America's Best Dance Crew season 3

The third season of America's Best Dance Crew premiered on January 15, 2009. The season was once again hosted by Mario Lopez and featured Layla Kayleigh as the backstage correspondent. Lil Mama, JC Chasez, and Shane Sparks returned as the judging panel. This was the first season without a special casting episode. In the live finale, which aired on March 5, 2009, Quest Crew was declared the winner.^[1]

America's Best Dance Crew
Season 3
Hosted by	Mario Lopez
Judges	JC Chasez Lil Mama Shane Sparks
Winner	Quest Crew
Release
Original network	MTV
Original release	January 15 (2009-01-15) – March 5, 2009 (2009-03-05)
Season chronology

Cast

Similar to the first season, nine dance crews were selected to compete on America's Best Dance Crew, as opposed to ten. While the crews were not officially divided into the usual four regions (East Coast, West Coast, Midwest, and South) as with the previous two seasons, the regions were still listed on each crew's banner. This was also the first season to showcase a crew from the Caribbean. Team Millennia, who was eliminated during the Season 2 casting special, returned as one of the nine official dance crews.^[2]

Dance Crew	Hometown	Region
Beat Freaks	Los Angeles, California	West
Boxcuttuhz	San Diego, California	West
Dynamic Edition	Winfield, Alabama	South
Fly Khicks	Miami, Florida	South
G.O.P. Dance	San Juan, Puerto Rico	Caribbean
Quest Crew	Los Angeles, California	West
Ringmasters	Brooklyn, New York	East
Strikers All-Stars	Tallahassee, Florida	South
Team Millennia	Fullerton, California	West

Results

Rank	Dance Crew	Episode
		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
1	Quest Crew	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	RISK	WINNER
2	Beat Freaks	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	RUNNER-UP
3	Fly Khicks	RISK	IN	IN	RISK	RISK	RISK	OUT
4	Strikers All-Stars	IN	IN	IN	IN	IN	OUT
5	Dynamic Edition	IN	IN	IN	IN	OUT
6	Ringmasters	IN	IN	RISK	OUT
7	Team Millennia	IN	RISK	OUT
8	Boxcuttuhz	RISK	OUT
9	G.O.P. Dance	OUT

Key

  (WINNER) The dance crew won the competition and was crowned "America's Best Dance Crew".

  (RUNNER-UP) The dance crew was the runner-up in the competition.

  (IN) The dance crew was safe from elimination.

  (RISK) The dance crew was at risk for elimination.

  (OUT) The dance crew was eliminated from the competition.

Episodes

Episode 1: Sudden Death Challenge

• Original Airdate: January 15, 2009

The crews performed to the songs of their choosing. Then, the judges chose the bottom three crews to compete in a sudden death dance battle to "Live Your Life" by T.I. Rynan "Kid Rainen" Paguio from JabbaWockeeZ temporarily guest judged in place of JC Chasez, who later returned the following episode.^[3]

Dance Crew	Song
Strikers All-Stars	"Swing Ya Rag" by T.I. feat. Swizz Beatz
Beat Freaks	"Din Daa Daa" by George Kranz
G.O.P. Dance	"Rompe" by Daddy Yankee
Quest Crew	"Hero" by Nas feat. Keri Hilson
Fly Khicks	"Milkshake" by Kelis
Ringmasters	"Welcome Back" by Young Jeezy
Boxcuttuhz	"Bonafied Lovin'" by Chromeo
Dynamic Edition	"My Humps" by The Black Eyed Peas
Team Millennia	"Beating Heart Baby" by Head Automatica

• Safe: Strikers All-Stars, Beat Freaks, Quest Crew, Ringmasters, Dynamic Edition, Team Millennia
• Bottom 3: G.O.P. Dance, Fly Khicks, Boxcuttuhz
• Eliminated: G.O.P. Dance

Episode 2: Fit Test Challenge

• Original Airdate: January 22, 2009

Each crew was given a physical activity/exercise to incorporate into their routine.

Dance Crew	Song	Challenge
Quest Crew	"Let It Rock" by Kevin Rudolf feat. Lil Wayne	Kickboxing
Fly Khicks	"Krazy" by Pitbull feat. Lil Jon	Spring back
Strikers All-Stars	"Move (If You Wanna) by Mims	Monkey roll
Beat Freaks	"Independent" by Webbie feat. Lil Boosie	Side plank
Dynamic Edition	"Shake That" by Eminem feat. Nate Dogg	High knees
Ringmasters	"Put On" by Young Jeezy feat. Kanye West	Soldier crawl
Team Millennia	"Disturbia" by Rihanna	Leap frog
Boxcuttuhz	"Everyone Nose" by N.E.R.D.	Mountain climber

• Safe: Quest Crew, Fly Khicks, Strikers All-Stars, Beat Freaks, Dynamic Edition, Ringmasters
• Bottom 2: Team Millennia, Boxcuttuhz
• Eliminated: Boxcuttuhz

Episode 3: Britney Challenge

• Original Airdate: January 29, 2009

The crews took inspiration from Britney Spears' music videos to create their routines. Andre Fuentes, Spears' choreographer, assigned additional challenges for the crews to complete.

Dance Crew	Song	Challenge
Beat Freaks	"Womanizer"	Perform the tough and seductive sides of Britney from the video.
Strikers All-Stars	"Gimme More"	Perform while creating mirror images of themselves.
Dynamic Edition	"Stronger"	Perform while incorporating chair choreography.
Quest Crew	"Toxic"	Perform a portion of their routine blindfolded.
Fly Khicks	"...Baby One More Time"	Perform with sharp pirouettes in their routine.
Team Millennia	"Me Against the Music" feat. Madonna	Perform with a hat and cane as props.
Ringmasters	"Circus"	Perform while creating the illusion of a giant person.

• Safe: Beat Freaks, Strikers All-Stars, Dynamic Edition, Quest Crew, Fly Khicks
• Bottom 2: Team Millennia, Ringmasters
• Eliminated: Team Millennia

Episode 4: Whack Track Challenge

• Original Airdate: February 5, 2009

The crews performed to cliché songs that spurred uncool and silly dance crazes. Each crew had to incorporate their respective song's dance into their routines, while also trying to make the moves look fresh.

Dance Crew	Song
Quest Crew	"You Got It (The Right Stuff)" by New Kids on the Block
Strikers All-Stars	"2 Legit 2 Quit" by MC Hammer
Beat Freaks	"Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)" by The Offspring
Dynamic Edition	"Achy Breaky Heart" by Billy Ray Cyrus
Ringmasters	"Macarena" by Los Del Rio
Fly Khicks	"Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)" by C+C Music Factory

• Safe: Quest Crew, Strikers All-Stars, Beat Freaks, Dynamic Edition
• Bottom 2: Ringmasters, Fly Khicks
• Eliminated: Ringmasters

Episode 5: Illusion Challenge

• Original Airdate: February 12, 2009

The crews had to perform their routines utilizing various magic tricks and illusions.

Dance Crew	Song	Challenge
Beat Freaks	"Freeze" by T-Pain feat. Chris Brown	Perform while making something levitate.
Quest Crew	"Got Money" by Lil Wayne feat. T-Pain	Perform while passing an object through their bodies.
Strikers All-Stars	"Swing" by Savage	Perform while walking through a solid object.
Dynamic Edition	"Starstruck" by Lady Gaga feat. Flo Rida	Perform while trying to appear out of thin air.
Fly Khicks	"Diva" by Beyoncé	Perform while stretching like rubber.

• Safe: Beat Freaks, Quest Crew, Strikers All-Stars
• Bottom 2: Dynamic Edition, Fly Khicks
• Eliminated: Dynamic Edition

Episode 6: Battle of the Sexes Challenge

• Original Airdate: February 19, 2009

The episode started off with a group performance, choreographed by Napoleon and Tabitha D'umo, featuring Ludacris' "What Them Girls Like" and Beyoncé's "Single Ladies".

The two remaining male crews then battled against the two remaining female crews. Each crew had to emulate a male or female superstar's music video, and were challenged to incorporate the spirit of the video into their choreography.

Dance Crew	Song
Quest Crew	"Forever" by Chris Brown
Beat Freaks	"Hot n Cold" by Katy Perry
Strikers All-Stars	"Pose" by Daddy Yankee
Fly Khicks	"Pon De Replay" by Rihanna

• Safe: Quest Crew, Beat Freaks
• Bottom 2: Strikers All-Stars, Fly Khicks
• Eliminated: Strikers All-Stars

Episode 7: Hip-Hop Decathlon Challenge

• Original Airdate: February 26, 2009

The crews competed against each other in two challenges: the Hip-Hop Decathlon and the Last Chance Challenge. After the mid-show elimination, the top two crews performed their routines for the Last Chance Challenge.

Challenge #1: Hip-Hop Decathlon Challenge

The three remaining crews had to demonstrate their versatility by creating a routine that incorporated five different hip hop dance styles. The competitors were given the same five styles and songs, and received help from five guest ABDC alumni from the previous two seasons. Each alumnus/alumna was assigned to one of the dance styles the crews were responsible for.

Song	Style	Guest
"Poker Face" by Lady Gaga	Threading	Ronnie "Ronnie Boy" Abaldonado of Super CR3W
"I'm in Miami, Trick" by LMFAO"	Waving	Kevin "KB" Brewer of JabbaWockeeZ
"Love Lockdown" by Kanye West	Tutting	Mike Song of Kaba Modern
"Closer" by Ne-Yo	Housing	Taeko Carroll of Fysh n Chicks
"Get Up" by 50 Cent	Krumping	Antoine "Frost" Troupe of Supreme Soul

• Safe: Beat Freaks
• Bottom 2: Quest Crew, Fly Khicks
• Eliminated: Fly Khicks

Challenge #2: Last Chance Challenge

The two finalists were given one last chance to perform before the lines opened for the final voting session of the season.

Dance Crew	Performance Title
Beat Freaks	Freak the Dream
Quest Crew	OrQUESTra

Episode 8: Live Finale

• Original Airdate: March 5, 2009

The eliminated crews returned and performed with the finalists for a collaboration. The judges each picked three crews that complemented each other and their dance styles. Instead of going head-to-head, Quest Crew and Beat Freaks teamed up for their last performance.

Dance Crew(s)	Song
Shane Sparks: Quest Crew, Strikers All-Stars, and Dynamic Edition	"Right Round" by Flo Rida
JC Chasez: Beat Freaks, Team Millennia and Boxcuttuhz	"Just Dance" by Lady Gaga
Lil Mama: Fly Khicks, Ringmasters, and G.O.P Dance	"Numba 1 (Tide Is High)" by Kardinal Offishall feat. Keri Hilson
Quest Crew and Beat Freaks	"Beggin'" by Madcon
Quest Crew	"On Top of The World'" by T.I. feat. Ludacris

• Winner: Quest Crew
• Runner-up: Beat Freaks