'Queendom: Puzzle' K-pop competition show to air in June with a new twist

“Queendom: Puzzle,” Mnet’s idol competition show set to premiere in June, will feature individual members of different girl groups competing for a spot in an entirely new project girl group, the cable network announced ...

Teaser for cable network Mnet's upcoming competition show, ″Queendom: Puzzle″ [MNET]

“Queendom: Puzzle,” Mnet’s idol competition show set to premiere in June, will feature individual members of different girl groups competing for a spot in an entirely new project girl group, the cable network announced Monday.

The show will feature girl group members and solo artists forming different sub-units “like a puzzle” as the program progresses to compete for a spot in a project girl group that Mnet will debut after the final episode.

The girl group members and solo artists will try never-before-seen concepts on the show, according to the press release.

“The artists participating in the program will be revealed in May, which we are sure everyone will be surprised by,” Mnet added.

The teaser video featured jumbled letters, “IURP WZHQWB HLJKW WR VHYHQ,” which many have speculated may be a possible anagram-like hint to who the participants are.

“Queendom” is a series of survival program shows, where girl groups and female artists compete by releasing songs at the same time. Participating groups were able to cover songs of other idols and release songs with styles they may not normally attempt.

“Queendom” (2019) featured girl groups such as Lovelyz, Mamamoo and (G)I-DLE, and “Queendom 2” (2022) featured girl groups including Kep1er, Viviz, Loona and WJSN.

Mnet also made counterpart shows for boy groups, “Road to Kingdom” (2020) and “Kingdom: Legendary War” (2021). Newer and lesser-known boy bands, including The Boyz, Golden Child and Oneus, competed in the first show for a spot in “Kingdom: Legendary War,” which also featured more well-known boy bands like Ateez, iKON and Stray Kids.

Teaser for cable network Mnet's upcoming competition show, ″Queendom: Puzzle″ [MNET]

BY CHO YONG-JUN [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]