During “The Duels” on “World of Dance” the high scoring contestants from “The Qualifiers” get to choose their competition for the head-to-head single-elimination round. Eva Igo wowed the judges with her qualifying performance, so she picked the ballet-contemporary fusion duo of Avery and Marcus as her opponents. Watch Igo’s performance above.
Avery and Marcus might have been quaking in their boots watching Igo perform. She’s back this season after finishing as the runner-up in season one, and she delivered another emotionally powerful performance to “Praying” by Kesha. But did she meet the judges’ sky-high expectations? Read what they had to say below.
Derek Hough: “You always give me chills, always. You have the most amazing ability to just connect to the music, to the audience, to us. One thing I will say, because your emotion is so strong, sometimes the performance relies on that. There were a few moments where I felt like you kind of were running from move to another move, but as far as the actual steps I would love to see a little bit more of a complete structure of a routine. But as far as the emotion and the connection and the things that you do, it’s incredible. I love you so much, great job.”
Ne-Yo: “You are just a powerhouse … Eva’s a monster! The only thing: I feel like I’ve seen this before. Now mind you, I love it every time I see it, but I need the elevation. I need the next level of Eva. Other than that, I stood up.”
Jennifer Lopez: “We stand up because you’re an amazing dancer. It’s like you unleash your heart on us. That last move that you did, immediately tears came to my eyes because it was so fearless, and there’s something about watching that that makes you feel unafraid, like, ‘Yeah I’ve got to be that fearless, I’ve got to go for everything in my life just like that.’ Here’s what I think the boys are trying to say to you: show us another side of that emotion, and that is going to change the choreography. But there’s nobody who does it better than you.”
Apparently someone does do it better than Igo — at least they did tonight. In a stunning upset, Avery and Marcus actually edged out the front-runner, and it was a unanimous decision. The scores were close: Avery and Marcus averaged 93.3 to Igo’s 92. But all three judges scored the duo a point or two better than the returning favorite, resulting in the night’s biggest shocker. Did you agree with the judges’ decision? Vote in our poll below to let us know.
