Pop Group Replaces 3 of Its 4 Members

FIFTY FIFTY is continuing as a group with "three new members," according to their agency Attrakt. K-pop agency Attrakt announced on Nov. 2 that they would be adding three new members to their K-pop girl group. This news came in the wake of a long-running legal battle with original members Saena, Sio, and Aran, all of whom have since had their contracts with the agency terminated.

"We plan to reorganize FIFTY FIFTY centring around Keena, who recently returned [to the agency]. We will recruit three new members and form a four-member group," the agency said per Newsen, as translated by Soompi. As of publication, the agency had not specified when it intends to reintroduce the group.

The five-member group FIFTY FIFTY made its debut with the line-up of Saena, Sio, Keena, and Aran in November 2022 with their mini-album The Fifty. FIFTY FIFTY then returned to the limelight in February 2023 with the single "Cupid," which later went viral on TikTok, catapulting the band into international stardom.

It was reported in June 2023 that all four group members filed to suspend their contracts with Attrakt, claiming that the agency had violated the terms of their exclusive contract. As a result of these statements, Attrakt released a number of statements claiming that "Cupid" producers The Givers, headed by producer Ahn Sung-il, had been trying to poach the group at that time.

According to reports from Korea JoongAng Daily, Ahn has brought a defamation suit against Attrakt CEO Oscar Chun, claiming that Chun "continuously made defamatory allegations without evidence against Ahn Sung-il […] through various media outlets since the dispute." The Seoul central district court denied the group's request to suspend their contracts in August, though they immediately appealed the decision. Keena returned to the agency last month after withdrawing her appeal.

Later on, Attrakt announced that the company had terminated its contracts with Saena, Sio, and Aran, alleging it was on the grounds that the three had failed to "show remorse for violating their contract" and revealing that it would be "reorganizing" the group with Keena.

Following the announcement of that decision (Oct. 29), Attrakt has confirmed that Keena will be attending the 2023 Billboard Music Awards this November to represent FIFTY FIFTY. The girl group is nominated for Top Duo/Group and Top Global K-pop Song with their hit single "Cupid." 

One of the last songs the girl group released as its original quartet was "Barbie Dreams," featuring rapper Kaliii, which was included on the soundtrack for the Barbie movie released in July.