The second season of American reality competition television series World of Dance premiered May 29, 2018, on NBC. Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo, and Derek Hough returned as the judges. Jenna Dewan also returned as the host for her second and final season.
Production Season 2 was taped between January and March 2018 at Universal Studios Hollywood; about two months before first airing.
Format changes While the format for season 2 remained relatively unchanged, there were a few slight alterations. Season 2 received a 16-episode order., six more than the ten-episode first season. Additionally, this season, a fourth category, Junior Team, was added for acts under 18 with 5 or more members. The qualifier rounds are cut down from a two minutes to a one-minute routine. The Duels are cut down from two minutes to a ´75 seconds´-routine. The top three highest-scoring acts in The Cut from each division will move on to The Divisional Final, in last season it was just the top two. The Cut, Divisional and World Final rounds are cut down from a two minutes to a '90 seconds'-routine. In The Cut and Divisional Final guest celebrities are assigned as mentors to each division. On World Final there are intermezzo shows. This season by Les Twins, Keone & Mari (actually Mariel) Madrid, Kinjaz and Derek Hough.
Show concept In preparation for season two, handpicked competitors, being talented in any styles of dancing, from qualifying events around the nation and thousands of online submissions, are divided into four divisions: Junior (groups of 1–4, under 18), Upper (groups of 1–4, 18 and older), Junior Team (groups of 5+, under 18) and Upper Team (groups of 5+, 18 and older). In some cases dancers who didn't apply were directly contacted by the producers or their agents.
The elimination process of the contestants are in four rounds:
The Qualifiers - The contestants have to qualify with at least 80 points to make it to The Duels. The Duels - The contestants choose their opponent starting with the highest scorer from the qualifiers. If the number of contestants in a division is uneven, the last duel will be competed by the three remaining opponents that were unpicked previously. The winner of the duel is the contestant/s with the highest score who then move on to The Cut. The Cut - Mentors are assigned to each division to prepare the contestants for their performances. The top three scoring acts in each division move on to Divisional Final. Divisional Final - The mentors still support the contestants from each division. A guest judge joins the panel, so there are four judges. The top scoring act in each division will become division champion and move on to the World Final.
In the World Final all four division champions will compete for the US$1,000,000 grand prize. The concept of last season is copied; every contestant will perform twice in two separate rounds. The average score of both rounds by each contestant will make their final score. The contestant(s) with the highest final score will be crowned World of Dance champion 2018 and will win the US$1,000,000 grand prize.
Scoring The judges are scoring in 5 categories. Each category is worth 20 points, with a perfect score of 100: Performance (20 points): Effort: How many different elements were put into the routine without overloading or rushing through it. What was the whole effort to dance the performance by the act. Personality: How characters and personality put into the performance, in the sense of acting to stimulate emotions by the audience, telling a story or framing pictures. Technique (20 points): Transitions: How smooth and elegant the transitions from move to move were without lacking a performance moment. Cleanness: How synchronized, ordered by a pattern, precise and committed the movements were within the act. Execution: How flawless the execution of the performance by the act was to the performance song. Choreography (20 points): Difficulty: How difficult it was to perform the figures and movements by the act from judges point of view. Musicality: How well pictures, figures and movements were choreographed to the sound and beat of the performance song. Tricks: Are unexpected show elements included by properties, clothing or the bodies of the dancers and how well was it done. Creativity (20 points): Originality: How unique, new, fresh and interesting was the performance. Artistic Choices: What styles of dancing were shown and merged. How well was it done regarding basic dance styles and style culture, e.g. costumes, shoes. The performance song and the use of properties are artistic choices as well. How well did they fit to the performance. Dynamics: How energizing and powerful the performance was and how much action was on stage. Presentation (20 points): Crowd Appeal: How the crowd around the show stage reacted to the performance. Impact: How memorable, influential and worth talking about it later the performance was.
Judges, host and mentors
Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo, and Derek Hough returned as the series judges, with Jenna Dewan returning as host. Misty Copeland, who guest judged in season 1, came back as guest judge for the Divisional Final, with Julianne Hough, Mel B, Savion Glover and Paula Abdul also joining as guest mentors for The Cut.
Tony Award winner Savion Glover, collaborated with judge Jennifer Lopez with the Junior Team division. Actress, dancer, singer and Emmy Award-winning choreographer Julianne Hough, worked with her brother, judge Derek Hough, in the Upper division. “America’s Got Talent” judge Mel B joined forces with judge Ne-Yo in mentoring the Junior division. World-renowned dancer/choreographer Paula Abdul teamed with host/mentor Jenna Dewan in the Upper Team division Grammy Award-winning and multi-platinum selling artist Ciara joined as guest mentor during the Divisional Final as well (airing Wednesday, Sept. 5 at 9 p.m. ET/PT).
Three weeks after the season finale host Jenna Dewan publicly announced that she would not return as host for season 3. “It has been an absolute thrill to be a part of this incredible, groundbreaking show from the very beginning. I am forever grateful of my NBC family. However I will not be returning to the show as host for season 3.” While she did not return for season 3 as a host, she confirmed she would be returning briefly as a mentor.
Dancers The acts competing in season 2 were released by People on May 1, 2018, and Bustle. The list of contestants who made it to The Duels is published by NewsWeek, except Elektro Elite and ThaMOST (s.below). The ages for each dance act were made available on the World of Dance website.
+ Table key Key Description Contestant(s) came in first in the World Final and won the competition Contestant(s) didn't win in the World Final Contestant(s) has/have qualified for the Divisional Final but didn't make it to The World Final Contestant(s) has/have qualified for The Cut but didn't make it to The Divisional Final Contestant(s) has/have qualified for The Duels but didn't make it to The Cut Contestant(s) did not advance in The Qualifiers
Junior (under 18, up to 4 members) Dance act Age(s) Hometown Dance style Elimination date Placement Average Score Charity & Andres 17 Springville, Utah Contemporary - World Final (3rd Place) 94.9 Sean & Kaycee 16/15 Los Angeles, California Hip Hop Fusion September 5, 2018 Divisional Final 93.4 Jaxon Willard 16 American Fork, Utah Contemporary September 5, 2018 Divisional Final 92.1 Josh & Taylor 18/15 Edmonton, Canada Hip Hop August 29, 2018 Cut 90.3 Avery & Marcus 13/17 San Clemente, California / Scottsdale, Arizona Contemporary Ballet August 29, 2018 Cut 87.5 Jonas & Ruby 14/15 Miami, Florida Ballroom August 29, 2018 Cut 88.1 Madison Brown 12 Wellington, Florida Contemporary August 29, 2018 Cut 86.3 Victoria Caban 14 Jersey City, New Jersey Flamenco August 29, 2018 Cut 90.0 3 Xtreme 13-15 Bergen County, New Jersey Hip Hop August 1, 2018 Duels 85.2 Daniel & Mishella 10 Los Angeles, California Ballroom August 15, 2018 Duels 84.9 Elektro Elite 14-16* Gilbert, Arizona Hip Hop August 15, 2018 Duels Elektro Elite qualified with 80 points. Based on episode 9 1:10:31 video of NBC WOD website displayed charts. 81.7 Eva Igo 15 Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota Contemporary July 25, 2018 Duels 93.5 FRESHH 14-16 Vancouver, Canada Hip Hop August 8, 2018 Duels 86.0 Lucas Marinetto 14 Leesburg, Virginia Tap August 8, 2018 Duels 85.4 Second to None 13-15 San Diego, California Tap August 15, 2018 Duels 84.5 Vivian Ruiz 16 Miami, Florida Contemporary August 1, 2018 Duels 89.4 The Gentlemen - Fairfield, California Hip Hop July 17, 2018 Qualifiers 79.7 Ages of Elektro Elite are taken from a personal Q&A video.
Junior Team (under 18, 5-15 members) Dance act Age(s) Hometown Dance style Elimination date Placement Average Score The Lab 8-16 West Covina, California Hip Hop - Winners 97.0 Fabulous Sisters 11-17 Fukushima, Japan Urban Dance September 5, 2018 Divisional Final 94.7 The Rock Company 10-16 Las Vegas, Nevada Contemporary September 5, 2018 Divisional Final 91.9 Expressenz 14-17 Indianapolis, Indiana Contemporary August 22, 2018 Cut 89.3 FLIP 15-17 Quebec, Canada Whacking August 22, 2018 Cut 87.1 The Pulse 15-17 Orem, Utah Ballroom August 22, 2018 Cut 84.2 Quad Squad 11-17 Anaheim Hills, California Contemporary August 22, 2018 Cut 89.3 Cubcakes Dance Crew 9-12 Orange County, California Hip Hop August 8, 2018 Duels 85.5 Dem Raider Boyz 15-17 Greenbelt, Maryland Stepping August 8, 2018 Duels 84.7 Girl Cool 11-17 Los Angeles, California Jazz/Fusion August 15, 2018 Duels 82.9 Iowa Girlz 12-16 Pleasant Hill, Iowa Contemporary August 15, 2018 Duels 85.7 Lil Killaz Crew 11-17 Minsk, Belarus B-Boying August 1, 2018 Duels 84.4 RASCALS 9-17 Waipahu, Hawaii Hip Hop July 25, 2018 Duels 89.5 Tribe Unleashed 11-17 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Hip Hop August 15, 2018 Duels 82.9 The Untouchables 10-17 Miami, Florida Ballroom July 25, 2018 Duels 89.0
Upper (18 and over, up to 4 members) Dance act Age(s) Hometown Dance style Elimination date Placement Average Score Michael Dameski 22 Sydney, Australia Contemporary - World Final (Runner-up) 95.0 Karen y Ricardo 23/24 Santiago, Chile Latin Cabaret September 5, 2018 Divisional Final 98.1 Ashley & Zack 24/26 Los Angeles, California Contemporary September 5, 2018 Divisional Final 88.8 Alisa & Joseph 23/30 Estonia & Greece Urban Dance August 22, 2018 Cut 88.2 BDash & Konkrete 27/29 Los Angeles, California Krumping August 22, 2018 Cut 93.2 DNA 28/32 New York City, New York Ballroom August 22, 2018 Cut 88.6 MarInspired 23/27 Los Angeles, California Contemporary August 22, 2018 Cut 88.6 Angyil 25 Kansas, Missouri Popping July 25, 2018 Duels 86.8 Dragon House 24-27 Atlanta, Georgia Animation August 1, 2018 Duels 83.2 Elektro Botz 19-21 Tempe, Arizona Popping August 1, 2018 Duels 88.0 L & J 24 & 30 Calgary, Canada & Paris, France Contemporary August 15, 2018 Duels 88.2 Luka & Jenalyn 17/20 Toronto, Canada Cabaret Ballroom July 25, 2018 Duels 89.7 Morning Of Owl - Suwon, South Korea Street Fusion August 15, 2018 Duels 87.9 Pasha & Daniella 24/31 New York City, New York Ballroom July 25, 2018 Duels 87.3 Hilty & Bosch 35/36 Osaka, Japan Locking May 29, 2018 Qualifiers 78.3 St Kingz 31-33 Tokyo, Japan Hip Hop/Comedy July 10, 2018 Qualifiers 79.0
Upper Team (18 and over, 5-15 members)