Fifty Fifty: Gen 4's emerging "monster", booming internationally but Korean audiences "ignored", accused of being ungrateful

Fifty Fifty is a South Korean group formed by the entertainment company Attrakt. A small company with tight economic conditions, does not have much experience in training and producing idol groups.

The 4-member rookie began to rise to prominence when Cupid's song took social media sites by storm.

Fifty Fifty means 50 ideal, 50 practical. Every thing in life has 50 realistic opportunities and 50 dream opportunities. The team with enthusiasm will strive to make those 50 dreams come true, becoming 100% for fans. Oriented as a bright group, always positive in the difficult realist world, their songs, although addressing sadness and insecurity, always show bright colors, expectations and excitement about the future.

After two years of training, on November 14, 2022, the news of Fifty Fifty's debut was officially confirmed by posting the group's logo on social media accounts. On the same day, the debut music video called Lovin Me was also officially released on the group's Youtube account.

In turn, the identities of the members were also gradually revealed on November 15 through concept photos of their debut album including: Saena (12/03/2004), Keena (09/07/2022), Sio (06/10/2004), Aran (11/10/2004). The photos also specifically reveal the member's name and debut date. A video of Fifty Fifty's "Log In" was released on the same day.

Saena was born and raised in Busan. She competed in KBS 2TV's Dancing High as part of Hoya's team. The singer was once a member of Ho Dance Studio's Horangdoongi dance group and earned the nickname Forehead Beauty for her beauty. Saena once shared that she would be a photographer if she did not become an idol singer.

Keena is an only child, having attended Lila Arts High School. The singer participated in GB Academy and contributed vocals to the song Take Back My Life, soundtrack of The Running Mates: Human Rights (Vietnamese title: Human Rights Lawyer).

Sio was born in Yeosu, Jeollanam-do Province. The singer studied at the Wonkwang School of Information Arts but later dropped out of school to pursue singing. Sio has a younger sister, loves to read and journal every day. If she does not become an idol singer, she aspires to become a writer.

Aran studied at the Seoul School of Performing Arts but later dropped out of school because he was busy working as a singer. She has an older brother and a younger sister. Aran is currently learning English and is revealed to have a strong aptitude for foreign languages. If she wasn't an idol, she wanted to be a voice actress.

Faded thoughts after a poorly known debut

The group released The Fifty EP on November 18, 2022 with the lead track titled Higher. The album contains the first journey of girls who yearn for freedom, trying to overcome beyond the chaos of reality and then move towards utopias.

The Fifty consists of 4 songs: Higher - an R&B genre song about a world of dreams, filled with ecstatic sweetness; - "Tell Me", a city pop song; Lovin Me — the song conveys a comforting message to young people who are going through the pains of adulthood and Log In — represents the strides of girls escaping from the oppressive world of reality.

The promotion of The Fifty began on November 22, 2022 with the first stage performance on SBS's music program and ended on December 2 on KBS's program. Although the album did not enter the Circle Album Chart, it peaked at number 44 on the digital chart, with sales of 2,597 albums. IZM magazine also gave the album 4.5 out of 5 stars, the highest score the magazine has ever given a girl group.

The National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has said that Fifty Fifty is one of the most watchable K-pop girl groups of 2023: "The quartet shows many different colors. Each member's voice also stands out and shows their own points, which are important in today's music market."

The group was also voted by Rolling Stone India as the group with the best debut of the year. Two songs Tell Me and Lovin Me made the list of the Best Kpop Songs of 2022, voted by Paper and Mashable.

Unexpectedly became a "phenomenon" thanks to Cupid

On February 24, 2023, Fifty Fifty released her first single titled The Beginning: Cupid along with a music video for Cupid's title track. Cupid is a lament about the couples of teenage girls, however, the content is conveyed with witty, graceful lyrics, showing brightness and positivity. The song has two Korean and English versions, of which the Korean version was written by Keena, a member of the group.

Not long after, based on the English version, a fan created the music to a faster speed-up. This version quickly became a phenomenon on Tiktok with hundreds of millions of viewers and audio use.

Cupid took a step to the clouds, entering the prestigious Billboard Hot 100 chart on March 27. This makes FIFTY one of only six groups to ever enter the Billboard Hot 100 and the K-pop group to achieve this feat in the shortest time.

By the end of April, Cupid continued to climb the rankings, rising to No. 50, making Fifty Fifty the 3rd group to achieve this feat after BTS and BLACKPINK. Cupid's MV also reached 10 million views on the Youtube platform after 1 month of release. Fifty currently has more than 30 million monthly listeners on the Spotify platform, an unbelievable number for a 6-month rookie, coming from the small entertainment company.

Ignored in South Korea

Booming internationally, Fifty Fifty's digital music performance in his home country was not very good. Cupid won't even crack the Top 1000 on MelOn's daily chart when it launches (February 2023).

This is really a "rarity" of Kpop when the group whose song is a social trend, international fame is not noticed in their home country. Explaining this phenomenon, critics argue that Fifty Fifty lacks the foundation of being a strong enough company. Since then, it has not built a fan community capable of pushing the group's achievements. Album sales or digital music rankings of regular K-pop groups are largely based on fandom.

Accused of being ungrateful

Keena is a talented member of the musical group Fifty Fifty. With her powerful voice and charismatic performance, she has contributed to the success of the group. However, Fifty Fifty is being criticized for its ingratitude to the host company.

Recently, the band Fifty Fifty has been embroiled in a long-running dispute with their parent company Attrakt. On July 5, it was reported that 4 members had registered trademarks for their group names and stage names without notifying the company.

Earlier, Fifty Fifty also filed for temporary suspension of its exclusive contract with Attrakt. On the grounds that Attrakt violated the agreement, causing a collapse of the group's trust in the company. Legal representatives of the members said that Attrakt had lacked concern for the artists' feelings and health and had ignored many of the problems the group was facing. In addition, the group made allegations about the host company's failure to make salary payments. The incident was not transparent and there were problems related to the settlement that were not published.

Previously, Attrakt revealed that there were "outside forces" enticing the band to breach their contract. During the group was rested due to one member having surgery for a medical condition. Notably, Attrakt has clearly indicated that Warner Music Korea is involved in the matter.

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