america's best dance crew season 2: week one

Last night was the official premiere of the second season MTV's America's Best Dance Crew (there was an audition pre-show that kicked things off last week), with a whole new set of crews vying for the coveted title of America's best... well, you know. Some thoughts on the new season:

It ain't the same. With a few exceptions, nobody quite struck me the way JabbaWockeeZ and Kaba Modern did when I first saw them. It was clear from the beginning of last season that Jabba was a frontrunner, and no performance has blown me away the Kaba did with that first audition. This new crop of crews is great, no doubt, but none of them came with that same 'wow' factor.

There are a lot of Asians. I'm not just talking about one or two mostly-Asian crews—after last night, there's at least one Asian American member on all nine remaining crews. It's almost like it was a requirement, or maybe we're the lucky charm. Who the hell do I root for this time? Supreme Soul? Phresh Select? Boogie Bots? Super Cr3w? A.S.I.I.D.? Fanny Pak? Sass x7?

Maybe it's SoReal Cru, who I affectionately call "Kaba Houston." Hailing from Texas, you can't deny they have a similar style to Kaba Modern—that's a compliment—and they're the one all-Asian crew. From the moment I saw them on the audition show, they are definitely one of my favorites in the competition. Last night's performance was very cool, very smooth. Vote for them here.

The boy band-esque Xtreme Dance Force isn't very impressive. But damn, what's worse, they easily have the worst name out of any crew in the competition. Fresh out of Naperville, Illinois, their name makes them sound like a group that performs Saturdays in the juniors department at JC Penney. Shane Sparks kind of tore them apart last night... and they deserved it.

A.S.I.I.D. is being touted as the inspirational crew to watch, thanks to Joseph Antonio, the hearing impaired member on their roster. You've got to admit, his story is pretty inspirational. They're all right, but his presence in the group definitely makes them a lot more interesting.

After seeing Benson Lee's Planet B-Boy, I definitely have a huge appreciation for what Super Cr3w is doing. They're definitely bringing that unique B-boy showmanship to the competition. But did they really have to go with that whole ninja vibe? They could've done just as well without it.

Crew that needs to go sooner than later: Sass x7, because really, as much as they try deny it, they're just a bunch of cheerleaders. Dude, they looked like the Laker Girls last night. They're kind of like the anti-Fysh N Chicks (who I really liked last season)... and they're way out of their league here.

Crew that could surprise everybody: The 80s-inflected Fanny Pak, because nobody's doing what they're doing and they've got a style that's all their own. It's really fun, different, and so far, I'm digging it. I think they're just a bit misunderstood. They landed in the bottom two last night, but I hope people give them a chance.