World of Dance Season 3 premieres Wednesday, February 26. Find out everything you need to know about tonight's show including live-blogged results for which dancers made it through the qualifiers and into the next round.
World of Dance's two-hour Season 3 premiere kicks off Tuesday, February 26 at 9 p.m. EDT. During tonight's episode, talented dancers of all ages will take the stage in hopes of impressing the judges and moving one step closer to the million dollar grand prize.
World of Dance 2019: Who are the Season 3 Judges and Host?
Season 3 brings back the familiar faces of four music and dance celebrities from the last two seasons. Guiding the ship is singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer Jennifer Lopez, who serves as judge and producer for the show. By her side are choreographer Derek Hough and musician/dancer Ne-Yo. Access Live co-host Scott Evans serves as the show's host, replacing Jenna Dewan.
How Does Scoring Work?
As with last year, dancers from around the world audition for the judges in the qualifier rounds. The experts then score the acts according to World of Dance 's specific set of criteria: Performance, Technique, Choreography, Creativity, and Presentation. Dancers can receive up to five points in each category from each judge. All acts that receive a score of 85 points or more will qualify for the next round of the competition, Duels.
What Are The Four Competitive Divisions?
According to Parade, this season's first round of competitors includes over 50 dancers and teams from all over the world. The contestants are broken into four separate age-based categories: Junior (17 years old and under, 1-4 dancers), Junior Team (17 years old and under, 5-15 dancers), Upper (18 years old and older, 1-4 dancers), and Upper Team (18 years old and older, 5-15 dancers).
Once tonight's show kicks off, we'll we adding live blog updates and recap information on who made it through the qualifying rounds to the next level. In the meantime, if you missed last week's show, you can check the bottom of the article for a rundown of which performers' scores pushed them through to the next round of the competition.
World of Dance Season 3 Episode 1 Live Blog & Recap: Who Made It Through The First Round Of Qualifiers?
#1 Kings (Upper Group)
First up are adult bolly-hop dance group the Kings from Mumbai, India. The group has been dancing together for ten years and after conquering Bollywood, they hope to take over Hollywood too. Clad in black in red, the team performs some incredible gymnastic feats that are pretty incredible to behold. From flips and jumps to human pyramids and more, it's like these guys are made of rubber. By the end of the performance, all the judges are throwing shoes for their spectacular performance.
"The stuff you guys did, shouldn't be possible. You defied gravity," said Ne-Yo.
"What an incredible start. So good," said Derek. "Y'all are the Kings!"
It takes so much trust … you must put in so much time to get something like that right. I respect that," said Jennifer.
The judges' scores were as follows:
- Ne-Yo: 97
- Jennifer: 98
- Derek: 98
Total Score: 97.7
The Kings are moving on to the next round of the competition.
#2 Erica and Aiden (Upper - Eliminated)
Up next is urban contemporary duo Erica and Aiden. Clad in simple silver and black outfits, the pair put on an emotional performance to "Better Now" by Post Malone. The performance told a story and was well executed.
"There were some good tricks in there, but I can kind of tell you haven't been together long," said Jennifer.
"At the beginning, you were a little out of sync … but overall it was a strong performance," said Derek.
The contrast between the more staccato poppy bits versus the lifts and things just didn't come together for me personally," said Ne-Yo.
The judges' scores were as follows:
- Ne-Yo: 84
- Jennifer: 85
- Derek: 85
- Overall Score: 84.7
The team just barely falls under the mark and will not be moving forward.
#2 Funkanometry (Junior)
Third on stage are hip-hop duo, Carlo and Jackson. The 15 and 16-year-olds from Vancouver Island, Canada perform an energetic dance routine that gets the crowd and judges laughing and cheering.
"You guys are characters and that really helps in this type of dance," said Derek. "Your performance was refreshing," said Derek.
"I thought the performance was entertaining and fun, but I'm not sure how competitive it is because of the simplicity," said Ne-Yo.
The judges' scores were as follows:
- Ne-Yo: 88
- Jennifer: 87
- Derek: 87
- Overall Score: 87.3
Funkanometry will be headed to the Duels.
#3 - The Crazy 8's (Junior Team)
Genre: Contemporary
The judges' scores were as follows:
- Ne-Yo: 93
- Jennifer: 95
- Derek: 91
- Overall Score: 93
The Crazy 8's will move on to the Duels.
#4 - Jonathan y Jorge (Upper)
Genre: Salsa
The judges' scores were as follows:
- Ne-Yo: 90
- Jennifer: 87
- Derek: 89
- Overall Score: 88.7
Jonathan y Jorge will move on to the Duels.
Julian and Charlize (Junior)
Genre: Hip-Hop
The judges' scores were as follows:
- Ne-Yo: 87
- Jennifer: 88
- Derek: 85
- Overall Score: 87
Julian and Charlize will move on to the Duels.
The Heima (Upper Team)
Genre: Hip-Hop
Location: South Korea
The judges' scores were as follows:
- Ne-Yo: 87
- Jennifer: 88
- Derek: 86
- Overall Score: 87
Heima will move on to the Duels.
Minibots (Junior Team - Eliminated)
Genre: Popping
Poppin John (Upper)
Genre: Popping
The judges' scores were as follows:
- Ne-Yo: 84
- Jennifer: 86
- Derek: 86
- Overall Score: 85.3
Poppin John will move on to the Duels.
Ellie and Ava (Junior)
Genre: Contemporary
The judges' scores were as follows:
- Ne-Yo: 95
- Jennifer: 89
- Derek: 93
- Overall Score: 92.3
Ellie and Ava will move on to the Duels.
D'Angelo Brothers (Upper)
Genre: Tap
The judges' scores were as follows:
- Ne-Yo: 87
- Jennifer: 86
- Derek: 89
- Overall Score: 87.3
The D'Angelo Brothers will move on to the Duels.
Lauren Yakima (Junior)
Genre: Contemporary
The judges' scores were as follows:
- Ne-Yo: 97
- Jennifer: 94
- Derek: 96
- Overall Score: 95.7
The D'Angelo Brothers will move on to the Duels.
When Does World of Dance Air Next?
World of Dance returns to NBC on Sundays at 8 p.m starting March 3. Viewers can watch the competition live on NBC or stream via the NBC app or the network's website. Folks with Hulu's Live TV service will also be able to stream the show in real-time, while those with basic Hulu subscriptions can watch the premiere on-demand after it airs. World of Dance is also available for streaming on platforms such as FuboTV and Sling TV.
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