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| Network: | MTV |
The fourth season of America's Best Dance Crew premiered on August 9, 2009.[1] All three regular judges, host Mario Lopez, and backstage correspondent Layla Kayleigh returned. This was the last season to feature Shane Sparks as a judge. In the live finale, which aired on September 27, 2009, We Are Heroes was declared the winner.
Nine dance crews were selected to compete on America's Best Dance Crew.
| Dance Crew | Hometown | Region | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AfroBoriké | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Caribbean | |
| Artistry in Motion | North Hollywood, California | West | |
| Beat Ya Feet Kings | Washington, D.C. | East | |
| Fr3sh | Matawan, New Jersey | East | |
| Massive Monkees | Seattle, Washington | West | |
| Rhythm City | Bronx, New York | East | |
| Southern Movement | South | ||
| Vogue Evolution | New York, New York | East | |
| We Are Heroes | Los Angeles, California | West |
| Rank | Dance Crew | Episode | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | We Are Heroes | IN | IN | IN | RISK | RISK | IN | RISK | WINNER | ||||||||||
| 2 | AfroBoriké | IN | RISK | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | RUNNER-UP | ||||||||||
| 3 | Massive Monkees | IN | IN | IN | IN | IN | RISK | OUT | |||||||||||
| 4 | Rhythm City | IN | IN | RISK | IN | IN | OUT | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Vogue Evolution | IN | IN | IN | IN | OUT | |||||||||||||
| 6 | Beat Ya Feet Kings | RISK | IN | IN | OUT | ||||||||||||||
| 7 | Southern Movement | RISK | IN | OUT | |||||||||||||||
| 8 | Artistry in Motion | IN | OUT | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Fr3sh | OUT | |||||||||||||||||
The nine new crews chose songs that best showcased their talent in the season premiere.[2] After the bottom three was chosen by the judges, the crews had to face each other in a dance battle to "Boom Boom Pow" by The Black Eyed Peas.[3]
| Dance Crew | Song | |
|---|---|---|
| Beat Ya Feet Kings | "Skillet" by Backyard Band | |
| We Are Heroes | "Waters of Nazareth" by Justice | |
| AfroBoriké | "Aguanile" by Marc Anthony | |
| Massive Monkees | "Kill Joy" by N.E.R.D. | |
| Artistry in Motion | "SFM" by Basement Jaxx | |
| Southern Movement | "Sideways" by Dierks Bentley | |
| Rhythm City | "Life of a Star" by Mims | |
| Fr3sh | "Ante Up" by M.O.P. | |
| Vogue Evolution | "Took the Night" by Chelley |
Beyoncé stopped by to hand out the challenges for the crews, who had to use her music videos and tour performances as inspiration for their routines.[4]
| Dance Crew | Song[5] | Challenge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| We Are Heroes | "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" | Take the section of the video known as "The Grind" and create strobe effects. | |
| Rhythm City | "Sweet Dreams" | Update "The Charleston" which is featured in the video. | |
| Massive Monkees | "Work It Out" | Dance with hula hoops without accidentally dropping them. | |
| Beat Ya Feet Kings | "Crazy In Love" | Booty-pop with never before seen flare. | |
| Southern Movement | "Jumpin' Jumpin'" by Destiny's Child | Bust out all of the moves from the video with new creativity. | |
| Vogue Evolution | "Déjà Vu" | Perform African-style dancing within their routine. | |
| Artistry in Motion | "Diva" | Perform with chains incorporating the entire crew. | |
| AfroBoriké | "Beautiful Liar" by Beyoncé and Shakira | Work exotic Shakira-like moves into the routine. |
The crews had to incorporate martial arts moves into their routines. Quest Crew's Steve Terada appeared as a guest instructor.[6]
| Dance Crew | Song[7] | Challenge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AfroBoriké | "I Know You Want Me (Calle Ocho)" by Pitbull | Capoeira | |
| We Are Heroes | "Starstrukk" by 3OH!3 | Karate | |
| Vogue Evolution | "Work" by Ciara feat. Missy Elliott | Shaolin Kung Fu | |
| Massive Monkees | "Bounce" by MSTRKRFT feat. NORE | Extreme Martial Arts | |
| Beat Ya Feet Kings | "Chillin'" by Wale feat. Lady Gaga | Taekwondo | |
| Rhythm City | "La La La" by LMFAO | Muay Thai | |
| Southern Movement | "Ugly" by Bubba Sparxxx | Kali |
The six remaining crews were challenged to infuse the flavor of Bollywood culture into their routines.[8] In order to learn the complex Indian-themed dance style, the crews met with Bollywood choreographer Nakul Dev Mahajan.[9]
| Dance Crew | Song[10] | Challenge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Massive Monkees | "Bang" by Rye Rye feat. M.I.A. | Bhangra | |
| Vogue Evolution | "Calabria 2008" by Enur | Rajasthani | |
| Rhythm City | "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)" by A.R. Rahman and The Pussycat Dolls | Bharatanatyam | |
| AfroBoriké | "Dance Bailalo" by Kat DeLuna | Kathak | |
| We Are Heroes | "Arab Money" by Busta Rhymes and Ron Browz | Giddha | |
| Beat Ya Feet Kings | "So Fine" by Sean Paul | Garba |
The five remaining crews put their own spins on popular dance crazes.[11] In addition to the challenge, the crews also had used the trampoline built into the stage sometime during their routines.
| Dance Crew | Song[12] | Challenge | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AfroBoriké | "Swag Surfin'" by Fast Life Yungstaz | Swag Surfin' | |
| Massive Monkees | "Do the Ricky Bobby" by B-Hamp | Ricky Bobby | |
| Rhythm City | "You're a Jerk" by New Boyz | Jerkin' | |
| We Are Heroes | "Stanky Legg" by GS Boyz | Stanky Legg | |
| Vogue Evolution | "Halle Berry" by Hurricane Chris | Halle Berry |
The final four crews paid tribute to memorable performances from the MTV Video Music Awards.[13] The crews performed together in an opening number to "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson.[14]
| Dance Crew | Song[15] | |
|---|---|---|
| We Are Heroes | "Vogue" by Madonna | |
| AfroBoriké | "I'm a Slave 4 U" by Britney Spears | |
| Massive Monkees | "Tearin' Up My Heart" by
| |
| Rhythm City |
The crews competed against each other in two challenges: the Decade of Dance Challenge, in which the crews danced to a mix of five songs from the past five decades, and the Last Chance Challenge.[16]
The remaining three crews had to master dance styles from the last five decades. One crew was eliminated halfway through the show.
| Decade | Song[17] | |
|---|---|---|
| 1960s | "Sex Machine" by James Brown | |
| 1970s | "Uprock" by Rock Steady Crew | |
| 1980s | "Cold Hearted" by Paula Abdul | |
| 1990s | "You Make Me Wanna" by Usher | |
| 2000s | "LoveGame" by Lady Gaga |
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 |
|---|---|
| AfroBoriké | Raíces |
| We Are Heroes | Ichiban |
All nine crews returned for a group performance in the season finale. The judges each picked three crews that complemented each other and their dance styles. Then, the winner was crowned.[18]
| Crews | Song | |
|---|---|---|
| Lil Mama We Are Heroes, Vogue Evolution and Artistry in Motion | "Girls On The Dance Floor" by Far East Movement feat. The Stereotypes | |
| JC Chasez AfroBoriké, Rhythm City and Fr3sh | "Fire Burning" by Sean Kingston | |
| Shane Sparks Massive Monkees, Beat Ya Feet Kings and Southern Movement | "I Do" by Lil Jon feat. Swizz Beatz and Snoop Dogg | |
| We Are Heroes and AfroBoriké | "I Gotta Feeling" by The Black Eyed Peas | |
| We Are Heroes | "I'm The Ish" by DJ Class feat. Lil Jon |