Queendom Puzzle

Queendom Puzzle is a K-pop survival reality show broadcast on Mnet in 2023. It is a spinoff of the original Queendom series, with the format being to "form a powerful global project girl group by taking members from currently promoting girl groups as well as female artists and putting them together like a puzzle" (source).

The MC of the show was Girls' Generation member Taeyeon and there were 26 contestants: former CLC member Yeeun; former MOMOLAND member JooE; Lovelyz’s Kei; former Produce 48 contestant and NMB48 member Miru Shiroma; H1-KEY’s Riina and Hwiseo; former BNK48 member Fye (Fyeqoodgurl); Weeekly’s Jihan, Lee Soojin, Park Soeun, and Zoa; Cherry Bullet’s Jiwon, Bora, and Chaerin; tripleS’s Jiwoo and Yoon Seoyeon; woo!ah!’s Nana and Wooyeon; LIGHTSUM’s Sangah; WJSN’s Yeoreum; PURPLE KISS’s Yuki; Rocket Punch’s Suyun, Yeonhee, and Takahashi Juri; AOA’s Dohwa (formerly known as Chanmi); and Weki Meki’s Elly. (Former IZ*ONE member Lee Chae Yeon and LABOUM’s Haein were originally expected to compete as well but announced they were dropping out before the show aired due to personal reasons; however, footage filmed with them was included in the first episode anyway.)

The contestants were divided into four groups for competition in the show: DROP The Beat, Athena, PICK-CAT, and PICK On The Top.

The winners of the show were formed into a supergroup named EL7Z UP, which is the word "Puzzle" spelled backwards, with the number "7" representing the number of members in the group and replacing one of the "z"s. The group is managed by Apple Monster and DG Entertainment, and is composed of seven members: Kei from Lovelyz, Yeeun from CLC, Yeoreum from WJSN, Yeonhee from Rocket Punch, Nana from Woo!ah!, Hwiseo from H1-Key, and Yuki from Purple Kiss. The group debuted on September 14, 2023, with the extended play (EP) 7+Up.