This is How FIFTY FIFTY Beat NewJeans' Billboard Record Despite Being 'Underrated'
Despite coming from a small-sized company, FIFTY FIFTY shockingly conquered the US Billboard with no local promotions– even beating the feat of the "hottest 4th-gen girl group" NewJeans! How did they become popular among global fans?
FIFTY FIFTY Is Now Fastest K-pop Group To Enter Billboard Hot 100, Beating NewJeans
On March 28, Billboard, the largest music chart in the world shocked K-pop fans after announcing that FIFTY FIFTY entered "Hot 100."
On this day, Billboard's official Twitter released a post certifying that FIFTY FIFTY's first single title track, "Cupid" belatedly entered the main single chart, "Hot 100."
Aside from this being their first time to enter the popular song rankings, this is such a huge achievement for the team as well since they achieved such a feat in just four months after their debut on November 18, 2022, without local promotions.
With this, they took the sit of the fastest Korean group to enter Billboard Hot 100 from NewJeans, who entered the chart six months after their launch, with its hit track, "Ditto."
FIFTY FIFTY now joined the few K-pop acts to enter the popular chart, standing along with Wonder Girls, BTS, BLACKPINK, TWICE and NewJeans.
Here Are Reasons FIFTY FIFTY Is Garnering Attention From US Fans
Looking at the K-pop groups in the list, all of them were widely famous around the world, especially in South Korea. The aforementioned teams all came from the biggest K-pop agencies as well, such as HYBE, JYP, and YG. Lastly, most of them already built their respective and stable fandoms in the US through concerts and promotions, thus, their strengthened fame.
However, FIFTY FIFTY has neither of the three. Then, how did they conquer and create a K-pop sensation in the US alone?
Initially, FIFTY FIFTY who dropped their debut single album, "THE FIFTY" didn't produce a massive impact in South Korea, but they became recognized by music fans after their songs including "Higher" and "Lovin' Me" went viral on the short-form video platform, TikTok.
Eventually, its song, "Cupid" earned similar attention, and ultimately became a trending dance challenge, especially between couples.
In particular, considering that most of the comments are in English, it is revealed that their music is drawing particular attention in the British and American regions.
The dominant analysis is that the factor of FIFTY FIFTY's overseas popularity is just "good music," regardless of their popularity in Korea and their agency.
Park Joon Woo, a music critic told SPOTV News:
"FIFTY FIFTY's music is more pop-colored than K-pop. It is more simple and has a stronger melody than K-pop, which has a lot of composition."
The music critic pointed out that it is close to North American taste and added:
"In North America, music that refers to past pop music in the 80s and 00s continues to be well-referenced, and FIFTY FIFTY's music also seems to stimulate nostalgia in the past. Just as NewJeans previously matched the mood and timing of the music market, FIFTY FIFTY seems to be responding in a similar context.
"In the end, music is important."
JTBC News also added:
"The decisive reason why FIFTY FIFTY was able to enter the Billboard main chart even though it did not carry out local promotions is that the "Easy-listening genre" strategy fits. Since the debut album "THE FIFTY," the judgment was effective in pushing with a high-teen-sentimental pop that excluded high-pitched sounds and relieved excessive techniques."
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Written by Eunice Dawson.
