I think it’s a big misconception that queendom is only for groups who are underrated. That was the premise for Road to Kingdom, to give a smaller group a chance to compete with the big leagues. Mamamoo, Oh My Girl, LovelyZ, Gidle, Bom and AOA were all on Queendom 1, and none of them could be argued as a small group, even AOA who despite having faded from the spot light at the time were still MASSIVELY recognisable. And idk the lineup for Kingdom, but Stray Kids was there and I don’t need to explain that.
Queendom to me is about groups achieving a personal goal. Solidifying themselves in the industry. For Brave Girls, they’re showing they’re more than just the Rollin group, for Hyolin she’s making her name for herself as a soloist. For VIVIZ they’re showing they can be just as strong without GFRIEND. Hyolin, Brave Girls, WJSN, LOONA and VIVIZ aren’t underrated groups. They’re just fighting for an opportunity to make it even bigger in the industry.
Now I know I’ve been building this up as if I’m about to defend Kep1er, but I’m not. I’m also not happy that Kep1er is there, but for a different reason.
Kep1er are such a new group. Yeseo and Yujin have been in the industry for such a long time sure, but 7/9 members are fresh into the industry. Compared with everyone else there, they’re practically all teenagers, fresh eyed and inexperienced. To me, it’s insulting that they’re there being compared to some of the most legendary kpop groups. If I was one of the competing groups I’d be pissed. And you can’t say that about VIVIZ because they’re the second oldest competing idols there. We saw how they responded to WJSN teasing them about not being seniors. That’s my problem with them being there. That being said, I’m glad they’re happy, being taken care of and having fun. I just don’t want them to win because that would just be plain insulting imo