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'Queendom 2': Mnet changes rules as 12th Loona member Hyunjin gets Covid

Fans had pleaded Mnet to be fair as Loona would not be able to attend round 1 of the survival show

K-pop fans have a love and hate relationship with Mnet’s survival show series ‘Queendom’/’Kingdom’. They have often claimed that the votes are either rigged or unfair since it is based on popularity rather than experts judging the contestants’ talent. Fans have also felt that there is evil editing or mistreatment of certain contestants. However, since Mnet provides a global platform with millions of viewers tuning in, fans appreciate the exposure that their favorites get by competing on the show. But things are not going too smoothly for Loona.

On February 28, it was reported that 11 of 12 Loona members had tested positive for Covid-19. They would be dropping out of ‘Queendom 2’ round 1 as they would be quarantined. Fans had hoped that the 12th member, Hyunjin would still get to go on the show and compete till Loona recovered and joined her. However, on March 3, it has been reported that even Hyunjin has tested positive for Covid-19.

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Mnet changes ‘Queendom 2’ rules for Loona

Worried fans were trending on Twitter as they asked Mnet to be fair to Loona. With the girl group dropping out of round 1 of the survival show, they would not get any points putting them at a disadvantage. However, Mnet came to their rescue by changing some of the rules. On March 3, a Korean news outlet shared that they had spoken to the organizers of ‘Queendom 2’ who said that the filming would continue as planned to be fair to the other five K-pop acts participating. In Loona’s case, they will perform the round 1 mission after they recover.

‘Queendom 2’ explained, “The final score…will be determined by the summed total of four stages, and on-site voting makes up 10% of the first round’s score. In Loona’s case, they will not be receiving these points due to not attending…Once the Loona members become healthy again, we will hold their first-round performance recording, with their fans on-site, in an environment that’s fair when compared to the prior recording with the other five teams.” Loona will be included in the digital judging round as the performance video will be released online along with the other teams’ videos when the show airs. All of the contestants have agreed to these changes.

‘Rollercoaster of emotions’

Orbits (Loona’s fandom) hope that everyone will pitch in and vote with vengeance for the digital voting round to make up for the points that will be lost from the on-site voting round. One fan tweeted, “I swear to God, if y'all don't stream the performance after what the girls have been through the past few days.” Another made a reaction meme, “Loona introducing themselves on the second round of queendom.” One Orbit commented, “Literally one minute is the good news about queendom and then another minute is the bad news about hyunjin.” Another had hoped, “N i was rooting for hyunjin to go on queendom n slay.” One added, “Loona queendom - yeoviseul c word - 2jin story time - 8 other members caught c - Q2 new pics - loona 1st performance secured - hyunjin c worded Felt like going through a roller coaster of emotion.”