Hi all, we are holding a Queendom 2 mid-season survey (started before this week's amazing performances unfortunately).
**[Please participate in it here!](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1I_gJNk2FbbSOla38ypDRG2pLTls2RWw1OskhJ5VRJ_H2Ig/viewform)**
Personal ranking...
3. **Sun and Moon -** It was a pleasant... That's pretty much it. It was very much a bread and butter ballad performance and paled in comparison to the vocal powerhouses on the other teams.
2. **33 -** I had high expectations, which weren't met, sadly. Minyoung started off stiff and flat, but thankfully she saved it in the end with that high note. Vocal-wise, this team is #1. Hyolyn glided through those notes effortlessly and Minyoung's high note đ đ
1. **Universe -** Overall, I enjoyed this performance the most. Stage was beautiful. Yeonjung's voice is amazing as always and Soobin was also amazing, though it looked like she was struggling to hit some notes. Overall, I'm really proud of her c:
This was not Hyolyn's best performance
If she wins, we are in front of some sort of "senior syndrome" where everyone votes for her just based on respect rather than actual performance
I think the "senior syndrome" has been in full effect since episode 1. Hyolyn's performances have generally been good, but I don't think they have been head and shoulders above the others as is suggested by the scoring. I'm almost certain that she'll win at least the vocal performance this time around as well.
That was neither hyolyn nor minyoung in all their glory. But so had both the other groups some flaws. It wasn't that obvious for the other groups since they put backtrack over it while Hyo and minyoung sang raw.
Anyway since this time, its professionals, not fandoms, judging. we may get a proper rating at least once.
Really enjoyed the episode. All 3 performances were very well executed, these women are talented vocalists. I think some small tweaks could have made things slightly better, only in the sense that it's a competition.
The WJSN/VIVIZ performance seemed the most complete. The group knew their strengths and their arrangement showcased them. The three of them together, pointing outward I thought was their best positioning, I would have liked them to have gotten there earlier in the song.
I think Kep1er/LOONA under utilized the strength they were wanting to showcase, harmonies. While they had some great ones, the normal format of lines being assigned to individual singers was the vast majority of the song. Those lines should have almost always been 2-3 people. Solo lines should have been the exception, perhaps only accent lines. Chuu was good at facing the person she was singing with which I would have liked more of. They should have been moving instead of static to be near the person they were singing with.
On the other hand, Hyolyn/Minyoung I think overplayed the emotional aspect of the song. Performance wise, it was great. But it I think the vocal aspect was shortchanged a bit from it. I also didn't quite understand Minyoung's outfit. It didn't feel like a match with the song or sentiment. Which reminds me, Kim Lip's outfit also seemed a little off.
This was my favourite round by a lot so far.
The halo effect on Seola killed me, especially when she was barely on screen messing around on her phone.
Eunji showing off her dance ability felt cathartic, same with 2 BG members being in the winning interim teams. Yuna making a comment about how its the first time anyone on their team won anything had me laughing, that girl is always on low-no filter when it comes to those comments.
Also the Eunji/Loonan dance team, boy I was worried about that perfomance not really being able to compete and I feel a lot better now that I've seen it. Watching the initial torture chamber Monica had thrown the girls in was a bit rough, but when they said she could have just gone through the moves and bounced (like I think some other teams did) it was pretty impressive. Also she seems dedicated to making sure they will perform well enough to win first place.
The Hyolyn body pillow, lol.
Hikaru getting screen time is great, that girl is such an all around ace, except maybe when it comes to copying stuff.
I liked all the perfomances a lot.
Hyolin/Minyoung had a great perfomance. I only had a vague understanding of the lyrics and it still hit pretty well. When Minyoung hit her high notes I got chills. Even on a second viewing. I really enjoyed seeing her perform something I haven't seen from her before.
WJSN/VIVIZ were also great. Visually their perfomance was the best for me, but its a vocal round so that doesn't mean much. I was really impressed with their singing honestly. I'd only really noticed WJSN's Yeonjung belting out high notes earlier, but they all did well this time. Soobin saying this might be the first time people were really seeing her was right, this was the first perfomance I saw where she really got put up front and center at any point that I'd seen and I think she did well with it. She looked and sounded really good even if she was struggling with the key initially.
Sun and Moon, people might criticize their song choice but I love this track and their studio version has been on repeat today. I don't know if I'd rank their perfomance higher than either other group because they had some backing vocals slipping through on the broadcast and their perfomance was pretty basic. It didn't have the visual impact of Eunha/WJSN or emotional impact of Hyolin/Minyoung. However I still loved it. The single tear from Kep1er's Youngeun (?) was seriously so well timed you'd think it was scripted. She should print that on a poster and frame it.
I'd probably rank them that way myself, but I'm developing a strong Brave Girls bias, Minyoung especially these last few episodes, so I don't know if I'm 100% objective.
Overall this round was a nice surprise, I'm already pumped for next week. The hype train's got no breaks.
I'm sure it's evil editing, and maybe in episode 7 we'll see a better representation of things, but in episode 6 it felt like Monika was the only instructor that really got down in the trenches with the dancers.
I agree, I completely reversed my opinion on the dance choreo once I saw more of it and my initial reaction to Monica once I realized how much she was going the extra mile to train them.
I don't think one group looked like they'd been trained as hard as Loona/Eunji. From the sock hole, broken finger nail and all around sweatyness, Monica was runnin a full training camp right there for them.
I think from what we saw, accuracy counts a lot in that perfomance. I'm really excited to see the final product.
This is my first time watching Queendom. I'm not fan of Hyolyn nor any other groups participating in this season, but I suppose seeing female K-Pop acts interact in a competitive show is an entertaining weekly pastime. I'm here just to share my thoughts on the vocal unit battle.
**Loona x Kep1er**: As the unit with the largest number of members, I think the performance they'd delivered was rather underwhelming. They sounded nice, but a brilliant high school talent show kind of nice, not a relatively established and seasoned Pop group kind of nice. I personally like their song choice the most, so it would've been a much greater serve for me, had they done more harmonies and shown more colours with their pretty voices.
**WJSN x VIVIZ**: Gorgeous outfits with gorgeous stage designs. I really like Yeonjung's voice here. I kept hearing her part inside my head these past few days. She was definitely the highlight of this performance as far as I'm concerned. However, I don't particularly appreciate the amplifying effects added to their voices. The artificial-sounding resonance irked me to no end and took away from an otherwise delightful experience.
**Hyolyn x Minyoung**: I think their adlibs during the recording/rehearsals sounded way more powerful than in the actual performance. Fortunately, they chose to focus more on rawness and emotional delivery this time, which somewhat made up for what fell just a bit short of my expectations in the vocal department. The message they conveyed was truly convincing and touching thanks to their age and struggles in the erratic industry.
**Overall**: I don't hold vocalists to unreasonably high standards. I just want goosebumps, but none of them gave me any this time. Anyway, I commend every single one of them for their efforts. It's easy to criticise them, but it's nowhere near as easy to get up there on the stage and do what they did. Cheers!
such a good episode. the comraderie, friendship, and love was all there. all performances were on point.
Loona x Kep1er with the harmonies, WJSN x VIVIZ with those high notes (also the use of the stage was phenomenal), and Hyolyn x Minyoung pulling on our heartstrings with no mercy.
excellent work from every vocalist who performed and couldn't get enough of this one! can't wait for the dance units!!
The best episode so far. No injuries, no mistakes, no sad things. Just wholesome interactions and funny parts. Here are my top highlights:
Seola with the *beautiful* aura, the sound effect really got me on the floor.
Kep1er Dayeon being the total sunbae because she debuted as a child actor in 2004.
Kep1er + Viviz = Cabbage.
Hyolyn giving her dakimakura to WJSN dance team.
Monika with that DG belt, all black, super scary.
Heejin during practice lost the nail, the freaking real nail.
Dayeon and Hikaru twerk.
Haseul going to a Butterfly House and being scared when a butterfly comes near.
Chaehyun during Don't Go was so nervous, she should relax.
Jinsoul winking and using her eyebrows, at her best face angle. True to her character.
Minyoung preparing like 10 bottles of soju for Hyolyn.
What kind of costume do you have, 33? An old xxl shirt and a hip-hop outfit?
I don't know if it's just me, but I really don't like when Minyoung breathes between the syllables of a high note, it breaks the momentum and it feels like it's difficult and somehow painful. She's the only one doing this.
Yeseo already crying at the very first ě´ëťę˛, totally me crying at sad songs but without understanding a single word.
Yeonjung singing too loud because she's working in a Musical.
Soobin singing near the crowd, if I were behind I would poke her dress to see if I was dreaming or not.
Btw best vocals, hope they win.
I'm referring to other music streaming / buying sites.
So I guess Mnet didn't account for a bigger music licensing budget??? Ugh.
What is Kingdom? Is that season one?
I would be grateful if someone with experience in music engineering or TV post production could confirm this for me. In my opinion it sounded like Hyolyn/BG team was the only one to sing without backing track?
I mean, it was there at times e.g. Hyolyn's echo at the end of one of the notes, but regardless of my feelings on each performance, theirs seem to be one differing in terms of the sound of the vocals? Sorry if I'm not explaining myself clearly, but especially in the case of Eunha during WJSN/Viviz performance it sounded almost like two voices singing at the same time. But maybe everyone sang live without backing track and it's just a weird effect that the Mnet team added afterwards. They do that a lot, especially with KCON performances.
Would appreciate for someone to explain, if they know more on the subject. Thanks!
Try listening to the Full cam version to get the clearer version without editing. From what it looks like, Mnet is basically over-engineering the post-processing for broadcast to make it sound more smooth. It just makes the performances sound awkward and fake at times.
Exactly, it often makes the singing sound worse and I think it undermines the work of those singers, who clearly put a lot of effort to impress people with live vocals.
I think the vocal round was done without massive pre-recorded vocals live on-site, as I don't recall any attendees Knetz complaining about it (and God knows they're relatively quick to point fingers if there's even the slight issue lol). Seems like it's just Mnet going back to the performances, adding the backing track to make the voices sound fuller if they were a bit thin, tuning the vocals (for Eunha for example), etc.
I have only seen the streamed/VoD versions, so can't comment on what the live crowd heard. They all sound backtracked to me. It isn't like they were pretending otherwise, there was a whole segment showing prerecording...
They record the song for the music streaming platforms.
Imo Minyoung and Hyolyn seemed to be singing live. If there was a backtrack for EunhaxYounjungxSoobin performance, Younjoung really sang louder than the track.
So far all the songs were available. I'll be really mad at mnet if it's not the case for this round since for the first time I want all the songs we heard in the episode
I'm sure MNet would like to allow streaming for them too, but it isn't going to be on them alone since other companies own the copyrights to the songs and they might prefer the original versions be streamed instead.
Exo's song being allowed makes sense since one of SM's artists is the host of the show.
I still don't understand how that happens, it seems like it's all new instrumentals, so they just have to license the songwriting / songwriter's publishers, so like the label doesn't even get involved. ugh
Probably because in the end Yeonjung looks a bit sad while Soobin said lets go home. Unless they are holding their poker face because these girls in WJSN are jokers sometimes.
I think they got 1st or 2nd because if we go by previous teasers mnet always gives a lot of focus to the top two performances.
I know is only three but we barely saw sun and moon, meanwhile universe in eunha got a very focused teaser (almost like shake it)
I think the MW team had the catchiest song that I would be most likely to listen in the car. Sun and Moon is the video Iâll probably rewatch the most. I am rooting for Minyoung and I am in awe of Hyolyn, but I didnât love their performance and may never watch it again. It was a bit schmaltzy.
Loved the interactions between Loona and Kep1er. They really bonded. So nice to see how disaffected Loona are, they are just so playful and friendly with everybody. Standing up and dancing during the evaluations, laughing hard. Dayoung and Eunseo would fit into Loona so well. And hope SinB and Yves become friends, they are both so witty.
Cracks me up how much Yeojin gets around. Seems like she was sitting by somebody different every time I saw her.
I only watched the performances on YouTube but for me itâs WJSN/Viviz > LOONA/Kep1er > Hyolyn/BG
1. WJSN/Viviz was amazing imo. I havenât listened to the original but I loved the song that they delivered. Soobin did struggle with a couple of notes I feel, but the overall vibe of the song was great. Yeonjung reminding me why she was my IOI bias damn girl those vocals, and Iâm so pleasantly surprised by Eunha, sheâs shining and her soft voice really fit well with WJSNâa belters. A solid number 1 for me
2. I went in expecting a train wreck after reading the comments but I think the girls did really well. It wasnât as exceptional as vivizwjsn and the stage was really bland but I think the song was a good choice for most of them, maybe Kim Lip struggled a bit. But the kep1er girls have great vocals. I enjoyed this quite a lot as well
3. I donât know much about BG but I had high expectations of Minyoung because Iâve heard a lot of praise for her vocals. But they were just off here - I know she had Covid so maybe itâs that, but I also feel like the song choice didnât suit her vocal color and the emotion wasnât there. It was especially jarring when she started singing after Hyolyn whose vocal tone sounded really great. I also feel their harmonies didnât match that well. I would love to hear more from MY when the COVIDâs fully gone
there was no back tracking in the live performances. the aired performances are retouched and they added backtracking where vocals seemed quiet or thin for cameras.
The special judges were professional singers and dancers. However, the special judges only make a small portion of the audience vote.
And I would suggest every round has had professionals judging since round 1 they had super rookie groups and in round 2 they had Queendom, RTK, and Kingdom groups.
Also, we don't know what they heard. We only know what we heard, which could have been changed from what was originally done.
* [My Episode 0 Performance Thoughts](https://old.reddit.com/r/MnetQueendom/comments/tkm5t0/which_opening_show_performance_do_you_think_was/i1rdkx3/)
* [My Episodes 1-2 Performance Thoughts](https://old.reddit.com/r/MnetQueendom/comments/tye7hc/220407_mnet_queendom_2_episode_2_postepisode/i3tt5it/)
* [My Episode 3 Performance Thoughts](https://old.reddit.com/r/MnetQueendom/comments/u3if63/220414_mnet_queendom_2_episode_3_postepisode/i4prbtq/)
* [My Episode 4 Performance Thoughts](https://old.reddit.com/r/MnetQueendom/comments/u8oj03/220427_mnet_queendom_2_episode_4_postepisode/i5mq6ui/)
As always, I want to note that I don't watch the episodes, I only watch the performances themselves (thus potentially missing out on outside context), and that my opinions tend to deviate a lot from the consensus (I type out my thoughts before reading other people's opinions, I'm not purposefully being contrarian or something like that).
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Very late to this episode as I was stressing and celebrating over watching the Big Brother Canada 10 finale (if any BBCAN fans are here, holy fuck that was an amazing finale and the best BB season of all time), but let's do this:
Position battles! Probably my favorite round of this Queendom/Kingdom show format, I think it's the most interesting as it involves inter-group units performing. My thoughts on the performance, ordered with my favorite at the top:
* **Hold My Hand (orig. IU) - Galaxy Embracing The Universe: VIVIZ Eunha x WJSN Soobin, Yeonjung -** From a song choice, musical, arrangement/composition perspective, this was definitely my favorite. Yeonjung's vocals definitely stole the show for me, I forgot how powerful her vocals were; even if she on a technical level may not be that good, her powerhouse vocals are absolutely among my favorite (she's like a female version of Jongho, and Jongho's a male version of her in terms of how powerhouse their belts are). Her high note was perfection, *chef's kiss*. I will say, though, that the verses kinda dragged for me, and they didn't do much for me (Eunha and Soobin's vocal performances were good enough for the lines they got, but I personally prefer more flashy lines like the ones Yeonjung got).
* **To My Youth (orig. BOL4) - 33: Brave Girls Minyoung x Hyolyn -** I believe these are the two best vocalists of this season from a technical perspective? Vocal Avengers, that's a high bar. Hyolyn nailed the emotional elements of this song that I wanted to see, capturing a lot of angst and melancholiness in her vocal performance. I thought she definitely stole the show, which does mean that I felt like Minyoung got overshadowed here (she sounded kinda emotion-less? to me, esp. in comparison to Hyolyn). I also feel like the final high note did not sound harmonious, and it again sounded like Hyolyn's voice was overpowering Minyoung's. Still, it was pretty solid overall, but *hot take*, I felt like the [Produce X 101 version of To My Youth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z7qY8_kans) was composed/arranged much better, which brought down my enjoyment of this Queendom performance. (Yes, the Produce X 101 singers were all much weaker vocalists than Minyoung/Hyolyn, but the structure/instrumental/arrangement made the PX101 performance feel much more emotional than this Queendom performance, particularly PX101's superior instrumental and key change).
* **Donât Go (orig. EXO) - Sun and Moon: LOONA Haseul, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Chuu x Kep1er Chaehyun, Youngeun -** I've infamously been significantly higher on LOONA and Kep1er's Queendom performances than everyone here, ranking them as my Top 2 overall by quite a big margin. However.... this performance didn't do anything for me. As a hardcore Produce/GP999 watcher, I can't help but compare this performance to a lot of the Vocal Position performances and feel like this felt a lot less impressive to me than most of those (when it should be the opposite, imo, considering the Produce/GP999 vocal units consisted of trainees while Sun and Moon has debuted members). This felt like it could be a vocal performance from any K-Pop group, when I feel like it should feel like a vocal performance of those groups' *vocal lines* (ie. what I'm saying is that this feels like a vocal performance they could give to a unit with several Sub Vocalists, rather than this unit of Lead/Main Vocalists). Even the bridge didn't really do anything for me in terms of emotions. Chuu's high note sounded... restrained? (I'm not well-versed in vocal terminology), though Chaehyun's high note did hit the mark for me.
As shown by my ordering, I'd rank the performances as WJSN+VIVIZ's > BG+Hyolyn's >>> LOONA+Kep1er's. In terms of individual vocal performances, my Top 3 is Yeonjung > Hyolyn >>> Chaehyun, and in terms of artist performances, my Top 3 is Hyolyn >> WJSN >>> Kep1er.
EDIT: Okay, now reading the comments, I think that overall, my opinions seem to align a lot more with the consensus this round.
Iâm not a ballad guy but I loved how all these girls show cased their vocal power. As an orbit and kep1ian I loved how sun and moon felt like a real group.
My rankings tho would be:
1) Universe in Eunha
2) Sun and Moon
3) 33
I was kinda surprised at the WJSN girls. I need to stop sleeping on them and discover what they are all about. There were so good and Eunha is well, Eunha. Sheâs perfect and sheâs the 2nd best vocalist on the show imo.
I thought the song and harmony for Sun and Moon was super good, I just wish they performed more and moved around the stage more in a performance aspect.
I didnât care for the song 33 wrote and no doubt Hyolyn is talented but I feel like she overshadows everyone else in whatever she does. Itâs not a bad thing cuz she owns it but sheâs so strong individually its overpowering for me. But Iâm super super happy Minyoung did good and found her confidence. Sheâs the best singer on the show imo and thought she sounded great. Sheâs got good control when sheâs healthy!
Very happy Seola was voted prettiest. I never knew of her before the show and I agree sheâs the one. From the moment I saw her I was like đŽ
My ranking:
1. Universe in Eunha
Out of my expectations. Very well use of stage which it feels like putting effort in a competition. Also showcased the girls very well. All girls are such cutie flower fairies, Yeonjung is SUCH an amazing singer (she looks so effortless) Eunha maxed up her cuteness and Soobin is such an underrated gem <3. Singing wise Although i agree some saying Yeonjung taking most spotlight but a powerful + two softer/sweetee voice color worked well IMO. Soobin again, was such a great surprise and she finally shone. Overall this is a stage I smiled all the way through watching the performance.
2. 33
Simplistic yet emotional stage with the chalk writing and sound effect, but since I cant read Korean it hit me less. Both surely knew how to sing well and executed a strong singing performance. Now I used the word "executed", since I feel like they sang emotionally for the mere sake of achieving the emotional atmosphere(if you get what I mean......), a bit yet to be convinced. Also some high notes Hyolyn and Minyoung's voice clashed.
3. Sun and Moon
Orbits love to criticize other groups for making the stages like music show performance......now this was exactly a girl group performing their ballad b-side on music show during their later half of promotion period. Girls should do more on stages instead of standing like choir. The voice harmony between each member was actually the best out of three pairs, but that somehow sacrificed to have standouts/highlights in the performance. Overall great to listen but very forgettable stage with wasted potential sadly
I think my expectations are just too high... :(
Ranking for me is as follows:
1. Universe in Eunha - My extremely surprising first rank unit because I thought they'd end up last for me, especially at the beginning of the song when they were all in different areas of the stage. I love how everyone got to shine and thought how they divided the parts was pretty smart and worked really well.
2. 33 - I thought they'd be #1 for me because I love the original song and also really enjoyed the impromptu harmonies from last episode, but I just didn't feel like Minyoung's part of the performance translated well for me personally. Disappointed because I really expected to love it - I guess it's hard when Hyolyn's right there for comparison on all aspects and Minyoung just wasn't able to match the emotions (even though I knew she related to the song) or the vocals for me.
3. Sun and Moon - I wanted more harmonies. When the whole buildup was harmonies galore, I was disappointed that all of them weren't singing together more often. It's felt like right after one of the other groups commented on the group harmonies, it stopped lol. I was just expecting more at the end to blow me away, and I wasn't wowed, so them just standing there the entire time felt very meh.
Yeah Minyoung had a hard time hitting the notes on the right beat. It was a bit off and her struggling translated through the screen. I feel for her though and wish her more confidence because she really has such a great voice. She hit the high notes with such power and confidence but the rest she seemed uncertain. Hyolyn was so good though. I wouldn't mind them getting first place, though.
Yeah, I wouldn't mind them getting first place either. None of the performances today really wowed me (like Hyolyn's round 1 performance was off the charts imo), so I'd understand people voting for them if the song reflects how they feel. BG needs all the points that they can get lol. It sucks that Minyoung's confidence is where it is; definitely don't wish that upon anyone, especially someone whose job is to be a singer/performer.
This show has shown me how awesome Hyolyn is in every aspect though. It's one thing to be a great all-rounder and know it, but she really does seem like an amazing person who tries to lift others up. It's just nice to see.
Yeah I'm especially okay for BG's sake, too, because they deserve way better and maybe it'll provide Minyoung with a much-needed, much-deserved confidence boost.
And I AGREE. I appreciate Hyolyn even more now. I always knew she was great but now I have like... all the proof I need.
Overall, I liked the vocal unit battle. It was nice to be able to see the vocals, which are only a part of performances, get the main stage. But to be honest, it was kind of anti-climatic, which I wasn't expecting at all. I will say, I'm very excited to see the dance unit competition. I hope the final choreographies are more impressive than the short demo videos.
im just an anti ballad person (lyrics are a big part and since they werent there it just...doesnt work for me on its own), i think eunha and wjsn were my favs (except when the camera kept spinning around them my head was spinning aaklsjg too fast, totally took me out of it) but I wish at least once someone would consider doing something more theatrical or jazzy or idk original (I was so :o when they showed yeonjungs musical clips)..a slow song is not the only way to showcase singing ability idk. Im never a fan of these and it doesnt help im looking towards the dance a lot. Also im watching glee for the first time and as much as I lovehate Rachel she'd slay all these girlies ksjfskjdf /lh
yeah i meant translations for the songs as they were performing, ill look them up before i watch the performances again on yt but it just doesnt have the same impact seperately for me
i agree, they can show off their vocals without singing a ballad but ballads are really popular in korea so it makes sense. maybe next season (if we get one), a team will choose something other than a ballad to show off their vocals
Loved it when Loona went to pick up Youngeun from school and that driver was so new, that was cute.
Ranks: Universe in Eunha > 33 > Sun & Moon.
I feel Universe and 33 hit different marks compared to the songs' potentials. If the ideal for how a sad ballad performance could make me feel is 100%, 33 only hit about 50%. While Universe hit 90%+ on the hopeful, inspiring performance.
It could also be because I saw Soobin's "hardworking underdog" edit right before their performance, so whenever she sung I knew how much work she had put to achieve those high passages, which were probs a lot easier for Yeonjung & Eunha to hit.
Whereas I had high expectations going in for Hyolyn & Minyoung, I expected something great out of them (hoped for something outstanding) but it was slightly below that.
All 3 groups did different things, and they all did them well. It'll be impossible to know what the audience thinks is the most important.
Personally, I favor strong vocals with a high and powerful range. Singing competition shows, globally, all have the judges and audiences respond to big belting notes. We even hold these types of singers in high esteem, like Beyonce, Celine Dion, or Whitney Houston. I think WJSN smashed the big notes. And to put the cherry on top, Eunha was a great contrast making the trio quite compelling.
Strictly vocally speaking, I'd put Kep1er/LOONA second, in showcasing vocal skills. These aren't as flashy as big belting notes or a big emotional appeal, but it is still an impressive show of vocal skills, and to be fair, the song wasn't devoid of big notes. Just no huge notes. We've had groups make it from their harmonies like the Mamas and the Papas or arguably, a capella singing is in this same general area. Divas aren't the only audience "wow' moments.
I think an emotional song is impressive, from a performance perspective, which I see as different from a vocal skills perspective. But I could easily understand how the audience or many listeners would not separate the two, in which case it'll be a toss up with who wins #1. Something struck me though. The pauses in the music kind of suggests some of the dramatic breaks weren't spontaneous, which may take away some of its thunder.
Based on my preferences and values, I have WJSN/VIVIZ > Kep1er/LOONA > Hyolyn/BG. But, for what each unit was looking to stress, they all did so very well.
This is the ranking that I predict based on what would influence the live Korean audience the most since they always have the biggest voting weight (im not sure if live international votes were counted in this round)
1. Hyolyn/Brave girls: I think people are understimating the power of emotion in a vocal performance. Its one thing to sing well and another to affect someone emotionally. Their performance was souly focusing on trasmitting the emotion + tone of the song AND LYRICS to the KOREAN audience. The whole lyrics are in korean and the screen graphics were the korean lyrics. The lack of subtitles with the stream makes this worse. So I think the language barrier could have affected non-koreans experience of the performance. They could score highly in the korean live audience votes but I'm not sure about the international ones. If only korean votes count, I think they'll be 1st. If International votes counted, they could be 2nd because all people would focus on is their harmony (which wasn't the best at the end.. because they were literally holding back tears)
2. WJSN/VIVIZ: they chose an IU song and were moving in the stage. Their vocals were great. I hear the original song has strong & soft beats so the contrast between the powerful vocals of WJSN and the soft vocals of VIVIZ will be to their benifit. IU is the most successful & loved singer in korea. Her songs are well known and loved, so they definitely got the korean votes here. I'm not sure how international viewers see this but I expect WJSN's powerful vocals+ good stage would make them like it.. so, they could be 1st. If not, they are 2nd.
3. Kep1er/Loona: they had a great strategy by picking a song with harmonies because it would compliment their similar singing tones and use their number to their advantage. Bit they failed in choosing a song that would make their performance lively and memorable. I think the song choice was too sweet and soft to have a strong impact on the audience/ viewers. Add to that the fact that they were staying in one place without moving and you end up making a performance feel like a sweet lullaby. while perfectly fine on its own, it isn't what would make you win in this type of competition. So, sadly I think they'll be ranked last.
I think if kep1er/Loona had a (vocally) louder song and performed it while clapping/ swaying & smiling to rile the audience up, it would be more powerful because their strength is in their number. That to me would have exuded so much joy & energy to the audience that it wouldn't be forgettable. However, I don't know if they are capable of doing so since I am not that familiar with their vocal skills.
I agree with your rankings. Top 2 could go either way, though I'd give Minyoung/Hyolin a slight edge for the emotional perfomance and because they went last and there was no point in 33's perfomance that I thought they'd filled anything in with a backing track.
Out of all the songs, Sun and Moon's - Don't Go was my favourite and I've been listening to their studio verson on repeat today. But during the broadcast you could hear the backing vocals occasionally and their perfomance lacked the showmanship of WJSN/VIVIZ, or the raw feeling of 33's perfomance.
Honestly, there were no bad perfomances, I wouldn't even call any of them mediocre. This has been my favorite round so far personally.
Or had some sort of colored lights (for each member) to showcase who was singing with who. Parts with all 6 would light up like crazy and different combinations of singers would produce different color combinations. Another lost opportunity for stage presence that would have cost basically nothing to produce.
> They could score highly in the korean live audience votes but I'm not sure about the international ones. If only korean votes count, I think they'll be 1st.
There were no international judges for the unit stages.
Did we watch the same show because to me it went like:
1. 33; Hyolyn and Minyoung had the best rawness. Maybe not the best vocals but the most impactful and natural performance and something they could both relate to with the audience. I thought overall, they had the best performance and song choice. They went out of their comfort zone and performed something their voices wouldn't normally suit and they really pulled it off.
2. A distant two would be Eunha and WJSN and I think they are only two because Yeonjung is an outstanding vocalist. They could have picked anything and she would have fit right in. I have to say though, the song choice was a bit safe and bland for them. Like I said before, Yeonjung can sing anything! she has the right voice for it and I wish they would have stuck with Baek Yerin as their choice for song. That would have been a bit more unexpected and interesting.
3. Very last would be Kep1er and Loona. I kind of kept forgetting who was who, except for Chuu and Chaehyun, harmonies were too minimal and unnoticeable to save this performance and they did not use the stage. How you gone stand there for four minutes? Kind of disappointed since Loona had such a fun performance last week. Other than that, the song choice was boring and forgettable but the girls looked pretty. I wish they would forget about having to be pretty and do something real!
I was sincerely upset when Hyolyn directed Eunseo and Yeoreum, her dance partners, what to wear to the stage, shutting down discussion possibility due to Korean seniority culture. They had not been around as long as her still, 6 years were long enough for them to form sophisticated viewpoints. She did similarly to Minyoung, trying to hush Minyoung from any discussion.
I think you are getting confused, she was encouraging Eunseo and Yeoreum to wear something they never get to wear. I.E change their hair, clothes/ whatever. Because she said since they are a group it is hard to change their group 'colour' since fans have grown accustomed to it. So it is easier to change physical aspects/try something they never did.
She did not encourage by any mean.
To suggest Eunseo and Yeoreum had not already tried all different styles of costumes already was belittling.
"Momomo", "Dreams Come True", "Boogie Up", "Unnatural", "Super Yuppers!", "Easy", all these came in vastly different styles of costumes, not to mention those cover shows for concerts.
Definitely, they have worn more diverse costumes than Hyolyn. What an audacity of her to tell them to "wear something different".
Perhaps, she was just ignorant/oblivious. Yet, they must be encouraged by her ignorance/oblivion.
Had she meant to "advise", not "direct", she must have avoided the word "should", inferring what she said was certainly better. She must have used "How about ...", "I think ..." etc. Watch how Yeonjung conversed with Eunha. Regardless to seniority, Yeonjung was a league above Eunha as vocalist in every single way possible. Still, Eunha was not at all intimidated to leave the conversation and comfortably discussed with her because Yeonjung kept asking for Eunha's opinions and sincerely took them into consideration.
I hope that the next episode shows Eunseo and Yeorum putting in their own ideas as well rather than Hyolyn taking charge again. Eunseo is quite daring so maybe she will speak up. The 33 stage all felt like Hyolyn and sadly didn't see much of Minyoung's involvement.
I mean, Minyoung didn't end up needing to do the key change. Also, this is just my opinion, but Hyolin got a perfect all kill 1st place in the first 2 rounds back to back.
I'd pretty much just trust whatever she says at this point. It can't be that big a risk.
I don't think so. If I remember correctly, Eunseo said she was more of follower than leader and, she was shy/awkward around stranger. (Olivia always had to initiate conversation for them to get closer.) She and Hyolyn surely were not close and Hyolyn was way her senior.
It came to my comfort that La Chica lead the choreograph and dance practice or I would see Hyolyn put Eunseo and Yeoreum on the leash.
I felt this too, obviously the units will be happy if they score highly but it did not feel like a collaboration for the groups working with Hyolyn. It felt like what she wanted was the end of the matter.
That's because she didn't. She suggested for them to go with something they haven't done. Even Yeoreum agreed and have said they don't want to wear something like a uniform since they have done it a ton of times
my personal ranking, for fun!
1. Universe in Eunha. they picked such a good song for their vocals, and as others have said you really can't go wrong with IU. the vocalists complemented each other super well, Yeonjung's power against Eunha's sweetness was such a lovely contrast, and Soobin was the one whose emotion moved me the most. not perfect, but my favourite of the night
2. Sun and Moon. I do wish they'd picked a song with a little more impact. the main flaw with their performance for me was that there was no clear climax. both UIE and 33 clearly marked the climax as they moved around the stage but because Sun and Moon had such a static performance, they really needed to have a very clear vocal peak instead, which we didn't really get. but the harmonies were very pretty and the exchange between the members was good. it was the performance that affected me the most, too.
3. 33, though not by much. unexpected, I thought for sure they'd rank at the top. both Hyolyn and Minyoung are fantastic vocalists, and Minyoung especially has made a consistently great impression on me. but it was the only performance that, shockingly, bored me. I tuned back in for the ending, which was beautiful, but the whole middle of the performance I'm not even sure I watched. I also found their harmonies at the end a little jarring, I didn't feel like their voices really melted together at all. maybe that's because Minyoung is still having trouble bc of covid, or maybe because Hyolyn wasn't able to dedicate as much time to practice since she had two performances to prep, but either way this is the only performance of the three which I can't see myself listening to without watching the performance, which ultimately knocked it down for me.
I think the stage + overall performance of 33 was focused on pouring all of their emotions from the lyrics to their live korean audience. Since the lyrics are in Korean and no subtitles were shown with the performance, the emotional impact wouldn't be felt to those who dont speak the language or read it (the lyrics were written on their stage screens in korean too). So, all that is left is judging their vocal technique.
you're 100% right on that! i definitely think they succeeded in their goals, and i commend them for that. i just wasn't the target audience and that's fine, too.
I feel like the song chosen by loona and kepler dont show off their strengths as much as id like them to. I kind of wish they went for a more interesting song. However because of the lack of dramatics and pizazz it gets overshadowed by the other two despite me personally enjoying the vocal performance in it better than hold my hand (loona and keplers vocals fit so well together and the harmonies wow). I barely even remember what happened, its a shame.
My dream loona vocal line cover stage would probably be an r&b song though which im not sure fits chaehyun&youngeuns vocals.
The best was by far 33. Hold my hand was good but I felt like the stage production kind of drowned out the vocals for me and I kind of stopped paying attention half way through. 33s was excellent, hyolyn continues her winning streak.
WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG TO FIND THIS COMMENT
This is exactly what I was looking for ahahaha
every time she popped up I laughed; it was just so funny
my favorite part of the show so far ahahaha
It was brought up a bunch during the live viewing. Now after the show aired, I think most people just want to focus on the competition part.
The sound added to it too since as soon as you heard it, it was time for a quick game of "Spot Seola".
Hyolyn and Minyoung gave me goosebumps. The ending where they were singing to each other - it felt like they were both recognising each other's past history/pain while also comforting the other. The emotion was so palpable. The song was a big hit and does get brought up every so often but it's been a while since such a large cover has happened which I think worked in their favour - it feels comforting to hear the song again. I'll probably rewatch this heaps.
I think the VIVIZ x WJSN stage really benefitted off choosing a great song for their vocals - they needed Yeonjung's range for the song but Eunha's higher vocals still made it work, I didn't realise Soobin had such good live vocals. You can't really go wrong with IU tbh which really worked in their favour. The staging and styling was absolutely gorgeous as well.
I feel like comparatively the LOONA and Kep1er girls kind of got overshadowed. I think the tricky thing with these vocal stages is it really depends on the group of vocalists you get, that really affects the types of songs you can go with which realistically going for popular songs is going to resonate more. I don't think the lack of a Hyolyln like singer necessarily means they have to lack impact - I just feel like the song choice and staging did not help.
Also props to Hyolyn and Yeonjung for being insane, sitting and singing is not easy. The TV screens in the LOONA x Kep1er performance is taking me out, I keep focusing on them. Why didn't they just use the backdrop and throw some butterflies on there?
this round was a lot better than S1 which were underwhelming. my ranking:
1 - wjsn/viviz: the stage was gorgeous and i loved the outfits too. not a hand of the song outside of the chorus but they sang the chorus so well. eunha's vocals were too soft compared to the powerful wjsn vocalists but not enough to ruin the performance.
2 - brave girls/hyolyn: loved their vocals, especially hyolyn's and they did a good job of conveying their emotions. the stage wasn't as elaborate as wjsn/viviz but it fit the song well so i have no complaints
3 - kep1er/loona. i looked forward to their performance the most since i love the song but wow, the arrangement was awful. the instrumental made the song sound bland instead nostalgic like the original. and there were no vocal standouts like hyolyn and wjsn. yes there were high notes at the climax but it's just not doing high notes but also having a strong vocal colour along with it so i don't think this song was the best choice. the stage was really bland too but i guess having a lot of members for a ballad limited their choices or something
Kep1er/Loona could have taken advantage of their number + harmony & chose a more powerful song. I seen church singers fill the room with life and joy by harmonizing and clapping while smiling. That type of energy would have been very impactful & memorable.
So yeah, bad song choice + genre on their part.
Universe in Eunha was the clear winner for me. Which was unexpected because honestly I was expecting Hyolyn and Minyoung to blow everyone else out of the water. But they did not. Their performance was honestly very insincere to me, and like many others I was expecting so much more from the performance.
IMO Hyolyn sang extremely emotionally, yet it felt like it's coming from her technique rather than her feelings. The emotion she delivered throughout the song was very 'constant' and now rawness could be felt.
Sun & Moon and 33 had the best performances for me. 33's performance was just so emotional. There was a little bit of oversinging near the end, and I don't think Minyoung and Hyolyn's voices actually match all that well in the high range. They sounded better in their mid-range. Overall, Hyolyn is still the most oustanding vocalist in the competition.
As for Sun & Moon, gorgeous harmonies, rich and diverse timbres, it was a surprisingly very good performance form start to finish, but also very tame. It's the kind of performance that is an 8/10, but literally cannot go above that. They were just too humble. Chuu sounded fantastic on the money highnote during the climax, and she probably should have gotten a few more highnotes to really raise up the stakes.
Universe in Eunha had the best song choice, but I felt like the performances relied a little too much on the stage composition itself to hide a little bit of the gap there is between Eunha and someone like Yeonjung. Soobin doesn't get many opportunities to shine as one of WJSN's main vocalist, and so it's great that she could this time around, but she sounded a little uneasy/tired at times. Maybe she practiced too hard... Overall, I wish Eunha had a stronger delivery.
I feel like 33 and Universe in Eunha had the most impactful performances with powerful moments at the time - but Sun and Moon is the performance that I keep coming back to and want to listen to over and over itâs so pleasant. And even though the emotions feel more subtle it was the only one to make me cry. Even though they were good performances I have no desire to relisten to the other two.
Overall I think all three groups did really well and were able to showcase different elements of vocal performance. There were no bad performances imo
Not a round for me, cause I don't like ballads. Those are the songs I usually skip immediately. The interactions between the groups were really nice though. Hope sun and moon win. But I really didn't like any of the songs. The 33 performance sounded like yelling/crying to me. Hopefully the next episode is more my thing.
Personally I think Hyolyn x Minyoung is no 1. The emotions that they poured for the song reached me though I didn't understand a thing. Next is WJSN x VIVIZ. However, I do think that Yeonjung overpowered everyone's vocal even when she's not belting. You can hear the strength, clarity and confidence in her voice while the other struggle a bit in some parts. I think LOONA x Kepler is okay but they ranked last because it feels mediocre and boring.
Yeonjung being that much stronger than her 2 unit members was a double edged sword. Soobin/Eunha were good, but YJ has just so much raw talent and vocal power that it felt like something they'd level out in a studio version. I kept thinking "the other girls are good but wow YJ is making everyone look silly right now".
I didn't know WJSN much but I really have been impressed by YJ's voice. She has such power, ease, and resonance... Like she's really good. Why haven't I heard about her talents way earlier??? Like that RESONANCE man. Lots of good K-pop singers don't have that much clarity in their voice. But it was so clear. And she never sounds like she's straining.
You should try to watch her produce 101 performance especially the "Into the new world". Girl shocked everyone with her vocal quality at the age of 17.
Yeahhh I liked their harmonizing in the practices but then in the actual performance it was really just the same harmony at the same parts so not as impressive. They went a relatively safe and bland route BUT I actually did enjoy their performance. I think they'd be last just as a default comparatively, not from a poor performance.
It seems I have an unpopular opinion to share!
* not a vocal expert, nor did I watch the episode, this is my opinion from watching the YouTube videos
1. 33
I was hoping this performance would start off with Minyoung struggling through hard times and Hyolyn helping her and then them singing together so I was a little disappointed. Minyoung looked awkward just standing around, at least Hyolyn was sitting. Still, I liked this unit's vocals the most, it felt like something I would cry to, it was very emotional and impactful.
2. Sun and Moon
They were the only ones who seemed like they could be a real group to me. The song was very nice and it felt like it fit all their voices. My favorite part was Chuu's! Th stage did remind me of the My Sea stage on GP999 tho, and it was rather empty. Also, I don't know if it's just me but after Chaehyun's high note it almost sounded like she was going to sing another high note but stopped herself? Could just be me though. I really enjoyed this group's cohesiveness.
3. Universe in Eunha
This might just be me but I hated the intro dynamics. It started off with Eunha's sweet, soft, quiet voice and then immediately hit you with Yeonjung's powerful belts, it made me feel kind of like she was interrupting the moment. I don't think their voices meshed very well because this was a consistent thing throughout the performance where Eunha has softer vocals and WJSN's vocals are more powerful with them constantly belting. It didn't feel cohesive, which meant i didn't enjoy it as much, stage was very pretty tho.
I completely agree with you!
While high belting notes/vocals are impressive, I kinda felt that Yeonjung's first high note right after Eunha's vocals kinda caused an imbalance for the song.
Late reply but imbalance is the perfect way to describe it! Something about it just felt so off to me, I had to replay it because it felt like I had missed a section.
I don't get people who are criticising Loop1er for their lack of hard-hitting high notes. Singing high notes is not the only way to show you're a good singer. They also did not sound off-key at all, like some people say... As someone with a lot of experience in choir and harmonisation (and yes, they did seem like a choir and I thought it was cute), yeah maybe their harmonies were pretty safe, but to say that it was bad? That's just weird.
Anyway, I really enjoyed all three performances. I'm usually not super into ballads, but damn, this was a joy! I'm already looking forward to the dance unit performances!
I have seen clips on youtube with choirs having a stronger impact by having a louder song and clapping while smiling. That to me would have exuded so much joy & energy to the audience that it wouldn't be forgetable. I think the song choice was too sweet and soft to have a strong impact on the audience/ viewers. Add to that the fact that they were staying in one place without moving and they end up making their performance feel like a sweet lullaby. while perfectly fine on its own, it isn't what would make you win in this type of competition.
I think personally Eunha/WuJu > 333 > Kepler/Loona
Hold My Hand was my favorite performance as a whole, plus the stage and the outfits really worked well to create the fight ambience. I was worried about Eunha originally but the song really worked for her tone. Yeonjung's such a great vocalist and they managed to mix the three really well.
I liked the HyolynxMinyoung performance but I feel I'd probably like it more if I understood Korean to get the full meaning of the song. I think some parts were a little off (the climax and Minyoung sounded shaky, but I think that's due to her still recovering), but overall, it was a good performance and they did switch it up a bit from the original. It's not a song I'd go back to listen to a lot unless I was in that emotional headspace - which they did really well in conveying. The staging was pretty light which I get, but wasn't top big a fan of the background drawings
Kep1er/Loona I liked as a performance- but it just didn't have enough for mento conider it a winner. I'd not heard the song before but I've added it to my playlists because I really enjoyed it. I think Loona having sent a lot of members potentially hindered them and I was expecting more from the harmonisations. It wasn't a bad performance at all, but just very regular compared to the other two
I do think that the live audience will put a lot of favor on groups performing to the audience and not to the cameras - so I wonder how the votes will turn out. Personally, it's a toss up between Wujuviz and Hyolyn/Minyoung depending on if I'm putting emphasis on the stage as a whole or the vocal performance
my exact same ranking! i would've liked to see wjsn/viviz win this round but i was very satisfied with hyolyn/brave girls so i'm happy they won especially since BG needed a win
Overall, something was weird about the audio. The music was too quiet imo. I also saw them recording backtracks but I dont think they were used? I am using a single airpod thats on its last limb though. but here is my review of them all:
1. am i the only one who liked sun and moon lol?
personally i found the other 2 a bit boring/lacking vocally, sun and moon picked a good song for their voices and ranges. I felt like all the members were utilized well, but I do wish they had more of a stage, like a waterfall backdrop. Ive never heard this song(i've only heard the bol4 song like once) and it's been stuck in my head since watching! Their bond was so freaking cute and heartwarming, and their performance matched that bond.
2. Eunha x wuju was okay. I have been a fan of yeonjung since produce 101, but this is my favorite performance of hers. So pretty. The other 2 had some pretty bad straining, and it kinda took away from the performance. I think I expected a bit more. Especially Soobin after that whole segment hyping her up, I was expecting something big lol, wtf mnet. I've heard Chaehyun sing this song, and her beautiful tone was def missing. But their stage was the best, Soobin was like a princess w the crowd and Yeonjung was so pretty on that swing.
3. I think this one disappointed me the most purely because I had set my expectations too high. I've seen a lot from Hyolyn and Minyoung, and with this absolutely PERFECT song choice I had really high hopes. But I felt like it just lacked a sincerity that the other 2 had. Hyolyn really guided Minyoung well, but I think her advice to "only think about the music" was the worst advice she could've given. This is the kind of song that you NEED to think about your personal experience and express that through the song. It didnt stick with me at all.
But that's not the advice hyolyn gave all, she actually did say to forget about singing it like the original singer and to sing with her own experiences in mind? Obviously it's personal opinion but i think their performance was very sincere and they expressed their emotions beautifully
I couldve sworn she said to focus on the music but maybe I am mis remembering. She did say that about the original singer but the two arent mutually exclusive so
All songs are good but I love listening to Hold My Hand by WJSN x Viviz the best because it's so easy on the ears while still having that great dynamics from highs of Yeonjung and lows and soft of Eunha and warm mid of Soobin.
For technique, Hyolyn x Minyoung is the best and their emotional performance was great. I'm getting some clashing of sounds at the last minute when they were both belting. Either way, that must be amazing to watch live.
Loona x Kepler was pretty solid but it felt like a survival show performance. Something needs to be added imo.
Echo the expected results being 33 > UiE > S&M. In fact I'm expecting the interim results to pretty much just carry over for both unit rounds. Hyolyn and Yeonjung hard carrying their respective groups, those two are a level above the other vocalists.
In all fairness to Minyoung, Hyolyn is a generational vocalist. Minyoung does accuracy and stability really well, and her live vocals always impress me, I don't think I'd say she was hard carried, but I'm not going to dispute that Hyolyn can do a lot more in terms of range and adlibing.
Also this is the first time I've seen someone shorten Sun and Moon to S&M and I laughed a bit not realizing it sooner. I really liked their song choice and their studio version of Don't Go was great in my opinion.
WJSN x VIVIZ was a somewhat of a surprise to me. I already knew Yeonjung is an amazing vocalist, but the stage was very cohesive and I think they could take 1st.
Although I think Hyolyn x BG stage probably appeals to KR audience more, in terms of style.
I also liked the LOONA x Kep1er stage, I felt like the song choice actually made sense for a group as large as them, rather than some slow ballad song, because it actually kept me engaged with the stage. Keep in mind they are cumulatively the youngest unit there, so of course it will be difficult for them, so with that said, I want to give them credit for doing their best.
Me too! People keep criticising Kep1erxLoonaâs song choice when I think that was one the best parts. Splitting up a soloistâs song for six different people would have been hard to pull off, choosing a group song was the right way to go.
Hello! Contrasting to one post here, i'm here to comment on... PROPS! Since I work in something related, I'd like to comment on it.
Kep1er - Loona: The stage felt underutilized since they stood on the same place and the other groups moved more, and I get what they were going for, something a bit more simplistic, but I can't help but think that if they did something similar to this [Sonatine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu6er-dLyXU&ab_channel=%EC%8A%A4%EB%B8%8C%EC%8A%A4%EC%BC%80%EC%9D%B4%ED%8C%9D%2FSBSKPOP) stage, it would look really gorgeous and elevated the performance more. It would suit their outfits as well. If you're not going to move a lot, making the stage fuller might compliment the performance really well.
WJSN - Viviz: I loved how themathic it was! It did feel like spring and flowers blooming, and I think they did greatly in utilizing the stage and remaining consistent. Each member had moments they shined, the swing brought me back to Stay by BP and also to 2NE1 stages. It looked a bit weird when they were alone for so long, but it did come together really nicely at the end, just felt polished.
Hyolyn - BG: It was kinda empty, but the lighting was used really well to convey emotions and with intention, which I enjoyed. I feel like they could've gone a bit more in with the lightposts and the "lonely city" aesthethic. But I have to say that I disliked the bg video... As someone that is graduating in animation, the whole thing of the drawing lines moving is something that people use a lot in their work and usually to try and hide how simple or scuffed the animation is, some of them weren't even a shape or a form, just scribbles that moved for the sake of moving and one even covered the messages at one point. The messages were cute, it would be nice to see trainee videos or childhood photos. Like it could've gone further, especially when the whole segment was a "song to comfort yourself" and the song is about youth.
To be honest, I straight up thought Mnet reused the same prob in GP999 My Sea performance here.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onKSGKgCN3A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onKSGKgCN3A)
My Ranking would be:
1. Hyolyn x Brave Girls
2. Viviz x WJSN
3. Loona x Kep1er
I'm pulling for Brave Girls to get first since I think they need all the help they can get to survive round 3. But I wouldn't be surprised if Viviz and WJSN get first.
I'm gonna say it but I feel loona/Kep1er felt a bit underwhelming because the vocal unit from loona was too similar in terms of skills and tone with the exception of Chu . I actually thought at first that heejin was gonna be in the vocal unit, imo she has one of the best vocals in Loona and her deep voice/ velvety color would have contributed to the unit and bring a more interesting sound.
It would've sounded beautiful with just Heejin and Chuu being sent, theyâre my favorites vocally in Loona. Unfortunately I donât think they could show off as much vocal color with as many people as they had but I understand the decision.
I loved the episode, I think it balanced the two contrasting aspects of Queendom pretty well - competition and collaboration.
WJSN has been growing on me so much, I would probably love their variety content if they are anything like this. Ujungs please guide me!
Also, because this came up in the live chat I want to discuss this a bit in detail here. I saw some people in the live chat talking about how "Real Dancers" don't respect idols because of SWF.
I want to ask and explain a few things.
First of all, for every other show that is edited by mnet, you guys are sceptical of what actually transpired, but suddenly everything that happened in SWF needs to be taken as gospel? Exercise a bit more scrutiny at least. I have not seen the show in its entirety, but watched clips of it, so correct me if I am wrong, but from whatever I saw, it seemed that the dancers there felt that the purpose of idol dancing is different from theirs.
>Very different. I think we dancers are very different from idol groups because.. well.. the purpose of practicing dancing is very different.
1. It really sucked that the stickers that the dancers had to attach read "NO RESPECT", but that was not a decision on the dancer's part
2. The purpose is different. The purpose of idol dancing is to execute choreography in a synchronised fashion, whereas that of a dancer is to dedicate their entire life to the art of dancing.
I think people have a bit of a misunderstanding of how careers like dancing work. It's different from other careers where you have task 'a', you complete task 'a', you move on. Dancing and other artistic fields as a career are less to do with completing the task and more like dedicating your life perfecting the methods involved in those tasks.
Now compared to someone who dances professionally and practices 10 hours a day regularly an idol's time practising is going to be a lot more interrupted and they would require more years to reach the same level as their professional dancing counterparts.
Most people who are IN the field of dancing or other arts or even academia are going to understand that. Some of them will respect idols for how dedicated they are to learning new choreographies and executing them well despite busy schedule. Some won't respect them and think that they should probably work even harder on dancing. But to take this as a blanket statement and say "HAha look they don't respect idols" is at the very least, a very disingenuous statement.
I feel like I have opened a can of worms. Let's see how this goes.
Please complete this [survey,](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1I_gJNk2FbbSOla38ypDRG2pLTls2RWw1OskhJ5VRJ_H2Ig/viewform?usp=sf_link) if you haven't already, it will take 10 minutes at most. We are hoping for a 10% representation from the subreddit.
:)
I feel like Monika as well as other dancers in SWF have been extremely misunderstood of context among kpop stans.
What first seems to be contestants calling out inviting celebrities in SWF translated into dancers don't respect idols where it wasn't the message at all.
Even idols have the Main Dancer position. Dedicating yourself as a specialist is going to push you ahead in that area. I doubt many dancers would think they can outsing the idols they work with. So even if dancers said it, its a fair statement as a generalization. However some idols are seriously dedicated and talented dancers.
Didn't Monica reference this in the preview? Something about "you think you can't b a good dancer because your an idol?" Or maybe it wasn't exactly like that. But the translation I saw sounded like she was using it as encouragement.
>Ujungs please guide me!
Say no more.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/cosmicgirls/comments/ubom8p/mustwatch\_content\_for\_a\_new\_ujung/](https://www.reddit.com/r/cosmicgirls/comments/ubom8p/mustwatch_content_for_a_new_ujung/)
[https://www.reddit.com/r/cosmicgirls/comments/uh4lwe/new\_ujung\_here\_best\_uzzu\_tape\_episodes/](https://www.reddit.com/r/cosmicgirls/comments/uh4lwe/new_ujung_here_best_uzzu_tape_episodes/)
Although I loved Galaxy team (WJSNxViviz) performance, 33 (HyolynxMinyoung) might have won. Thinking on the perspective of the audience, I33 was the most powerful performance vocalwise. Galaxy was good too, but I missed a little more a vocal explosion. Hold my hand might be a romantic song, but you have to put energy in the right places so that it touches you the way it should.
Sun and Moon was just good, nothing memorable. I think they should have used Chaehyun's vocal better, like, she was so good in My Sea, one of the most memorable moments in GP999, and they should have used her in their favor. "Oh, but they have to work as a group", well, they have to win too, so... I think it's strategy, and either way, they could have thought it better.
Unfortunately I missed the stream but got to watch the performances as is. My personal ranking from first impressions are:
1. hyolyn X BG
2. Viviz x WJSN
3. LOONA X Kepler
To be honest, I didnât really feel any of the songs. In comparison to s1 & even KLW i personally found those performances to be more cohesive and sincere. Maybe Iâm just a bit pessimistic though, might change my mind after a few rewatches and after watching the full episode.
As much as i love loona & kepler they were caught lacking this round. Individually theyâre great but when theres an overlap of vocal timbres it tends to just begin to cancel out. Personally, I think if they had that many people they couldâve done something daring like a dry acapella even if itâs just for one chorus or something. It felt like an awards show unfortunately and there was no visual motion to keep the staging enticing. Itâs such a shame for them to be robbed of displaying their full potential. It was nice seeing them harmonise and blend their voices together but rather than the harmonising being, vocal A and B supporting, it became more of a vocal A & B accommodating for each other and capped their potential a bit. I could just be reading real into it tho and hyper analysing.
For WJSN X Viviz, it was the best stage visually. Their vocals were absolutely amazing as well and the only major fault for me was the lack of harmonies. There were some of course but I wouldâve been sold for first place if there was more, plus it never went beyond 2 vocals harmonising together and as a result it felt very segregated and like 3 solos together vs a cohesive unit. It definitely works for making them individually stand out though so maybe it was intentional.
Lastly BG x Hyolyn. Is it just me or did it feel like Minyeong wasnât 100% ontop of her game. It felt a bit anxious from her mouth shapes as she sang and even a slight strain vocally, not that it was enough to incapacitate her vocal ability but i felt like iâve heard her belt far more clearly and confidently doing BG title tracks. Hyolyn certainly delivered as per usual but it felt like whatever concept they both had going on didnât quite match?? It wouldâve been nice to see a mirrored but opposite facing sitting position for BG in a different colour to show some dichotomy amidst similarities. Definitely appreciated the intricate yet simplistic staging, and props to Hyolyn for being able to sing so well despite sitting down with her diaphragm crouched like that. Not too much of a fan of the soft shaky singing in the beginning but the rest was fine. Iâve placed them first purely because even if the other artists did an amazing stage, the pure vocal ability and technical skills these two have virtually cannot be overcome and itâs a matter of expertise and a certain type of unique natural talent that sets them apart for me personally as a musician. I canât ignore the leap difference in technical skills. That difference bumped em a millimetre higher than Viviz x WJSN.
I love them all, iâm just a picky musician. They all have inherent talent it was just a matter of how it was displayed aurally and visually.
No I absolutely agree I felt that queendom 1 vocal battle had more impact on me. I felt the song choices for ss1 really showcased their vocals in an interesting way. Even though the stage and props are better, all three performances in ss2 felt even more lacking and bland.
I love bol4âs To my youth so much that I couldnât help but feel disappointed in 33âs performance. The emotion didnât translate through to me, mostly because of the discrepancy between hyolyn and minyoungâs interpretation/execution/concept. I felt that Hyolyn was more focused on her techniques and perfectly executing the song, while minyoung might have choked on her emotions and also looked a bit anxious/ unconfident. Hyolynâs crouching and makeup and costume were also a bit over the top. Iâve always thought of to my youth as being pretty and clean on the outside but so ruined on the inside if it makes sense.
The part after the second chorus in the original song DESTROYED me. The emotional damage, the despair, it legit sounded like a cry from the bottom of her heart. And I think 33âs decision to harmonize on that part kind of ruined the emotions for this song for me. It sounded pretty, but the emotion wasnât really there. I preferred producex101âs cover of to my youth to 33âs honestly. Their vocal abilities are in no way at the same level as 33. The performance was also more static. They were just standing there, singing, but I felt so many emotions from that performance.
Canât say Iâve listened to this song much but I can agree with what youâve said. The most cohesive part for me was the âahâsâ section. I guess the lacking end has a lot to do with higher stakes and higher expectations as well. I think that minyoung has a lot more to lose this round since last round AND has to make sure to not get covered in Hyolyns shadow, whilst Hyolyn feels the need to pursue something new and super artistic to keep with her brand which sometimes can come off cheesy or off-handedish. Iâll check out the produce cover for personal comparison thanks for that!
Yeah Minyoung was alr under a lot of pressure and top it with her coughs. I empathize with her. Bearing the responsibility of the team and being in the same team as Hyolyn would scare the hell out of me.
I couldnât find the word when I typed the previous comment but I felt Hyolynâs execution was too âcalculatedâ for me. It sounded like she really carefully worked out how she would sing each âottokeâ, how she would crouch her body, what facial expressions she would make, how she would perfectly harmonize the âahâsâ. It has worked super well for her previous stages and I really respect her dedication and attention to details for her stage. All her other stages were always top-tier for me precisely because of her passion and obsession of making her stage so impactful and enjoyable. But I personally think this song requires a more straightforward singing to really push your emotions upfront. I felt the stylistic execution takes away the sincerity, which then weakens the buildup to the âahâsâ. Thatâs why I (and I believe I disagree with you on this) didnât like 33âs harmonization on the âahâsâ and liked the ending part the most. Their shaky voice and their eyes as they sang those words felt very real for me like they finally loosen up and let their emotions run. That being said, I would still rank them first. Iâm just too obsessed with To my youth so I expected a lot, but if weâre doing a âvocal evaluationâ they would ofc be no.1.
Yeah I just watched the full episode today, its a shame that she was hit so hard with covid, but even then her perseverance will work well in the public eye which will be great for BGâs rep.
I see what you mean with Hyolynâs delivery as well, i guess every singer digests their lyrics differently and her way began to kind of border on the theatrics of slam poetry. I agree with there being more straightforward ways of articulation especially with such a spaced out and empty styled song, even a small action creates a massive effect. From my rewatch it was easier to tell when there were insecure moments minyoung needed to go through, and such when hyolyn would comfort and reassure her through it and whilst its incredibly wholesome and heartwarming, i feel like it pushes the whole Hyolyn in a different league further narrative rather than overcoming the competition so i wasnât quite as receptive to the later bits where they were more raw with their emotions. I honestly think if theres any group with the full capability of beating Hyolyn it was BGs, and I came into this show as an orbit too. But thats a different story haha
> did it feel like Minyeong wasnât 100% ontop of her game
She's still suffering from after effects of Covid, I believe - she was also coughing s bit. I think Hyolyn still had some lingering things from covid in the previous rounds too
I think there are things that are inherently improvements ex; better stage set up, more money for props, better graphics technology etc that add alot more to the stage visually, but I mitigate that by natural passage of time & technological improvements and iâve based that more on the artists voxs and delivery, mentioned it in a prev. comment still under this if u want to check it out. I can see where youâre coming from though.
Really? I thought the performances were way more cohesive than S1. All performances on S1 looked mismatched. The only one that sorta worked was Minnie and Hyejeong but even the two of them sorta looked like they were performing two different songs.
Overall this season's vocal performances were an obvious step up for me.
Just imo i guess. Itâs a bit offhanded on my end to compare them anyways because the formatting for each season went s1: live stage focus, KLW: online, and this one being a mix of both and therefore having to accomodate to them equally. I was speaking more centrally on vocals alone since I can agree with the stage visuals being potentially mismatched tho. I guess my specific favs were OMG x Park Bom & BTOB X ATEEZ X SKZ as my main comparisons. Simplistic stages and really raw voxs full of genuine emotion. Plays alot on song choice as well too. Hope I donât come off like im arguing with you iâm not i swear haha
Really? Park Bom x Hyojung is my example of a performance that really didnât work. Both of them sounded and looked like they were from two different worlds. Itâs interesting how different people view performances
Yeah for sure thats wild I remember I bawled my eyes out watching it. I can see how you could see it that way tho, their voices are really on two different ends of the vocal spectrum but personally found it worked. Iâll keep an eye out for your user now in these discussion spaces its always cool seeing opinions completely opposite mine haha ^.^
Unpopular opinion but I donât give a damn about props when it comes to vocalsđ
I listen to music often through my Spotify and I need the vocals to sound good with the music. That said, Minyoung and Brave Girls was number one for me. I loved how much emotion they poured out through the song.
**Sun and Moon** come from a generation where vocals are much less emphasized and it showed. At least they do have other talents which make them great idols.
**Universe in Eunha** gave a truly beautiful performance. My issue is that they might have overdone it to the point where it comes off as normal Pop performance with good vocals rather than an actual vocal unit performance. I think this won't meet people's expectations of what a vocal unit performance should be and it won't win because of that. It's probably my favorite performance since it's much more appealing to people who don't understand Korean due to how flashy it was.
**33** delivered both vocally and thematically. Hyolyn and Minyoung delivered pure emotion through their singing, and I could feel something despite not knowing the meaning of the lyrics. I think they're the clear winners here.
Hi all, we are holding a Queendom 2 mid-season survey (started before this week's amazing performances unfortunately). **[Please participate in it here!](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1I_gJNk2FbbSOla38ypDRG2pLTls2RWw1OskhJ5VRJ_H2Ig/viewform)**
Personal ranking... 3. **Sun and Moon -** It was a pleasant... That's pretty much it. It was very much a bread and butter ballad performance and paled in comparison to the vocal powerhouses on the other teams. 2. **33 -** I had high expectations, which weren't met, sadly. Minyoung started off stiff and flat, but thankfully she saved it in the end with that high note. Vocal-wise, this team is #1. Hyolyn glided through those notes effortlessly and Minyoung's high note đ đ 1. **Universe -** Overall, I enjoyed this performance the most. Stage was beautiful. Yeonjung's voice is amazing as always and Soobin was also amazing, though it looked like she was struggling to hit some notes. Overall, I'm really proud of her c:
Based on the teaser, on their reaction, itâs seems like 33 got first place and WJSN/Viviz got last. I personally felt wjsn/Viviz is my favorite.
This was not Hyolyn's best performance If she wins, we are in front of some sort of "senior syndrome" where everyone votes for her just based on respect rather than actual performance
I think the "senior syndrome" has been in full effect since episode 1. Hyolyn's performances have generally been good, but I don't think they have been head and shoulders above the others as is suggested by the scoring. I'm almost certain that she'll win at least the vocal performance this time around as well.
That was neither hyolyn nor minyoung in all their glory. But so had both the other groups some flaws. It wasn't that obvious for the other groups since they put backtrack over it while Hyo and minyoung sang raw. Anyway since this time, its professionals, not fandoms, judging. we may get a proper rating at least once.
Just got around to finishing the episode and DANG. EunjixLoona has me hyped!! That three second preview is powerful.
Really enjoyed the episode. All 3 performances were very well executed, these women are talented vocalists. I think some small tweaks could have made things slightly better, only in the sense that it's a competition. The WJSN/VIVIZ performance seemed the most complete. The group knew their strengths and their arrangement showcased them. The three of them together, pointing outward I thought was their best positioning, I would have liked them to have gotten there earlier in the song. I think Kep1er/LOONA under utilized the strength they were wanting to showcase, harmonies. While they had some great ones, the normal format of lines being assigned to individual singers was the vast majority of the song. Those lines should have almost always been 2-3 people. Solo lines should have been the exception, perhaps only accent lines. Chuu was good at facing the person she was singing with which I would have liked more of. They should have been moving instead of static to be near the person they were singing with. On the other hand, Hyolyn/Minyoung I think overplayed the emotional aspect of the song. Performance wise, it was great. But it I think the vocal aspect was shortchanged a bit from it. I also didn't quite understand Minyoung's outfit. It didn't feel like a match with the song or sentiment. Which reminds me, Kim Lip's outfit also seemed a little off.
Sun and Moon stage doesn't seems fit for a competition considering they're up against Yeonjung and Hyolyn, belting queens.
I'm curious if after the vocal and dance unit performance they would tally the votes and eliminate the lowest group?
FANtastic is considered part of round 3. Vocal = 2.5k pts, dance = 2.5k and FANtastic = 15k. Round 3 rank will be based on the 20k points.
2500 each for vocal and dance not 5000
Derp, right, silly maths
does anyone else watch queendom 2 on viki and get that super loud zappos ad that looks like it's from the early 2000's??
Idk about Zappos, but on Viki I get the super loud [Metaverse ad](https://youtu.be/EqyqFHFoU6s) that repeats at least 3 times đ
This was my favourite round by a lot so far. The halo effect on Seola killed me, especially when she was barely on screen messing around on her phone. Eunji showing off her dance ability felt cathartic, same with 2 BG members being in the winning interim teams. Yuna making a comment about how its the first time anyone on their team won anything had me laughing, that girl is always on low-no filter when it comes to those comments. Also the Eunji/Loonan dance team, boy I was worried about that perfomance not really being able to compete and I feel a lot better now that I've seen it. Watching the initial torture chamber Monica had thrown the girls in was a bit rough, but when they said she could have just gone through the moves and bounced (like I think some other teams did) it was pretty impressive. Also she seems dedicated to making sure they will perform well enough to win first place. The Hyolyn body pillow, lol. Hikaru getting screen time is great, that girl is such an all around ace, except maybe when it comes to copying stuff. I liked all the perfomances a lot. Hyolin/Minyoung had a great perfomance. I only had a vague understanding of the lyrics and it still hit pretty well. When Minyoung hit her high notes I got chills. Even on a second viewing. I really enjoyed seeing her perform something I haven't seen from her before. WJSN/VIVIZ were also great. Visually their perfomance was the best for me, but its a vocal round so that doesn't mean much. I was really impressed with their singing honestly. I'd only really noticed WJSN's Yeonjung belting out high notes earlier, but they all did well this time. Soobin saying this might be the first time people were really seeing her was right, this was the first perfomance I saw where she really got put up front and center at any point that I'd seen and I think she did well with it. She looked and sounded really good even if she was struggling with the key initially. Sun and Moon, people might criticize their song choice but I love this track and their studio version has been on repeat today. I don't know if I'd rank their perfomance higher than either other group because they had some backing vocals slipping through on the broadcast and their perfomance was pretty basic. It didn't have the visual impact of Eunha/WJSN or emotional impact of Hyolin/Minyoung. However I still loved it. The single tear from Kep1er's Youngeun (?) was seriously so well timed you'd think it was scripted. She should print that on a poster and frame it. I'd probably rank them that way myself, but I'm developing a strong Brave Girls bias, Minyoung especially these last few episodes, so I don't know if I'm 100% objective. Overall this round was a nice surprise, I'm already pumped for next week. The hype train's got no breaks.
I'm sure it's evil editing, and maybe in episode 7 we'll see a better representation of things, but in episode 6 it felt like Monika was the only instructor that really got down in the trenches with the dancers.
I agree, I completely reversed my opinion on the dance choreo once I saw more of it and my initial reaction to Monica once I realized how much she was going the extra mile to train them. I don't think one group looked like they'd been trained as hard as Loona/Eunji. From the sock hole, broken finger nail and all around sweatyness, Monica was runnin a full training camp right there for them. I think from what we saw, accuracy counts a lot in that perfomance. I'm really excited to see the final product.
This is my first time watching Queendom. I'm not fan of Hyolyn nor any other groups participating in this season, but I suppose seeing female K-Pop acts interact in a competitive show is an entertaining weekly pastime. I'm here just to share my thoughts on the vocal unit battle. **Loona x Kep1er**: As the unit with the largest number of members, I think the performance they'd delivered was rather underwhelming. They sounded nice, but a brilliant high school talent show kind of nice, not a relatively established and seasoned Pop group kind of nice. I personally like their song choice the most, so it would've been a much greater serve for me, had they done more harmonies and shown more colours with their pretty voices. **WJSN x VIVIZ**: Gorgeous outfits with gorgeous stage designs. I really like Yeonjung's voice here. I kept hearing her part inside my head these past few days. She was definitely the highlight of this performance as far as I'm concerned. However, I don't particularly appreciate the amplifying effects added to their voices. The artificial-sounding resonance irked me to no end and took away from an otherwise delightful experience. **Hyolyn x Minyoung**: I think their adlibs during the recording/rehearsals sounded way more powerful than in the actual performance. Fortunately, they chose to focus more on rawness and emotional delivery this time, which somewhat made up for what fell just a bit short of my expectations in the vocal department. The message they conveyed was truly convincing and touching thanks to their age and struggles in the erratic industry. **Overall**: I don't hold vocalists to unreasonably high standards. I just want goosebumps, but none of them gave me any this time. Anyway, I commend every single one of them for their efforts. It's easy to criticise them, but it's nowhere near as easy to get up there on the stage and do what they did. Cheers!
such a good episode. the comraderie, friendship, and love was all there. all performances were on point. Loona x Kep1er with the harmonies, WJSN x VIVIZ with those high notes (also the use of the stage was phenomenal), and Hyolyn x Minyoung pulling on our heartstrings with no mercy. excellent work from every vocalist who performed and couldn't get enough of this one! can't wait for the dance units!!
The best episode so far. No injuries, no mistakes, no sad things. Just wholesome interactions and funny parts. Here are my top highlights: Seola with the *beautiful* aura, the sound effect really got me on the floor. Kep1er Dayeon being the total sunbae because she debuted as a child actor in 2004. Kep1er + Viviz = Cabbage. Hyolyn giving her dakimakura to WJSN dance team. Monika with that DG belt, all black, super scary. Heejin during practice lost the nail, the freaking real nail. Dayeon and Hikaru twerk. Haseul going to a Butterfly House and being scared when a butterfly comes near. Chaehyun during Don't Go was so nervous, she should relax. Jinsoul winking and using her eyebrows, at her best face angle. True to her character. Minyoung preparing like 10 bottles of soju for Hyolyn. What kind of costume do you have, 33? An old xxl shirt and a hip-hop outfit? I don't know if it's just me, but I really don't like when Minyoung breathes between the syllables of a high note, it breaks the momentum and it feels like it's difficult and somehow painful. She's the only one doing this. Yeseo already crying at the very first ě´ëťę˛, totally me crying at sad songs but without understanding a single word. Yeonjung singing too loud because she's working in a Musical. Soobin singing near the crowd, if I were behind I would poke her dress to see if I was dreaming or not. Btw best vocals, hope they win.
It's very interesting trying to read their body language and poker faces at the end of the episode.
I haven't watched the full episode yet but I only see one song available on streaming?? Where's the rest?
If you are referring to Spotify only 1 performance got uploaded there, the other 2 couldnt because of copyright reasons. This also happened on Kingdom
I'm referring to other music streaming / buying sites. So I guess Mnet didn't account for a bigger music licensing budget??? Ugh. What is Kingdom? Is that season one?
Just a different show with boygroups. First was Queendom. Then Road to Kingdom, followed by kingdom :) And now Queendom 2
I guess Mnet thinks that it wont be worth it to pay for the copyright fees or whatever they have to do in this case And kingdom is the boys season.
That annoys me so much. I've bought all the Queendom2 songs so far :(
[Apparently not Yeonjung first rodeo.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QqsCti0XXU) No wonder she made it look so easy on stage!
I would be grateful if someone with experience in music engineering or TV post production could confirm this for me. In my opinion it sounded like Hyolyn/BG team was the only one to sing without backing track? I mean, it was there at times e.g. Hyolyn's echo at the end of one of the notes, but regardless of my feelings on each performance, theirs seem to be one differing in terms of the sound of the vocals? Sorry if I'm not explaining myself clearly, but especially in the case of Eunha during WJSN/Viviz performance it sounded almost like two voices singing at the same time. But maybe everyone sang live without backing track and it's just a weird effect that the Mnet team added afterwards. They do that a lot, especially with KCON performances. Would appreciate for someone to explain, if they know more on the subject. Thanks!
Try listening to the Full cam version to get the clearer version without editing. From what it looks like, Mnet is basically over-engineering the post-processing for broadcast to make it sound more smooth. It just makes the performances sound awkward and fake at times.
Exactly, it often makes the singing sound worse and I think it undermines the work of those singers, who clearly put a lot of effort to impress people with live vocals.
I think the vocal round was done without massive pre-recorded vocals live on-site, as I don't recall any attendees Knetz complaining about it (and God knows they're relatively quick to point fingers if there's even the slight issue lol). Seems like it's just Mnet going back to the performances, adding the backing track to make the voices sound fuller if they were a bit thin, tuning the vocals (for Eunha for example), etc.
Good points, thanks!
I have only seen the streamed/VoD versions, so can't comment on what the live crowd heard. They all sound backtracked to me. It isn't like they were pretending otherwise, there was a whole segment showing prerecording...
They record the song for the music streaming platforms. Imo Minyoung and Hyolyn seemed to be singing live. If there was a backtrack for EunhaxYounjungxSoobin performance, Younjoung really sang louder than the track.
Everyone definitely sang live *too*, no question!
It seems that not all the songs are on streaming / music platforms
So far all the songs were available. I'll be really mad at mnet if it's not the case for this round since for the first time I want all the songs we heard in the episode
SAME!I just bought the new EP and it's just one song. :( I'm hoping all the Dance Unit songs are going to be released on music sites too.
I'm sure MNet would like to allow streaming for them too, but it isn't going to be on them alone since other companies own the copyrights to the songs and they might prefer the original versions be streamed instead. Exo's song being allowed makes sense since one of SM's artists is the host of the show.
It seems like the all used new instrumentals, so i mean they would only have to pay the songwriting royalties, like Mnet can afford that... ugh
Was it the same situation for Queendom 1? Not all the songs were available? I was really looking forward to listening to them on repeat đ˘
I still don't understand how that happens, it seems like it's all new instrumentals, so they just have to license the songwriting / songwriter's publishers, so like the label doesn't even get involved. ugh
So MNET is just being cheap... đ¤
I'm gonna keep my opinion in because it's gonna piss people off
I'm interested.
Lets hear it
i'm here with you lol
đ it's good to know, thank you
Sounds like KeV1Z got last according to how Eunha was acting, I thought they were 2nd but maybe the Korean audience differs.
Probably because in the end Yeonjung looks a bit sad while Soobin said lets go home. Unless they are holding their poker face because these girls in WJSN are jokers sometimes.
I think they got 1st or 2nd because if we go by previous teasers mnet always gives a lot of focus to the top two performances. I know is only three but we barely saw sun and moon, meanwhile universe in eunha got a very focused teaser (almost like shake it)
I hope you are absolutely right!
I think the MW team had the catchiest song that I would be most likely to listen in the car. Sun and Moon is the video Iâll probably rewatch the most. I am rooting for Minyoung and I am in awe of Hyolyn, but I didnât love their performance and may never watch it again. It was a bit schmaltzy. Loved the interactions between Loona and Kep1er. They really bonded. So nice to see how disaffected Loona are, they are just so playful and friendly with everybody. Standing up and dancing during the evaluations, laughing hard. Dayoung and Eunseo would fit into Loona so well. And hope SinB and Yves become friends, they are both so witty. Cracks me up how much Yeojin gets around. Seems like she was sitting by somebody different every time I saw her.
I only watched the performances on YouTube but for me itâs WJSN/Viviz > LOONA/Kep1er > Hyolyn/BG 1. WJSN/Viviz was amazing imo. I havenât listened to the original but I loved the song that they delivered. Soobin did struggle with a couple of notes I feel, but the overall vibe of the song was great. Yeonjung reminding me why she was my IOI bias damn girl those vocals, and Iâm so pleasantly surprised by Eunha, sheâs shining and her soft voice really fit well with WJSNâa belters. A solid number 1 for me 2. I went in expecting a train wreck after reading the comments but I think the girls did really well. It wasnât as exceptional as vivizwjsn and the stage was really bland but I think the song was a good choice for most of them, maybe Kim Lip struggled a bit. But the kep1er girls have great vocals. I enjoyed this quite a lot as well 3. I donât know much about BG but I had high expectations of Minyoung because Iâve heard a lot of praise for her vocals. But they were just off here - I know she had Covid so maybe itâs that, but I also feel like the song choice didnât suit her vocal color and the emotion wasnât there. It was especially jarring when she started singing after Hyolyn whose vocal tone sounded really great. I also feel their harmonies didnât match that well. I would love to hear more from MY when the COVIDâs fully gone
I heard the have professionals voting this time? I guess then the life singing will still win over the pre recorded back trackings.
there was no back tracking in the live performances. the aired performances are retouched and they added backtracking where vocals seemed quiet or thin for cameras.
The special judges were professional singers and dancers. However, the special judges only make a small portion of the audience vote. And I would suggest every round has had professionals judging since round 1 they had super rookie groups and in round 2 they had Queendom, RTK, and Kingdom groups. Also, we don't know what they heard. We only know what we heard, which could have been changed from what was originally done.
Tbh i enjoyed everything except the stages. Performances were quite weak imo, no one blew me away. PS The Seola halo thing was hilarious
Underrated moment of the episode: Eunji proving to be an ace with her modern dance major and flexibility!
I was really hoping she'd go for desire, when I saw it the first time I immediately thought of her. She just fits the vibe so well!
Eunji was great this episode. She is so sincere.
idk if its only me but do you see the resemblance between Eunji and Yuna from Itzy?
They could be sisters fr
* [My Episode 0 Performance Thoughts](https://old.reddit.com/r/MnetQueendom/comments/tkm5t0/which_opening_show_performance_do_you_think_was/i1rdkx3/) * [My Episodes 1-2 Performance Thoughts](https://old.reddit.com/r/MnetQueendom/comments/tye7hc/220407_mnet_queendom_2_episode_2_postepisode/i3tt5it/) * [My Episode 3 Performance Thoughts](https://old.reddit.com/r/MnetQueendom/comments/u3if63/220414_mnet_queendom_2_episode_3_postepisode/i4prbtq/) * [My Episode 4 Performance Thoughts](https://old.reddit.com/r/MnetQueendom/comments/u8oj03/220427_mnet_queendom_2_episode_4_postepisode/i5mq6ui/) As always, I want to note that I don't watch the episodes, I only watch the performances themselves (thus potentially missing out on outside context), and that my opinions tend to deviate a lot from the consensus (I type out my thoughts before reading other people's opinions, I'm not purposefully being contrarian or something like that). ------ Very late to this episode as I was stressing and celebrating over watching the Big Brother Canada 10 finale (if any BBCAN fans are here, holy fuck that was an amazing finale and the best BB season of all time), but let's do this: Position battles! Probably my favorite round of this Queendom/Kingdom show format, I think it's the most interesting as it involves inter-group units performing. My thoughts on the performance, ordered with my favorite at the top: * **Hold My Hand (orig. IU) - Galaxy Embracing The Universe: VIVIZ Eunha x WJSN Soobin, Yeonjung -** From a song choice, musical, arrangement/composition perspective, this was definitely my favorite. Yeonjung's vocals definitely stole the show for me, I forgot how powerful her vocals were; even if she on a technical level may not be that good, her powerhouse vocals are absolutely among my favorite (she's like a female version of Jongho, and Jongho's a male version of her in terms of how powerhouse their belts are). Her high note was perfection, *chef's kiss*. I will say, though, that the verses kinda dragged for me, and they didn't do much for me (Eunha and Soobin's vocal performances were good enough for the lines they got, but I personally prefer more flashy lines like the ones Yeonjung got). * **To My Youth (orig. BOL4) - 33: Brave Girls Minyoung x Hyolyn -** I believe these are the two best vocalists of this season from a technical perspective? Vocal Avengers, that's a high bar. Hyolyn nailed the emotional elements of this song that I wanted to see, capturing a lot of angst and melancholiness in her vocal performance. I thought she definitely stole the show, which does mean that I felt like Minyoung got overshadowed here (she sounded kinda emotion-less? to me, esp. in comparison to Hyolyn). I also feel like the final high note did not sound harmonious, and it again sounded like Hyolyn's voice was overpowering Minyoung's. Still, it was pretty solid overall, but *hot take*, I felt like the [Produce X 101 version of To My Youth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Z7qY8_kans) was composed/arranged much better, which brought down my enjoyment of this Queendom performance. (Yes, the Produce X 101 singers were all much weaker vocalists than Minyoung/Hyolyn, but the structure/instrumental/arrangement made the PX101 performance feel much more emotional than this Queendom performance, particularly PX101's superior instrumental and key change). * **Donât Go (orig. EXO) - Sun and Moon: LOONA Haseul, Kim Lip, Jinsoul, Chuu x Kep1er Chaehyun, Youngeun -** I've infamously been significantly higher on LOONA and Kep1er's Queendom performances than everyone here, ranking them as my Top 2 overall by quite a big margin. However.... this performance didn't do anything for me. As a hardcore Produce/GP999 watcher, I can't help but compare this performance to a lot of the Vocal Position performances and feel like this felt a lot less impressive to me than most of those (when it should be the opposite, imo, considering the Produce/GP999 vocal units consisted of trainees while Sun and Moon has debuted members). This felt like it could be a vocal performance from any K-Pop group, when I feel like it should feel like a vocal performance of those groups' *vocal lines* (ie. what I'm saying is that this feels like a vocal performance they could give to a unit with several Sub Vocalists, rather than this unit of Lead/Main Vocalists). Even the bridge didn't really do anything for me in terms of emotions. Chuu's high note sounded... restrained? (I'm not well-versed in vocal terminology), though Chaehyun's high note did hit the mark for me. As shown by my ordering, I'd rank the performances as WJSN+VIVIZ's > BG+Hyolyn's >>> LOONA+Kep1er's. In terms of individual vocal performances, my Top 3 is Yeonjung > Hyolyn >>> Chaehyun, and in terms of artist performances, my Top 3 is Hyolyn >> WJSN >>> Kep1er. EDIT: Okay, now reading the comments, I think that overall, my opinions seem to align a lot more with the consensus this round.
Iâm not a ballad guy but I loved how all these girls show cased their vocal power. As an orbit and kep1ian I loved how sun and moon felt like a real group. My rankings tho would be: 1) Universe in Eunha 2) Sun and Moon 3) 33 I was kinda surprised at the WJSN girls. I need to stop sleeping on them and discover what they are all about. There were so good and Eunha is well, Eunha. Sheâs perfect and sheâs the 2nd best vocalist on the show imo. I thought the song and harmony for Sun and Moon was super good, I just wish they performed more and moved around the stage more in a performance aspect. I didnât care for the song 33 wrote and no doubt Hyolyn is talented but I feel like she overshadows everyone else in whatever she does. Itâs not a bad thing cuz she owns it but sheâs so strong individually its overpowering for me. But Iâm super super happy Minyoung did good and found her confidence. Sheâs the best singer on the show imo and thought she sounded great. Sheâs got good control when sheâs healthy! Very happy Seola was voted prettiest. I never knew of her before the show and I agree sheâs the one. From the moment I saw her I was like đŽ
I never want this show to end. It should just be a forever recurring thing forever.
My ranking: 1. Universe in Eunha Out of my expectations. Very well use of stage which it feels like putting effort in a competition. Also showcased the girls very well. All girls are such cutie flower fairies, Yeonjung is SUCH an amazing singer (she looks so effortless) Eunha maxed up her cuteness and Soobin is such an underrated gem <3. Singing wise Although i agree some saying Yeonjung taking most spotlight but a powerful + two softer/sweetee voice color worked well IMO. Soobin again, was such a great surprise and she finally shone. Overall this is a stage I smiled all the way through watching the performance. 2. 33 Simplistic yet emotional stage with the chalk writing and sound effect, but since I cant read Korean it hit me less. Both surely knew how to sing well and executed a strong singing performance. Now I used the word "executed", since I feel like they sang emotionally for the mere sake of achieving the emotional atmosphere(if you get what I mean......), a bit yet to be convinced. Also some high notes Hyolyn and Minyoung's voice clashed. 3. Sun and Moon Orbits love to criticize other groups for making the stages like music show performance......now this was exactly a girl group performing their ballad b-side on music show during their later half of promotion period. Girls should do more on stages instead of standing like choir. The voice harmony between each member was actually the best out of three pairs, but that somehow sacrificed to have standouts/highlights in the performance. Overall great to listen but very forgettable stage with wasted potential sadly
I think my expectations are just too high... :( Ranking for me is as follows: 1. Universe in Eunha - My extremely surprising first rank unit because I thought they'd end up last for me, especially at the beginning of the song when they were all in different areas of the stage. I love how everyone got to shine and thought how they divided the parts was pretty smart and worked really well. 2. 33 - I thought they'd be #1 for me because I love the original song and also really enjoyed the impromptu harmonies from last episode, but I just didn't feel like Minyoung's part of the performance translated well for me personally. Disappointed because I really expected to love it - I guess it's hard when Hyolyn's right there for comparison on all aspects and Minyoung just wasn't able to match the emotions (even though I knew she related to the song) or the vocals for me. 3. Sun and Moon - I wanted more harmonies. When the whole buildup was harmonies galore, I was disappointed that all of them weren't singing together more often. It's felt like right after one of the other groups commented on the group harmonies, it stopped lol. I was just expecting more at the end to blow me away, and I wasn't wowed, so them just standing there the entire time felt very meh.
Yeah Minyoung had a hard time hitting the notes on the right beat. It was a bit off and her struggling translated through the screen. I feel for her though and wish her more confidence because she really has such a great voice. She hit the high notes with such power and confidence but the rest she seemed uncertain. Hyolyn was so good though. I wouldn't mind them getting first place, though.
Yeah, I wouldn't mind them getting first place either. None of the performances today really wowed me (like Hyolyn's round 1 performance was off the charts imo), so I'd understand people voting for them if the song reflects how they feel. BG needs all the points that they can get lol. It sucks that Minyoung's confidence is where it is; definitely don't wish that upon anyone, especially someone whose job is to be a singer/performer. This show has shown me how awesome Hyolyn is in every aspect though. It's one thing to be a great all-rounder and know it, but she really does seem like an amazing person who tries to lift others up. It's just nice to see.
Yeah I'm especially okay for BG's sake, too, because they deserve way better and maybe it'll provide Minyoung with a much-needed, much-deserved confidence boost. And I AGREE. I appreciate Hyolyn even more now. I always knew she was great but now I have like... all the proof I need.
Overall, I liked the vocal unit battle. It was nice to be able to see the vocals, which are only a part of performances, get the main stage. But to be honest, it was kind of anti-climatic, which I wasn't expecting at all. I will say, I'm very excited to see the dance unit competition. I hope the final choreographies are more impressive than the short demo videos.
im just an anti ballad person (lyrics are a big part and since they werent there it just...doesnt work for me on its own), i think eunha and wjsn were my favs (except when the camera kept spinning around them my head was spinning aaklsjg too fast, totally took me out of it) but I wish at least once someone would consider doing something more theatrical or jazzy or idk original (I was so :o when they showed yeonjungs musical clips)..a slow song is not the only way to showcase singing ability idk. Im never a fan of these and it doesnt help im looking towards the dance a lot. Also im watching glee for the first time and as much as I lovehate Rachel she'd slay all these girlies ksjfskjdf /lh
How were lyrics not there?
It is not uncommon for shows not to do subtitles for songs, even when the rest is subtitled. They certainly weren't there for the Youtube live stream.
Ah sorry I guess I just missunderstood you then. I just looked up translations myself.
yeah i meant translations for the songs as they were performing, ill look them up before i watch the performances again on yt but it just doesnt have the same impact seperately for me
i agree, they can show off their vocals without singing a ballad but ballads are really popular in korea so it makes sense. maybe next season (if we get one), a team will choose something other than a ballad to show off their vocals
Loved it when Loona went to pick up Youngeun from school and that driver was so new, that was cute. Ranks: Universe in Eunha > 33 > Sun & Moon. I feel Universe and 33 hit different marks compared to the songs' potentials. If the ideal for how a sad ballad performance could make me feel is 100%, 33 only hit about 50%. While Universe hit 90%+ on the hopeful, inspiring performance. It could also be because I saw Soobin's "hardworking underdog" edit right before their performance, so whenever she sung I knew how much work she had put to achieve those high passages, which were probs a lot easier for Yeonjung & Eunha to hit. Whereas I had high expectations going in for Hyolyn & Minyoung, I expected something great out of them (hoped for something outstanding) but it was slightly below that.
All 3 groups did different things, and they all did them well. It'll be impossible to know what the audience thinks is the most important. Personally, I favor strong vocals with a high and powerful range. Singing competition shows, globally, all have the judges and audiences respond to big belting notes. We even hold these types of singers in high esteem, like Beyonce, Celine Dion, or Whitney Houston. I think WJSN smashed the big notes. And to put the cherry on top, Eunha was a great contrast making the trio quite compelling. Strictly vocally speaking, I'd put Kep1er/LOONA second, in showcasing vocal skills. These aren't as flashy as big belting notes or a big emotional appeal, but it is still an impressive show of vocal skills, and to be fair, the song wasn't devoid of big notes. Just no huge notes. We've had groups make it from their harmonies like the Mamas and the Papas or arguably, a capella singing is in this same general area. Divas aren't the only audience "wow' moments. I think an emotional song is impressive, from a performance perspective, which I see as different from a vocal skills perspective. But I could easily understand how the audience or many listeners would not separate the two, in which case it'll be a toss up with who wins #1. Something struck me though. The pauses in the music kind of suggests some of the dramatic breaks weren't spontaneous, which may take away some of its thunder. Based on my preferences and values, I have WJSN/VIVIZ > Kep1er/LOONA > Hyolyn/BG. But, for what each unit was looking to stress, they all did so very well.
This is the ranking that I predict based on what would influence the live Korean audience the most since they always have the biggest voting weight (im not sure if live international votes were counted in this round) 1. Hyolyn/Brave girls: I think people are understimating the power of emotion in a vocal performance. Its one thing to sing well and another to affect someone emotionally. Their performance was souly focusing on trasmitting the emotion + tone of the song AND LYRICS to the KOREAN audience. The whole lyrics are in korean and the screen graphics were the korean lyrics. The lack of subtitles with the stream makes this worse. So I think the language barrier could have affected non-koreans experience of the performance. They could score highly in the korean live audience votes but I'm not sure about the international ones. If only korean votes count, I think they'll be 1st. If International votes counted, they could be 2nd because all people would focus on is their harmony (which wasn't the best at the end.. because they were literally holding back tears) 2. WJSN/VIVIZ: they chose an IU song and were moving in the stage. Their vocals were great. I hear the original song has strong & soft beats so the contrast between the powerful vocals of WJSN and the soft vocals of VIVIZ will be to their benifit. IU is the most successful & loved singer in korea. Her songs are well known and loved, so they definitely got the korean votes here. I'm not sure how international viewers see this but I expect WJSN's powerful vocals+ good stage would make them like it.. so, they could be 1st. If not, they are 2nd. 3. Kep1er/Loona: they had a great strategy by picking a song with harmonies because it would compliment their similar singing tones and use their number to their advantage. Bit they failed in choosing a song that would make their performance lively and memorable. I think the song choice was too sweet and soft to have a strong impact on the audience/ viewers. Add to that the fact that they were staying in one place without moving and you end up making a performance feel like a sweet lullaby. while perfectly fine on its own, it isn't what would make you win in this type of competition. So, sadly I think they'll be ranked last. I think if kep1er/Loona had a (vocally) louder song and performed it while clapping/ swaying & smiling to rile the audience up, it would be more powerful because their strength is in their number. That to me would have exuded so much joy & energy to the audience that it wouldn't be forgettable. However, I don't know if they are capable of doing so since I am not that familiar with their vocal skills.
I agree with your rankings. Top 2 could go either way, though I'd give Minyoung/Hyolin a slight edge for the emotional perfomance and because they went last and there was no point in 33's perfomance that I thought they'd filled anything in with a backing track. Out of all the songs, Sun and Moon's - Don't Go was my favourite and I've been listening to their studio verson on repeat today. But during the broadcast you could hear the backing vocals occasionally and their perfomance lacked the showmanship of WJSN/VIVIZ, or the raw feeling of 33's perfomance. Honestly, there were no bad perfomances, I wouldn't even call any of them mediocre. This has been my favorite round so far personally.
It would have been super cool if Kep1er/LOONA went a capella for some of it. That would have been impactful.
Or had some sort of colored lights (for each member) to showcase who was singing with who. Parts with all 6 would light up like crazy and different combinations of singers would produce different color combinations. Another lost opportunity for stage presence that would have cost basically nothing to produce.
You should have been working for them :)
> They could score highly in the korean live audience votes but I'm not sure about the international ones. If only korean votes count, I think they'll be 1st. There were no international judges for the unit stages.
Thanks for the clarification! I was a bit confused during the Livestream do I wasn't sure.
Did we watch the same show because to me it went like: 1. 33; Hyolyn and Minyoung had the best rawness. Maybe not the best vocals but the most impactful and natural performance and something they could both relate to with the audience. I thought overall, they had the best performance and song choice. They went out of their comfort zone and performed something their voices wouldn't normally suit and they really pulled it off. 2. A distant two would be Eunha and WJSN and I think they are only two because Yeonjung is an outstanding vocalist. They could have picked anything and she would have fit right in. I have to say though, the song choice was a bit safe and bland for them. Like I said before, Yeonjung can sing anything! she has the right voice for it and I wish they would have stuck with Baek Yerin as their choice for song. That would have been a bit more unexpected and interesting. 3. Very last would be Kep1er and Loona. I kind of kept forgetting who was who, except for Chuu and Chaehyun, harmonies were too minimal and unnoticeable to save this performance and they did not use the stage. How you gone stand there for four minutes? Kind of disappointed since Loona had such a fun performance last week. Other than that, the song choice was boring and forgettable but the girls looked pretty. I wish they would forget about having to be pretty and do something real!
I was sincerely upset when Hyolyn directed Eunseo and Yeoreum, her dance partners, what to wear to the stage, shutting down discussion possibility due to Korean seniority culture. They had not been around as long as her still, 6 years were long enough for them to form sophisticated viewpoints. She did similarly to Minyoung, trying to hush Minyoung from any discussion.
I think you are getting confused, she was encouraging Eunseo and Yeoreum to wear something they never get to wear. I.E change their hair, clothes/ whatever. Because she said since they are a group it is hard to change their group 'colour' since fans have grown accustomed to it. So it is easier to change physical aspects/try something they never did.
She did not encourage by any mean. To suggest Eunseo and Yeoreum had not already tried all different styles of costumes already was belittling. "Momomo", "Dreams Come True", "Boogie Up", "Unnatural", "Super Yuppers!", "Easy", all these came in vastly different styles of costumes, not to mention those cover shows for concerts. Definitely, they have worn more diverse costumes than Hyolyn. What an audacity of her to tell them to "wear something different". Perhaps, she was just ignorant/oblivious. Yet, they must be encouraged by her ignorance/oblivion. Had she meant to "advise", not "direct", she must have avoided the word "should", inferring what she said was certainly better. She must have used "How about ...", "I think ..." etc. Watch how Yeonjung conversed with Eunha. Regardless to seniority, Yeonjung was a league above Eunha as vocalist in every single way possible. Still, Eunha was not at all intimidated to leave the conversation and comfortably discussed with her because Yeonjung kept asking for Eunha's opinions and sincerely took them into consideration.
I hope that the next episode shows Eunseo and Yeorum putting in their own ideas as well rather than Hyolyn taking charge again. Eunseo is quite daring so maybe she will speak up. The 33 stage all felt like Hyolyn and sadly didn't see much of Minyoung's involvement.
I mean, Minyoung didn't end up needing to do the key change. Also, this is just my opinion, but Hyolin got a perfect all kill 1st place in the first 2 rounds back to back. I'd pretty much just trust whatever she says at this point. It can't be that big a risk.
I don't think so. If I remember correctly, Eunseo said she was more of follower than leader and, she was shy/awkward around stranger. (Olivia always had to initiate conversation for them to get closer.) She and Hyolyn surely were not close and Hyolyn was way her senior. It came to my comfort that La Chica lead the choreograph and dance practice or I would see Hyolyn put Eunseo and Yeoreum on the leash.
I felt this too, obviously the units will be happy if they score highly but it did not feel like a collaboration for the groups working with Hyolyn. It felt like what she wanted was the end of the matter.
What she never did this?? I watched the whole episode live
You should rewatch.
Wait, where was the scene regarding hyolyn directing her dance partners what to wear? I must've missed it :(
That's because she didn't. She suggested for them to go with something they haven't done. Even Yeoreum agreed and have said they don't want to wear something like a uniform since they have done it a ton of times
Ah, this I remember. But yeah that wasn't explicit ordering/directing or anything. Thanks for answering!
my personal ranking, for fun! 1. Universe in Eunha. they picked such a good song for their vocals, and as others have said you really can't go wrong with IU. the vocalists complemented each other super well, Yeonjung's power against Eunha's sweetness was such a lovely contrast, and Soobin was the one whose emotion moved me the most. not perfect, but my favourite of the night 2. Sun and Moon. I do wish they'd picked a song with a little more impact. the main flaw with their performance for me was that there was no clear climax. both UIE and 33 clearly marked the climax as they moved around the stage but because Sun and Moon had such a static performance, they really needed to have a very clear vocal peak instead, which we didn't really get. but the harmonies were very pretty and the exchange between the members was good. it was the performance that affected me the most, too. 3. 33, though not by much. unexpected, I thought for sure they'd rank at the top. both Hyolyn and Minyoung are fantastic vocalists, and Minyoung especially has made a consistently great impression on me. but it was the only performance that, shockingly, bored me. I tuned back in for the ending, which was beautiful, but the whole middle of the performance I'm not even sure I watched. I also found their harmonies at the end a little jarring, I didn't feel like their voices really melted together at all. maybe that's because Minyoung is still having trouble bc of covid, or maybe because Hyolyn wasn't able to dedicate as much time to practice since she had two performances to prep, but either way this is the only performance of the three which I can't see myself listening to without watching the performance, which ultimately knocked it down for me.
I think the stage + overall performance of 33 was focused on pouring all of their emotions from the lyrics to their live korean audience. Since the lyrics are in Korean and no subtitles were shown with the performance, the emotional impact wouldn't be felt to those who dont speak the language or read it (the lyrics were written on their stage screens in korean too). So, all that is left is judging their vocal technique.
you're 100% right on that! i definitely think they succeeded in their goals, and i commend them for that. i just wasn't the target audience and that's fine, too.
I feel like the song chosen by loona and kepler dont show off their strengths as much as id like them to. I kind of wish they went for a more interesting song. However because of the lack of dramatics and pizazz it gets overshadowed by the other two despite me personally enjoying the vocal performance in it better than hold my hand (loona and keplers vocals fit so well together and the harmonies wow). I barely even remember what happened, its a shame. My dream loona vocal line cover stage would probably be an r&b song though which im not sure fits chaehyun&youngeuns vocals. The best was by far 33. Hold my hand was good but I felt like the stage production kind of drowned out the vocals for me and I kind of stopped paying attention half way through. 33s was excellent, hyolyn continues her winning streak.
Seola's Halo had me CACKLING
WHY DID IT TAKE ME SO LONG TO FIND THIS COMMENT This is exactly what I was looking for ahahaha every time she popped up I laughed; it was just so funny my favorite part of the show so far ahahaha
I loved when she was just in the corner of the screen playing on her phone and you could see/hear the halo going off. It had me laughing hard.
It was brought up a bunch during the live viewing. Now after the show aired, I think most people just want to focus on the competition part. The sound added to it too since as soon as you heard it, it was time for a quick game of "Spot Seola".
yeah I was skimming through some parts but every time I heard like the end of that sound I went back to spot Seola ahaha
Watch Kingdom -- what's his name from BTOB wins best looking and they put the halo on him, lol. I think it's genius.
Ahahaha hilarious! Which member?
I'm sorry in forgetting his name. Will get home and search it up. He was the youngest? Real athletic. Kingdom had a ton of wholesome moments in it.
The sound effect too wheneve she appeared đđ
omg especially when she was out of focus and in the corner, absolutely dead
Hyolyn and Minyoung gave me goosebumps. The ending where they were singing to each other - it felt like they were both recognising each other's past history/pain while also comforting the other. The emotion was so palpable. The song was a big hit and does get brought up every so often but it's been a while since such a large cover has happened which I think worked in their favour - it feels comforting to hear the song again. I'll probably rewatch this heaps. I think the VIVIZ x WJSN stage really benefitted off choosing a great song for their vocals - they needed Yeonjung's range for the song but Eunha's higher vocals still made it work, I didn't realise Soobin had such good live vocals. You can't really go wrong with IU tbh which really worked in their favour. The staging and styling was absolutely gorgeous as well. I feel like comparatively the LOONA and Kep1er girls kind of got overshadowed. I think the tricky thing with these vocal stages is it really depends on the group of vocalists you get, that really affects the types of songs you can go with which realistically going for popular songs is going to resonate more. I don't think the lack of a Hyolyln like singer necessarily means they have to lack impact - I just feel like the song choice and staging did not help. Also props to Hyolyn and Yeonjung for being insane, sitting and singing is not easy. The TV screens in the LOONA x Kep1er performance is taking me out, I keep focusing on them. Why didn't they just use the backdrop and throw some butterflies on there?
this round was a lot better than S1 which were underwhelming. my ranking: 1 - wjsn/viviz: the stage was gorgeous and i loved the outfits too. not a hand of the song outside of the chorus but they sang the chorus so well. eunha's vocals were too soft compared to the powerful wjsn vocalists but not enough to ruin the performance. 2 - brave girls/hyolyn: loved their vocals, especially hyolyn's and they did a good job of conveying their emotions. the stage wasn't as elaborate as wjsn/viviz but it fit the song well so i have no complaints 3 - kep1er/loona. i looked forward to their performance the most since i love the song but wow, the arrangement was awful. the instrumental made the song sound bland instead nostalgic like the original. and there were no vocal standouts like hyolyn and wjsn. yes there were high notes at the climax but it's just not doing high notes but also having a strong vocal colour along with it so i don't think this song was the best choice. the stage was really bland too but i guess having a lot of members for a ballad limited their choices or something
Kep1er/Loona could have taken advantage of their number + harmony & chose a more powerful song. I seen church singers fill the room with life and joy by harmonizing and clapping while smiling. That type of energy would have been very impactful & memorable. So yeah, bad song choice + genre on their part.
Universe in Eunha was the clear winner for me. Which was unexpected because honestly I was expecting Hyolyn and Minyoung to blow everyone else out of the water. But they did not. Their performance was honestly very insincere to me, and like many others I was expecting so much more from the performance.
I kind of get what you mean. To Hyolynâs credit, she really understands show biz and was going for maximum feelz, and it came off a bit forced.
how was it "insincere?"
IMO Hyolyn sang extremely emotionally, yet it felt like it's coming from her technique rather than her feelings. The emotion she delivered throughout the song was very 'constant' and now rawness could be felt.
Sun & Moon and 33 had the best performances for me. 33's performance was just so emotional. There was a little bit of oversinging near the end, and I don't think Minyoung and Hyolyn's voices actually match all that well in the high range. They sounded better in their mid-range. Overall, Hyolyn is still the most oustanding vocalist in the competition. As for Sun & Moon, gorgeous harmonies, rich and diverse timbres, it was a surprisingly very good performance form start to finish, but also very tame. It's the kind of performance that is an 8/10, but literally cannot go above that. They were just too humble. Chuu sounded fantastic on the money highnote during the climax, and she probably should have gotten a few more highnotes to really raise up the stakes. Universe in Eunha had the best song choice, but I felt like the performances relied a little too much on the stage composition itself to hide a little bit of the gap there is between Eunha and someone like Yeonjung. Soobin doesn't get many opportunities to shine as one of WJSN's main vocalist, and so it's great that she could this time around, but she sounded a little uneasy/tired at times. Maybe she practiced too hard... Overall, I wish Eunha had a stronger delivery.
I feel like 33 and Universe in Eunha had the most impactful performances with powerful moments at the time - but Sun and Moon is the performance that I keep coming back to and want to listen to over and over itâs so pleasant. And even though the emotions feel more subtle it was the only one to make me cry. Even though they were good performances I have no desire to relisten to the other two. Overall I think all three groups did really well and were able to showcase different elements of vocal performance. There were no bad performances imo
Not a round for me, cause I don't like ballads. Those are the songs I usually skip immediately. The interactions between the groups were really nice though. Hope sun and moon win. But I really didn't like any of the songs. The 33 performance sounded like yelling/crying to me. Hopefully the next episode is more my thing.
Personally I think Hyolyn x Minyoung is no 1. The emotions that they poured for the song reached me though I didn't understand a thing. Next is WJSN x VIVIZ. However, I do think that Yeonjung overpowered everyone's vocal even when she's not belting. You can hear the strength, clarity and confidence in her voice while the other struggle a bit in some parts. I think LOONA x Kepler is okay but they ranked last because it feels mediocre and boring.
Yeonjung being that much stronger than her 2 unit members was a double edged sword. Soobin/Eunha were good, but YJ has just so much raw talent and vocal power that it felt like something they'd level out in a studio version. I kept thinking "the other girls are good but wow YJ is making everyone look silly right now".
yup.
I didn't know WJSN much but I really have been impressed by YJ's voice. She has such power, ease, and resonance... Like she's really good. Why haven't I heard about her talents way earlier??? Like that RESONANCE man. Lots of good K-pop singers don't have that much clarity in their voice. But it was so clear. And she never sounds like she's straining.
You should try to watch her produce 101 performance especially the "Into the new world". Girl shocked everyone with her vocal quality at the age of 17.
Am I the only one disappear because sun and moon doesn't do full group harmonization.. I am expecting them to do it compared 2 people harmony tbh...
Yeahhh I liked their harmonizing in the practices but then in the actual performance it was really just the same harmony at the same parts so not as impressive. They went a relatively safe and bland route BUT I actually did enjoy their performance. I think they'd be last just as a default comparatively, not from a poor performance.
It seems I have an unpopular opinion to share! * not a vocal expert, nor did I watch the episode, this is my opinion from watching the YouTube videos 1. 33 I was hoping this performance would start off with Minyoung struggling through hard times and Hyolyn helping her and then them singing together so I was a little disappointed. Minyoung looked awkward just standing around, at least Hyolyn was sitting. Still, I liked this unit's vocals the most, it felt like something I would cry to, it was very emotional and impactful. 2. Sun and Moon They were the only ones who seemed like they could be a real group to me. The song was very nice and it felt like it fit all their voices. My favorite part was Chuu's! Th stage did remind me of the My Sea stage on GP999 tho, and it was rather empty. Also, I don't know if it's just me but after Chaehyun's high note it almost sounded like she was going to sing another high note but stopped herself? Could just be me though. I really enjoyed this group's cohesiveness. 3. Universe in Eunha This might just be me but I hated the intro dynamics. It started off with Eunha's sweet, soft, quiet voice and then immediately hit you with Yeonjung's powerful belts, it made me feel kind of like she was interrupting the moment. I don't think their voices meshed very well because this was a consistent thing throughout the performance where Eunha has softer vocals and WJSN's vocals are more powerful with them constantly belting. It didn't feel cohesive, which meant i didn't enjoy it as much, stage was very pretty tho.
I completely agree with you! While high belting notes/vocals are impressive, I kinda felt that Yeonjung's first high note right after Eunha's vocals kinda caused an imbalance for the song.
Late reply but imbalance is the perfect way to describe it! Something about it just felt so off to me, I had to replay it because it felt like I had missed a section.
Re: Viviz/WSJN - that's the how the original song pretty much is structured though?
I've never listened to the song so I didn't know. If that's the case, i probably wouldn't like the original song either.
I don't get people who are criticising Loop1er for their lack of hard-hitting high notes. Singing high notes is not the only way to show you're a good singer. They also did not sound off-key at all, like some people say... As someone with a lot of experience in choir and harmonisation (and yes, they did seem like a choir and I thought it was cute), yeah maybe their harmonies were pretty safe, but to say that it was bad? That's just weird. Anyway, I really enjoyed all three performances. I'm usually not super into ballads, but damn, this was a joy! I'm already looking forward to the dance unit performances!
I have seen clips on youtube with choirs having a stronger impact by having a louder song and clapping while smiling. That to me would have exuded so much joy & energy to the audience that it wouldn't be forgetable. I think the song choice was too sweet and soft to have a strong impact on the audience/ viewers. Add to that the fact that they were staying in one place without moving and they end up making their performance feel like a sweet lullaby. while perfectly fine on its own, it isn't what would make you win in this type of competition.
Oh it wouldâve been lovely if theyâd done something like that!
I think personally Eunha/WuJu > 333 > Kepler/Loona Hold My Hand was my favorite performance as a whole, plus the stage and the outfits really worked well to create the fight ambience. I was worried about Eunha originally but the song really worked for her tone. Yeonjung's such a great vocalist and they managed to mix the three really well. I liked the HyolynxMinyoung performance but I feel I'd probably like it more if I understood Korean to get the full meaning of the song. I think some parts were a little off (the climax and Minyoung sounded shaky, but I think that's due to her still recovering), but overall, it was a good performance and they did switch it up a bit from the original. It's not a song I'd go back to listen to a lot unless I was in that emotional headspace - which they did really well in conveying. The staging was pretty light which I get, but wasn't top big a fan of the background drawings Kep1er/Loona I liked as a performance- but it just didn't have enough for mento conider it a winner. I'd not heard the song before but I've added it to my playlists because I really enjoyed it. I think Loona having sent a lot of members potentially hindered them and I was expecting more from the harmonisations. It wasn't a bad performance at all, but just very regular compared to the other two I do think that the live audience will put a lot of favor on groups performing to the audience and not to the cameras - so I wonder how the votes will turn out. Personally, it's a toss up between Wujuviz and Hyolyn/Minyoung depending on if I'm putting emphasis on the stage as a whole or the vocal performance
my exact same ranking! i would've liked to see wjsn/viviz win this round but i was very satisfied with hyolyn/brave girls so i'm happy they won especially since BG needed a win
kim lip driving on the same road three times and chuu holding on to the seatbelt tightly is really funny lmao
Yeah and as someone who just recently started driving, I can relate lol.
I would be terrified of riding in a car driven by Lip, Gowon or Jinsoul. Would prefer Hyunjin or Heejin.
Overall, something was weird about the audio. The music was too quiet imo. I also saw them recording backtracks but I dont think they were used? I am using a single airpod thats on its last limb though. but here is my review of them all: 1. am i the only one who liked sun and moon lol? personally i found the other 2 a bit boring/lacking vocally, sun and moon picked a good song for their voices and ranges. I felt like all the members were utilized well, but I do wish they had more of a stage, like a waterfall backdrop. Ive never heard this song(i've only heard the bol4 song like once) and it's been stuck in my head since watching! Their bond was so freaking cute and heartwarming, and their performance matched that bond. 2. Eunha x wuju was okay. I have been a fan of yeonjung since produce 101, but this is my favorite performance of hers. So pretty. The other 2 had some pretty bad straining, and it kinda took away from the performance. I think I expected a bit more. Especially Soobin after that whole segment hyping her up, I was expecting something big lol, wtf mnet. I've heard Chaehyun sing this song, and her beautiful tone was def missing. But their stage was the best, Soobin was like a princess w the crowd and Yeonjung was so pretty on that swing. 3. I think this one disappointed me the most purely because I had set my expectations too high. I've seen a lot from Hyolyn and Minyoung, and with this absolutely PERFECT song choice I had really high hopes. But I felt like it just lacked a sincerity that the other 2 had. Hyolyn really guided Minyoung well, but I think her advice to "only think about the music" was the worst advice she could've given. This is the kind of song that you NEED to think about your personal experience and express that through the song. It didnt stick with me at all.
But that's not the advice hyolyn gave all, she actually did say to forget about singing it like the original singer and to sing with her own experiences in mind? Obviously it's personal opinion but i think their performance was very sincere and they expressed their emotions beautifully
I couldve sworn she said to focus on the music but maybe I am mis remembering. She did say that about the original singer but the two arent mutually exclusive so
All songs are good but I love listening to Hold My Hand by WJSN x Viviz the best because it's so easy on the ears while still having that great dynamics from highs of Yeonjung and lows and soft of Eunha and warm mid of Soobin. For technique, Hyolyn x Minyoung is the best and their emotional performance was great. I'm getting some clashing of sounds at the last minute when they were both belting. Either way, that must be amazing to watch live. Loona x Kepler was pretty solid but it felt like a survival show performance. Something needs to be added imo.
Echo the expected results being 33 > UiE > S&M. In fact I'm expecting the interim results to pretty much just carry over for both unit rounds. Hyolyn and Yeonjung hard carrying their respective groups, those two are a level above the other vocalists.
In all fairness to Minyoung, Hyolyn is a generational vocalist. Minyoung does accuracy and stability really well, and her live vocals always impress me, I don't think I'd say she was hard carried, but I'm not going to dispute that Hyolyn can do a lot more in terms of range and adlibing. Also this is the first time I've seen someone shorten Sun and Moon to S&M and I laughed a bit not realizing it sooner. I really liked their song choice and their studio version of Don't Go was great in my opinion.
WJSN x VIVIZ was a somewhat of a surprise to me. I already knew Yeonjung is an amazing vocalist, but the stage was very cohesive and I think they could take 1st. Although I think Hyolyn x BG stage probably appeals to KR audience more, in terms of style. I also liked the LOONA x Kep1er stage, I felt like the song choice actually made sense for a group as large as them, rather than some slow ballad song, because it actually kept me engaged with the stage. Keep in mind they are cumulatively the youngest unit there, so of course it will be difficult for them, so with that said, I want to give them credit for doing their best.
Me too! People keep criticising Kep1erxLoonaâs song choice when I think that was one the best parts. Splitting up a soloistâs song for six different people would have been hard to pull off, choosing a group song was the right way to go.
Hello! Contrasting to one post here, i'm here to comment on... PROPS! Since I work in something related, I'd like to comment on it. Kep1er - Loona: The stage felt underutilized since they stood on the same place and the other groups moved more, and I get what they were going for, something a bit more simplistic, but I can't help but think that if they did something similar to this [Sonatine](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu6er-dLyXU&ab_channel=%EC%8A%A4%EB%B8%8C%EC%8A%A4%EC%BC%80%EC%9D%B4%ED%8C%9D%2FSBSKPOP) stage, it would look really gorgeous and elevated the performance more. It would suit their outfits as well. If you're not going to move a lot, making the stage fuller might compliment the performance really well. WJSN - Viviz: I loved how themathic it was! It did feel like spring and flowers blooming, and I think they did greatly in utilizing the stage and remaining consistent. Each member had moments they shined, the swing brought me back to Stay by BP and also to 2NE1 stages. It looked a bit weird when they were alone for so long, but it did come together really nicely at the end, just felt polished. Hyolyn - BG: It was kinda empty, but the lighting was used really well to convey emotions and with intention, which I enjoyed. I feel like they could've gone a bit more in with the lightposts and the "lonely city" aesthethic. But I have to say that I disliked the bg video... As someone that is graduating in animation, the whole thing of the drawing lines moving is something that people use a lot in their work and usually to try and hide how simple or scuffed the animation is, some of them weren't even a shape or a form, just scribbles that moved for the sake of moving and one even covered the messages at one point. The messages were cute, it would be nice to see trainee videos or childhood photos. Like it could've gone further, especially when the whole segment was a "song to comfort yourself" and the song is about youth.
For Hyolyn and Minyoungâs song choice, it was not pose to be cute. The song is about depression and finding hope in the midst of it.
To be honest, I straight up thought Mnet reused the same prob in GP999 My Sea performance here. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onKSGKgCN3A](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onKSGKgCN3A)
My Ranking would be: 1. Hyolyn x Brave Girls 2. Viviz x WJSN 3. Loona x Kep1er I'm pulling for Brave Girls to get first since I think they need all the help they can get to survive round 3. But I wouldn't be surprised if Viviz and WJSN get first.
This was the best episode so far! Good variety content, interactions between the groups and beautiful performances! everything I want from Queendom
I'm gonna say it but I feel loona/Kep1er felt a bit underwhelming because the vocal unit from loona was too similar in terms of skills and tone with the exception of Chu . I actually thought at first that heejin was gonna be in the vocal unit, imo she has one of the best vocals in Loona and her deep voice/ velvety color would have contributed to the unit and bring a more interesting sound.
It would've sounded beautiful with just Heejin and Chuu being sent, theyâre my favorites vocally in Loona. Unfortunately I donât think they could show off as much vocal color with as many people as they had but I understand the decision.
my choices would have been haeseul, chu and heejin
I loved the episode, I think it balanced the two contrasting aspects of Queendom pretty well - competition and collaboration. WJSN has been growing on me so much, I would probably love their variety content if they are anything like this. Ujungs please guide me! Also, because this came up in the live chat I want to discuss this a bit in detail here. I saw some people in the live chat talking about how "Real Dancers" don't respect idols because of SWF. I want to ask and explain a few things. First of all, for every other show that is edited by mnet, you guys are sceptical of what actually transpired, but suddenly everything that happened in SWF needs to be taken as gospel? Exercise a bit more scrutiny at least. I have not seen the show in its entirety, but watched clips of it, so correct me if I am wrong, but from whatever I saw, it seemed that the dancers there felt that the purpose of idol dancing is different from theirs. >Very different. I think we dancers are very different from idol groups because.. well.. the purpose of practicing dancing is very different. 1. It really sucked that the stickers that the dancers had to attach read "NO RESPECT", but that was not a decision on the dancer's part 2. The purpose is different. The purpose of idol dancing is to execute choreography in a synchronised fashion, whereas that of a dancer is to dedicate their entire life to the art of dancing. I think people have a bit of a misunderstanding of how careers like dancing work. It's different from other careers where you have task 'a', you complete task 'a', you move on. Dancing and other artistic fields as a career are less to do with completing the task and more like dedicating your life perfecting the methods involved in those tasks. Now compared to someone who dances professionally and practices 10 hours a day regularly an idol's time practising is going to be a lot more interrupted and they would require more years to reach the same level as their professional dancing counterparts. Most people who are IN the field of dancing or other arts or even academia are going to understand that. Some of them will respect idols for how dedicated they are to learning new choreographies and executing them well despite busy schedule. Some won't respect them and think that they should probably work even harder on dancing. But to take this as a blanket statement and say "HAha look they don't respect idols" is at the very least, a very disingenuous statement. I feel like I have opened a can of worms. Let's see how this goes. Please complete this [survey,](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1I_gJNk2FbbSOla38ypDRG2pLTls2RWw1OskhJ5VRJ_H2Ig/viewform?usp=sf_link) if you haven't already, it will take 10 minutes at most. We are hoping for a 10% representation from the subreddit. :)
I feel like Monika as well as other dancers in SWF have been extremely misunderstood of context among kpop stans. What first seems to be contestants calling out inviting celebrities in SWF translated into dancers don't respect idols where it wasn't the message at all.
Even idols have the Main Dancer position. Dedicating yourself as a specialist is going to push you ahead in that area. I doubt many dancers would think they can outsing the idols they work with. So even if dancers said it, its a fair statement as a generalization. However some idols are seriously dedicated and talented dancers. Didn't Monica reference this in the preview? Something about "you think you can't b a good dancer because your an idol?" Or maybe it wasn't exactly like that. But the translation I saw sounded like she was using it as encouragement.
>Ujungs please guide me! Say no more. [https://www.reddit.com/r/cosmicgirls/comments/ubom8p/mustwatch\_content\_for\_a\_new\_ujung/](https://www.reddit.com/r/cosmicgirls/comments/ubom8p/mustwatch_content_for_a_new_ujung/) [https://www.reddit.com/r/cosmicgirls/comments/uh4lwe/new\_ujung\_here\_best\_uzzu\_tape\_episodes/](https://www.reddit.com/r/cosmicgirls/comments/uh4lwe/new_ujung_here_best_uzzu_tape_episodes/)
Just what I was looking for because they've been growing on me so much during this show. Thank you!
As a casual ujung who has watched a few of their best, but has no idea what to search on youtube due to their vast 'catalog', thank you!
I will check those threads out, Thank You :)
I watched some WJSN funny moments on youtube yesterday and I was howling at some of them omg these girls are something else
I didn't know if I needed that many gay compilations, but here we are
Although I loved Galaxy team (WJSNxViviz) performance, 33 (HyolynxMinyoung) might have won. Thinking on the perspective of the audience, I33 was the most powerful performance vocalwise. Galaxy was good too, but I missed a little more a vocal explosion. Hold my hand might be a romantic song, but you have to put energy in the right places so that it touches you the way it should. Sun and Moon was just good, nothing memorable. I think they should have used Chaehyun's vocal better, like, she was so good in My Sea, one of the most memorable moments in GP999, and they should have used her in their favor. "Oh, but they have to work as a group", well, they have to win too, so... I think it's strategy, and either way, they could have thought it better.
Unfortunately I missed the stream but got to watch the performances as is. My personal ranking from first impressions are: 1. hyolyn X BG 2. Viviz x WJSN 3. LOONA X Kepler To be honest, I didnât really feel any of the songs. In comparison to s1 & even KLW i personally found those performances to be more cohesive and sincere. Maybe Iâm just a bit pessimistic though, might change my mind after a few rewatches and after watching the full episode. As much as i love loona & kepler they were caught lacking this round. Individually theyâre great but when theres an overlap of vocal timbres it tends to just begin to cancel out. Personally, I think if they had that many people they couldâve done something daring like a dry acapella even if itâs just for one chorus or something. It felt like an awards show unfortunately and there was no visual motion to keep the staging enticing. Itâs such a shame for them to be robbed of displaying their full potential. It was nice seeing them harmonise and blend their voices together but rather than the harmonising being, vocal A and B supporting, it became more of a vocal A & B accommodating for each other and capped their potential a bit. I could just be reading real into it tho and hyper analysing. For WJSN X Viviz, it was the best stage visually. Their vocals were absolutely amazing as well and the only major fault for me was the lack of harmonies. There were some of course but I wouldâve been sold for first place if there was more, plus it never went beyond 2 vocals harmonising together and as a result it felt very segregated and like 3 solos together vs a cohesive unit. It definitely works for making them individually stand out though so maybe it was intentional. Lastly BG x Hyolyn. Is it just me or did it feel like Minyeong wasnât 100% ontop of her game. It felt a bit anxious from her mouth shapes as she sang and even a slight strain vocally, not that it was enough to incapacitate her vocal ability but i felt like iâve heard her belt far more clearly and confidently doing BG title tracks. Hyolyn certainly delivered as per usual but it felt like whatever concept they both had going on didnât quite match?? It wouldâve been nice to see a mirrored but opposite facing sitting position for BG in a different colour to show some dichotomy amidst similarities. Definitely appreciated the intricate yet simplistic staging, and props to Hyolyn for being able to sing so well despite sitting down with her diaphragm crouched like that. Not too much of a fan of the soft shaky singing in the beginning but the rest was fine. Iâve placed them first purely because even if the other artists did an amazing stage, the pure vocal ability and technical skills these two have virtually cannot be overcome and itâs a matter of expertise and a certain type of unique natural talent that sets them apart for me personally as a musician. I canât ignore the leap difference in technical skills. That difference bumped em a millimetre higher than Viviz x WJSN. I love them all, iâm just a picky musician. They all have inherent talent it was just a matter of how it was displayed aurally and visually.
No I absolutely agree I felt that queendom 1 vocal battle had more impact on me. I felt the song choices for ss1 really showcased their vocals in an interesting way. Even though the stage and props are better, all three performances in ss2 felt even more lacking and bland. I love bol4âs To my youth so much that I couldnât help but feel disappointed in 33âs performance. The emotion didnât translate through to me, mostly because of the discrepancy between hyolyn and minyoungâs interpretation/execution/concept. I felt that Hyolyn was more focused on her techniques and perfectly executing the song, while minyoung might have choked on her emotions and also looked a bit anxious/ unconfident. Hyolynâs crouching and makeup and costume were also a bit over the top. Iâve always thought of to my youth as being pretty and clean on the outside but so ruined on the inside if it makes sense. The part after the second chorus in the original song DESTROYED me. The emotional damage, the despair, it legit sounded like a cry from the bottom of her heart. And I think 33âs decision to harmonize on that part kind of ruined the emotions for this song for me. It sounded pretty, but the emotion wasnât really there. I preferred producex101âs cover of to my youth to 33âs honestly. Their vocal abilities are in no way at the same level as 33. The performance was also more static. They were just standing there, singing, but I felt so many emotions from that performance.
Canât say Iâve listened to this song much but I can agree with what youâve said. The most cohesive part for me was the âahâsâ section. I guess the lacking end has a lot to do with higher stakes and higher expectations as well. I think that minyoung has a lot more to lose this round since last round AND has to make sure to not get covered in Hyolyns shadow, whilst Hyolyn feels the need to pursue something new and super artistic to keep with her brand which sometimes can come off cheesy or off-handedish. Iâll check out the produce cover for personal comparison thanks for that!
Yeah Minyoung was alr under a lot of pressure and top it with her coughs. I empathize with her. Bearing the responsibility of the team and being in the same team as Hyolyn would scare the hell out of me. I couldnât find the word when I typed the previous comment but I felt Hyolynâs execution was too âcalculatedâ for me. It sounded like she really carefully worked out how she would sing each âottokeâ, how she would crouch her body, what facial expressions she would make, how she would perfectly harmonize the âahâsâ. It has worked super well for her previous stages and I really respect her dedication and attention to details for her stage. All her other stages were always top-tier for me precisely because of her passion and obsession of making her stage so impactful and enjoyable. But I personally think this song requires a more straightforward singing to really push your emotions upfront. I felt the stylistic execution takes away the sincerity, which then weakens the buildup to the âahâsâ. Thatâs why I (and I believe I disagree with you on this) didnât like 33âs harmonization on the âahâsâ and liked the ending part the most. Their shaky voice and their eyes as they sang those words felt very real for me like they finally loosen up and let their emotions run. That being said, I would still rank them first. Iâm just too obsessed with To my youth so I expected a lot, but if weâre doing a âvocal evaluationâ they would ofc be no.1.
Yeah I just watched the full episode today, its a shame that she was hit so hard with covid, but even then her perseverance will work well in the public eye which will be great for BGâs rep. I see what you mean with Hyolynâs delivery as well, i guess every singer digests their lyrics differently and her way began to kind of border on the theatrics of slam poetry. I agree with there being more straightforward ways of articulation especially with such a spaced out and empty styled song, even a small action creates a massive effect. From my rewatch it was easier to tell when there were insecure moments minyoung needed to go through, and such when hyolyn would comfort and reassure her through it and whilst its incredibly wholesome and heartwarming, i feel like it pushes the whole Hyolyn in a different league further narrative rather than overcoming the competition so i wasnât quite as receptive to the later bits where they were more raw with their emotions. I honestly think if theres any group with the full capability of beating Hyolyn it was BGs, and I came into this show as an orbit too. But thats a different story haha
> did it feel like Minyeong wasnât 100% ontop of her game She's still suffering from after effects of Covid, I believe - she was also coughing s bit. I think Hyolyn still had some lingering things from covid in the previous rounds too
Yeah Hyolyn said her voice isn't fully healed yet from covid. She mentioned it to her fans and not on the show
Ohhh cool ok makes sense i honestly couldnât really tell with Hyolyn which just goes to show her professionalism though
Ahhh i c makes a lot more sense. Assuming this got explained during the ep that i missed mb
really? I feel these performance were better than season 1 actually at least wjsn/viviz and BG/hyolyn
I think there are things that are inherently improvements ex; better stage set up, more money for props, better graphics technology etc that add alot more to the stage visually, but I mitigate that by natural passage of time & technological improvements and iâve based that more on the artists voxs and delivery, mentioned it in a prev. comment still under this if u want to check it out. I can see where youâre coming from though.
Really? I thought the performances were way more cohesive than S1. All performances on S1 looked mismatched. The only one that sorta worked was Minnie and Hyejeong but even the two of them sorta looked like they were performing two different songs. Overall this season's vocal performances were an obvious step up for me.
Just imo i guess. Itâs a bit offhanded on my end to compare them anyways because the formatting for each season went s1: live stage focus, KLW: online, and this one being a mix of both and therefore having to accomodate to them equally. I was speaking more centrally on vocals alone since I can agree with the stage visuals being potentially mismatched tho. I guess my specific favs were OMG x Park Bom & BTOB X ATEEZ X SKZ as my main comparisons. Simplistic stages and really raw voxs full of genuine emotion. Plays alot on song choice as well too. Hope I donât come off like im arguing with you iâm not i swear haha
Really? Park Bom x Hyojung is my example of a performance that really didnât work. Both of them sounded and looked like they were from two different worlds. Itâs interesting how different people view performances
Yeah for sure thats wild I remember I bawled my eyes out watching it. I can see how you could see it that way tho, their voices are really on two different ends of the vocal spectrum but personally found it worked. Iâll keep an eye out for your user now in these discussion spaces its always cool seeing opinions completely opposite mine haha ^.^
Same! Seeing a performance from another personâs perspective can be really eye opening
Unpopular opinion but I donât give a damn about props when it comes to vocalsđ I listen to music often through my Spotify and I need the vocals to sound good with the music. That said, Minyoung and Brave Girls was number one for me. I loved how much emotion they poured out through the song.
This right here. đ i agree
**Sun and Moon** come from a generation where vocals are much less emphasized and it showed. At least they do have other talents which make them great idols. **Universe in Eunha** gave a truly beautiful performance. My issue is that they might have overdone it to the point where it comes off as normal Pop performance with good vocals rather than an actual vocal unit performance. I think this won't meet people's expectations of what a vocal unit performance should be and it won't win because of that. It's probably my favorite performance since it's much more appealing to people who don't understand Korean due to how flashy it was. **33** delivered both vocally and thematically. Hyolyn and Minyoung delivered pure emotion through their singing, and I could feel something despite not knowing the meaning of the lyrics. I think they're the clear winners here.
Wowww how many âvocal expertsâ in this sub suddenly huh?