The final casting for Mnet’s upcoming idol survival TV show Kingdom has been announced. iKON, BTOB, SF9, Stray Kids, and Ateez will join The Boyz, who earned their spot in Kingdom by winning its prequel Road To Kingdom last year.

It goes without saying that Road to Kingdom has left viewers mesmerized and in love with our Boyz. So, before we start watching Kingdom, let’s have a trip down memory lane and reminisce the five times The Boyz proved that they are worthy of a slot in the upcoming major idol bloodbath in South Korean television history.

#1. 90 Seconds Performance

For their first performance, all seven groups were asked to prepare a 90-second performance that will show their group’s colors, more like a teaser on what the viewers can expect from them.

Called “Sword of Victory”, The Boyz has succeeded in making their intentions known: they’re not here to play, they came here to slay. The intricacies of every move from the performance left the viewers craving for more. And boy, did they deliver so well.

#2: Danger Performance

The Boyz continued to impress the viewers and their fellow competition with their second performance, which is a cover of a song from their seniors that served as their inspiration for the competition. They chose Taemin’s song “Danger”, which is a hard song to cover in itself. The Boyz proved that they can do covers and make it look like it’s their own song in this stunning performance.

Taking on a thievery concept, which they will bring on in the other performances, they owned the stage for the whole performance. Their use of minimal props made the viewers focus more on their performance, which perfectly captured the overall vibe Taemin has in this song.

Not only did they win this second round (and securing their second win), Taemin also acknowledged the performance as one of the best he has ever seen.

#3: Quasi Una Fantasia Performance

This performance is the second part of the challenge for the participants. The first one included a collaboration with a competing group, which The Boyz have done with Oneus: an equally amazing cover of Sunmi’s “Heroine”, which turned into a touching tribute to everyone in Road to Kingdom.

The groups were asked to cover a song chosen by a competing group and give it their own twist. They were given VIXX’s “Shangrila”, which is a well-known performance which even trended for days when VIXX themselves have performed it in one of their TV appearances. The song is known to carry a strong Oriental theme, which The Boyz have thankfully preserved and even enhanced.

Taking on the garden concept, which is what Shangrila means, The Boyz made a daring choice and gave it a feminine touch by the incorporation of flowers and shawls that made the performance even more mystifying.

As always, the original singers are amazed with their performance. VIXX’s Leo acknowledged the artistry in the performance, saying it is one of the best he has seen.

#4: Reveal Performance

This song is for their second challenge (and third performance), which is to perform one of their representative songs. The Boyz chose Reveal, though fans thought they will choose Bloom Bloom or No Air, since these songs have brought recognition to The Boyz. Anyway, they made everyone known that The Boyz is not your average boy group.

Adapting elements from the French Revolution and its use of meaningful props made this performance a total standout from the rest. The moves are so refined and they continued the thievery concept by showing the viewers who really owns the crown (which kept on changing owners with every performance), which is ultimately The Boyz and The Boyz only.

This song gave The Boyz their second win in the show, therefore solidifying their status as a real threat to other competitors.

#5: Checkmate Performance

With this performance the determining factor on who enters Kingdom, The Boyz have unleashed everything they got in this stunning performance.

They performed their never-released single “Checkmate”, on which they used elements of the chessboard and the concept of thievery sees its end. Their use of props did not take the viewer’s attention to the performance. They made sure the viewers will watch them for their performances first, concepts and props second.

Ultimately, this secured The Boyz’s eventual win and this gave them their ticket to Kingdom. Well deserved, indeed.