Mnet Kingdom Press Conference: Producers say no elimination, discuss the controversy, group’s casting & more

Ahead of Mnet’s ‘Kingdom: Legendary War’ premiere, the producers, directors, MC, and the six competing groups held a press conference on April 1. The show is the male version of their popular idol survival show, ‘Queendom’. The groups competing in the show are - ATEEZ, Stray Kids, SF9, THE BOYZ, BTOB, and iKon. 

What has enticed the audience more, is the casting. Explaining the reason behind casting these six groups, Chief Producer Park Chan Wook said - ATEEZ has a strong global fanbase. As for Stray Kids, they have multiple videos with 100 million+ views and a loyal global fanbase. THE BOYZ have shown their talent and skills as they were the winners of the prequel show, ‘Road To Kingdom’. SF9 is a popular band that has famous actors and a good physique, so they’ll have cool performances. iKon knows how to enjoy themselves and have had many hits. BTOB is the most senior group and only four members are participating, as others are serving their military enlistment. They can show great power with their music.

The teasers of the show have been magnificent and have already added more curiosity to see the kind of stages each group will present. The show even raised the stakes in a way - the producers confirmed that there won’t be any eliminations in the show. PD Lee Young Joo said that it doesn’t make sense to eliminate any of the groups as they all have distinctive styles. However, there will be one winner based on the number of points. The calculations in the show will be as follows: 

Voting by competing teams - 25%
Expert Panel Score (30 experts invited) - 25%
Domestic and GLobal fan votes - 40%
Video Score - 10%

Each team was then asked to reveal their greatest strengths according to them. BTOB chose their decade of experience of being on stage and teamwork. iKon chose their signature vibe that can’t be put into words. SF9 chose their dramatic expressions while THE BOYZ chose their stage formation styles. Lastly, Stray Kids chose their talent in writing and arranging songs while ATEEZ chose their signature power and energy. 

Regarding the controversy that shook the show before its release, Chief Producer Park Chan Wook informed that there was no bias or favoritism towards a particular team. He also said that he hopes the team and their agencies were not harmed by this issue. They had discussions with all the agencies for Round 2, on how they can bring out each team’s unique style and creativity well and for things that were lacking in Round 1. They have all negotiated and agreed. He also said that they will make sure that there are no more issues like these. The MC for the show would be TVXQ’s Changmin. 

When it comes to the groups, each one had their inhibitions and shared them in the press conference. BTOB’s Eunkwang shared how they contemplated entering the show a lot, as a lot of their members are in the military right now. But, they wanted to showcase a diverse stage to their fans and hence, participated in the show. 

iKon’s Jinhwan also said that during the difficult times that the group is going through, it wasn’t easy to perform on stage. However, they wanted to create good performances for their fans and that served as a major reason for their participation.

SF9’s Youngbin expressed his wish to grow and learn by competing against some of the best teams in the K-Pop industry. He also shared that the group is praised for their visuals and height, but they want to show people that their skills are worth the praise too. 

The winner of the preliminary show ‘Road to Kingdom’ gave THE BOYZ a straight ticket into ‘Kingdom’. Sangyeon shared that they will try their best and show great stages. 

Bang Chan from Stray Kids stated that they are still lacking and this opportunity is an honor. He continued that they will show various newsies to STAYs all over the world. 

ATEEZ’s leader, Hongjoong expressed that they want to widen their perspective and try different performances. They will learn from their seniors and will get a chance to show more exciting stages. 

Kingdom: Legendary War will premiere today, April 1, 7:50 PM KST, every Thursday. 

Also Read: K Drama characters who deserve their own spin off, Ft Kim Seon Ho of Start Up & Ryu Jun Yeol of Reply 1988

How excited are you for the premiere and which group will you cheer on? Let us know in the comments!