Last time we left off with ‘Queendom‘, they performed covers, mostly of the other groups from the show. They then teased units and that’s exactly what we got on these episodes.
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Park Bom & Oh My Girl’s Hyojung – Lee Hi’s “Scarecrow”
I said this last time, but Park Bom is better suited for a group where her vocals provide a signature marker and add uniqueness. Doing a technical ballad isn’t probably ever going to be her strong suit, and it shows here. Meanwhile, Hyojung did a solid job and showcased her ability, though I would say it wasn’t anything that stood out.
AOA’s Hyejeong & (G)I-DLE’s Minnie – DEAN’s “Instagram”
Honestly not sure how to evaluate this as it’s so purposefully bare bones, which is why I never got Korea’s obsession with it. I mean it was nice enough from Hyejeong and Minnie, and the latter also got to showcase her ability on the piano at least, but it was safe and felt like it.
MAMAMOO’s Hwasa & Lovelyz’s Kei – Billie Eilish’s “Wish You Were Gay”
Not sure about this song choice either, but both Hwasa and Kei gave it the right atmosphere and they both acquitted themselves well, which is honestly enough given their competition.
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The rankings of the three units were:
1 – Hwasa & Kei
2 – Hyojung & Park Bom
3 – Hyejeong & Minnie
I mean … yeah. I honestly didn’t like any of the performances all that much, especially compared to the standard set on the last episode.
I’d rank them like:
1 – Hwasa & Kei
2 – Hyejeong & Minnie
3 – Hyojung & Park Bom
All of the song choices were rather bizarre, but I think Hwasa and Kei did the best collectively. Hyojung and Park Bom at least tried even if the execution wasn’t there, while Hyejeong and Minnie did solid jobs on an honestly incredibly safe song. Could switch the last two if you wanted.
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Six Puzzle (Oh My Girl’s YooA, MAMAMOO’s Moonbyul, Lovelyz’s Yein, (G)I-DLE’s Soojin, AOA’s Chanmi, Brave Girls’ Eunji)
Yein fit the image of her group with a classy modern dance performance, while Soojin was appropriately sexy for her performance with a chair prop. Chanmi was solid but seemed a bit mechanical and YooA probably benefited from this, as she exudes charm and is essentially a dancer. Similarly, Moonbyul probably doesn’t benefit from following her, but she at least fortunately exudes similar charisma and at least surpassed my expectations. Also, while it’s understandable since she’s just a guest, it didn’t really feel like Park Bom’s stand-in Eunji was given much of a shot.
The rankings ended up as:
1 – YooA
2 – Moonbyul
3 – Soojin
4 – Yein
5 – Chanmi
6 – Eunji
I don’t have too many problems with it, honestly. YooA was clearly at the top for me, while 2-4 could be interchangeable.
My rankings were similar with minor switches:
1 – YooA
2 – Soojin
3 – Moonbyul
4 – Yein
5 – Chanmi
6 – Eunji
YooA and Soojin were the most captivating, with YooA topping her and being helped by the fact that she picked fucking “Smooth Criminal“, which is kinda cheating. Moonbyul honestly impressed considering what I expected and stood out with the fans for extra points with me. Yein was actually quite good, and though I’m not sure she stood out, ranking her fourth is harsh since she’s a lot closer to third or second than fifth. Eunji is last almost by default, honestly. They kinda did her dirty.
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The next (and final) thing they’ll be doing is performing concepts/songs recommended by fans, which is promising and should be a lot more interesting than this was.