We Are Heroes
Encyclopedia
We Are Heroes is an all female popping
dance crew best known for being the first all-female crew to win America's Best Dance Crew
with their title in Season 4
. The winning prize amount was $100,000 in cash as well as ABDC's Golden B-Boy Trophy. Their styles of dance is popping, locking, tutting, and whacking, and also Nichelle and Ali are trained in gymnastics and can do flips.
The crew as a whole likes to represent diversity as the five members come from two entirely different sides of the globe. Both Hiroka "Hiro" and Mami are from Japan, Ali is from New York, Riquel is from Idaho, and Nichelle is from California.
Season 6 appearance
Girls who run the world - Beyonce
to Culture Shock LA. Culture Shock LA is a non-profit hip-hop dance troupe that works to educate dancers, students, and audiences about the rich history of hip-hop, as well as its cultural relevance and relation to other art forms. Founded in 1993, Culture Shock has grown from its home in San Diego to cities that reach all across the US and Canada. While there, the crews taught young students new dance moves. We Are Heroes taught popping while Afroborike taught salsa and how to perform lifts.
Popping
Popping is a street dance and one of the original funk styles that came from California during the 1960s-70s. It is based on the technique of quickly contracting and relaxing muscles to cause a jerk in the dancer's body, referred to as a pop or a hit...
dance crew best known for being the first all-female crew to win America's Best Dance Crew
America's Best Dance Crew
America's Best Dance Crew, often abbreviated as ABDC, is an American competitive dance reality television series that features street dance crews from the United States and around the world. It is produced by American Idol judge Randy Jackson and airs on MTV...
with their title in Season 4
America's Best Dance Crew (season 4)
The fourth season of America's Best Dance Crew premiered on August 9, 2009. All three judges and host Mario Lopez and backstage correspondent Layla Kayleigh from the previous seasons signed on for season 4. However, for the first time since the beginning of ABDC, DJ Rashida was not present as the...
. The winning prize amount was $100,000 in cash as well as ABDC's Golden B-Boy Trophy. Their styles of dance is popping, locking, tutting, and whacking, and also Nichelle and Ali are trained in gymnastics and can do flips.
The crew as a whole likes to represent diversity as the five members come from two entirely different sides of the globe. Both Hiroka "Hiro" and Mami are from Japan, Ali is from New York, Riquel is from Idaho, and Nichelle is from California.
Style
The girls came on the show as popping dancers and choreography that they coined "glam style". Lil Mama often referred to their style as a "Refreshing Harajuku" style.Injuries
- Starting Week 3, during the Martial Arts Challenge, crew member Mami Kanemitsu suffered a torn ligament in her back. She was still able to perform for the rest of the season.
- During rehearsals for Week 5's Dance Craze Challenge, crew member Nichelle Thrower fell while attempting a flip on the built-in trampoline on the ABDC stage. She was rushed to the emergency room, receiving six stitches. Her doctor instructed her not to perform while the injury recovered, but she performed nonetheless.
Performances
| Week | Challenge | Music | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1: Crew's Choice Challenge | Show America what We are Heroes is made of in a one minute routine. | Waters of Nazareth Waters of Nazareth "Waters of Nazareth" was the first single by Justice. It was released twice, once as a 12" single with the original three songs, and once on CD and 12" with remixes by DJ Funk, Erol Alkan, and Justice featuring Feadz. The song was featured on the ElectroChoc radio station on Grand Theft Auto IV... - Justice Justice (French band) Justice is a French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay . The duo is one of the most successful groups on Ed Banger Records and is managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter... |
Safe |
| 2: Beyoncé Challenge | "The grind" section from the video | Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) "Single Ladies " is a song by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles from her third studio album, I Am... Sasha Fierce. It was released by Columbia Records on October 12, 2008 as the album's lead single, and appeared with "If I Were a Boy" as a double A-side single, demonstrating the... - Beyoncé |
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| 3: Martial Arts Challenge | Karate Karate is a martial art developed in the Ryukyu Islands in what is now Okinawa, Japan. It was developed from indigenous fighting methods called and Chinese kenpō. Karate is a striking art using punching, kicking, knee and elbow strikes, and open-handed techniques such as knife-hands. Grappling, locks,... |
Starstrukk Starstrukk "Starstrukk" is a song recorded by American electronic rock group 3OH!3. It is their third single and their second single to be released from their second studio album, Want. A radio-only and the deluxe album version has been released featuring pop star Katy Perry... - 3OH!3 3OH!3 3OH!3 is an American electro hop duo from Boulder, Colorado, made up of Sean Foreman and Nathaniel Motte. They are best known for their single "Don't Trust Me" from their album Want, which reached number seven on the Billboard Hot 100... |
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| 4: Bollywood Challenge | Giddha Giddha About the Folk dance=Giddha is a popular folk dance of women in Punjab region of India and Pakistan. The dance is often considered derived from the ancient dance known as the ring dance and is just as energetic as Bhangra; at the same time it manages to creatively display feminine grace, elegance... |
Arab Money Arab Money "Arab Money" is the first official single from Busta Rhymes' eighth studio album Back on My B.S. The song features and is produced by Ron Browz. It discusses the influx of wealth in the Middle East, particularly in Dubai... - Busta Rhymes Busta Rhymes Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes... & Ron Browz Ron Browz Rondell Turner, better known by his stage name Ron Browz, is an American record producer and rapper. He has his own record label called Ether Boy Records.-Biography/career:... |
Bottom 2 |
| 5: Dance Craze Challenge | The Stanky Legg | Stanky Legg Stanky Legg "Stanky Legg" is the hit debut single of the GS Boyz. It was performed at BET's Rip the Runway.-Music video:The video directed by Kai Crawford was released in early February 2009. It also reached number-one on the urban music countdown 106 & Park and received moderate play on MTV Jams... - GS Boyz GS Boyz GS Boyz is an American hip hop group from Arlington, Texas, formed in 2005. The group gained national popularity with their major label debut single "Stanky Legg".-Biography:... |
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| 6: VMA Challenge | Incoporate hand-fans and the vogue in the routine | Vogue - Madonna Madonna (entertainer) Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983... |
Safe |
| 7: Decades of Dance and Last Chance Challenge |
Must incorporate some of the moves from past decades music videos to their 2 minute routine. | 1960s: Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine "Get Up Sex Machine" is a funk song recorded by James Brown in 1970 and released as a two-part single on King Records.... - James Brown James Brown James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr... 1970s: Uprock - Rock Steady Crew Rock Steady Crew Rock Steady Crew is a b-boying crew and hip hop group that was established in the Bronx, New York City in 1977. The group was initially formed by b-boys named Jimmy D and Jojo. In subsequent years, Rock Steady Crew became a franchise name for groups in other locations. The Manhattan branch was... 1980s: Cold Hearted Cold Hearted "Cold Hearted" is a single from Paula Abdul's album Forever Your Girl, written and co-produced by Elliot Wolff. It hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the album's third song to top the US chart... - Paula Abdul Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits... 1990s: You Make Me Wanna You Make Me Wanna "You Make Me Wanna..." is a song by American recording artist Usher. It was released by LaFace Records and Arista Records as the lead single from Usher's second studio album, My Way on August 5, 1997. "You Make Me Wanna..." was written by Usher along with Jermaine Dupri and Manuel Seal, who both... - Usher Usher (entertainer) Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100... 2000s: LoveGame LoveGame "LoveGame" is an electropop song by American recording artist Lady Gaga from her debut album, The Fame . Produced by RedOne, the track was released as the album's third single in North America and Europe and the fourth single in Australia, New Zealand and Sweden after "Eh, Eh "... - Lady GaGa Lady GaGa Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to... |
Bottom 2 |
| Create a routine that will convince viewers to vote for them and make them ABDC. | "Ichiban Ichiban means 'one' in Japanese. The Japanese language has numerous numeric suffixes that are used depending on the subject matter; this is only one of many ways to say "first".It can also refer to:*Chūka Ichiban!, a Japanese anime... " |
Safe | |
| 8: The Live Finale | Partners: Artistry in Motion Vogue Evolution |
Girls on the Dance Floor - Far East Movement Far east movement Far East Movement is an Asian American electro hop quartet based in Los Angeles. The group formed in 2003 and consists of Kev Nish , Prohgress , J-Splif , and DJ Virman... |
Champions |
| Partner: Afroboriké |
I Gotta Feeling I Gotta Feeling "I Gotta Feeling" is the second single from The Black Eyed Peas' fifth studio album The E.N.D., produced by the French DJ David Guetta. The song was released on May 21, 2009 and debuted at number two on the Canadian and Billboard Hot 100 on the week of June 27, 2009, behind the group's "Boom Boom... - The Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide... |
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| Champion's performance | I'm the Ish - DJ Class ft. Lil Jon Lil Jon Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004... |
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| Season Five Special: Champions for Charity |
Partners: Super Cr3w Super Cr3w Super Cr3w is a breakdance crew from Las Vegas, Nevada who won the 2nd season of America's Best Dance Crew.-Early history:Before their popularity on ABDC, Super Cr3w was formed from three different b-boy dance crews and formed a "Super Crew" of their own.-Connection with... Quest Crew Quest Crew Quest Crew is an American hip-hop dance crew from Los Angeles, California who were declared winners of the third season of America's Best Dance Crew... Jabbawockeez JabbaWockeeZ Jabbawockeez is a Bay-Area-based Urban dance group formed initially by members Kevin " KB" Brewer, Phil "Swagger Boy" Tayag, & Joe "Punkee" Larot under the name "3 Muskee". They were the winners of season 1 of the show America's Best Dance Crew... Poreotix |
All I Do Is Win All I Do Is Win "All I Do Is Win" is the second official single from DJ Khaled’s fourth studio album Victory. The track features artists T-Pain, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross. It was released on February 8, 2010, along with "Put Your Hands Up". The single was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA. It is the... by DJ Khaled DJ Khaled Khaled bin Abdul Khaled , better known by his stage name DJ Khaled, is an American record producer, radio personality, DJ, and record label executive. He is a radio host for the Miami-based urban music radio station WEDR and the DJ for the hip hop group Terror Squad. In 2006, Khaled released his... |
Helped for Charity |
| Rock That Body Rock That Body -Personnel:*Songwriting — William Adams, Allan Pineda, Jaime Gómez, Stacy Ferguson, David Guetta, Mark Knight, Adam Walder, Jean Baptiste, Jamie Munson, Robert Ginyard*Production — David Guetta, will.i.am, Mark Knight, Funkagenda*Keyboards — Mark Night, Adam Walder... by The Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide... |
Season 6 appearance
Girls who run the world - Beyonce
Community work
We are Heroes and fellow finalists Afroboriké took a trip with Shane SparksShane Sparks
Shane Sparks is an award-winning hip-hop choreographer best known for his work as a choreographer on So You Think You Can Dance and judge on America's Best Dance Crew. He won an American Choreography Award for his work as co-choreographer on 2004 film You Got Served...
to Culture Shock LA. Culture Shock LA is a non-profit hip-hop dance troupe that works to educate dancers, students, and audiences about the rich history of hip-hop, as well as its cultural relevance and relation to other art forms. Founded in 1993, Culture Shock has grown from its home in San Diego to cities that reach all across the US and Canada. While there, the crews taught young students new dance moves. We Are Heroes taught popping while Afroborike taught salsa and how to perform lifts.
Television
- All 5 members of We Are Heroes performed their "VMA challenge" performance on The Ellen Degeneres ShowThe Ellen DeGeneres ShowThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
on September 29, 2009. - The ladies were guest performers at The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, The episode aired on Thursday, October 29, 2009. - While crew-member Mami Kanemitsu was in Japan, the rest of We Are Heroes (Hiroka McRae, Ali Ianucci, Riquel Olander, and Nichelle Thrower) made their second appearance on The Ellen Degeneres ShowThe Ellen DeGeneres ShowThe Ellen DeGeneres Show, often shortened to Ellen, is an American television talk show hosted by comedian/actress Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it is produced by Telepictures and airs in syndication, including stations owned by NBC Universal. For its first five seasons, the show...
. The episode aired on November 5, 2009. - On November 9, 2009, while crew-member Hiroka "Hiro" McRae was in Japan, the rest of the crew performed for RihannaRihannaRobyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
a medley of her songs on It's On with Alexa ChungIt's On with Alexa ChungIt's On with Alexa Chung was an American live interactive talk and variety program that aired weekdays on MTV from June 15 to December 17, 2009...
. - Member Nichelle Thrower reappeared for ABDC season five as the guest judge for the West Coast auditions.
- Member Riquel Olander reappeared on ABDC season five to demonstrate the New Orleans Bounce.
- All 5 members returned to ABDC on Thursday, April 15, 2010 for a "Champions For Charity" special. They had an individual performance to "Rock That BodyRock That Body-Personnel:*Songwriting — William Adams, Allan Pineda, Jaime Gómez, Stacy Ferguson, David Guetta, Mark Knight, Adam Walder, Jean Baptiste, Jamie Munson, Robert Ginyard*Production — David Guetta, will.i.am, Mark Knight, Funkagenda*Keyboards — Mark Night, Adam Walder...
" by The Black Eyed PeasThe Black Eyed PeasThe Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
, and a group performance to DJ KhaledDJ KhaledKhaled bin Abdul Khaled , better known by his stage name DJ Khaled, is an American record producer, radio personality, DJ, and record label executive. He is a radio host for the Miami-based urban music radio station WEDR and the DJ for the hip hop group Terror Squad. In 2006, Khaled released his...
's "All I Do Is WinAll I Do Is Win"All I Do Is Win" is the second official single from DJ Khaled’s fourth studio album Victory. The track features artists T-Pain, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross. It was released on February 8, 2010, along with "Put Your Hands Up". The single was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA. It is the...
" with the champions of Season 1: JabbaWockeeZJabbaWockeeZJabbawockeez is a Bay-Area-based Urban dance group formed initially by members Kevin " KB" Brewer, Phil "Swagger Boy" Tayag, & Joe "Punkee" Larot under the name "3 Muskee". They were the winners of season 1 of the show America's Best Dance Crew...
, Season 2: Super Cr3wSuper Cr3wSuper Cr3w is a breakdance crew from Las Vegas, Nevada who won the 2nd season of America's Best Dance Crew.-Early history:Before their popularity on ABDC, Super Cr3w was formed from three different b-boy dance crews and formed a "Super Crew" of their own.-Connection with...
, Season 3: Quest CrewQuest CrewQuest Crew is an American hip-hop dance crew from Los Angeles, California who were declared winners of the third season of America's Best Dance Crew...
, and Season 5: Poreotix. - Members appeared at Delicious Training on Universal CityWalk in LA on May 22, 2010.
- Members performed at July 10, 2010 Kababayan fest at Knotts also with Poreotix.
- All 5 members appeared on the commercial for the Michael Jackson: The Experience video game.
- All 5 members appeared for the ABDC Season 6 Finale with the other 4 champions. They performed to "Run the World (Girls)Run the World (Girls)"Run the World " is a song performed by American recording artist Beyoncé Knowles. It was written by Terius "The-Dream" Nash, Knowles, Nick "Afrojack" van de Wall, Wesley "Diplo" Pentz, David "Switch" Taylor, and Adidja Palmer and produced by Switch, The-Dream, Knowles and Shea Taylor...
" by Beyoncé. - Member Hiroka McRae auditioned for season 8 of So You Think You Can DanceSo You Think You Can Dance (U.S. TV series)So You Think You Can Dance is an American dance competition and reality show that airs on Fox in the United States.The series first premiered on July 20, 2005, and was created by American Idol producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe and is produced by 19 Entertainment and Dick Clark Productions...
. During the audition, she mentioned her family is safe from the earthquake in Japan2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunamiThe 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...
. She made it through the audition, but didn't make it to the Top 20. - Member Nichelle Thrower appeared on a ReebokReebokReebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
commercial featuring Swizz BeatzSwizz BeatzKasseem Dean , better known by his stage name, Swizz Beatz, is an American record producer, DJ, rapper and painter. At the age of 17, he gained attention in the hip-hop world through his friendship with rapper DMX. Grady Spivey and rapper Cassidy helped launch his label Full Surface Records...
on Reebok Classic Presents: Reethym of Lite.
Music Videos
- The ladies, minus a temporarily replaced Hiroka McRae, appeared briefly in R&B singer Omarion'sOmarionOmari Ishmael Grandberry better known as Omarion, is an American R&B singer, actor, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and former lead singer of the R&B group, B2K. Omarion was spotted at a young age by a manager, Christopher B. Stokes, who took a liking to his vocal abilities...
music video for his single "I Get It In". - All 5 members made a cameo appearance in a music video called Not The Only One by Skyline .
- All 5 members made an appearance in the music video of "Eenie Meenie" by Justin BieberJustin BieberJustin Drew Bieber is a Canadian pop/R&B singer, songwriter and actor. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who came across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager...
and Sean KingstonSean KingstonSean Kingston is a Jamaican-American singer. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with the album Sean Kingston.-Early life:...
.
- Founding member Hiroka McRae appeared on the music video of Teach Me How To Dougie by Cali Swag District.
- Member Mami Kanemitsu and original We Are Heroes member Marie Poppins appeared on the music video of C'mon (Catch 'Em By Surprise) by Tiësto vs. Diplo ft. Busta Rhymes.
Other Appearances
- All 5 members appeared in Paris by Night Divas, a Vietnamese variety show, as guest dancers in the final song.
- All 5 members are current performers at elecTRONica @ DISNEYLAND, CA. They have two shows every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday for three weeks.
Charity
- The crew created a charity "Pray...Hope... for Japan" to help people who are suffering in Japan after the incident.