'Queendom Puzzle' Episode 1: Program Kickstarts With Lively Stages, First Battle Announced

By Riely Miller Jun 14, 2023

Mnet's newest idol survival program has premiered its first episode, which showcased numerous stages from the contestants for their first battle. Here's a recap of "Queendom Puzzle" Episode 1.

'Queendom Puzzle' Episode 1: Energetic Performances From Contestants, Introduction of 'Up-Down Battle'

On June 13, "Queendom Puzzle" aired its highly anticipated first episode, showcasing the contestants arriving on the show, on their way to their designated seats.

The final lineup consists of female artists MOMOLAND JooE, WJSN Yeoreum, CLC Yeeun, PURPLE KISS Yuki, Lovelyz Kei, Weeekly Jihan, Soeun, Lee Soojin, Zoa, former "Produce 48" trainee and NMB48 member Shiroma Miru, and AOA Dohwa.

It also included the participation of Cherry Bullet Jiwon, Bora, and Chaerin, Weki Meki Elly, H1-KEY Riina and Hwiseo, woo!ah!'s Nana and Wooyeon, tripleS's Jiwoo and Yoo Seoyeon, Rocket Punch Suyun, Yeonhee, Former AKB48 Takahashi Juri, NMB48 Shiroma Miru, former BNK48 Fye (Fyeqoodgurl), and LIGHTSUM Sangah.

Lee Chaeyeon and LABOUM Haein also joined in the first battle, but eventually left the program due to personal reasons.

"Queendom Puzzle" is also hosted by SNSD Taeyeon, who was the previous MC for the second season of "Queendom."

In the episode, Taeyeon arrived on stage to introduce first round, which is the Up-Down Battle. On this first round of the competition, contestants are divided into four tiers, which was based on their popularity and success in the industry. Their seating arrangements also play a role on which tier they are assigned to.

According to the show, these tiers were determined based on the number of their music show wins, which included 50 percent. It was also decided through their highest first-week album sales, basing on Circle Chart's data, also including 50 percent.

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Taeyeon also revealed that not all hope is gone for those who are in the low tiers, since the first initial tier placement would be irrelevant once the competition starts. After the Up-Down Battle, their placement would be adjusted based on their individual results from the first clash.

In the first battle, each contender performed their covers on stage, while the other 27 contestants were given the chance to vote "Up" if they found the performer was better than them, or "Down" if the performer was worse.

See their performances and results below!