In an interview, Mnet's "Queendom 2" producers revealed they had a hard time casting girl groups. In fact, Brave Girls almost didn't join the program because of their agency. Here's why.
'Queendom 2' PDs Reveal Brave Girls Almost Didn't Join Program
On June 30, the PDs of Mnet's survival reality show "Queendom 2," which wrapped up on June 2, sat down for an interview. During the talk, PD Lee Hyung Jin, PD Lee Yeon Kyu and Yoo Joon Sang revealed the difficulties they encountered while forming the second season of the show.
Aside from their concerns on how to differentiate the season from its predecessors, the production team shared that the process of completing the lineup was also not that smooth.
"We felt so much pressure. There was no team that said they would appear first."
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Among them, Brave Girls almost could not join the "Queendom 2" among the cast members at all due to strong disapproval of its agency.
Producer Lee Yeon Kyu told E-Daily:
"Brave Brothers, the CEO of Brave Entertainment, the agency of Brave Girls, didn't agree first.
They said, 'Why do we have to go out in a competition of prominent (strong) girl groups?' They were against the idea of Brave Girls joining the show. "
"Queendom" teams in the past have been ranked No. 1 in music programs after appearing in the program. There were teams such as Brave Girls that refused to appear because it was a format that required competition for rankings and a program that required months of time.
However, the PD, fortunately, was able to pursue Brave Brothers after explaining:
"But I said, 'It's an opportunity to strengthen Brave Girls' presence among overseas K-pop fans so I persuaded them to leave their daughters to us.
Brave Brothers were really curious about which other teams were coming out, but the lineup was not opened until the end."
PDs Shares Reasons 6 Female Artists Decided to Join 'Queendom 2'
Meanwhile, the contest was comprised of five female groups: Brave Girls, VIVIZ, LOONA, WJSN and Kep1er, and soloist Hyolyn (formerly of SISTAR).
During the interview, the PDs also revealed the reasons they were able to persuade the final lineup to appear on "Queendom 2." Producer Lee Yeon Kyu pointed out the characteristics of the final lineup.
"As I wanted to emphasize the narrative, I wanted all six teams to have different reasons for their appearance."
The PD explained:
"The girl group Brave Girls, which has a strong image of a reverse-driving group, needed a driving force for regular driving, and WJSN wanted to be reborn as a more popular team.
VIVIZ, former GFRIEND, wanted a color that the three could produce, and Hyolyn, a former SISTAR, wanted an opportunity to promote her charm as a solo singer."
Lastly, Lee added:
"LOONA aimed to improve domestic awareness, and Kep1er wanted to show the spirit of a rookie who achieved 200,000 album sales with its debut album."
READ MORE: 'Queendom 2' Episode 10: WJSN Crowned Season Winner After Final Performances
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Written by Eunice Dawson
