~ PROLOGUE ~

Hello everyone, and welcome to this Kingdom special! As you may already know, the second season of MNET's competition show is about to start airing on April 1st, and I'm honestly super excited for it.

The first season was broadcasted in 2019 and the participants that year were Mamamoo, Oh my girl, (G)I-dle, Lovelyz, AOA and Park Bom. Then, on April 2020, the spinoff "Road To Kingdom" was broadcasted. This time, the participants were more or less underrated boy groups: TOO (who had just debuted), Verivery, Oneus, Golden Child, ONF, The Boyz, and Pentagon. What was at stake: A ticket to Kingdom, the second season of the show, where more established boy groups would participate. And on June 18, 2020, The Boyz were announced as the winners of Road To Kingdom, and consequently as the first group to officially participate in Kingdom. 

I will cover every episode of the competition by giving my own thoughts on the performances and the episodes in general. I still don't know about when exactly I'll be able to release the articles, but it'll certainly take me a couple of days to write them. Since episodes will air on Thursdays, I'm thinking of posting on Mondays. I'll keep you updated on this anyways on my Instagram account (if you still don't follow me well... what are you waiting for :p). 

For now, let's debrief on the groups who'll be participating as well as the format (with the little information we have until now). 

I. The Participants

The Boyz

The Boyz is one of the groups who really needed Road To Kingdom as a boost in their career, and it had this effect indeed. A lot of people discovered The Boyz through RTK, I personally knew them beforehand because I knew Haknyeon from Produce 101 (season 2) and kept track of his career. However, I definitely became a fan through RTK. If you haven't seen their performances, you should go check them out. The level of CREATIVITY they have is incredible, and they aren't afraid of thinking big. They definitely have an advantage with their number of members because they can try very creative formations, and they really are good at occupying the whole stage. I really wonder how they plan to step up their game because to me they have already proven themselves performance wise. 

BtoB 4U

They are the oldest group participating if I'm not mistaken. I know some of their members are still in the army so it's not the full group who'll be participating but the "4U" unit they recently created. BtoB is famous for their strong vocals, and although I don't know a lot of their songs there's one I'll never forget for the impact it left on me and that's "Someday". A lot of people were surprised to hear that they'll be participating saying that they're "overqualified", but unlike many people I don't see this competition as a "popularity" show. I honestly think that everyone participating will win something, whether it's the trophy or the fans. I really look forward to getting to know them more and to see them getting out of their comfort zone honestly. This can be a real challenge for them, and challenging yourself is always good even if you're a senior in the industry!

SF9 

I was expecting SF9 to participate and so did many people. I believe this is the opportunity they need to break the ice and unleash their true potential (even though they already won my heart). If SF9 doesn't ring a bell to you, maybe "Rowoon" does. Indeed, he played in several popular Kdramas such as "School 2017", "Extraordinary you" and "Find me in your memory". I really like the members (especially Taeyang, my bias), but here's the thing: I still have trouble getting into their songs. I count on the show to make me discover some of their songs I didn't know, or show me their songs in another light (just like Verivery did with "Photo" on RTK which was a b-side of their album I didn't know of beforehand). 

ATEEZ

If you're a new Kpop fan or if you're keeping yourself up to date, you must know of ATEEZ. You know, the guys who literally die on stage? Yeah, that's them. They really perform like they're going to die after the stage ends, and this is what makes them so powerful. I laughed so hard when Changmin said they seemed "Angry" while watching one of their performance, and it's true that sometimes putting too much energy ruins the vibe. They definitely need to dose their energy on stage, but I'm sure they'll be able to do it and they'll surely come up with the craziest stages ever. If you put Ateez and The Boyz together, you can be sure that the performance will feature crazy stunts and crazy choreographies. I really hope Mingi we'll be able to join the competition since he has been on hiatus for quite a time now due to anxiety.

Stray Kids

In terms of performance, Stray Kids and Ateez are really the best in their generation. Stray Kids is a really versatile group. Their main style I would say is the heavy EDM tracks like Side Effects, Miroh and Double Knot, but they also have funny songs like Gone Days and Get Cool, and they also have more relaxing songs like Ex and Blueprint. They debuted in 2018 but they already put out so many masterpieces! They already lived the experience of a "survival" show that was at the origin of their group, so they know how to handle the pressure and to motivate themselves. They really work hard and never take anything for granted. I think Kingdom is the opportunity for them to grow their Korean fanbase, because as surprising as it may sound their domestic fanbase isn't as big as their international fanbase. 

IKON

Just like for BtoB, a big chunk of the Kpop community was outraged that IKON was participating. Although I'm not of the same opinion, I can totally understand why some people were really angry. IKON debuted 7 years ago and were formed through a survival program called "MIX & MATCH". Bobby & B.I participated in "Show me the money 3" later that year, and the whole group participated in a Chinese competition called "Heroes of remix" in 2016. So Kingdom would be at least IKON's 3rd participation in a "survival" show. I agree that IKON has already been through a lot, however I wouldn't call Kingdom a "survival" show but rather a competition where multiple groups transcend themselves. And let's not forget that after the B.I scandal, the sad truth is that IKON has lost a lot of fans, so this is the opportunity they needed to remind people that they didn't disband and are still in the game.

As a multi fandom, I will really support all the groups from the bottom of my heart and wait for their stages with anticipation. I do have to admit that I'd like Ikon to win, because I'm afraid that if they don't they'll really lose confidence in themselves when they really shouldn't because they have everything they could possibly need to be successful.

II. The Format

The MCs

The MCs for Queendom and Road to Kingdom were Lee Da-hee and Jang Sung-kyu. However, for Kingdom, the MCs will be Yunho and Changmin of TVXQ! I was honestly satisfied with Da Hee and Sung-Kyu's performances as MCs, they were really impartial and supported all the groups equally. However, I'm still happy TVXQ are the MCs for this season. As everyone's seniors, they'll be able to guide the groups and I'll surely be looking forward to interactions between the groups and TVXQ! I already know some of them will be intimidated :D

The elimination rule

In Queendom, if you placed last for two consecutive times, you'd be eliminated. In the end, no one was eliminated. In "Road to Kingdom", if you placed last in the second and third round, you'd be eliminated. Golden Child was the first group to be eliminated, and then it was TOO one week later. I don't like to fool myself, so I'm expecting a harsh rule for eliminations which can have either a positive or a negative impact on the groups. Either they get boosted from the pressure, or they crumble down. And knowing the participants, I believe it'll have a positive impact. In addition to that, no matter who gets eliminated, I still believe they would have gained something. Keep in mind that starting a fan war won't do any good. First, the groups will feel uneasy and would feel responsible and second, it would bring MNET satisfaction. We know our idols better than anyone, if they do something that seems off, it's highly probable that MNET put things out of context. Think twice before expressing your anger. 

The rounds

We saw impressive stages in Queendom, combining rap, vocals and performance, as well as unexpected collaborations. In RTK, the challenges were heavily focused on performance, and all the tracks were pre-recorded in the studio beforehand. I hope it won't be the case for Kingdom and that we'll at least have more precise guidelines rather than general themes like "Song of King" or "My song". 

That's it for the prologue of this Kingdom special! I'll see you soon for the debrief of the first episode. I personally watch the episodes on a website called kshow123, but you can also watch it on Dramacool or Dailymotion. However, I have to warn you that these sites are not the most secured ones, so if you don't want to take any risks, you can watch the performances and some extracts of the show on MNET's official YouTube channel. 

Take care and I'll see you all soon!

Love, Swan