Troubled past of viral Cupid girl group – lawsuits, axed members and re-debut

Ask anyone about K-Pop, and they’ll probably mention BTS or Blackpink.

But chances are they know viral song Cupid, which is actually from another K-Pop girl group, Fifty Fifty. The English version of the song, which was released in February 2023, went viral on TikTok and saw them climb the charts around the world.

What followed, though, was months of lawsuits (which are still ongoing), three members of the four quitting, and the group re-debuting with four new girls joining the only remaining member.

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Before we get to the here and now, it’s important to check out a bit of Fifty Fifty’s backstory. Originally a four-member girl group comprising of Saena, Keena, Aran and Sio, the South Korean idols debuted in November 2022 under the label Attrakt.

The label, founded by Jeon Hong-joon, was brand new and not affiliated with any of the so-called “Big 4” labels in South Korea, which are home to artists including BTS, Blackpink, Twice and Exo.

Fifty Fifty debuted with the song Higher, as well as three more tracks – Lovin’ Me, Log In and Tell Me. Each of them received a music video, despite the group coming from a small label.

Their debut didn’t attract much fanfare apart from dedicated fans. But fast forward a few months, and their lives were about to change.

They released the cute, romantic track Cupid, as well as the all-English “Twin Version”, which only featured vocals from Aran and Sio. A sped-up version of the Twin Version soon went viral on TikTok and got stuck in everyone’s ear.

They became the fastest girl group to enter America’s Billboard Hot 100 chart and even peaked at No8 on the UK Singles Chart. They reached No7 on the Circle Digital Chart in South Korea too, after previously only peaking at No191 with Higher.

By April, the group had partnered with Warner Music Korea, which was a major step in their careers. And a version of Cupid featuring Sabrina Carpenter was released, too.

But by the summer, the group imploded, with the four members filing a lawsuit to suspend their contracts. They cited a violation of contractual obligations, including a lack of transparency when it came to money and medical negligence.

Then came the start of the back and forth, with label Attrackt accusing producer Ahn Sung-il and Warner Music Korea of trying to get the girls to sign with a different entertainment company.

As the legal issues arose, all of Fifty Fifty’s schedules were cancelled. They landed a song on the Barbie soundtrack (Barbie Dreams) and had been due to film a music video, but it was axed.

In August 2023, Fifty Fifty’s injunction against Attrakt was dismissed, but the members announced they would appeal the dismissal.

But months later, member Keena, who was a rapper in the group, withdrew her lawsuit and returned to Attrakt. Days later, Attrakt announced that the other three members’ contracts had been terminated and the Seoul High Court upheld the decision to dismiss the injunction.

Keena went on to attend the Billboard Music Awards solo, and plans were announced to find new members to join her and re-debut the group under the same name of Fifty Fifty.

The legal battle waged on, though. Eventually, Attrakt filed a lawsuit to seek compensation from Aran, Sio, Saena and their parents, as well as Ahn Sung-il and his colleague Baek Hin-sil, claiming they were all involved in the girls breaching their contracts.

Attrakt attempted to move on with plans to re-debut the group, and the new members were revealed to the public through September. They included Chanelle Moon, Yewon and Hana, who had all competed on survival shows in South Korea previously but failed to debut. The final member was revealed to be Athena, who was born in Sweden.

The newly re-arranged group released the song Starry Night in August 2024, acting as a pre-release song for the EP Love Tune. They made their official re-debut on September 20 with the song SOS.

Meanwhile, Aran, Sio and Saena signed contracts with a new label, and plans for their return to music were announced.

Sadly, the legal battle is still ongoing. But it’s not just battles in court, as fans online have been at war throughout the entire ordeal, too.

Some have sided with Keena and the new members, showing their support to their re-debut. Meanwhile, others have decided to boycott the group due to the alleged mistreatment of the former members.

Then there are those showing support to Fifty Fifty as well as the former members, as, at the end of the day, they say all of the girls’ dreams and careers should be celebrated, rather than the fighting behind the scenes.

Time will tell if Fifty Fifty can re-gain their brief global success. They sang about giving a “second chance to Cupid”, but will music fans give them a second chance too?

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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk