Dirty Bit)" | Create the illusion that they are cloning. |
*Aired on April 28, 2011
Katy Perry handed out a dance challenge to each of the 7 remaining crews.
| Crew | Song[14] | Challenge[15] |
|---|---|---|
| Phunk Phenomenon | "Waking Up in Vegas" | Make a roulette wheel. |
| I aM mE | "Peacock" | Fan out like a peacock. |
| 787 Crew | "Hot n Cold" | Make a roller coaster. |
| ICONic Boyz | "Teenage Dream" | Make a wall, then break it down. |
| Instant Noodles | "Firework" | Make a chain reaction and explode. |
| Street Kingdom | "E.T." featuring Kanye West | Make a space ship. |
| ReQuest Dance Crew | "California Gurls" featuring Snoop Dogg | Ride a wave. |
*Aired on May 5, 2011
The 6 remaining crews choreographed routines inspired by Rihanna.[16] Rihanna's choreographer, Tanisha Scott, gave each crew a dance hall move to be incorporated.
| Crew | Song[17] | Dancehall Move |
|---|---|---|
| Instant Noodles | "Hard" featuring Young Jeezy | The Head Top |
| ICONic Boyz | "Only Girl (In the World)" | Give It A Run |
| I aM mE | "S&M" | The Spiderman |
| Street Kingdom | "Rude Boy" | The Dutty Wine |
| Phunk Phenomenon | "Don't Stop the Music" | The Chaplin |
| 787 Crew | "What's My Name?" featuring Drake | Gallis Step |
*Aired on May 12, 2011
Justin Bieber handed out dance challenges to the 5 remaining crews.[18] All the challenges were based on moments from Bieber's documentary Never Say Never.
| Crew | Song[19] | Challenge[20] |
|---|---|---|
| ICONic Boyz | "Baby" featuring Ludacris | Incorporate basketball-inspired choreography. |
| I aM mE | "Somebody to Love" featuring Usher | Perform Usher's famous glide. |
| Phunk Phenomenon | "Eenie Meenie" featuring Sean Kingston | Include steppin' in the routine. |
| Instant Noodles | "Runaway Love" featuring Kanye West & Raekwon | Incorporate chairs in the routine. |
| Street Kingdom | "Never Say Never" featuring Jaden Smith | Incorporate martial arts and high kicks. |
*Aired on May 19, 2011
The final four crews kick off the show with a group number to "Massive Attack" by Nicki Minaj featuring Sean Garrett. Then, Nicki Minaj challenges the crews to choreograph routines inspired by one of her unique alter egos.[21]
| Crew | Song[22] | Challenge[23] | Nicki Minaj's alter ego |
|---|---|---|---|
| I aM mE | "Moment 4 Life" featuring Drake | Incorporate childhood games in the routine. | Cookie |
| ICONic Boyz | "Check It Out" featuring will.i.am | Create a marionette onstage. | Harajuku Barbie |
| Phunk Phenomenon | "My Chick Bad" by Ludacris | Incorporate belly dancing in their routine. | Nicki Teresa |
| Street Kingdom | "Did It On'em" | Incorporate military drills in their routine. | Roman Zolanski |
*Aired on May 26, 2011
The episode began with the three remaining crews performing a group number to "All of the Lights" by Kanye West featuring Rihanna.[24] Season 5 winner Poreotix delivered the challenges to the crews. After the mid-show elimination, the final two crews performed their prepared routines to make their one last plea for votes.[25]
The crews had to demonstrate their versatility by creating a routine that incorporated three different styles of dance.[24] All crews were given the same styles and songs.
| Song[26] | Style[24] |
|---|---|
| "Gold Digger" featuring Jamie Foxx | Dougie |
| "Touch the Sky" featuring Lupe Fiasco | Boogaloo |
| "Love Lockdown" | Isolations |
The final two crews debuted their Last Stand performances before the lines opened for the final voting session of the season.
| Crew | Performance Title |
|---|---|
| ICONic Boyz | The ICONic Dream |
| I aM mE | Ill-emental |
*Aired on June 2, 2011
The last two crews engaged in a three-round dance battle in the penultimate episode of the season, which also featured a look back at their accomplishments on the show.[27]
For the first challenge, the judges chose one routine from the past weeks in which the crews must perform again and add on to that performance. The judges selected I aM mE's Week 5 Rihanna performance and ICONic Boyz' Week 6 Justin Bieber routine.
The two crews then performed in a three-round dance battle. Swizz Beatz returned to provide the music for the battle.
| Round | Song[28] |
|---|---|
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"Everyday (Coolin')" by Swizz Beatz featuring Eve |
|
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"On to the Next One" by Jay-Z featuring Swizz Beatz |
|
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"I Can Transform Ya" by Chris Brown featuring Swizz Beatz |
*Aired on June 5, 2011
The top two crews performed for their last time in the final episode of the season. The finale also featured performances by the five past ABDC champions.[3] In contrast to previous seasons of America's Best Dance Crew, the finale was pre-recorded; each crew taped a faux winning and losing reaction, as well as their victory performance, and were unaware of the results until the final cut of the episode was aired prior to the 2011 MTV Movie Awards.[29]
| Crews | Song[30] |
|---|---|
| I aM mE and ICONic Boyz | "Raise Your Glass" by Pink |
| Poreotix | "Friday" by Rebecca Black |
| We Are Heroes | "Run the World (Girls)" by Beyoncé |
| Quest Crew | "Party Rock Anthem" by LMFAO |
| Super Cr3w | "Power" by Kanye West featuring Dwele |
| JabbaWockeeZ | "We Just Made It" and "Devastating Stereo" by The Bangerz |
| ICONic Boyz | "Yeah 3x" by Chris Brown |
| I aM mE | "Rocketeer" by Far East Movement featuring Ryan Tedder |
| I aM mE | "Written in the Stars" by Tinie Tempah featuring Eric Turner |
I aM mE was crowned America's Best Dance Crew, becoming the show's first Southern champion and ending the West Coast's dominance over previous seasons of ABDC.[31]
| Preceded by Season 5 |
America's Best Dance Crew Season 6 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
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