HipHop-related stories
Posted Feb 27th 2009 9:20AM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Late Night, Interviews, Reality-Free

The Roots are taking their new gig as the official house band for
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon very seriously, even if their initial chances of scoring such a gig seemed like nothing more than a joke by a couple of the show's overworked staffers.
"We were the musical supervisors for [
Chappelle's Show] season two and three ... and Dave's partner Neal Brennan was brought over as a consultant, and he sort of jokingly recommended The Roots as a house band," said Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson in a conference call last Tuesday with Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter. "I guess the joke was sort of like, you know, I dare you to ask them, even though they're too busy to take it."
Continue reading The Roots are ready to rock, rap, jazz and even disco the set of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
Posted Jul 11th 2008 9:02AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, So You Think You Can Dance

(
S04E15)It's time to find out which dancers will be going on tour after
So You Think You Can Dance ends this August. I'm going to put it out there now (I think it's time): I want either Joshua or Katee to win this competition. I think it would be especially nice if the girl they almost didn't put on the show won the whole sha-bang!
Other thoughts before we begin... Nigel is a little cranky lately. I don't like him chiding Cat. All she did was remind everyone to tune in to the finale. By the way, there's going to be a sick popping battle during
SYTYCD's live finale. Awesome. My review of tonight's show is after the jump.
Continue reading So You Think You Can Dance: Top 10 Revealed
Posted Jul 3rd 2008 8:38AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, So You Think You Can Dance

(
S04E12) I'm filling in for
Jason as he had some technical difficulties last night. So let's get right to it. Tabitha and Napoleon were helping out Mary and Nigel at the judges table. And thank goodness for that. I've been waiting to see someone else's hip-hop choreography. Theirs is very hit or miss for me.
We got to see fourteen routines tonight on
So You Think You Can Dance as the seven couples appeared twice. I love when they move to this part of the competition. You get to see right away who has the determination, strength, and technical know-how to stay alive on this show.
And it was a night of crazy hair...
Continue reading So You Think You Can Dance: Top 14 Perform
Posted Jul 2nd 2008 10:24AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Video, TV Squad Lists, So You Think You Can Dance

A few days ago I put together
some of my favorite routines from
So You Think You Can Dance. I have to thank you readers for reminding me how many other great routines the show has had. They are even some I forgot about entirely. But I enjoyed watching them all over again.
After the jump are the reader picks and the videos. Don't forget to check out Jason's review of tonight's show and tell us what you thought of the performances.
So You Think You Can Dance airs on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET and on Thursdays at 9 p.m.
Continue reading So You Think You Can Dance routines: Reader favorites - VIDEOS
Posted Jun 28th 2008 11:26AM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, OpEd, Interviews, Celebrities, So You Think You Can Dance

On Tuesday I headed over to the Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, CA for a taping of
America's Best Dance Crew. I sat back in the V.I.P. room while the taping was going on. The show, which tapes at Stage 23, has a gigantic set this season (probably due to the first season's enormous and unexpected success). The taping is so boring though. While I was watching, they spent about twenty minutes taping the first thirty seconds where Mario Lopez starts things off. Each time they tweaked something he said, he got a little more annoyed. The audience never seemed to get tired of doing their job, applauding like maniacs.
But before anything started I got to interview judge Shane Sparks. Find out more about what
Sparks had to say about his involvement with
America's Best Dance Crew, his absence on this season's
So You Think You Can Dance, Wade Robson, and the JabbaWockeeZ after the jump.
Continue reading Shane Sparks: The TV Squad Interview
Posted Jun 12th 2008 12:04PM by Kristin Sample
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, So You Think You Can Dance

(
S04E06) The first night of performances and we've got a lot to consider. Nigel and Mary were joined by hip-hop choreographer Dan Karaty at the judges table and they led us through ten couples. We saw everything from smooth waltz to Broadway. And only one thing is for certain: it's going to be a tough competition. As Dan said in the beginning of the show, there are no front runners.
But after the ten couples strutted their stuff, the pack of ten had some leaders. Find out what happened last night on
So You Think You Can Dance after the jump.
Continue reading So You Think You Can Dance: Top 20 perform