What The Hell Is Happening With FIFTY FIFTY?
UPDATE Tuesday October 24, 12.15pm AEDT: Since this article was published, FIFTY FIFTY’s dispute with label ATTRAKT has continued, with ATTRAKT now actually terminating the contracts of three members Saena, Sio, and Aran. Read the full update from Jenna Guillaume in Let’s Talk K-Pop‘s latest column here under ‘The Hot Topic’.
Only months ago, the rookie girl group seemed poised for global domination — but legal disputes with their label have frozen them in place, writes Let’s Talk K-Pop‘s Jenna Guillaume.
When I launched Let’s Talk K-Pop in May with Junkee, I knew I wanted to open with a piece on FIFTY FIFTY. Just six months after their debut, they were THE big thing in K-Pop and, as I said at the time, looked set to rise even higher and totally dominate the global pop industry.
But within a month of publishing that piece, FIFTY FIFTY’s trajectory had all but halted, and while they have recently released a new song — ‘Barbie Dreams’ (featuring Kaliii) for the Barbie movie soundtrack — it’s come without the planned music video or promotional activities it was meant to have. Other plans for the group, like K-Con in LA, a commercial with a global athlete, a variety show appearance, and an electronics endorsement deal, have also all been reportedly cancelled.
Basically, the four members of FIFTY FIFTY — Sio, Saena, Aran, and Keena (ranging in age from 18-21) — have become involved in a legal dispute with their label, ATTRAKT, as has The Givers, the company ATTRAKT enlisted to help form and launch FIFTY FIFTY. It’s all playing out very publicly, thanks in large part to ATTRAKT CEO Jun Hong Joon consistently releasing details and making statements to the media.
What are ATTRAKT Claiming?
At the end of June, CEO Jun spoke to the media about “external forces” that were trying to poach FIFTY FIFTY from his company and encouraging them to break their exclusive contract. ATTRAKT later released a statement that seemed to suggest these external forces were Warner Music Korea, who had announced a global distribution deal with FIFTY FIFTY back in April. Warner pushed back, calling ATTRAKT’s claims “groundless”.
Jun then said there was a misunderstanding and the “external forces” weren’t Warner Music Korea — eventually, he seemed to suggest The Givers were the third party to blame. ATTRAKT announced they’d sue The Givers and its CEO Ahn Sung-il, aka SIAHN (who had played a key role in creating FIFTY FIFTY and producing their music, including their viral hit ‘Cupid’) for breach of contract and fraud, claiming they secretly bought the ‘Cupid’ copyright to keep for themselves, among other offenses.
ATTRAKT have maintained throughout the whole drama that the FIFTY FIFTY members themselves are being influenced/controlled by “external forces”.
What Are The Givers Claiming?
The Givers have denied ATTRAKT’s allegations, including the idea they’ve tried to poach or influence FIFTY FIFTY, and are in turn suing ATTRAKT for defamation. They say that after their initial involvement with FIFTY FIFTY, their contracted services with the band and ATTRAKT ended in May, with the exception of working on global promotion with Warner Music at ATTRAKT’s request. They say they are a neutral party in the dispute between ATTRAKT and FIFTY FIFTY.
In terms of the copyright for ‘Cupid’, The Givers argue it was obtained through legal process and was actually in their possession long before they worked with FIFTY FIFTY.
What Are FIFTY FIFTY Claiming?
In mid-June, FIFTY FIFTY filed for temporary suspension of their exclusive contracts with ATTRAKT, citing violation of terms of the contract and a breakdown of trust. It was after this that CEO Jun went to the media suggesting a third party was poaching them. Subsequently, a statement was released by a law firm representing the members, emphasising they were acting independently (and not under the influence of “external forces”).
The main thing the members seemed to be asking for is transparency in financial documents, which they say ATTRAKT has withheld. There was also complaints about a lack of support, being pressured to promote despite health issues, as well as a violation of privacy when said health issues (a surgery Aran had, and the reason for it) were revealed to the press by Jun without Aran’s consent.
More recently, FIFTY FIFTY filed a criminal complaint against ATTRACKT’s CEO, accusing him of breach of contract. They released a public statement saying they hope their “rights will be protected by the court”, adding “there are so many untrue stories that are being reported and circulated”.
Meanwhile, family members of FIFTY FIFTY spoke to Korean current affairs program Unanswered Questions about the extreme stress the girls had been under with ATTRAKT, alleging brutal monitoring and control of their every movement and their appearances and weight. One family member suggested FIFTY FIFTY would even rather walk away from their careers than return to ATTRAKT.
What Do FIFTY FIFTY Fans Think?
Reactions online to the situation have been mixed, with many people sympathising with Jun and ATTRAKT, suggesting FIFTY FIFTY members are being “greedy” and alleging they haven’t been mistreated. However, there are also a lot of people supporting FIFTY FIFTY — including, unsurprisingly, many of their fans.
Aussie fan Mae, who I spoke to about FIFTY FIFTY back in May, says the whole situation has been hard to comprehend as a fan, but that they support the members completely. “They’re not greedy or asking for money, they’re asking for financial transparency and bringing the breaches of contract from the company to light… don’t blame the girls for sticking up for themselves and knowing when they are being mistreated.”
Another fan, Stella, tells me she’s never doubted the members. “When all the legal issues are resolved, my hope is that FIFTY FIFTY and its members will be able to continue as a group under a new company… Regardless of what happens, I’ll continue to support the girls, even if they can no longer stay together.”
And My Thoughts?
I’m certainly no expert — especially when it comes to financial and legal matters — but here’s my take: the dominant pattern in the music industry is men in power taking advantage of young stars, particularly young women, and it’s hard to see this through any other lens. In this case, the issues seem to stem from the tension between ATTRAKT and The Givers — ie the men in power on both sides — and the FIFTY FIFTY members are the ones who have been caught in the crossfire and had to deal with the consequences.
At a time in their career when they should be taking off and spinning their viral momentum to their advantage, their opportunities have completely stalled. It honestly feels like such a waste of potential, and I can’t help but feel sad for the members. Whatever the outcome of the legal dispute, I hope they can find a way to continue to make music together and one day pick up where they left off.
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Image Credit: FIFTY FIFTY, ATTRAKT