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'Queendom 2': Did Mnet rig finale? Fans bring proof of Viviz's song in leading

Mnet denies rigging rumors and gives a lengthy explanation of how the scores were tallied

‘The explosive K-pop female idol survival show finally ended with a bang on June 2. ‘Queendom 2’ had first turned heads for getting iconic but older acts like Hyolyn, WJSN and Brave Girls and also got popular but still underrated groups like Loona, Kep1er and Viviz to participate on the Mnet show. While ‘Kingdom: The Legendary War’ had been the male version of ‘Queendom’ season 1, ‘Queendom 2’ happened to be the female counterpart for ‘Road To Kingdom’ as the show wanted deserving but underrated groups to get global recognition.

‘Queendom 2’ was as exciting as ever as we got moments from Hyolyn being the hidden ace and getting full scores for the first two rounds to Brave Girls being the underdog of the season. On the other hand, WJSN and Viviz’s friendship was extremely comedic and heartfelt. Well, following the last mission where the six competitors had to release and perform an original song, WJSN aka Cosmic Girls ended up winning. Viewers agreed that their Cirque du Soleil concept for ‘Pantomime’ in round 3 was the turning point but some think the finale may have been rigged due to Viviz’s song charting higher.

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Did Mnet rig ‘Queendom 2’?

For the last mission of ‘Queendom 2’, along with global votes, how well the original song did on music streaming platforms was a new criterion that would then be converted into digital points for the competitors. Before the finale, Loona’s ‘Pose’ was at #1 while Viviz’s ‘Red Sun’ was second on Spotify. Viviz was actually #1 for the YouTube video points, followed by Loona and then Kep1er. However, after the total tally, Viviz ended up in third place while Loona came in second.

Meanwhile, WJSN was #3 in the song streaming criteria and #5 in the video criteria. They then placed #2 when the streams and the video points were converted to the total digital score. Knetz are tallying total scores and claiming that Viviz or Loona should have been in the first place. They have gone on to protest again the ‘Queendom 2’ win and are asking for the complete breakdown of the total scores. They are also bringing the time one Mnet producer was found guilty of manipulating the ‘Produce’ survival show series to corroborate their claims. Mnet has now shared that they will look into the 'Queendom 2' finale scores and then reveal their position on the rigging claims.

Update: Mnet denies all rigging claims. They said, "Mnet counted global streaming scores using Spotify's 'Queendom 2 Playlist'...the streaming scores factored in each daily play by each unique user on the 'Queendom 2 Playlist'. Multiple plays in a day, as well as multiple plays by the same unique user, did not count toward the score. This streaming data was provided by the global streaming service, and the final points were tallied by a scoring official...the scores shown on the final broadcast of 'Queendom 2' were correct."

‘This doesn’t make any sense’

Knetz made posts like, “No but this is bad... seriously, if they want WJSN to win, they need to explain this.” Another added, “Anyone can tell that this doesn't make any sense.” One user wrote, “The difference is way too much. It's indeed a bit weird.” Another Knetz was blunt, “Mnet's PD went to jail because of the rigging controversy but they still haven't woken up? Viviz being #3 in digital streams is nonesense... Please reveal it transparently. And cut down on the rigging.”

One fan tweeted, “I love wjsn but how is viviz 3rd? there’s literal proof of red sun having the most streams out of all the songs.” Another asked, “Does mnet seriously think we are illiterate or smth.” With Mnet stating that they would investigate, one fan made a reaction meme, “Mnet getting down to the bottom of who rigged queendom.”

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