The Queens are here!
After months of waiting, the newest season of Mnet's "Queendom" has finally premiered, following a forty-minute exclusive preview episode last week.
And, over the course of the next ten weeks, we'll take you through a recap and review of each episode along the way.
How does "Queendom 2" work?
Over the course of a few rounds, the six competing teams will perform special stages in front of a live audience. It will end with a live finale episode which will feature the six acts staging a brand new song, all of which will have been released at the exact same time earlier that week.
The first round will feature the six acts performing their signature songs. The voting for the first round is as follows:
- 6,000 points (60%) from the live audience votes
- 3,000 points (30%) from the global audience votes
- 1,000 points (10%) from the self-evaluation by the acts
Who is competing on "Queendom 2"?
There are six competing teams on "Queendom 2" coming from three distinct generations of K-pop, ranging from a soloist to a team of twelve.
The competing groups are:
You can check out more about each of the competing acts by clicking on their name above to view a profile about them.
Episode 0 Recap
At just over two hours in length, there was a lot to recap in the very first episode of "Queendom 2". Luckily, forty minutes of the episode had already aired as a special preview on YouTube the week before as an "Episode 0", allowing us to split this recap into two.
The episode began with a special introduction ceremony, during which each competing team was able to make an entrance and meet their competitors.
First to come out were Brave Girls (since 2016), followed by WJSN (since 2016), LOONA (since 2018), Kep1er (since 2022), Viviz (since 2022), and Hyolyn (since 2010).
Following their entrance, hosts Taeyeon from Girls' Generation and Lee Yong Jin came out in order to talk about the rules and what the final winner will receive as a prize.
The special prize for the winner of "Queendom 2": A premium comeback show, which will be aired live around the whole world at the same time.
However, you don't just want to win "Queendom 2" - you want to do everything you can not to come last.
In a special twist especially for this season of the program, should a team come in sixth place twice in a row, they will be eliminated from the show, and won't have the opportunity to release their new song during the finale.
Episode 1 Recap
As we've now reached the end of where the "Episode 0" preview came, we now take it into the "Episode 1" part of the review.
To continue, each team unveiled who they had picked as their rival competitors in the show. Here is who each team picked:
- Brave Girls selected VIVIZ as their rivals
- VIVIZ selected Hyolyn as their rival
- Hyolyn selected Kep1er as her rivals
- Kep1er selected LOONA as their rivals
- LOONA selected WJSN as their rivals
- And WJSN also selected Hyolyn as their rival
The groups then selected which order they would like to perform in. Initially, these were what the groups picked:
- VIVIZ
- Not selected
- Kep1er
- Brave Girls
- Not selected
- WJSN, LOONA, and Hyolyn
The leaders of WJSN, LOONA, and Hyolyn then had to decide on the position they would be willing to take, leading to LOONA selecting 5th, WJSN selecting 6th, and Hyolyn taking 2nd.
The stages
VIVIZ were the first to perform on the stage. Their performance included their GFriend fan favourites of "Time for the Moon Night" and "Rough".
Hyolyn was the second to perform on the stage. Her performance was from her time as a member of SISTAR, with their iconic hit "Touch My Body".
The remaining three performances will take place during the show's second episode next week.
*LOONA were not on the list of competing performances for the first round after multiple members of the group contracted COVID-19.
Have you watched episode one of "Queendom 2"? Which performance did you enjoy most - VIVIZ or Hyolyn? Let us know by commenting on our socials @KpopWise.