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'World of Dance' Season 4: Show's new format sans audience has fans divided, reminds them of 'American Idol'

The contestants had to perform for their qualifiers round in an old warehouse as opposed to the usual stage in the studio

The much-awaited Season 4 of 'World of Dance' is back. The new season has made several changes to its format to test the contestants from the get-go. One of the biggest changes to the show's format can be seen during the qualifiers round itself. The previous seasons featured the producers judging the qualifiers round, and we saw the judges, Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo and Derek Hough, much later.

But the latest season features the judges in the qualifiers round. JLo, Ne-Yo and Derek have decided to test how the dancers perform under pressure by surprising them during the qualifiers round. The participants had no idea that the three celebrity judges would be judging them during the qualifiers round as opposed to producers. The venue too was changed. The contestants had to perform for their qualifiers round in an old warehouse, as opposed to the usual stage in the studio. 

Fans had mixed feelings about the new show format. While a few fans loved the new changes, others felt that the previous format was way better. An unhappy fan tweeted, "I feel like the stage made world of dance special and without it there’s nothing special about it #WorldOfDance." Another fan shared, "idk how i feel about this new #WorldOfDance format." Another fan wrote, "I hate this new format #WorldOfDance." Many fans felt that the new format was reminiscent of other competition shows. A fan pointed out, "So after several seasons, #WorldOfDance decided it would become American Idols that Think They Can Dance? No to this "new" format that's been done to death." "This new format reminds me of American Idol... #WorldofDance," echoed another fan.

A few other fans expressed their approval of the new format. A fan shared, "Am i the only one who loves the fact that there isn’t an audience? i love that it’s really focusing on just the dancing and not just the crowd. of course i’m excited for when the audience does come in but i do love this new format!! #worldofdance." Another fan wrote, "This has been such a great episode!! Love this format of #worldofdance @JLo SEE YA next week?!"

"Yass! cause it really shows all the hardships every contestants had to go through to win #WorldOfDance #WorldOfDanceAgain," expressed a fan. 

What did you think of the new show format? Let us know. 'World of Dance' Season 4 airs every Tuesday at 10/9c on ABC.