Original title
America's Best Dance Crew
Released
2/7/2008
Origin country
US
Status
Returning series
Number of seasons
9
Number of episodes
62
Randy Jackson Presents: America's Best Dance Crew, often abbreviated as ABDC, is an American competitive dance reality television series that features dance crews from the United States and around the world. It was produced by American Idol judge Randy Jackson and aired on MTV. The series was originally developed for NBC as World Moves. After seven seasons, ABDC was cancelled due to declining ratings. The show was hosted by Mario Lopez, and featured television personality Layla Kayleigh as the backstage correspondent. The judging panel for the final seasons of the show included entertainers Lil Mama, JC Chasez, and Dominic "D-Trix" Sandoval. Former judges included hip-hop choreographer Shane Sparks and R&B singer Omarion.
The first season of America's Best Dance Crew premiered on February 7, 2008. The season was hosted by Mario Lopez, featured Layla Kayleigh as the backstage correspondent, and was judged by rapper Lil Mama, former *NSYNC singer JC Chasez, and hip-hop choreographer Shane Sparks. On March 27, 2008, JabbaWockeeZ was declared the winner of Season 1 and received the $100,000 prize.
The second season of America's Best Dance Crew premiered on June 19, 2008. The live auditions special took place on June 8, 2008. The season was hosted by Mario Lopez and featured Layla Kayleigh as the backstage correspondent. The judges included rapper Lil Mama, former *NSYNC singer JC Chasez, and hip-hop choreographer Shane Sparks. On August 21, 2008, Super Cr3w was declared the winner of Season 2 and received the $100,000 prize.
The third season of America's Best Dance Crew premiered on January 15, 2009. The season was hosted by Mario Lopez and featured Layla Kayleigh as the backstage correspondent. The judges included rapper Lil Mama, former *NSYNC singer JC Chasez, and hip-hop choreographer Shane Sparks. Chasez stated that "we'll be taking a bit more time between seasons, which will give people ample time to get their crews together, practice and prepare." This was the first season without a special casting episode. On March 5, 2009, Quest Crew was declared the winner of Season 3 and received the $100,000 prize.
The fourth season of America's Best Dance Crew premiered on August 9, 2009 and concluded on September 27, 2009. All three judges and host Mario Lopez and backstage correspondent Layla Kayleigh from the previous seasons signed on for season 4. However, for the first time since the beginning of ABDC, DJ Rashida was not present as the show's DJ, as she was touring with Lady Gaga and JabbaWockeeZ. Preceding the first broadcast, MTV announced in a broadcast trailer that the show would be moving to its new Sunday night slot at 9pm ET/PT for the duration of the season. In Canada, MuchMusic aired this season at the same time as its MTV broadcast. In previous seasons, it was aired 3 days after MTV aired it. Unlike previous seasons, there was no live audition special. In the live season finale, We Are Heroes was declared the winner of Season 4 and received the $100,000 prize. On August 2, 2009, as a prologue for the season, the show premiered a special hosted by Randy Jackson called "The Top 10 Performances of All Time", where Randy showed his top 10 routines from the first three seasons. This was also the last season to feature Shane Sparks as a judge.
The fifth season of America's Best Dance Crew premiered on January 28, 2010 and concluded on April 8, 2010. Auditions were held in six cities from November 20 through December 12: Atlanta, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, Boston, and New York. Audition callbacks were held the day after auditions, with evaluations by the TV show judges and members of past ABDC champions. The first three episodes of the season featured auditions from each region: South, East, and West. Shane Sparks did not return as a judge this season, due to his arrest, and was replaced by Omarion. In the live finale, Poreotix was declared the winner of Season 5 and received the $100,000 prize.
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. 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. 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 music celebrities including Justin Bieber, The Black Eyed Peas, Katy Perry, Kesha, Nicki Minaj, and Kanye West. 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. In the season finale, I aM mE was declared the winner of Season 6 and received the $100,000 prize.
The seventh season of America's Best Dance Crew, also known as America's Best Dance Crew: Return of the Superstars, premiered on April 11, 2012 and concluded on June 13, 2012. Auditions were held in four cities through January 2012: Chicago, Houston, New York, and Los Angeles. Ten dance crews were selected to compete for the title of America's Best Dance Crew. Return of the Superstars utilizes the same show format of the previous season, in which the crews performed to the music of one specific artist each week. This season's featured artists included Rihanna, Britney Spears, Madonna, Pitbull, David Guetta, LMFAO, Jennifer Lopez, Drake, Flo Rida, and Katy Perry. In the live season finale, Elektrolytes was declared the winner of Season 7 and received the $100,000 prize.
The crews must incorporate Britney Spears hits into their first routines.
Flo Rida performs; the crews must craft a routine to one of Flo Rida's hits.
The nine remaining crews choreograph routines inspired by Madonna's most iconic music videos.
The seven remaining crews choreograph routines inspired from songs by Drake.
The six remaining crews paid tribute to J.Lo. Her own choreographer, Beau "Casper" Smart, worked with the crews during rehearsals. Each crew's challenge was to highlight a defining moment in J.Lo's career. Smart also gave them an additional challenge that linked to their initial challenge. Pauly D also made an appearance as a guest DJ.
The five remaining crews began the episode with a dance number to "I Like: The Remix" featuring Enrique Iglesias and The WAV.s, alongside Season 6 runner-up ICONic Boyz. Then, each crew was given a country and an international dance style to incorporate into routines that were set to the music of Pitbull.
The five remaining crews choreograph routines inspired by Rihanna. Unlike last season, where her choreographer handed out the challenges, Rihanna delivers them to the crews herself.
The four remaining crews choreographed routines inspired by LMFAO, beginning with a group performance to "Live My Life" by Far East Movement featuring Justin Bieber. Redfoo from LMFAO handed out the dance challenges, and Season 3 champion Quest Crew visited the rehearsal studio to work with the crews.
The top three crews compete for the two spots in the championship round by choreographing routines to the music of David Guetta, starting with a group number to "Titanium" featuring Sia.
The final two crews dance to music from the upcoming concert film, Katy Perry: Part of Me, after meeting the pop starlet. Then, America's Best Dance Crew is crowned. The hour also features performances by past champions.
The crews are each assigned an iconic superstar in the music business that has been featured on the VMAs.
The crews must create their own concept and characters for a VMA-worthy performance in order to enter the semi-finals.
The remaining teams take on the 2015 VMA nominees.
The winning crew is announced in the Season 8 finale.
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