“World of Dance” is back for season three! The international dance competition aired its first two seasons in the summers of 2017 and 2018, and it returned on Tuesday night, February 26, for its first spring edition. Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo and Derek Hough are back as judges, but the show introduced a new host: Scott Evans from “Access Live,” who takes over from previous presenter Jenna Dewan. So who stood out on the first night of the competition? Scroll down for our live blog for all the minute-by-minute developments as they happen. NBC previewed two of the Qualifiers contestants in advance, and if they’re any indication this season is already as competitive as the last two — maybe more. Upper Team Division hip-hop troupe The Kings gave the judges near-convulsions of excitement with their mind-boggling acrobatics, and Junior Division soloist Lauren Yakima gave Lopez “goosies” with a performance that showed off intense emotions and insane flexibility. And while it might seem too early to speculate about this season’s front-runners, this wouldn’t be the first time we got our first glimpse of the world champions in the season premiere. SIGN UPfor Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions In season one the hip-hop duo Les Twins performed during Qualifiers 1. They got the highest score of the night (an average of 95.7 out of 100), and they went on to win the whole competition. That premiere episode also featured performances by Keone and Mari, Diana Pombo and Kinjaz, who fell just short of the finale but made it all the way to the Divisional Final. And in season two the first Qualifiers round featured world finalists S-Rank, as well as divisional finalists Sean and Kaycee, Jaxon Willard and Karen y Ricardo. So sometimes “World of Dance” saves the best for first. Do you think you saw the eventual winner during Tuesday night’s season premiere? Find out what happened below starting at 9:00pm (all times listed are Eastern). 9:00pm — Here’s one new wrinkle in the competition. Qualifying dance acts used to be able to advance with a score of 80. Now you need an 85. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but that would have knocked out a lot of competitors who ended up getting through last season. The Kings (Upper Team Division) 9:03pm — First up is the team NBC previewed earlier today. This team from Mumbai, India, won “India’s Got Talent” season three despite having to walk miles to practice on the beach. They don’t even have a formal training space. Necessity is the mother of invention. 9:05pm — The routine seems likemost other hip-hop routines early on, but by the time they’re climbing each other like stairs in midair, you realize you’re witnessing something drastically different, and fittingly the judges are losing their collective minds. Derek and Jennifer both threw their shoes. Judges — “I’m in shock,” says Jennifer. “A lot of the stuff you guys did is not supposed to be possible … death-defying moves,” adds Ne-Yo. “You could not have had a better button at the end … What an incredible start,” says Derek. Scores — Ne-Yo (97), Jennifer (98), Derek (98) — Average: 97.7 9:09pm — Not quite perfection. I didn’t think we’d see 100s come out for the very first performance on the very first night, but if ever a performance deserved those kinds of numbers, it was that one. Of course, the question then becomes whether they can keep this up. When you start so high, sometimes there’s nowhere to go but down. Last season a lot of the highest-scoring early competitors ended up falling a bit short. Erica and Aidan (Upper Division) 9:11pm — This urban contemporary dance duo includes former Poreotics member Aidan, and Erica who is apparently “Instafamous” online. But they haven’t been dancing together for very long. Fingers crossed, especially since they have to follow that first performance by The Kings. 9:13pm — An excellent, precise, intricate performance, but definitely not as big as The Kings, and the judges’ reactions are decidedly muted compared to their reactions to the first performance of the night. I wonder if that’s going to reach the 85 threshold. Judges — Jennifer thought they have all the ingredients of a good team, but that they lacked chemistry. Derek thought they were out of sync at first, but it was ultimately a “strong performance.” Ne-Yo concludes, “It didn’t come together for me personally.” Kiss of death. I think they’re toast. Scores — Ne-Yo (84), Jennifer (85), Derek (85) — Average: 84.7 9:16pm — That son of a gun Ne-Yo ruined their shot at The Duels, but I’m surprised they came as close as they did given the critiques. Funkanometry (Junior Division) 9:16pm — A pair of goofy, appealing, young brothers who have “dominated the local competitions.” I’m … skeptical about their level of funk. 9:18pm — They’ve definitely got the personality to really fill the dance floor, but I’m not sure they have the moves. For the caliber of this competition it looked a little pedestrian. I don’t think personality is going to get them as far as they need to go. Judges — Derek thought the style of dance was boosted by their personalities. He thought it was “refreshing” and “funny.” Jennifer appreciated the comedy and technique: “You were so committed.” And Ne-Yo thought it was “entertaining and fun,” but he’s “not sure how competitive it is” because of the simple choreography and technique. Scores — Ne-Yo (88), Jennifer (87), Derek (87) — Average: 87.3 9:21pm — I really like these two, but I think 80 of those points were for personality. I think Ne-Yo’s critique was spot-on when he said the choreography was too simple to really be competitive. I actually thought Erica and Aidan had a more dynamic routine. The Crazy 8’s (Junior Team Division) 9:27pm — A contemporary group from California whose routine is inspired by one of their members’ selective mutism, a condition in which her anxiety prevents her from speaking even thought she is capable of speech.<doc-sep>Season 3 contestant Kayla Mak (Andrew Eccles/NBCUniversal) What It's Like to Compete on "World of Dance," According to Four Season 3 Contestants<doc-sep>Thank you for reading the Philadelphia Tribune. You have exhausted your free article views for this month. Please press the "subscribe" button below and see our introductory price of $0.25 per week for 13 weeks. Otherwise, we look forward to seeing you next month.<doc-sep>Why isn’t This Is Us new tonight, Feb. 26? Why isn’t This Is Us new tonight, Feb. 26? by Brittany Frederick The World of Dance premiere brings Jennifer Lopez back to NBC. Here’s how to watch World of Dance season 3 episode 1 live, on TV and online. The dance floor is opening up again this week, so find out how to watch World of Dance online or live on Tuesday, as NBC‘s dance competition returns with a few changes. Tuesday’s season premiere expands to two hours, starting an hour earlier than the show aired last season. It’s also down a host and mentor, as Jenna Dewan left the series between seasons, which leaves it with just Jennifer Lopez, NE-YO and Derek Hough. But the goal remains the same: for the trio to find the best dancers in the United States. In these opening two hours, they audition new talent and decide who deserves a spot in the competition, before World of Dance moves to Sundays starting March 3. Below is all the information you need to watch World of Dance online and live Tuesday to catch the latest episode of the season. Here’s how NBC officially describes the episode: Global superstar Jennifer Lopez, dance phenomenon Derek Hough and Grammy Award-winning singer and dancer NE-YO join forces at the judges’ table in search of the best dance act in the world. In round one of The Qualifiers, the competition is fiercer than ever before as the world’s top dance acts from all ages and dance genres enter the World of Dance arena to face off in the challenge of a lifetime. The acts have one chance to showcase their artistry, precision and athleticism and new this season now must score an average of 85 in order to move forward in the competition and ultimately win a grand prize of $1 million. And here’s how you can watch “The Qualifiers 1” live, on TV or via live stream: Date: Tuesday, Feb. 26 Start Time: 9:00 p.m. Episode: “The Qualifiers 1” TV Channel: NBC Live Stream: Watch live on Fubo TV. Sign up now for a free seven-day trial. You can also watch on the NBC website or app. For the latest World of Dance season 3 spoilers and news, plus more on everything happening in TV, follow the Television category at FanSided.<doc-sep>
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.