This episode started off with a bang in final four tradition: an opening performance featuring all of the crews. The whole Boys vs. Girls challenge got hammed up to the extreme as the whole theme of the dance was, yes, boys and girls gettin’ down at the club. Nevertheless, it was fun to see the rival crews partnering up with one another, whilst getting the chance to showcase their individual talents. Flashy and smiley = good ol’ entertainment. More »

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This weekend, it’s finally time for Kollaboration 9 in Los Angeles! Asian and Asian American artists will be competing in the largest talent show of its kind for prizes of up to $3,000 - not to mention massive bragging rights. But Kollaboration is actually two shows in one! There’s also going to be live performances from Jo Koy of Comedy Central, magician Norman Ng, and dance crews from MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew: Kaba Modern (Season 1), Fanny Pak (Season 2) and Team Millennia (Season 3) (Check out Ningin’s special America’s Best Dance Crew site here.) More »

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During the taping of the Boys vs. Girls episode of ABDC, I got the chance to speak with the friendly and laid back Justin Chon. The 27-year-old actor recently received national attention for his performance as Eric Yorkie in Twilight and is currently on the heels of another success: the upcoming film Crossing Over, an intense drama that weaves together several vignettes about immigrants in Los Angeles. More »

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For the first time in ABDC history, the final four crews are comprised of two male and two female teams, which naturally lends episode 6 the perfect opportunity to feature another ABDC first: a boys versus girls theme. Was it an accident that Rihanna and Chris Brown ended up in this mix? It’s one thing to have all your ugly business splashed all over tabloids and the blogosphere, but it sure is peculiar, to say the least, for it to be insinuated at in a national dance contest. Of course, you can call it a coincidence, but the scandal is still coal-iron-hot in the media, and you’d think featuring both singers, especially in a battle of the sexes context, is rather poor in taste. Oh well, it is what it is. Anyhow, I hope this tides you over until the episode airs, which—in light of a train of mediocre episodes—is definitely something to look forward to! More »

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You’ve got just two days to enter and win a pair of tickets to the largest Asian American talent competition in United States! Ningin will be giving two winners each a pair of tickets to Kollaboration 9 in Los Angeles this Saturday, February 21. Ningin favorite BoA will be performing live as a special guest! More »

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The new Lil’ Mama music video for “Truly In Love” is truly significant for its ‘firsts.’ It’s the first time we hear a softer Lil’ Mama rapping AND singing in a 50s doo-wop sounding Solange Knowles-esque song. It’s probably the first time an Asian American male (singer/songwriter Love’ *Peter Toh) is featured in an American music video as a romantic interest. It’s also the first time we see Fanny Pak, dance crew of ABDC Season 2 fame, in a music video. This, however, is not the first time I’ve liked a Lil’ Mama song.(Umm, whatchu know about me? Whatchu whatchu know about me?) Enjoy! More »

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I finally got the chance to speak to the Beat Freak and former Harajuku Girl Rino Nakasone, and what a great experience it was. In search of the dance flavors that originally inspired her to break out from the mold, the Okinawan-born performer came to Los Angeles ten years ago and has traced out a colorful and accomplished career for herself. What you see on stage is pretty much what you get in person: a boisterous and vibrant personality. What you may not get the chance to see on television, however, is her endless reserve of hearty laughter (and equally enthusiastic arm slaps). Even after only speaking briefly with her, it was apparent that she’s bubbling with warmth and personable energy: More »

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Five fabulous crews are left on Randy Jackson’s America’s Best Dance Crew. Tonight’s challenge was to emulate eye popping illusions. With the help of illusionist and magician Franz Harary, the teams used his suggestions on which props to use in defying reality in their choreography. Although only two groups out of five conjured up magic this week, four made it to next weeks episode. The judges had it going on this week with Shane Sparks looking nice in his Jabbawockeez tee. Also, Lil’Mama is looking much better every week: she’s choosing fashionable beauty over Brooklyn street style, and what a pretty choice it is. More »

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Normally, my stance on ABDC themes is that no matter how absurd some of them may be (re: stamina challenge), what really counts at the end of the day is how the crews own the challenges: incorporation, interpretation and execution are key. With a fun element like magic in play, the performances were all entertaining in their own right. However, it seems that for the first time this season, these challenges proved to be real choke up’s when it came to cohesion and choreography. More »

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Last week, I mentioned I didn’t catch the theme of this week’s challenge, and in case you haven’t caught wind of it yet, this week is all about magic tricks. Here is a list of the crews’ illusory challenges and their featured songs for the upcoming episode. I’ve gotta say, it was funny the powers that be decided to throw out two T. Pain songs because I’m still reeling from last week’s Lonely Island SNL digital short—featuring none other than T. Pain. I guess people can’t get enough of auto-tune nowadays… (Poseidon, look. at. meeeee.) Anyhooow, there isn’t much diversity as these are pretty much club and hip hop anthems, but as always, the songs always inform the theme of the crews’ dances, so you’ll just have to wait and see how these work out. For now, enjoy! More »

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During the taping of the Britney Spears Challenge, I got the chance to catch up briefly with ABDC judge Shane Sparks aka the only judge who consistently shows us that he knows what he’s talking about. After signing on with the William Morris talent agency, Sparks is currently involved with a hefty number of projects, which includes a major role in producing the Dreamgirls musical (based on the Oscar-winning 2006 film), first in South Korea and now in the U.S. I had no idea Dreamgirls is debuting in South Korea—February 27th at Seoul’s Charlotte Theatre, to be exact—so I hope this gets the word out if you’re in the dark about it like I was. I’m pretty much sold because of Sparks’ excitement, which has no shortage of accolades. Do check this show out if you’re in South Korea or if you plan on being there soon! More »

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Well, well, well… we’ve already hit the midpoint of season 3 of ABDC. I can’t speak for all of you, but I sure can’t believe we’re nearing the end. While many crews are stepping it up in ways I wouldn’t have expected, I think it’s safe to say that pretty much everyone is predicting that Beat Freaks and Quest Crew will go head to head in the final battle. We pretty much know everyone can dance, but when it comes to the best of the best, we’re looking for entertainment value, creativity and stage presence, which is definitely what we saw tonight in the Whack Track Challenge. More »

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Ok, you don’t have to. I’m neither a Steelers fan nor a Cardinals fan. But I am a fan of the yearly commercial spectacle that is the NFL Superbowl. I’m one of those people that watch it for the commercials more than the game. Often times, in the past few years, I found the commercials to be more fun to watch than the game itself.

So why the Steelers you ask? Since I have no affiliation or bias towards either, I’m forced to find some irrational reason to pick a side to win. Every sports fan does this. My reason, which readers of this Asian Media blog may be able to relate to is because the Steelers have three (or 2.5 depending on your math) Asian players on their team, Troy Polamalu, Heinz Ward, and Chris Kemoeatu. Polamalu and Ward aren’t just role players; they’re flat-out super stars at their positions. Polamalu in particular is one of the best if not the best Safety in the NFL right now next to Ed Reed of course. Arizona has a couple of Asians in Deuce Lutui and Pago Togafau but 3 is greater than 2 in most cases. Also Lutui and Togafau are replacement level players. More »

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Because of last week’s inane and lackluster challenge, I was prepared to resign to a downhill series of challenges. I mean, Britney Spears? I know she’s trying to revive her career and all, but it doesn’t make a Britney Spears challenge seem like anything more than an extreme product placement. Well, that said, it pretty much is a hamfisted attempt at promoting the exiled princess of pop, but I have to say, the challenges this week were pretty cool. More than that, this challenge finally gave the crews the chance to incorporate sex appeal and playful sass into their performances (technically, Fly Khicks do this every week, but you know what I mean). More »

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Welcome back, here is part 2 of the Quest Crew interview! In part 1 of the interview, I asked the boys about what they like to do in their downtime, but before we got the chance to get to Dominic, I had to ask about their favorite video games… Now, here are Dominic’s “hobbies,” in full glory: More »

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Last Tuesday, I got the chance to catch up with Quest Crew after the live taping of episode two. If goes without saying that all the members of Quest Crew are extremely talented individuals, but after speaking with them, I can safely add a few things more to the list: hilarious, friendly, humble, fun-loving, down to earth, determined, adorably boyish—okay, I’ll stop there… More »

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Granted, this week’s theme was nothing short of ridiculous—leap frogs, monkey rolls, knee kicks, side planks—but all the teams managed to incorporate their Fit Test Challenge moves, and did it well at that. My favorite routines included those of Quest Crew, Beat Freaks and Striker’s All-Stars. Although all of the themed moves were randomly assigned, they all managed to fit their respective crews amazingly well. More »

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So as it turns out, Asians are pretty good dancers. Thank you Jabbawockeez and Super Cr3w and all the other Asian crews from the first two seasons of America’s Best Dance Crew on MTV. You’ve completely dispelled a long, long time standing negative stereotype of Asians and you did it in basically one year. That’s the amazing thing to me. Not that other Asians on other tv shows didn’t have an impact. The combination of Jabba’s greatness and the shear reach of MTV provided a perfect opportunity. Funny, what happens when you categorically dismissed 3.5 billion people’s ability to do something.

Since ABDC has a special significance for Asian media, it has a special significance for Ningin. As you’ve noticed, we’ve expanded our coverage of ABDC with two bloggers writing recaps and commentaries. Ningin blogger, Tiffinie Lee will be covering the show live. They’ll be contests, at least two of them, cuz everyone loves free stuff. Of course, we’ll also have stills and videos of the Asian crews in the show. There’s other stuff we’re still trying to confirm, so just expect more than what I just listed. All of this is neatly presented in our special ABDC microsite which you should bookmark for the next 8 weeks!

Make sure to follow the progress of Beat Freaks, Boxcuttuhz, Quest, and Team Millennia with us! More »

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What a premiere… In terms of diversity of dancing, this episode had it all, whether it was Latin dance, crumpin’, flexin’ or clogging. While it was refreshing to see new acts, most of them floundered. For those who succeeded in episode one, a solid foundation in hip hop and bboy was key. Stomp and Riverdance may have their places in the dance world, but as far as being America’s Best Dance Crew, few of these specialized dances translated into wide, mainstream appeal. More »

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MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew returns this Thursday with another promising season and a new lineup of talented dance crews. Diversity is key in this season’s roster of crew competitors, with dance styles ranging from bboy to salsa to jazz funk. Much can’t be said about the diversity of these dance crews’ home bases as the majority of the crews are either from the West Coast or the East Coast, except for one crew from the South (Dynamic Edition) and another from Puerto Rico (G.O.P. Dance). The West Coast vs. East Coast issue refuses to end here. More »

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