My unasked for opinions on Queendom 2, round 1:
This is going to be a long post. As a whole, I thought the performances were pretty underwhelming. I felt that some of them tried too hard to do something high concept or tried to put too much into the performance, and lot of them had kind of shaky vocals or we couldn’t really hear them sing.
I rewatched a few of the Queendom 1 performances and what was so great about them is that they felt easy, and the groups seemed confident in their abilities. Take Mamamoo for example, their opening performance was one of my favourites. They had a big opening, and followed it up with confident vocals. They played to the audience and they looked like they had a lot of fun. They included the props towards the end for a big finish, and it was a good cohesive performance. Gidle as well, they picked a concept that fit the song, they had a clean dance break that fit the performance and they didn’t let the back up dancers outshine them. In general, they didn’t try too hard to stand out and performed to the audience.
Back to Queendom 2, the only performance that I felt was on the same level as any of the Queendom 1 round 1 performances was Hyolin. She deserved that first place. Girlie served vocals, dance and charisma. She made it look easy. She picked a theme that fit the song and it felt like a party. She played to the audience and she slayed. And I’ve never listened to a Hyolin song before, so you know I’m not biased towards her.
Viviz did okay. I liked the concept, though I would have liked it more if they somehow went from a GFriend song to a viviz song to signify moving on. I don’t think the props added anything. Upon first watch, I was moved by the nostalgia. Watching it again, all three of those girls were kind of lacking in energy. Maybe they were relying on their song choices? Idk. It was just a bit forgettable imo.
Kep1er definitely felt like they were trying too hard. The concept was kind of basic but equally, they packed a lot into the performance. I think they were so eager to prove themselves that they kind of tried to fit too much into one performance but didn’t really do anything at the same time, if that makes any sense? Like, they went from sharp and moody to cutesy and sweet without any indication in the music. They tried to use the entire stage, but it felt like they felt like they had to use every single inch of the stage when it wasn’t necessary? I think their inexperience in performing on large stages was pretty clear. Yujin was great though, her years of experience are clear in performances like these.
WJSN really disappointed me. Their vocals were shaky, at best, and they did seem off. Obviously, the prop breaking and the stage being slippy threw them off. But we, as the audience, shouldn’t be able to tell that something went wrong and I think we could tell that something was off. I didn’t really get the concept. I think they should have finished in a lower rank than they did. They knew they didn’t do well though. Even if they didn’t show their post performance break-down (which I hate when they show that), they were very sheepish in the self-evaluation and they seemed genuinely shocked to have placed so high.
Brave Girls are another group that tried to do too much and ended up being style over substance. The props were totally unnecessary. The drums at the start could have been great if they were all playing them as an introduction, then the lights could have gone down and they appear at the front of the stage. That would iconic. But the drums, and then the sticks, and then the fabric with the walk, walk, pose, it was doing too much and saying so little. They had all these props and didn’t really do anything with them. Not all performances need a dance break, theirs went on a bit long. But I did like the transition into rollin. I appreciate them singing live, and the vocals were fine overall but I thought the lead singer was a bit shouty. The one with the turquoise mic though had great stage presence, I liked her. If they had a stronger stage presence as a whole and more cohesive props, it could have been really good. I don’t know Brave Girls, but I’m excited to see what else they bring and I think they should have placed higher, maybe third?
Loona were struggling. It was clear that a lot of them had not fully recovered from covid. Given that half of them seemed to still be ill (they all looked exhausted) they did pretty well! Kudos to them. But when you’re accustomed to energetic, effortless performances from Loona, it’s a bit disappointing to see them struggle. Not only their energy, but their vocals suffered too. Even Jinsoul, who I think is usually the most stable live, was struggling to keep up vocally. Having said that, if they were healthy, and if they managed the vocals, this performance could have been amazing, rivalling Hyolin and even some of the best of Queendom 1. It’s a shame covid took them out like that. I’m excited to see what they bring when they aren’t sick.
To summarise, I found round 1 disappointing, the exception being Hyolin who was fantastic. I hope they all bring more energy and confidence to round 2 and don’t keep on trying too hard to re-invent the wheel.
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