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Right after the conclusion of Produce X 101, Mnet is back yet again with another soap opera-er-survival program, but this time featuring six of the most prominent artists in the industry. Queendom’s second battle made the girls cover the songs of their parallel and so add their own color to make it their own. Some served, yet some failed to rise up to expectations. Here is my totally objective and honest review of Queendom Part 2 performances, ranked from worst to best.
DISCLAIMER: THIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
6. Mamamoo – Goodluck (Orig. by AOA)
For this performance, the four ladies of Mamamoo decided to incorporate four different concepts for each member. Hwasa went reggae, Moonbyul went hiphop, Wheein went sultry, and Solar went festive – all by which did not blend well and therefore made the whole performance into an atrocity. We all know that Mamamoo are superb performers, that is a universal fact, but their stage presence and singing talent weren’t enough to save their “Good Luck” performance. The arrangement was a total mess, and even though they managed to do something different from the original AOA version, they did not find luck to impress.
MVP: Wheein for her extra sexy performance
5. (G)I-DLE – Fire (Orig. by 2ne1)
Following their overwhelming win from the Part 1 performances, (G)I-DLE went below expectations this time. They decided to perform “Fire” opposite to Park Bom, who was the main vocalist of 2ne1. Honestly, they did amazing. The vocals were great, the rap was really ‘fire’, the dancing was superb, and the girls looked gorgeous – just like 2ne1, not like (G)I-DLE. Unlike the other groups, they failed to add their own color to “Fire” and seemed mainly limited to a miniature 2ne1. “Fire” isn’t that song to showcase talents either (except rap, which composes like 80% of the song), so we didn’t see a different side to the girls this time as well.
MVP: Sujin for that killing part and Soyeon for her rapping, as amazing as always
4. Park Bom ft. Cheetah – HANN (Orig. by (G)I-DLE)
Let’s be honest, her previous performance wasn’t good, probably because of her long hiatus from performing and lack of confidence. Using last time’s loss as a drive, Bom turned the tables this time and delivered a very impressive rendition of “HANN”. Needless to say, she still is evidently not much confident and stable, but comparing her “HANN” performance from her previous “You and I”, it surely is a huge improvement. As she is currently a solo artist and the song requires rap, she also featured rapper Cheetah. Her performance was really good, but I put her at #4 just because #3 to #1 did better.
MVP: Bom for.. because.. uh.. she is on her own
3. Lovelyz – Sixth Sense (Orig. by Brown Eyed Girls)
Winning ‘Queendom Quest’, a mini-game which allowed them to choose any song they would want to perform (and not a song from their opposite, which was Oh My Girl). The girls of Lovelyz opted to not use a song from Oh My Girl as their songs are very similar to their own and Lovelyz wants to show a different side of them. Instead, they chose “Sixth Sense” of Brown Eyed Girls.
I’m actually surprised because they did better than expected. The girls really are absorbed in their performance and you can see the striking confidence in their eyes. The girls have mentioned that this is their first time performing a song of their accord (not chosen by their company), so I can say that this is the REAL Lovelyz. With their own songs restricting their vocal talent, it’s good to see Lovelyz perform a vocally-challenging song and managing to deliver, especially that amazing high note medley. The performance was near perfect yet still doesn’t live up to the BEG standard. Kei using falsetto in parts requiring power was also a let down for me. Like (G)I-DLE, they also didn’t show anything different from the groups they have covered.
MVP: Babysoul for her powerful vocals & Jisoo for her rap and fierce visuals
2. Oh My Girl – Destiny (Orig. by Lovelyz)
Ethereal, beautiful, gorgeous, heavenly.. these words are exactly what you can use to describe this performance of “Destiny”. Oh My Girl, facing a very unfortunate result from last part’s, impressed this time around with a Lovelyz song. While their songs aren’t much different from Lovelyz’, they incorporated something different – adding elements of traditional Korean culture. They wore hanbok(s) and implemented the oriental sound with a traditional dance break which made the performance extra beautiful. While VIXX pioneered the use of Korean elements in the modern idol world, this is a first (CMIIW) for a girl group. Park Bom, who voted OMG as the worst performing artist of last time, gave her recognition this time and voted OMG as the best performing artist, which Mamamoo, (G)-IDLE, and AOA did as well.
MVP: Mimi for her great self-composed rap
1. AOA – Egoistic (Orig. by Mamamoo)
And the best performance goes to none other than… AOA! They completely managed to do a legendary performance that lives up (and arguably was better) to the original. Their singing skills were highlighted, even Seolhyun who was a weak link in vocals shown she is not that bad of a singer people thought she is. Jimin proved that her top-tier rap skills isn’t rusting at all and that she remains to be the top madame she is. This performance is also a reminder that AOA is and should not be limited to their sexy outfits and concepts, because they are as gorgeous and breathtaking even while fully-clothed in a suit and tie. The addition of drag queens in their performance when their country isn’t fully-accepting homosexuality yet was a beautiful and brave action that complemented their performance.
MVP: All members
Next week, we will know the overall winner of the second battle. Who do you think will win? Which performance did you like the most? Drop them down the comments below!
