Watch: Park Bom, MAMAMOO, (G)I-DLE, AOA, Oh My Girl, And Lovelyz Bring Their A-Game For "Queendom" Premiere

Aug 29, 2019

Mnet’s “Queendom” premiered with exciting performances!

On August 29, participants kicked off the “comeback battle” show with opening performances while their thoughts about participating in the show were played as a narration.

“The five of us have to fill the stage while performing songs that we sang as seven members,” said AOA’s Yuna. “The members’ absence is felt, of course.” As AOA opened the show with a dance performance, Yuna continued, “I guess we can call it a new beginning. I want to hear people say that AOA is still continuing and that AOA is still alive.”

Jimin added, “I don’t think I have anything to be scared of. I don’t think I’ll feel dejected even if we win or lose since I’m doing it with my members.” Hyejeong said, “Since we’re doing this, I hope we come in first.”

MAMAMOO’s Hwasa stated, “Even if we’re not first, let’s not be last, and let’s enjoy it. I want us to enjoy it without being pushed for time,” and MAMAMOO introduced themselves with a performance of “Hello.”

“It’s fun,” commented (G)I-DLE’s Jeon Soyeon. “I like competing.” The girl group began with a rap performance by Jeon Soyeon followed by a dance number.

Oh My Girl showcased an ethereal dance performance. Binnie said, “We have a lot of potential” and Seunghee added, “I think we’ll be able to show you a great, improving girl group.”

Lovelyz performed a mystical dance number, with a member saying they don’t think the group has shown 100 percent of what they can do on stage. Kei added, “When people think of Lovelyz, they always think of us as lovely, innocent, and feminine since we did many things with those concepts. We want to show you girl crush concepts that can break that stereotype. Lovelyz can do it too.”

Yein said, “Of course, I’d be so happy if our ranking was high. But even if our ranking is low, I think it’ll really be a success if people react by saying, ‘Lovelyz always had this kind of charming quality?'”

The participants gathered for the first time and said hello to one another. Park Bom said, “I wanted to return to my roots while being with new people. I think there will be a lot to learn from watching the juniors, so I’m really looking forward to it. But I felt really nervous, so I thought about something else.”

Six teams will compete against one another and the final ranking will be determined by the points from the preliminary competition, preliminary single, and final live comeback performance. The winning team will get the chance to hold a solo comeback show while an artist who places last two consecutive times will have to leave the show.

AOA’s Seolhyun said, “I thought that a comeback show was a privilege for only popular male idols.” Hwasa added, “It’s a tempting benefit. Isn’t it the best gift a singer can give to fans?”

The theme for the first competition was the group’s hit tracks. (G)I-DLE was absent from the opening ceremony due to an overseas event, and MCs Lee Da Hee and Jung Sung Kyu told the other five teams to organize the cue sheet together. After 10 minutes, the team without their name on the sheet would receive 1,000 penalty points.

All five teams got the order of their choice within a minute and 30 seconds. As time passed, however, they started to remove other teams’ names. Lovelyz’s Mijoo tried to remove (G)I-DLE’s name to give them the penalty, but Hyojung discouraged her by saying, “I think I would’ve been so sad if that happened to us.”

The teams then gathered for the first competition with a total of 10,000 points on the line which is made up of the audience’s score of 7,000 points, trainees’ score of 2,000 points, and the self-given score of 1,000 points.

MAMAMOO, who wanted to go first, performed “Décalcomanie” with a new twist. Even though the girl group had a concert the day before, they showed a passionate performance that highlighted their vocals.

The next performance of the night was by Park Bom who wanted to go second because she was concerned about her voice. “I missed being with the 2NE1 members,” said the singer. “It felt a bit weird. It would’ve been nice for us to appear [on this show] when we were together. I felt lonely and had many thoughts. I want to sing properly. I practiced a lot. I’ll win with my vocal skills.”

As Park Bom began singing her 2010 track “You and I,” the audience and competing girl groups cheered and said the song gave them chills. She sang her heart out and a chorus later joined in. Her dramatic stage earned her a standing ovation from the junior girl groups.