It is time we crown the next Queen of KPOP through the second season of Queendom. Following the success of Queendom Season 1 (which crowned Mamamoo as the winner), Road to Kingdom (which gave The Boyz a one way ticket to the next competition) and Kingdom: Legendary War (which crowned Stray Kids as the winner), Queendom is officially back with six new female participants. This season sees WJSN (Cosmic Girls), LOONA, Brave Girls, Kep1er, VVIZ and Hyolyn battle it out for the Queendom title, while Taeyeon (from SNSD) takes the helm as MC this time around.
As I have reviewed part of Queendom, all of Road To Kingdom and Kingdom: Legendary War, I will also be reviewing the stages of Queendom 2, recapping the high caliber performances from each round and also putting forward my thoughts on what the ranking should have been for that round.
Round 3 (Part 1) – Position Unit Battle
For the first part of Round 3, the six competitors split off into groups of two for a battle of vocals and then into different groups of two for a battle of dance. Not all members of each competitor has to compete, but each team must be represented in the battles.
Each group of two for the vocals and dance battles are awarded votes based on their performance. And based on the rankings from these votes (i.e. whichever order they rank in first, second and third), they will be awarded with points that will go to towards their final ranking. I can’t find information on whether the votes are coming from a judging panel or a set number of audience viewers are voting in this round.
For these battles, I will looking at each performance individually, and then have a separate personal ranking for the vocal and dance battles at the very end of the post (where I usually display my personal ranks for the round). These personal ranks, per usual, will be compared to the official rankings from the show. These personal rankings will also be going towards the final ranking to determine the winners of Queendom 2.
Vocals Battle
Don’t Go – Sun and Moon
Members: Haseul, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Chuu (LOONA) & Kim Chaehyun, Seo Youngeun (Kep1er)
(Orig. Artist: EXO)
LOONA and Kep1er’s rendition of Don’t Go by EXO was extremely nice and pleasant. Just like the original, this version brought a smile to my face. What was really great about this performance was the fact they had harmonies. It was extremely brief and I wished there were longer harmonies. But it made the performance a bit more riveting in my opinion. I did also wish the vocalists were shown off a bit more in this performance. I am not exactly sure whether they had to stick to the original version to a tee (though a later performance specified otherwise), but a few more expressive moments should have been added to this version to better utilise the members, and allow the other members side from Chuu and Chaeyeon to show off their vocal powers.
The stage had a simple setup where the members sang whilst standing in one spot on some platforms. Flying about next to them (and later behind them) were some butterflies, which have consistently appeared throughout the competition. I wished the members donned some more colourful dresses, just to give the stage a bit of oomph. Nothing too loud, but white is a little too standard for my liking.
Hold My Hand – Universe in Eunha
Members: Eunha (VIVIZ) & Yeonjung, Soobin (WJSN)
(Orig. Artist: IU)
You can’t go past a vocal battle without an IU song. We saw Eunkwang, Seungmin and Jongho tackle the likes of Love Poem in the Kingdom: Legendary War last year. This time, we see another trio cover another IU song, Hold My Hand. While the two version are quite similar, this Queendom 2 version seems to have amped the instrumentation to create a power-ballad like approach, which I thought was cool. It brought a a new breath of life to the song and made the performance captivating to listen to. Yeonjung handled the song extremely well and her soaring high note was impressive. Soobin pushed herself for this track, and I thought this was a great display of her vocal capabilities. As for Eunha, she handled her parts well just like the others. But I felt her higher pitch was at odds with the other members, simply because it sounded cutesy. I am not entirely sure if was the right way to go for her, given Yeonjung and Soobin’s more ‘standard’ approach with their vocals.
As for the performance, I liked that they moved about. It gave the performance a bit of a dynamic touch. I also liked the green scenery and the sets that Yeonjung and Eunha performed on stage with. They also looked pretty on stage.
To My Youth – 33
Members: Hyolyn & Minyoung (Brave Girls)
(Orig. Artist: Bolbbalgan4)
This version of To My Youth was emotionally charged, and I loved every second of it. I liked how they slightly revamped this version by starting out with just piano and guitar, before kicking the song up a notch with the band instrumentation. I note the original version had strings at the start and brought in the kick a lot sooner. Hyolyn kicks off the performance and did a great job throughout to deliver some emotional vocals. Minyoung followed through with her powerful vocals, though I did have the thought that she needed a bit of work to match the emotional level that Hyolyn brought to this stage. I loved their version of the high notes at the end, and their harmonies during this sequence. So captivating and breathtaking.
I liked how the pair started of separated and finished together. The above performance did the exact same, but there is something with Hyolyn sitting on the stage and Minyoung standing elsewhere that really felt bold. I like how the lights shown over the member who was singing at the time, and dimmed when they weren’t singing, allowing the focus to be place squarely on the leading singer. And I liked how the lights were used to form a pattern at the end. The lyrics on the screen and the sketch a character on the screen was also a nice touch to the performance.
Dance Battles
Purr – KeVIZ
Members: Sin.B, Umji (VIVIZ) & Xiaoting, Kim Daeyeon, Hikaru (Kep1er)
For this collaborative stage, I quite enjoyed the cat concept they went for. The green cat eyes on the big screen was very epic and sets the tone for the performance. The green on black is a very cool combination and I feel this video really honed into this (via the cat eyes and the green light that illuminated the gas on the edge of the stage). What was also cool was the image transformation that both the members of VIVIZ and Kep1er underwent for this stage. Both groups have been known for their brighter and cuter concepts, so this dark edgy change in image was definitely memorable and stands out.
As for the choreography, it was a good one. Nothing really stood out for me on an individual basis (both move or member-wise), but I quite liked the entirety of the performance as a whole piece. The dark concept and edgy vibes were portrayed extremely well in the routine. I also like the emphasis on wavy motions throughout the choreography. It was a movement type that I saw was recurring throughout the routine, and I really liked the slow wave that ended off the performance.
Ka-Boom! – Ex-it
Members: Hyolyn & Eunseo, Yeoreum (WJSN)
For Hyolyn and WJSN’s dance stage, I quite like how they started off aggressive and powerful. This really set the ball in motion for the rest of the routine, which built on these vibes as the performance progressed. In terms of style, it felt like they went with a hip-hop centric routine with a hint of sexiness mixed into the routine. I quite like it, however, I was wanting from the routine by the time the performance ended.
As for the stage, I liked how boldness was the at forefront of the stage. The glitchy and lightning backgrounds made it feel edgy and electrifying. The fluoro outfits were a very bold choice and I liked how they were used at the start (and throughout the performance) for a bit of a wow factor. The ski masks also added to that. Another bold factor to the stage was the use of the body contortionists. Freaky, but definitely another wow factor to the performance.
Tell Me Now – Queen in Me
Members: Eunji (Brave Girls) & Heejin, Choerry, Yves, Oliva Hye (LOONA)
The last performance for the night was by Brave Girls and LOONA. This performance, while it went with an edgy look just like the other two dance battles, separated itself by really focusing on the sensual side, as well. The slow motions and the sleekness of the choreography really highlighted this, and brought a different dynamic in which the members could play with that isn’t just powerful or edgy (and it isn’t like the other performances). The moves resemble a image of a cat, which makes this the second performance of the night that had a cat theme going on. Very interesting, indeed.
I really like how alluring and hypnotic the members looked throughout this performance, especially in the black and white scenes. This alone was very memorable and definitely was one of my favourite parts of this stage. The red highlights during the black and white shot was super bold, as well.
And This Round’s Winner Is…
These unit battles were intense in their own right. It was a bit of a shake up to the playing field based on the official results. Hyolyn has held first place for the previous two rounds, but she placed second in both in the vocal and dance battle sections of this first part. Brave Girls and WJSN both emerged as winners placing first overall across the board for this first part of Round 3.
Interestingly, Brave Girls also emerged as overall winners of unit battle stages based on my own picks, which matches up (partly) with the official results released by Queendom 2.
Note that this is only the first part of Round 3, which also consist of the fan-choice round. And so, these are not the final winners of Round 3. For my personal rankings, I will be separating these units from the next lots of stages when I use these personal rankings to determine my personal pick for the final winner of Queendom 2.
But for now, here are my picks for the best stage in both the vocal and dance unit battles.
Vocal Battle Rankings
| Position | Official Queendom 2 Ranking | KPOPREVIEWED’s Personal Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Universe in Eunha VIVIZ & WJSN (Eunha, Yeonjung, Soobin) | 33 Hyolyn & Brave Girls (Hyolyn, Minyoung) |
| 2 | 33 Hyolyn & Brave Girls (Hyolyn, Minyoung) | Universe in Eunha VIVIZ & WJSN (Eunha, Yeonjung, Soobin) |
| 3 | Sun & Moon LOONA & Kep1er (Haseul, Kim Lip. Jinsoul, Chuu, Kim Chaeyeon, Seo Youngeun) | Sun & Moon LOONA & Kep1er (Haseul, Kim Lip. Jinsoul, Chuu, Kim Chaeyeon, Seo Youngeun) |
Dance Battle Rankings
| Position | Official Queendom 2 Ranking | KPOPREVIEWED’s Personal Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Queen Is Me Brave Girls & LOONA (Eunji, Heejin, Choerry, Yves, Oliva Hye) | Queen Is Me Brave Girls & LOONA (Eunji, Heejin, Choerry, Yves, Oliva Hye) |
| 2 | Ex-It Hyolyn & WJSN (Hyolyn & Eunseo, Yeoreum) | KeVIZ VIVIZ & Kepler (Sin.B, Umji, Xiaoting, Kim Daeyeon, Hikaru) |
| 3 | KeVIZ VIVIZ & Kepler (Sin.B, Umji, Xiaoting, Kim Daeyeon, Hikaru) | Ex-It Hyolyn & WJSN (Hyolyn & Eunseo, Yeoreum) |
Up next: Queendom 2 – Round 3 (Part 2) – FANtastic Queendom – Ep. 8 & 9
KPOPREVIEWED 