Mnet's "Road to Kingdom," which first aired on Thursday afternoon, May 7, features THE BOYZ against Pentagon, VERIVERY, ONEUS, TOO, Golden Child, and ONF ahead of the much-awaited first round of the competition.
On the said show that appeared on the same day, THE BOYZ got to decide the order of the performance as being the first place for the preliminary, which is the 90-second performance showdown. In response, the six "Road to Kingdom" teams showed their obsequious comments toward THE BOYZ, and eventually, the order of the first competition was decided in the order of ONEUS, TOO, VERIVERY, Golden Child, ONF, Pentagon, and THE BOYZ.
Lee Da Hee, the MC for the past season and its female counterpart "Queendom," introduced the "Road to Kingdom" evaluation method. Like "Queendom," the team decides on the top spot by adding a total of four contests and comeback music scores. However, a new evaluation method was also introduced that did not exist during "Queendom." The cumulative score of video views uploaded right after the broadcast is added to the final score.
In addition, the first competition ranking will be determined by the seven teams own 100% vote. However, if teams in the 90-second performance conducted the vote, the first round will be held by individual votes. When all seven teams' performances are completed, six members will participate in each team.
The theme of the first competition for "Road to Kingdom" is called "The King's Song," where each team will cover songs from legendary artists. ONEUS chose H.O.T's "Warrior's Descendants," and they have caught the eyes of the six teams at once. Boasting a school look, a stage that seems to have moved the classroom as it is, and a powerful sword group dance. In particular, ONEUS showed off its new concept, perfectly expressing "school violence" as their theme.
THE BOYZ, who saw ONEUS' performance, raised their thumbs up, saying, "You made the story well," and another competitor, VERIVERY, said, "they have portrayed its message."
ONEUS Gunhee said, "I was grateful that I had a chance to express the message I wanted to have. I felt so good after the performance."
During a selection meeting, TOO then recalled TVXQ's "Rising Sun" as their performance for the show. In this show, the newly-debuted group reinterpreted TVXQ's hit track and choreography with their own sensibility in their performance. Comparing it to their preliminary performance, TOO, who boasted a much more relaxed side, dropped the tent from the chorus or left a strong impression on viewers with their red suits.
Mnet's "Road to Kingdom" is a new program featuring a war of talented idol groups to take the throne to go to the Kingdom. You can watch these groups compete head on the show weekly every Thursday at 8:00 p.m. KST.
