The tragic story of Fifty Fifty and Keena's redemption arc

[@Popsori]

Hi everyone, I wanted to add a couple more things that was not mentioned in the video. After learning more about the horrible health conditions of the original members, I do think ATTRAKT needs to be held a lot more accountable. One of the sadder stories is that Aran was diagnosed with chronic cholangitis with polyps, with the worst case scenario leading to cancer. While I do think ATTRAKT pushed the girls and kept working them to achieve greater success and to ride the "Cupid" wave, no wave is worth potentially destroying their idols' health. This is on ATTRAKT to realize that overworking their talent is not the right play and should be taken seriously. Perhaps for future contracts, idols can put that if a doctor or physician says they cannot work for X amount of weeks/months, then that should be adhered by law. The label, in turn, cannot retaliate on their idols for resting. If I were ATTRAKT, I would have put out a statement saying the girls will take an infinite rest until recovery. Then when they recover, have a comeback concert and slowly engage in fan meet ups to reengage fans, in preparation of their next songs, post-Cupid. While the label loses out on some money and promotion for not fully riding the "Cupid" wave entirely, they gain a lot more respect among their fandom, both Korean and international fans. It would normalize rest without shame a lot more in the K-pop industry, which sadly, is still looked down on. Plus, ATTRAKT would look even better, compared to Siahn and The Givers. At the time of researching and publishing the video in September to December of 2023, news of the girls' health were still coming out in Korean news and social media. I went with the information presented at the time in Korean media, and showed excerpts from both sides. I gave my take on it, again, with all the info shown at the time. I also think the parents of the girls should have been criticized a lot more. They set their daughters up for failure by continuing to side with Siahn well after it was known that he was screwing over their daughter's careers. If the parents weren't sure if Siahn was giving them the run around, they could have hired lawyers to protect them and their daughters. It's a shame the parents didn't protect their daughters more. I do stand with the video saying that the girls got screwed over and their own big mistake is continuing to fight ATTRAKT after it was known that Siahn screwed them over. I honestly think they could have gotten back to ATTRAKT, get a lawyer to put medical clauses and rest in their contract, and worked out a compromise. With the rest of the video, especially hammering The Givers and Siahn, I'm proud of doing that. No shame from me at all, as his company ruined one of K-pop's best, underdog stories in 2023. If you read all of this, thanks so much! I truly appreciate everyone that watches my videos, comments (agrees or disagrees), and shares them. Best, Jason

[@hannayyxy]

I came here because I wasnt sure if I should support the new 50/50 and although I’m still not sure given that ATTRAKT did overwork them, it definitely cleared things up. Thanks for the update!

[@Popsori]

No problem at all! As whether to support new Fifty Fifty and ATTRAKT, I understand. In a perfect world, I wanted ATTRAKT and all the former members to get back together with protections to the members' mental and physical health. With that said, the new girls they chose for the new group look promising. It's really a tough situation though in whether to support ATTRAKT. I can't blame fans either way.

[@limnbakpoplolyihong8979]

Wait actually, how true is the fact that aran suffered from chronic cholangiitis with polyps? I know that she provided medical paper as evidence which suggest that it was probably/definitely true, but a quick search tells me that more than the fact the chronic cholangiitis with polyps can indeed turn cancerous(but it won't happen immediately[within short span of a few months]). Apparently gallbladder polyps alone only has a 0.5% chance of turning into cancer and that is within the span of a few years!(but with the addition of chronic cholangiitis will increase the % to a higher amount(i cannot quote any % number here(because I didn't do any research) but chronic cholangiitis is essentially an infection in the gallbladder which can allow cancer to form more easily). The bigger and significant issue is that performing 4-5 months(assuming aran was diagnosed with this particular condition in early january 2023), has a moderately high chance of turning into immediate life-threatening issue. Which means that, either aran cited something wrong(or is mistranslated) OR she was literally put in a life-threatening position by attrakt/the givers(whoever the heck was managing aran's particular health issue). Another thing is: this statement that aran was diagnosed with this condition came out in october 2023, which brings me to the question whereby, why didn't they submit this as a proof in court? Because remember, the court ruled that attrakt did not need to be held accountable for the financial or health issues for the fifty fifty members. Assuming aran did submit this, does it potentially mean that it was ultimately not attrakt's fault because they were under direct management of the givers and the givers delayed her surgery? Or are you going to tell me attrakt has political power that somehow managed to influence the korean court?(HIGHLY UNLIKELY BTW). Furthermore, there is also a chance that aran did not suffer from chronic cholangiitis with polyps, and instead had gallstone buildup which could have caused acute cholecystitis. *Please note that this was from a certified medical student's opinion that I found on reddit*. According to this person, if it was just a gallstone buildup, aran would've felt pain from time to time(intermitten duration), and it was totally fine from a medical perspective to have her continue to perform despite this pain, because the pain duration is totally unpredictable and hence they have no way of dealing with it other than letting aran rest properly when her pain occurs. Then they just have to wait until the problem develops into acute cholecystitis(which requires immediate emergency medical surgery to remove the gallbladder) and hence aligned with the fact that she could perform 4-5 months without needing the surgery immediately. The takeaway is this: you can say that I'm suspecting aran might be lying but I genuinely cannot find any information on whether her condition was chronic cholangitis with polyps or gallbladder stone induced acute cholecystitis(which occured in april 2023). In general, what i'm saying is, if it was chronic cholangiitis with polyps, immediate surgery was required because it is a medical emergency and needs to be treated immediately and attrakt/the givers can be held accountable for neglecting aran's health issue. This particular problem is very weird because although aran gave medical proofs that she had chronic cholangitis, I find it difficult to believe because she very well could've have died. Also, honestly... if her condition was life threatening, i'm sure they will allow her to through with the surgery immediately right? No matter water, they(by they i'm talking about either attrakt/the givers[again whoever was managing aran's situation]) can't drop so low that they don't allow her get the surgery and potentially risk her actually dying and give themselves so much and I mean SO MUCH issues down the line...

[@kgjung2310]

The easiest way to get people to fall for scams is to tell them what they want to hear. Appeal to their vanity, ego, and greed. When your so called advocate tells you to lie right from the start in order to get more money for yourself, that's your first red flag. No shocker to find out that the Givers CEO was guilty of much more dishonesty in connection to all this (forging signatures, trying to steal IP, fake education credentials, etc). The parents screwed over their own kids almost as much as the Givers CEO did. Now the girls and their parents owe $9million for all this. They refused to meet with ATTRAKT and ignored all offers of some kind of reconciliation. The whole KEENA thing of her apologizing is not so much a Korean thing as it is a human thing. If you mess up, you are expected to admit it, apologize, and make whatever restitution that is appropriate/possible. If one doesn't, why would anyone forgive and forget much less give that person another opportunity??

[@escritora84]

"Cupid" felt like the first true viral worldwide kpop hit since "Gangnam Style", and to see all that success crash and burn is sad. I understood Fifty Fifty filing the initial lawsuit, considering how much companies mistreat their idols (especially rookies with little/no power). I think had they been further along in their career, like Omega X and Loona were, I think kfans would be more sympathetic. I hope Shian gets his karma for his greed and destroying a promising group.

[@Popsori]

That's a good point about "Cupid" being the first true vial K-pop hit since "Gangnam Style." I went to a friend's wedding months ago and "Cupid - Twin ver." came on suddenly. All the kids knew the song from Tik Tok and didn't even realize it was from a Korean group. With Omega X and Loona, that's true that those two groups were already veterans and had years of K-pop experience. Fifty Fifty, on the other hand, were pretty much rookies and to many fans, were already demanding a lot from their label ATTRAKT. As for Siahn, I also hope he gets his karma, as he was the ringleader of the downfall of the next great female K-pop group.

[@e8v-o7q]

All the claims about "mistreatment" were dismissed by the court.This case is just 3 girls were misled by The Givers into lawsuit and faked covid 19 test to get out of contract. and their vicious plan was revealed, and they are being punished by Korean society and k-pop industry

[@Popsori]

Right. I had to mention "alleged" until more facts came out on this case, as it seems like there's new evidence coming out daily. With that said, it looks like ATTRAKT is going on the offensive and suing the former three members now for damages. I wonder how a lawsuit against Siahn will fare, since he's the main villain in all this.

[@Mezman999]

Can’t believe they played Cupid at the London new year 2023 firework display. The song is still going strong. ‘Fighting’ to Keena.

[@bpotato3310]

true, last year we had family day and when someone turn on the song, every kids there sang the song.@@Popsori

[@laiminhmabulay7529]

i remember this issue blowing up right at the tail end of the drama over Omega X and Loona, and back then, i felt like those behind the dispute were banking on public sympathy that was still very sensitive to the “abusive company narrative”. the difference was that Omega X and Loona had already been promoting for sometime already while 50/50 has just debuted and this contributed to their image of being bratty, rude, entitled and disrespectful which is so frowned upon in korea.

[@Popsori]

For sure, with Omega X and Loona, they were already in the K-pop game for some time. With Fifty Fifty, they were pretty much rookies still and to many fans, were already demanding too much after their viral hit. It's all about paying your dues first in Korea, like you alluded to.

[@maxxanishi]

Keena released a cover christmas song and her voice is SUPERB. I think just with Keena, Fifty fifty will once again succeed. I never knew Keena's voice is so good, I thought Aran is the one holding up the girls but I'm wrong! Keena would do just as well!

[@McFly-yb7kc]

She’s their best looking too. Best rapper by far. She getting better everyday singing and I’m ngl I think she’s as good or better than saena at dancing. Plus she’s the cutest of all of them.

[@yisaphobe]

ASSRAKT has horrible promoting skills and I haven't of anything about Keena in so long. It's the end of FIFTY FIFTY.

[@jessnalulila5552]

Sometimes a viral song isn't enough to save a group...😔

[@Popsori]

Agreed 😰

[@McFly-yb7kc]

Bro thanks for this awesome write up on what went down. It sucks that the three are just dead set and won’t budge and their parents are calling keena a traitor. How have they not figured out they got scammed by siahn? And for that keena wrecked my bias Aran. Ima miss the three so much but even tho they were the victims I think they’re STILL choosing the wrong path.

[@Popsori]

All good bro! Thanks so much for watching! It does suck that the other three members had their careers destroyed from Siahn. Their parents doubling down and calling Keena a traitor is also a horrible move. Like yourself, I'm wondering why the other three girls, nor their parents, aren't laying the blame on Siahn. Maybe it's because their all-in and committed to siding with Siahn and if they back out now, they'll get major backlash. But I think going the Siahn route will have even greater backlash and their daughters may never have a successful career again :( I do think the girls, for the most part, are the victims in all this, but again, like you said, are choosing the wrong path. If the girls just avoid posting further issues on social media - that's what got them in trouble in the first place - and come back to ATTRAKT, they could be a comeback in the future.

[@dmitrykim3096]

I feel sorry for the girls, they were lured to participate in this scandal. I loved their voices and now its all ruined

[@Popsori]

Yeah, same. Often, a group's success isn't just about their talent and looks, but if their company is stable and honest.

[@moonkitty5274]

Keena is 2 years older than the other girls and it shows, although I think the panic from the others' health conditions probably also influenced their decision to continue fighting-- I really hope they can make futures for themselves that they can be satisfied with, the adults around them during this time failed them when they needed their support most

[@tsinoy147]

Such a shame, what happened to the group. I stumbled upon them last year and I was totally blown away by their debut songs. Cupid may have been the song that blew up but "Lovin Me" is amazing and "Higher" is a great song. Also, that GFriend mention. (They're my ult group 🥹)

[@Popsori]

You really can't go wrong with "Lovin Me" or "Higher." Both are awesome songs! And GFriend is great :) Really happy they won a lot of awards for "Best New Artist" in 2015 and 2016, as they were a great story, being a surprise, breakout group at the time.

[@fmastore]

Thanks for the breakdown. It was tough keeping track when all this was playing out in real time.

[@Popsori]

No problem! It's so hard to keep track of everything that went on in this controversy, so I don't blame you at all. It took me awhile to research it to even know what was going on.

[@clivestaples244]

I agree with your ending assessment. The 3 members should absolutely apologize and return for 50/50 2.0. The only thing is they should focus on the US market while trying to reestablish in korea. You know we love a great redemption story here. Nice breakdown and analysis. I was a huge fan and would def support a group comeback.

[@Popsori]

I would like to see the other 3 members rebound too. It's horrible what happened to them because of a greedy producer/manager (Siahn) and their parents trying to continue the fight against ATTRAKT. If they apologize in Korea, they may not fully recover, but the 3 girls can put the drama behind them. I agree with you that the girls can then go to the US and promote like crazy there. If the 3 girls ever rebounded, it would make for an ultimate comeback story in K-pop.

[@melodiyuh]

MHJ mentioned Fifty Fifty case during her conference against HYBE and having no idea what happened to fifty fifty i tried to look up narrations that'll enlighten me. Glad I found this video after watching 3 other confusing narrations. The Givers and the 3 members definitely regret it now

[@ilikechocolate2575]

i got into this drama just because my best friend is a kpop fan who used to do kpop dance here in stockholm in the same school with athena whos now a new member of fifty fifty

[@jealousmuch784]

This was a great video! Super informative as I haven’t been able to understand all of the drama for months. Thank you!

[@바보Queen]

holy hell that album booklet is horrible

[@Popsori]

Yeah, I also had a friend that bought the 50-50 album and showed me all the blank pages in person. The album is as empty as "advertised."

[@kingo263]

Great breakdown Jason...my sister introduced me to this group a month after debut, she said i would love this group, and she was right..Keena became my bias since for some reason she reminded me of Jinsoul whos also my LOONA bias...even tho KEENA being my bias rose back from the ashes, my heart still aches as to what went down with this SAGA. like yourself hoping for the best in their future musical endeavor and I never was spiteful towards the other girls as well. We did some dumb stuff and made stupid decisions at that age, at least I did, didnt mean they're evil ppl. I also wish them the best....good stuff and content as usual...Happy HOlidays to you and your family n looking forward to more content in the New Year!

[@Popsori]

Hiya Kingo! Great to see your comments once again! That's a pretty cool sister to intro you to 50-50. It really does suck that the original group got destroyed and as you said, I'm not spiteful at all towards the other three girls. It's horrible that they got gaslit and while they did dumb stuff, such as posting the drama publicly on Instagram and to the media, I was hoping that they could reconcile and come back to ATTRAKT. After all, they're still young. But it looks like ATTRAKT is now going on the offensive, as yesterday, the label is now suing the three former members :( In any case, happy holidays to you and your family. I hope your Xmas is a blast with your loved ones. Mine will be as well! After the holidays, back to doing videos and working on upcoming KZbin projects.

[@theonlymisfit2757]

What happened to this group is really sad. This is a real promising group. I agree that the 3 ex members should've compromised with the mother company instead of continuously pursuing the lawsuit. I don't think other agency/label would want these artists after what happened. Their careers just went down the drain. Hope they can still make a comeback in a different company although I don't see it happening anytime soon.

[@kurzweber3041]

It's quite easy for the average teenage KPOP fan to make a number of suppositions when there's a lack of information. But relatively speaking, this case was different. In that there was a lot of detail given, yet many (global) fans went with emotion over logic, until it was pretty late in the case. What's interesting about the case was that the Dispatch investigation provided a detailled counterpoint to the girls' (and the Givers) case against Attrackt, despite the girls having a prime time tv programme to put forward their case. When this is taken within the context of what was going on with Loona and Omega X, you would have thought that the girls would have garnered enough domestic support, but it was not the case. Sadly, the victims were young and impressionable and their parents ill informed, whilst I don't think this will change the way the business will operate, I wonder if theres something that could have been done to prevent all of this from happening? Anyway, thank you as always for another video and the hard work that goes into them.

[@McFly-yb7kc]

Yeah but shian was a smooth talking con man who blamed his companies bad treatment of the girls on attract. Total scumbag

[@rainbowsubs2]

I feel like their greed took away what Loonas lawsuit did for Kpop idols

[@Waterfalls131]

Gosh thank you! I never understood the whole story but now I finally do! Thank you! ❤

[@Popsori]

Of course, and thank you for watching the video! The Fifty Fifty case is crazy and so confusing at first!

[@shinraninja]

keena is so beautiful - i hope she gets it

[@kokorohiro2430]

Fifty fifty is finally coming back🥰

[@Popsori]

I'm curious to see this new edition of Fifty Fifty!

[@xxgg3407]

😮Ohhh! I was so surprised. What are the Chances of them making a splash' song this year?! They will need a MIRACLE

[@kazuhasgloves]

What happened to them was tragic.

[@theninearemine8499]

What happened to them was their fault.

[@ColumbusMaine]

Finally...a good explanation of their tragic downfall. I so hope the group can repair the breakup and continue singing great songs.

[@PapaWoody440]

8:30 is the key. As a western fan who never paid any attention to K-pop before Fifty Fifty, I supported the girls, but never bashed the other side. Yes, in the west, there are plenty of cases of artists getting screwed, but blindly siding with the girls and calling ATTRAKT evil when you had no idea what was happening, made a lot of people look really dumb. I think Shian took advantage of the other 3 members' inexperience and naiveté, and exploited them for his financial gain. Even so, they till haven't made any attempt to apologize, so it looks like they're cooked. That said, Keena was my bias from the very beginning, and I'm happy to see her back. Now that Starry Night is out, her voice is getting more attention and I love her more than ever. I'll learn the other 4 members in time, but she's the reason Fifty FIfty is even still a thing.

[@v.4789]

finally i understand

[@arinco6944]

I love Cupid which is such a cute song!!

[@jefff2157]

it has been a common sight to see international fans being gullible and will always disregard everything to protect their idols.

[@Popsori]

I agree. Many international fans will disregard a lot of evidence and automatically side with the idols at first glance. While idols do get screwed over often, sadly, there are times that the company is in the right. ATTRAKT is one of these companies.

[@GatorRade-qq9rs]

WHO IS HERE AFTER THE HYBE-ADORA BEEF THINKING THEY'LL HAVE THE SAME FATE AS THIS? 😂😂

[@Popsori]

One of the next videos will be on the Hybe/Min Hee-jin controversy! While there's a lot more differences between the two cases (Hybe and Fifty Fifty), I can't blame fans if the Hybe scandal reminds them of what happened to Fifty Fifty

[@SoobiniesDimples]

Poor illit and new jeans 😭 They deserve better hope they don’t end up like this 😭🤞.

[@chainedunfree727]

I am really looking forward to their re-debut next month Sept. 2024. Idc if their songs are not as viral as Cupid as long as the songs are catchy I will play their videos over and over. I hope the 4 new members that will join will be successful!

[@jesus_t]

My take on this whole situation is that so many things went wrong from all sides, including attrakt, the girls, the givers and the parents overall. Things could gone better, but maybe it was the pride, ego or the sudden fame they got that marked the downfall of it all. At the end of the day, i hope keena achieves her dreams and hopefully the fifty fifty can rise from the ashes, and hopefully the other girls can have a happy life too.

[@McFly-yb7kc]

You almost gotta blame the parents bc the girls can’t be expected to know anything about contracts and the industry, but the parents should have taken their shit to a second opinion lawyer to see where they stand and who was to blame based on EVIDENCE. The conman shian got them to just believe him based on “trust me bro” - it was careless of the parents to fall for emotional sales pitches. Prob was greed involved on all sides

[@Popsori]

@@McFly-yb7kc I agree with you on this. The parents also deserve a lot of blame for this, as they basically made most of the decisions for the girls. It's sad that the parents found out that Siahn was screwing them and their daughters over. Yet, once the parents realized they were being conned by Siahn, they needed to lawyer-up, apologize to the Korean public, and go back to ATTRAKT to see if they can keep Fifty Fifty intact. Like you said, I think greed was involved on all sides, but the parents should now learn the power of a lawyer and Siahn needs to face the full consequences.

[@HotLeafJuicer]

Withholding judgement for the full story in Western society challenge (impossible)

[@Popsori]

Seriously! I see this a lot with many Western fans. The smart Western fans that actually wait for the full story are the real ones.

[@Popsori]

For sure. I think in this case, since the original commenter said "Western," I stayed with Western fans too.

[@nabi5864]

Basically He was attempting to "Mark-ZUCK" ATTRAKT ... (Reference to Zucks Harvard screw job to start FB)

[@branoster]

very good summarization of situation. thanks 👍👍👍

[@wandeesthoughts]

I Feel so bad for them

[@toneycosmos]

This is the most simple breakdown, and its basic music industry shenanigans. Fame and popularity are bad drugs to some people and greed arises.

[@gameshoes]

Is it wise to keep the Fifty-Fifty name or should they debut as a new group?

[@Popsori]

I'm thinking they're keeping the Fifty-Fifty name for the brand recognition. Yet, at the same time, many fans aren't going to see the group the same, since there's only one original member left, Keena.

[@SkyFWWO]

Imagine if the song that blew up was sensitive by loossemble 💀💀💀

[@dvus1977]

1st of all, Great Job, I enjoyed watching this👏👏🥂. Now onto Fifty Fifty, I was completely sucked in2 Kpop because of them. Cupid was my and alot of the Worlds intro to them, however Upon listening to their other tracks and videos they released, I was blown away by their phenomenal talent. Sio & Aran are 2 of the best vocalists I've heard in years, not just Kpop but in Music overall. Keena & Saena' s Rap & Dance skills are on Point and they also possessed light beautiful voices. As someone older and from the States , ive seen my fair share of these not so uncommon cases , especially in music industry. Tho I understand the ladies shouldn't have posted IG , they were wrong. I am so disappointed in the Actual Adults that were surrounding them & who's responsibility it was to look out for their best interests. Were there no Attorneys? 50/50: members were still young when formed. I believe Keena was the oldest and over 18 but Saena & Sio still weren't & Aran was introduced as the 4th(Maknea) a few months shy of debut , she was like 16/17. These young ladies aren't versed in Contract Law . They simply were believing someone who was Ultimately put in charge of them by main label Attakt. If the CEO trusted Siahn enough to manage them Full-time, then the girls would develop a closer relationship with them as opposed to CEO . The parents are also go be held responsible because you know the Girls would follow thier parents advice or let their parents handle their issues. Ultimately, Everyone Loses , because no good has come from this entire Mess, that as you said , should have been a Year full of Accolades & Applause. I don't blame Keena at all for her choice & Wish her all the success she rightfully deserves , but I also want the other Ladies to Shine and All 4 be Reunited One Day. What they produced, Sonically, you just can't Replicate That. Its Lightning ⚡🎶⚡

[@yerinanon]

Keena can actually sing.

[@dvus1977]

@@yerinanon she definitely can. Sio and Aran always helped and encouraged Keena & Saena in further developing their Vocal Strength,Range & abilities. Their OT4 Live in Studio Shows how beautiful all their voices are.

[@frogman1055]

Is it possible for Warner Music Korea to absorb the 3 original Saena, Sio and Aran and then buy out Keena from Attrakt and then negotiate to an agreed sum to repay Attrakt for the lost amount and become their new agency? That way the original girls of FIFTY FIFTY can remain together and continue on with future successful hits and any other venues under a new producer and manager.

[@Popsori]

I think that Attrakt won't give up Keena, since she'll be the main star to build around new Fifty Fifty. But even if Warner Music Korea absorbed the original 3 members + Keena, the problem is that the other 3 members' reputation has been destroyed. I don't think it's switching up management that will revive Fifty Fifty. The other 3 members would have to regain the favor of the Korean public. While the group could go overseas and skip the domestic, Korean market, there's a big problem. As of now, there's been no K-pop group yet that's been successful overseas, but cancelled in their native Korea. Because of this, the 3 members' chances of rebounding, without first repairing their image, seems quite low.

[@ferivertid]

this situation is now as clear as day and still people on twitter are still throwing shade at the company i hate western culture

[@gravy9gravy]

I have a slightly different take. When Keena went back, she had a new lawyer. One who specializes in artist-agency accounting suits. It was shortly thereafter that some of the streaming money was released. So, I think the financial suit is being settled. Remember it was only an injunction that was denied, which does not really reflect poorly on the underlying case. Since Aran, Sio, and Saena have been released, however, the contract case is now moot. It kind of seems like everyone got what they wanted... As for Attrakt, they really only have themselves to blame. It was the company that canceled Barbie and KCon. It was the company that dragged the girls reputation. It was the company that hid the money in the shell company. Just play it out in court.They would be wise to try to make peace with the other 3. Warners was acting in good faith and feels burned by the fall out. It was Warners interest in buying the group that sparked all the drama. It was Warners that put the lousy album out, for a reason. As for Aran, Sio and Saena, they'll be ok. They were smart to trademark their names, they're out of debt and have a good payday coming. Western companies won't blacklist artists, but they might blacklist companies. Someone will sign the trio, and US will listen. Maybe call them 'BL4CKpinkL1ST3D' or 'BANN3DinK0R3A'. Seriously though, I think the company will realize replacement 5050 isn't going to be the same, and try to re-sign the others or sell the group to Warners and start something totally new.

[@Popsori]

Those are some good points you brought up. I do think that Attrakt should try to settle with the other three girls and make peace. I think the longer this drama goes on, the further the company and "new Fifty Fifty" will be mirred in the controversy. The damage to the other three girls has already been done, as right now, Korean public opinion is quite negative on them. With that said, I do hope the three girls can bounce back. Like you said, they have their trademark names. But they may have to go West to continue their careers, since Western companies and fans are a lot more forgiving. Having them named 'BL4CKpinkL1ST3D' or 'BANN3DinK0R3A' would be funny lol. But seriously, 50-50 won't be the same. I can see Attrakt trying to angle it like Brave Girls or Blackswan, where there's a rotation of members. I don't think Attrakt will sell the group to Warner though, since the company and Keena has some clout. Many Koreans may root for "new Fifty Fifty" since they felt bad for Attrakt and are interested in Keena's comeback arc.

[@gravy9gravy]

​@@Popsori Yeah.. I’m pretty proud of BL4CKpinkL1ST3D. I should trademark. The first thing Keena said in her post return interview was something to the effect of that while she supported the rights of artists, she felt it wasn’t her fight against long standing industry practice… She hit the nail right on the head. I admire Keena and really do hope she finds something good. Seeing her do ‘What’s in my bag’ alone made me pretty sad though. Then there’s Siahn. Even by the company narrative, he was responsible for every aspect of the group’s production and success. When Cupid was breaking on US radio, Siahn gave a US magazine interview, in which he talked about how Korean artist contracts largely prevented US success. And it’s true, US companies can’t touch child or indentured labor, etc, (i.e. the standard Korean contract).. I think Siahn misrepresented the contracts to WB who signed on as distributer, and the whole thing blew up when Cupid somehow became a radio hit… With a bullet… Forgery is definitely uncool and I hope he does time for that, but he's good at his job. Anyway, I hope I don’t hear much more until the court cases get sorted out. I saw the company lawyer’s recent statement about the newly filed counterclaim. Indicates to me the group is standing firm in their case. God bless them. Their redemption arc may be long, but they’re so young. As discussed, America, because of the cultural differences, doesn’t relate very well to Kpop idols or groups... until now. The more that Korea fights them or blacklists them, the more that American companies and artists will embrace them. It says it right there on the Statue of Liberty. 'Give me your poor, your tired, your blacklisted Kpop stars, yearning to breathe free'. It'll be interesting to see where everyone is 3 years from now. Cheers!

[@Popsori]

I will give Siahn props for managing and marketing Fifty Fifty well. I think if he stayed the course and didn't go behind the girls' backs, their parents' backs, the Swedish music writers, and ATTRAKT, he could have been one of the biggest producers in the K-pop industry. Yet, all his crimes caught up with him and it destroyed both him and Fifty Fifty. I think greed, money, and ego really killed Siahn in the end. As for the other 3 members succeeding in America, I'm not so sure about that. While K-pop groups don't need to be wildly popular in Korea to be successful, I don't know any group that's been cancelled in Korea that's been successful in the West. Understanding Korean culture plays a big part why the group isn't being well-received right now, minus Keena, of course. The other 3 members need to resolve their lawsuit with ATTRAKT and will have to apologize to their former label to salvage their career. Only after they resolve all the lawsuits and regain the Korean public's favor can the other 3 members make their own comeback. In the end, I do hope the 3 members can rebound and do well in the future. Siahn really screwed over Fifty Fifty and I do think the 3 members deserve another shot.

[@yerinanon]

The givers wanted attrakt to continue the promotions so it can gives the 3 jeong evidence of abused and mistreatment but he didn't instead he give them 2 month break

[@gravy9gravy]

@@Popsori I just got the Fifty-Fifty CD from Amazon. The booklet is worse than I imagined, so bad it's good. It's nice having all the different versions on the disk. Sio and Keena photo cards. I still wonder who sabotaged the booklet and why. Apple Music doesn't recognize the disc... I think it will good for everybody if Siahn gets charged, or cleared for anything illegal. I went through a lot of the old interviews and articles. In hindsight, there's a lot of clues. I guess up next is the replacement group. Interesting to see how they approach it. Glad to see the other three laying low for now. They'll say the right thing when the time comes.

[@keena5050]

I love keena ❤️😭

[@cloutgoblinswillingminion4824]

sorry but didn't the album come out after the lawsuit was filed? Didn't most people understand that this was just released because it had to be. Kind of stupid to buy it at that point. I also don't think most westerners were behind them. International fans, maybe, but not specifically westerners. My tl was full of people calling them greedy and stupid for doing this over one song with no real fanbase. Even Keena didnt go back until she lost money. This is not a story about scrappy girls with a dream, it's about money and business and that's fine. 🤷

[@Popsori]

Right, the album did come out after the lawsuit was filed earlier in 2023. There's a discussion in the comments touching on this, where a commenter lays the blame solely on The Givers. The short of it is I blame all three: The Givers, ATTRAKT, and Warner Music Korea for the US album disaster. Check out the comment thread if you're curious. As for most Westerners being behind Fifty Fifty when the lawsuit first broke out in mid-2023, I think it really depends which timelines you saw during that time. On Twitter/X, the vast majority, around 80%+, of Westerners within the first week were crucifying ATTRAKT and already saying The Givers and the girls were in the right. On Reddit, it was about 60%+ of Westerners supporting The Givers / Fifty Fifty. The comment snippets against ATTRAKT that you saw in the video I found within the first 10 seconds on X and Reddit, showing just how many Westerners were "hate K-pop label / believe idols" at face value. But on KZbin, opinion was more split, with more Westerners actually siding with ATTRAKT and blaming The Givers / Fifty Fifty. Then on Korean websites, it was the total opposite. Nearly all, around 90%+, sided with ATTRAKT. Of course, as the lawsuit went on and more details were revealed, a lot more Westerners started to side with ATTRAKT and question The Givers / Fifty Fifty. I do agree that the story, in the end, was about money and business. I think the girls, minus Keena, picked the wrong side (The Givers) to go with. EDITS: Grammar

[@Popsori]

True, in that there's a lot of international fans that speak English as either their primary language or as an ESL. Examples of English being their primary language are Singapore and the Philippines, as English is one of the national languages in those countries. After moving back to the US from Korea, I'm used to hearing the Western take a lot more than international fans, where a lot of them insert their Western ideals, believe anything on X/Twitter, and forget how Korean / international culture works. This gives me a lot of reverse culture shock, as I think this is weird. So when I hear an English-speaking international fan actually using logic or not reacting to gossip/news right away, it surprises me. I do like how international fans are, in general, a lot more grounded and logical. In any case, I should differentiate more between international fans (non-Western) and Western fans a lot better. Thanks for the calling this out :)

[@ATWTMVTVFTVSGAVRALPS]

I just have this feeling that Keena might eventually leave or have her contract terminated

[@tecnine23]

Rip

[@toester1181]

The poor packaging album released was the work product of the Givers. Attackt & Warner USA signed contract in May. SiAhn refused to give the album packaging media file, which was paid by Attackt & Givers/SiAhn was under contract. After weeks of hounding demanding the design project file, Givers finally gave to Attackt 2 days before the production date. This happened in June, the same time frame as the 5050 took Attackt to court. Please update your info regarding this part of the news.

[@Popsori]

Sure, The Givers also had a hand in the poor packaging. It's horrible to see The Givers give ATTRAKT 2 days notice before the release date. That's quite unprofessional. With that said, ATTRAKT & Warner knowing the final product was bad and still going through with the release is their fault as well. To avoid the backlash, ATTRAKT & Warner could have notified the fans, been transparent, and said The Givers released a horrible product. The two labels should have told fans that the US release would have to be delayed to make a better product. Then the labels would show the empty pages that the US fans showed on social media to prove the point. This would have both met contract obligations and showed good faith to the international fans. In the end, all three of them are at fault. EDIT: Grammar edits

[@jym4119]

@@Popsori xian has banned others from accessing it.

[@Popsori]

Hmmm.. if Siahn banned ATTRAKT & Warner for accessing the album just before its release to the US (like less than 24 hours), then I can see it being Siahn and The Givers fault entirely. But if ATTRAKT & Warner had a few days notice of the album's poor state, they could have sent an emergency social media post to show why it's The Giver's fault. Then they could have delayed the album's shipment, as stated in my last response.

[@jym4119]

@@Popsori I am not good at English. So I use Google Translate. The album design was led by THEGIVERS. The design company already has experience collaborating with KPOP idols such as MAMAMOO. XIAN did not even give JHJ a chance to inspect it in advance. Because XIAN was confident in the quality of the album design, JHJ had no choice but to trust and wait. At that time, JHJ was looking for an opportunity to avoid a crisis. He didn't have time to worry about the album.

[@wildfire160]

As Attrakt had little contact with Warners i`d be very surprised if the packaging fiasco wasn't all on The Givers...hell there was so little contact with Warners that Attrakt didn't even know the investment they were after from them had been put to Warners as a buy out of the group not an investment by The Givers...

[@goldzilla526]

If they come to Indonesia, they'll become super famous here..😄

[@SteveWinland]

What did the girls claim Attrakt was doing to neglect them that was so terrible?

[@ForeverForty]

1:27 Wrong. Even if Fifty Fifty didn't break up and was still going strong up to this day, they still had no chance for SOTY in any Korean music award shows in 2023. The success of the song is not as huge in Korea compared to how it was received internationally. It only peaked at no. 10 in Melon charts and didn't last long inside the top 100.

[@Popsori]

Sure, I do agree the song wasn't as huge in Korea compared to internationally, as you said, it peaked at no. 10. I do think it had an outside shot of being among the nominees of SOTY. With that said, several people within the music industry that I talked to also thought it had a shot at SOTY, if not "new song of the year" or "rookie group of the year" awards.

[@ForeverForty]

@@Popsori It still didn't have a shot. If you checked it out since all 2023 Korean music awards are already done, Cupid was not nominated for SOTY in any of the big 4 Korean awards (MAMA, MMA, GDA, KMA). In fact, it wasn't nominated for SOTY from any Korean award giving body for music. Peaking at top 10 in Melon may look "good" but it isn't enough to get a SOTY nomination. In most Korean awards, especially the major ones, usual contenders of SOTY are either consistently no. 1 in all charts or within the top 3 for months. Korean music is a lot more competitive than what you think. Also, there's no such thing as "New Song of the Year" because obviously, each song nominated for that category every year is new 😂😂 Rookie of the Year awards are rather based on the overall artist's performance within the eligibility period and not just for a particular song.

[@Popsori]

I'm not saying the song would have won SOTY. I'm saying it had an outside shot when it was at its peak, and actually agree with you that it wouldn't have won. I'm telling you that a lot of insiders - yes, actually people that work in the industry - predicted it had a decent shot at SOTY. We just don't look at sales (although it's a big part), but a song's impact and reaction in the general public. In the end, of course, it didn't. Like you said, top 10 in Melon just isn't good enough to get a nomination. You are right on "new song of the year" too mishap, as "song of the year" are all technically new songs. That was a simple miswording on my part. Oops! 😂😂 You hit some great points with your replies. The only one I was iffy on is: "Korean music is a lot more competitive than what you think." It sounds like you're new here, but I actually work in industry and lived in Korea for 11 years. It's an oversight many newcomers to this channel have when we debate. I know you weren't trying to be mean on this, just pointing out a fact (K-pop is competitive as hell!) Other than that, I do appreciate you for your comments and breaking down why "Cupid" wouldn't be SOTY. Thanks for that!

[@ForeverForty]

@@Popsori If you got triggered about what I said regarding "Korean music is a lot more competitive than you think", I just had an impression that you may not know enough on how Korean music award shows work and I'm not saying this to offend you. I'm just a very straightforward person. With what you said about "a lot of insiders predictions" that, "We just don't look at sales but a song's impact and reaction in general public". If I may ask, did those insiders even bother to look at the criteria of these Korean music award shows to factor in with their "predictions"? Because FYI, aside from KMA, all other major 3 awards, MAMA, MMA, and GDA are heavily based on sales/voting. About 80% of their awards, especially the major ones, are mostly based on digitals and/or fan voting. If these "insiders" didn't factor it in, then I guess their prediction is not really a prediction but rather, a subjective opinion. Regardless if they consider a "song's impact" or "reaction in general public", if they didn't use the criteria, then the "prediction" is useless. Most Korean music award shows are numbers-based. Only a few of them works like the Grammys which are opinions-based. And sorry, I'm just not easily swayed or impressed about connections with "industry insiders" or what not if I know the context of what I'm talking about. And truthfully, this may sound harsh again but your 11 years living in Korea or your experience in the industry is not necessarily relevant on what you know about how Korean music award shows work. But I'm not diminishing everything that you know. I mean, how can I do that? I don't even know you 😂It's just that, no matter how you long you are in an industry, you may still not know everything about it.

[@Popsori]

I wouldn't say triggered, but more tired of some commentors (not you, based on our conversations, but others) that try to prove the content creator wrong, rather than have a good discussion. I get several of these every week via on KZbin or emails, so it's hard to differentiate who's wanting to have a good conversation and who's there to troll. If you ask any content creator and they'll likely say the same. With that said, I do apologize if I sounded like I was aggro at first. I also like that you're very straightforward, for thank you for that. As for your question about "insider's predictions," they all know the music award show factors. Their predictions came before the whole 50-50 scandal. While I do agree with you that even if the group didn't have said scandal, they wouldn't have cracked the top 10 in sales, it did look a bit promising at first, especially in the West. As you know, it's hard to predict which groups will post huge numbers and win the big awards in the end. A lot of times, the insiders get it right. But they also whiff on a lot of predictions too. You're right that working in the industry alone doesn't mean we know everything. That's true. I mention my industry experience not to impress you, but rather, some fans (not you again, but others) try and talk down to a content creator. The truth is that fans and industry insiders should work together, since we both have information gaps. I think a lot of industry people lean on fans to learn about the fandom, what's popular in the fandom, and other details that only a hardcore fan of a particular group would know. Since people in the industry often just look at sales and other numbers and don't talk to fans directly, we often miss a lot of what fans think, popular trends, and their pain points (such as dynamic pricing). In turn, a lot of fans don't know the metrics, numbers, and what producers, CEOs, and marketers think about the industry. The under-the-hood numbers outside of the vanity metrics of sales, listens, and MV views. If a group is actually popular within the general public in Korea or not. The decisions that actually drive a successful group. That's why nearly all industry people vastly prefer the Korean Music Awards (KMAs) over the other three major award shows you listed, since the KMAs are solely decided on professionals and not numbers. In short, I think it takes both the fans and the industry people to learn more about K-pop.

[@KnDtn]

Tell that to Soojin, they got her to leave and she was not at fault.

[@canopyfields]

How can a person weigh 1.38 Kg? Are they Antman? 🤣

[@frogman1055]

He ment to say: Saena at one point in time, her weight dropped down to 39 kilograms or 86 pounds. What he actually said was "Saena at one point, weighted 39 kilograms or 85 pounds" not what you heard of 1.39 kilograms. Listen to his sentence statement.

[@TwinCitiesOxygen]

New group shouldn’t be called fifty fifty. Sio amd Aran are the voice of fifty fifty. Do you think they will find any work in Korea after this?

[@Popsori]

It's possible, since Sio and Aran are talented. But I do think it will be quite difficult to recover from this, as unless they apologize and stop trying to sue ATTRAKT, most Koreans won't forgive them. There's also ATTRAKT trying to now sue them as well, so that needs to be resolved as well. I think right now, it will be difficult for them to turn their careers around in Korea. As for trying to make a career overseas, that will be difficult too. I know there's some fans are suggesting this, since they no longer have support in Korea. Yet, I think that only works with established idol groups, such as ATEEZ, who are quite big in the West. The other girls weren't established, since they were new, they can't even use the Fifty Fifty name anymore and most fans only knew them for their song. Overall, whether they're trying to make a career in Korea or in the West, it will prove exceedingly difficult to do so.

[@jym4119]

You continued to demand that Sio amd Aran's contract be terminated. What is the problem. 50 50 is from attrakt. Why do you ask for the group name when you say you are terminating the contract because of abuse?

[@luffykun9466]

i love three members , hope they come back .

[@xD-so8fy]

Do you think that if some of the girls came back as a soloist or with an agency, they would receive hate? Certainly Aran's voice has a lot of potential.One of my favorites

[@Popsori]

I think they may sadly receive hate. Right now, the other three girls, save Keena, are quite unpopular after rebelling against ATTRAKT. I do think Aran and others have potential, but for the other girls to be successful, they'll need to repent and ask for forgiveness from the Korean public.

[@xD-so8fy]

@@Popsori I hope everything goes well in the end. Thanks for responding.

[@ColumbusMaine]

I DON'T want a new Fifty-Fifty. I want the original group to get back together and continue onward and upward.

[@Popsori]

I was hoping this too, but I think that chance has passed. As soon as Keena went back to ATTRAKT, but the other three girls continued to double-down, it sealed their fates. It's quite unfortunate, since the girls were doing great things in the K-pop industry until the lawsuit.

[@stuguy2]

50\50 ONE HIT WONDER....RIP 50\50

[@WaitingForTheHook]

Loved Fifty Fifty, Loved the girls, but no, Ditto was *always* going to win song of the year.

[@Popsori]

I can't argue that. NewJeans dominated in 2023.

[@KrisC849]

I feel like ditto wasn’t that popular globally though, maybe in Korea but Cupid was way more international.

[@Mr-incredrible]

Thank you so much for this video❤🤍 it's still sad that a lot of international fans still don't know that The Givers are the real bad guy 😢