Fifty Fifty will return to the K-pop scene as a five-member group in September, about a year after its agency, Attrakt, was embroiled in a legal dispute with former members over their exclusive contracts.
In June of last year, the original members of Fifty Fifty — Sio, Saena, Aran, and Keena — filed for an injunction to suspend their contracts with Attrakt. They cited Attrakt’s failure to provide financial data and lack of care for their health conditions as reasons for seeking the injunction.
However, the Seoul Central District Court denied their injunction and subsequent appeal. The appeal was pursued by three members, excluding Keena, who later withdrew her legal action and chose to return to Attrakt. Subsequently, the company terminated its contracts with the remaining trio and filed a lawsuit seeking 13 billion won ($9.9 million) against the singers and their “supporters.” Among them is SIAHN, also known as Ahn Sung-il, the producer behind Fifty Fifty’s smash-hit, “Cupid” (2022).
According to Attrakt, the rebranded version of Fifty Fifty will feature Keena and four new members, who were picked through closed auditions.
“We confirmed the four new members in April,” the company said in a statement released Friday. “We previously announced that Fifty Fifty would make a comeback in June, but we postponed our plan to September to raise the quality (of its music and performance.)”
The label also recalled the “painful time,” briefly explaining in the statement what happened to the group over the past year.
“Last year, Fifty Fifty set good records with ‘Cupid, securing the No. 17 and No. 8 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the U.S. and the Official Singles chart in the U.K., respectively,” it said. “It also won the K-pop Song of the Year award at 카지노 the 2023 iHeartRadio Music Awards in the U.S., among others, receiving so much love from K-pop followers worldwide. However, there was a painful time when we had to halt everything before showing more results.”
It added, “We are clearly aware that we have grasped this miraculous opportunity thanks to the group’s fans, who have been waiting for so long. To cater to their expectations, we plan to unveil a new song before the official release of our upcoming album and come up with diverse promotional activities. We will do our best to make Fifty Fifty the best K-pop girl group.”
Fifty Fifty, which arrived on the music scene with “Cupid” in 2022, rose to meteoric stardom after the retro-infused tune became a viral hit on the Chinese video-sharing platform, TikTok. Despite being a rookie girl group under a small K-pop label, it made international headlines for entering the much-coveted Billboard main singles chart only 130 days after its debut. However, its musical activities have been on a hold due to the ongoing legal tussle.
Last August, Attrakt secured an investment from David Yong, CEO of the Singapore-based investment firm, Evergreen Group Holdings, and started to search for new members to join Fifty Fifty. It reportedly held auditions in various countries including Korea, Japan, Singapore and Thailand.