Ranking all the Kingdom performances Pt. 2

After finishing ranking performances 36-19 of Kingdom: Legendary War, I will now rank the remaining performances, enjoy!

18. One (Juyeon, Taeyang, DK) - King and Queen

Based on legendary Joseon ruler Yeonsangun's descent into madness, One's performance only got more addictive as time went on. It was not perfect, with some unnecsary breakdowns not relevant to the story. But when it was good, it was great.

17. Stray Kids - Miroh

Stray Kids's opening performance was the one where I realized that they would be the eventual winners. Their massive fandom, and strong energy was simply perfect for a show like Kingdom, even if it was not perfect. Thankfully, this performance had some great moments, such as Changbin racing his backing track for the rap.

16. BTOB - Beautiful Pain (Choir Version)

BTOB's opening performance was little more than an extended preview of what they'd later accomplish. Thankfully, they acclompished a lot, and thus their Beautiful Pain performance had some great moments, especially the key change chorus.

15. The Boyz - Monster (Stormborn)

The Boyz's performances got better as time went on. But at the same time, they continued to rehash the same concept. This led to their later stages being much underappreciated. Their final non-single performance of EXO's Monster is proof of that. While officially part of their messy Game of Thrones series, it flows much, much better. The wicked and eery energy also thematically fits Monster. The members provide a charismatic performance, even if the staging was too simple.

14. Mayfly (Wooyoung, Yunho, Seonghwa, San, Yeosang, Felix, Lee Know, Peniel, I.N.) - Wolf

Wolf might be one of the goofiest songs of all time, with an over-the-top sense of energy. Performing it requires guts (and a sense of fun), and the members of the Mayfly unit have that. San especially stood out here, merging his wild 'pocessed' dance style with a bit of Kai.

13. Stray Kids - Side Effects + God's Menu

The remix Stray Kids picked where they combined the cheesy yet fun God's Menu and their artistic Side Effects might be one of their worst this show. Also, the stage was not even vocally live. Then why is this so high? Simply put, the staging was one of the show's best. Eery, hypnotic, and with some truly magnificent moments. Stage wise, I think this might be competition's best. The performance also was fantastic.

12. iKON - Inception

iKON were marred through the whole competition by lame remixes to perform. Thus, they relied almost entirely on their charisma. Their cover of Inception had a pretty lethargic drop, but Bobby actually makes it somewhat fun. The verses are pretty solid though, and the stage was entirely enjoyable.

11. iKON - Love Scenario X Killing Me

Love Scenario and Killing Me are two of iKON's most signature songs. The Killing Me portion of the performance is a basic MNET performance, but the Love Scenario remix segment pulls on the Let's-put-on-a-show energy so successfully, while feeling like a natural pairing with the original track.

10. BTOB - Blue Moon (Cinema Version)

Blue Moon is a pretty solid BTOB b-side on its own, but barely anyone remembers it. Thankfully, this is a solid performance, and the staging is particularly classy. The jazz beat allows for playfulness, and the members and Miyeon really get into character. That said, Peniel here is not even trying to pretend he is actually playing it.

9. Stray Kids - I'll Be Your Man

Stray Kids's cover of I'll Be Your Man had some over-the-top moments, but the driving energy was solid, even if the moodiness came of as cringe at times. The climax absolutely explodes, with Changbin, Seungmin, and more coming together for the best of Stray Kids's enormous talent.

8. BTOB - Back Door

Back Door's cover by BTOB built slowly from slow low peaks to an utterly amazing climax, with electric guitars driving forward. The coming-on-stage style was greatly done, BTOB performed as much as they could out of the song for the ending.

7. SF9 - Jealous (Now or Never)

Many people find it hard to believe that they are speaking Korean in Now or Never's chorus, not saying 'Jealous'. So it makes sense that SF9 titled their performance of Now and Never 'Jealous'. The performance relies on The Boyz-esque theatricality, and they nail it. With strings and guitars galore, ready to explode during the climax.

6. The Boyz - Kingdom Come

The Boyz spent most of Kingdom obsessed with their Game of Thrones-inspired fantasy concept. I got tired of it pretty quickly, and the performances' quality degraded way too quickly. That said, they finally nailed it for their final single. Kingdom Come's performance had a lot of pre-recorded sections and was almost like an MV. That said, it was a good MV. The choreography was balanced enough, and although it was much weaker than the Reveal and Danger performances from Road to Kingdom. The drama here felt earned. I have a feeling that The Boyz will come out the real winners of Kingdom, and with this sort of energy, they certainly can maintain it.

5. ATEEZ - Symphony No.9 (Wonderland)

ATEEZ's debut series material was heavily inspired by a pirate theme. They felt wild, adventurous, almost as the waves of challenges crashed into their sturdy ship of effort in the thunderous storm of the industry. While this performance has nothing to do with Beethoven or Dvorak's famous 9th symphonies, it captures that pirate energy well enough. It does end up being a tad cheesy at times, but Jongho's high note is truly a magnificent moment.

4. BTOB - Missing You (Theatre Version)

Missing You was not even on my playlist before this performance, but I appreciated the performance, and now the song a lot more. With just the right dose of theatricality, and keeping with their ballad emotion, Missing You convinced me that ballads in a competition show driven by epicness would work greatly. The traditional dance break is a little musically jarring, but excellent as part of the performance. And of course, the key change.

3. BTOB - Finale (Show and Prove)

I was extremely skeptical about BTOB, but they slowly became one of my favorite artists in the whole show, constantly outdoing themselves, ending with an absolute gem for their single, and it truly get a dynamite performance. With a strong dose of theatricality, and just the right combination of swag and emotion. It truly feels like a resurgence moment for BTOB, and I will really keep my eyes open for their next comeback.

The top two were really close...

2. Mayfly (Jongho, Seungmin, Eunkwang) - Love Poem

I love a good, emotional ballad that can reduce me to tears. Love Poem by IU was always one of those. It might be as Love Poem was released during a tough time for me, and it was a soothing song. I don't think that this special unit came close to the original IU release, but the fact that I can even compare them says a lot about its quality.

I was initially afraid, as Jongho and Seungmin had no need to give emotional performances before, but they surpassed all expectations, and expelled my doubts, by delivering a truly emotional performance. Every time the "I'll be there" line comes around, a small smile comes on my face, and one in my heart as well. It feels real, not manufactured. The climax is practically perfect, with one excellent segment after another.

1. ATEEZ - Answer (Ode to Joy) Ft. La Poem

Yes, ATEEZ and BTOB are basically my top 5. But they really dominated the show.

Okay, let us not pretend that this remix is not the best one in Kingdom. Answer as a song itself was one of the best of last year, and this performance perfectly summed up the entire Treasure arc into one epic performance. The addition of rock guitars just made things better, even if it was clear there was a good deal of lip-syncing.

The choreography and staging were some of the few throughout which captured the whole idea of the show, legends vs. legends. At the same time, it stayed uniquely ATEEZ, something not even ATEEZ managed to do throughout the show.

Of course, the performance peaked near the end, when vocal group La Poem came out and Beethoven's Ode to Joy from his 9th Symphony was sung (finally allowing me to forgive ATEEZ for calling their Pirates of the Caribbean performance 9th Symphony). Jongho pulled out one of his best high notes and ATEEZ provided us one of the best performances from the Kingdom/Queendom performances. I don't think this peaks TOO's Rising Sun performance from last year, but it is the only one from Kingdom that comes close.

Image Source: The Bias List