The previous episode of Queendom saw the vocalists and dancers as chosen by their groups go on a retreat. The vocalist’s mission was to find a partner to sing a duet with while the dancers had to come up with group name and concept to move forward with.
This episode continues the journey at the retreat with the vocal units finalized after much trial and error. The performance group on the other hand easily checked off their task list having come up with group name, introduction and leader.
While this was going on the remaining members not participating in the units met up with MC Sung Kyu at another Queendom bus that would take them to the retreat location for some much needed time away from the competition.
Each person was to draw a number out of a bag and that is where they would sit on the bus. It was the show’s way of promoting more group bonding among the other competitors. The random seat assignments made for pairings that got along right away. Except for the eldest person on the bus (Babysoul) and the youngest person on the bus (Shuhua). There was a bit of awkwardness due to their age gap and general shyness.
Returning back to the retreat where the new vocal unit pairings started discussing their upcoming performances. Hwasa/Kei and Hyojung/Bom pretty much had their songs figured out.
When it came to Hyejeong/Minnie they seemed to be more concentrated on eating than anything else and seemed to be stuck on what to call their group and what song to sing. They eventually decided to go with the team name of “Ah!” but were undecided on a song.
Hwasa and Kei named themselves “95” because they were both born in 1995. Kei wanted to add some cuteness to their introduction which was quickly vetoed by Hwasa.
Hyojung and Bom went with “Bom and Jung” for their group name. For their introduction they combined parts of 2NE1’s and Oh My Girl’s catchphrases but had difficulty getting in sync when they practiced it.
The vocal arrangement of “Scarecrow” was fairly easy for Hyojung and Bom to figure out. With the goal of featuring their voices they did a quick run-through of the song. Bom gave Hyojung tips along the way to help her give the proper emotional impact. Somehow Bom ended up getting all the harder ad-libs which had her ask to split those up evenly.
Hwasa and Kei also had an easy time breaking down their vocal parts taking into account each person’s recommendations. When it came to the first go round Hwasa noticed something in the musical arrangement and asked the musicians to keep as close to original as possible so they could showcase their vocals. The one piece of advice she had for Kei was to sing as if she were talking rather than in a ballad style. Hwasa gave Kei a quick lesson to demonstrate what she meant.
Hyejeong and Minnie were still undecided on a song. Minnie suggested maybe taking on Troye Sivan, Suran or Heize. In the end she thought that perhaps Dean’s “instagram” would work out better instead if they used IU’s version as a template to follow. Unfortunately they ended up becoming stuck with what to do next.
Their saviour ended up walking through the door to help them in the form of Korea’s top producer Don Spike. They asked for his advice on what song to sing. He asked them what they wanted most in the competition besides surviving. They both said the that they wanted the chance to show of their vocal abilities.
Since their harmony was more important than the other teams he believed that “instagram” would be the best fit for them. He followed up with some tips for the vocal arrangement saying they should take turns singing each line rather than large chunks of the song. If they were unable to divide the song up themselves he would charge them $80 per 8 bars.
Still feeling hopeless Hyejeong asked Minnie if she had any cash. When the show producers asked her if she had any money Minnie said she would have to ask her agency for some.
The performance unit spent their time deciding on a style of dance. Moonbyul demonstrated some R&B choreography using TVXQ’s “Before U Go” to the delight of the others. Soojin showed off her smooth body waves dancing to Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings”. Chanmi mentioned that Soojin’s eyes change from shy to confident when she goes into dance mode.
Yooa chose “Bang Bang” by Jessie J, Ariana Grande and Nicki Minaj as example of intense girl group choreography that they could all do. Since they could not come up with a group concept on their own it was decided that they each show off their own individual styles and then come together at the end instead.
Cue their choreographer Lia Kim who was happy to be with such an enthusiastic group. Her idea for their performance was the same as what the group decided on earlier so there were no issues with the concept. It came down to first assessing each members strengths before getting down to determining what their group song would be. Yein wanted to focus on soft movements. Yooa on the other hand was good with anything and could adapt. Moonbyul wanted to avoid hip movements at all costs.
For their solos Lia asked what style each member wanted to do. Soojin was thinking of doing a Tango to “Senorita”. She was advised to go strong with her movements rather than do a traditional Tango up the sexiness instead.
Yein went the contemporary dance route to the soundtrack for “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance”. For her Lia advised to add some movement on the floor for her routine. She also said to not focus so much onto dance itself but on weight of the music to properly express emotion.
As a fan of Micheal Jackson Yooa wanted to do “Smooth Criminal” for her routine. Her idea was to be a mafia boss of some sort. She wanted to try something more powerful since her usual schtick was to be all pretty and soft. Lia advised she go in with confidence and make her performance like a musical or action movie.
For the group performance the theme of being a queen was decided since they were on a show called Queendom. The members had choice between two songs, Stefflon Don’s “16 Shots” or Little Mix’s “Power”. “Power” won with a majority vote of 3-2. With everything decided Lia’s goal for the performance group was to create choreography that would accentuate each members strong points and charms.
The remaining competitors arrived at the retreat to prepare the BBQ feast. Don Spike showed up with a briefcase and tons of meat and got busy on the grill. Once the meal prep was done those participating in the performance and vocal units reunited with their group members at the retreat.
Everyone spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening bonding over the bountiful feast.
At the end of the meal came the vocal unit mid-course evaluation. The songs being performed were still in their raw form so whatever the others had to say had no reflection on the actual rankings.
95 were up first. Rather than performing “Wish You Were Gay” they instead sang “Senorita”. The reason for this was to not show their cards too early to the other teams. They showed early teamwork complimenting each other well.
AA followed up with the “instagram”. Both members impressed with their vocal abilities and compatibility despite being pretty wishy washy earlier in the day.
Bom and Jung were last to perform. They showed the strongest chemistry among the units and that reflected in their emotional performance that left the crowd wanting more.
The last thing for the competitors to do was to vote for the team they liked the most. There seemed to be some partisan voting so it made sense that this would not reflect on the final ranking. In the end AA took the popular vote.
And that ended this episode of Queendom. It was pretty much all filler for the most part but it showed enough to get one excited about performance day.
