FIFTY FIFTY “Too Much Part 1”
Attrakt Entertainment
K-pop group FIFTY FIFTY loves their candy. So much so, one of the songs off their new digital single is called “Skittlez.”
Calling in from the ATTRAKT offices in Seoul, the members – Keena, Chanelle Moon, Yewon, Hana, and Athena – laugh, thinking about their favorite Skittles, torn between their preference for the color or the flavor. Chanelle Moon says the yellow one because “I just love lemons.”
“I think red because I choose red a lot,” Athena responds, but then remembers. “I love strawberries.”
Yewon and Keena both call out purple. They looked at each other, as if one of them had to change their answer. When they’re told it’s okay to both like the purple ones, they both smile, and say purple, as it’s their favorite color and flavor.
Hana, who was unable to attend the interview due to feeling ill, was given a color by her members. Chanelle Moon suggests green. Athena agrees, “She’s so sweet like a sweet apple.”
Since their debut in 2022, the K-pop group FIFTY FIFTY has faced numerous changes and challenges. The initial four-member group achieved success early with their 2023 hit single, “Cupid,” which peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was featured in the Academy-nominated film, Barbie.
After a few internal contract disputes and settlements, FIFTY FIFTY relaunched with a new lineup with original member Keena, and added Chanelle Moon, Yewon, Hana, and Athena in August 2024. Their EP, Love Tune, introduced the re-debuted group to the world, showcasing their charm and upbeat vocals to their fandom, TWENY. Their pre-release track, “Starry Night,” was produced by EJAE, the vocalist of Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters – something the members found very cool.
“We talked about this,” Chanelle Moon says over Zoom from Seoul. “EJAE, who is the singer for Rumi, was one of our producers for our song! I remember when I was listening to the music and saw her name, which seemed so familiar, and I remembered that voice. That’s when I remembered she was one of our producers for the pre-release song! That was really crazy to see there was a connection there! We love the movie.”
The quintet released another EP, Day & Night, earlier this year, which showcased contrasting concepts – one that is light and summery, like the day, and another more dreamlike, representing the night.
With their latest digital single release, Too Much Part 1, the group focuses on the concept of first love, as told through songs based on childhood games (“Eeny Meeny Miny Moe”) and their favorite candy (“Skittlez”).
Below, the girls talk about their new digital single, their whimsical music video for “Eeny Meeny Miney Moe,” and their goals for the new year.
FIFTY FIFTY TOO MUCH PART 1
Attrakt Entertainment
Laura Sirikul: How are you guys doing? How are you feeling about the reaction to the new digital single album?
Chanelle Moon: That is a tough one, because there are so many feelings going on. We’re excited and a little bit nervous. We are just ready to get out there for everybody. We’re experiencing so many emotions all at once. We’re excited to showcase both the new side and bring the music that our fans usually enjoy as well.
Sirikul: What can you tell me about the concepts (outfits, photoshoots, set design) from this album?
Yewon: Part 1 is about the beginning of a first love and that experience you go through where you feel [flustered], nervous, and all of these emotions. But rather than treating it with a heavy feeling, we made it witty and playful by comparing it to a childhood game like rock, paper, scissors, giving it that unexpected – you don’t know what’s going to happen – kind of energy, which is translated into FIFTY FIFTY’s colors and vibes.
Chanelle Moon: It’s those first loves, fluttery, nervous feelings. We wanted to express those feelings with [games] in “Eeny Meeny Miney Moe” and take those childish kind of feelings into “Skittlez.” First love comes with all that fun and excitement, and we wanted to stamp that message in with “Skittlez.” We wanted the message to be like Skittles, with a variety of colors and flavors to represent the different kinds of love – how everybody can have their own way of expressing themselves. It was a shout-out to all of those various loves, especially the LGBTQ+ community as well.
Sirikul: We often hear the word “Too Much” as a woman, because people can say it negatively, like you’re “too much.” But here, you use it differently. What does “Too Much” mean to you?
Keena: When you hear those words “Too Much,” it’s not always negative. However, rather than that, we wanted to convey the fullness and fulfillment of various options in a positive light. With this digital single, we aimed to highlight the positive aspects of “Too Much,” which can also be a very good thing. With that comes a diverse, wide spectrum of colors of love and all that comes with it. That’s what we try to portray through this release.
Sirikul: Why is it Part 1? Since Part 1 is about first love experiences, will Part 2 be the heartbreak from that? What can we expect from Part 2?
Athena: You can expect a lot of different sides of us – another side of us that you haven’t seen before. Because it’s a half-half (FIFTY FIFTY) concept, you’re going to see a different side of us that we haven’t shown before. I hope you guys can look forward to it.
Chanelle Moon: We can’t hint too much. This album was fluttery, with little feelings and joyful vibes. We’re going to go a little bit darker.
Sirikul: How would you say this digital single represents your journey you’ve all been on as a group?
Chanelle Moon: It’s like another start for us. Just like with first loves, that kind of happiness and feelings you got from our album, we really wanted to express that with our new start.
Sirikul: Is there a favorite song or lyric from the album that you feel closely connected to?
Yewon: There are the lyrics in “Eeny Meeny Miney Moe” that are directly translated to “Don’t hide anything. Just tell it as it is. Tell it all. Be honest with your feelings. Tell me how you feel without hiding anything.” That’s my favorite line in the song.
Keena: In “Skittlez,” there is a part where I go, “red and blue are our colors. Our unique colors.” When I said that line during the recording process, it was something I really liked and enjoyed.
Sirikul: Let’s talk about the music video “Eeny Meeny Miny Moe”. It’s so pretty and whimsical. What is the meaning of the music video? What was your favorite aspect of it?
Chanelle Moon: I’m not sure if you caught it, but there are various acts. Instead of the idea of being “too much,” we wanted to expand on the game of rock, paper, scissors, so each of us got a character. For example, there’s the Queen of Ratios (Hana), and then we have the Lucky Girl (Keena), who can see the future. She has psychic abilities. We wanted to make the game more filled with kid-curiosity and expand it. We used [our character], Pookie, to express our first love, because [our previous song] “Pookie” is also about the concept of love. It’s just to show that childish vibe to the song.
Sirikul: Oh yeah, Pookie had amazing hair in this video.
Chanelle Moon: Wow! His hair is better than mine. [laughs]
Yewon: In the music video, there’s a part-time worker who is wearing the Pookie costume. Then, it shoots to the members who are tapped to turn around and fall back. That was a very funny scene. All the members were acting and trying to express the comedic part of it. It came out really well.
Sirikul: It has been one year since your relaunch/re-debut as a group. What lessons have you learned from each other or yourself as an artist and a group?
Chanelle Moon: I realized how precious my members are to me over the past year. It’s been over a year since we were together before our debut. But we all really realized how persistent each of us in this group is, and how genuine, determined, and connected we are about our goals and love for the music.
Athena: Also, we’re all in together. Like Chanelle Moon said, I realized how precious we are to each other, and we need each other to keep going forward and to improve as individuals, too. They sometimes know you better than you know yourself, which has helped a lot with self-improvement.
Sirikul: How would you say your goals for yourself and as a group changed throughout this time?
Athena: The big change for me was that before, I wanted to be an artist and sing to the world, producing my own music and everything. That was a goal for me. But my goals have changed now. It’s the same goal, but it’s a different approach to achieving it. It’s not like, ‘Oh, I want to be like this.’ It’s more for me to [reach my goal], I want to become better at singing or dancing.’ Baby steps. I look into the future and practice things that I’m lacking right now so that I can one day [achieve] those goals.
Keena: In the big picture, my goals and dreams haven’t really changed. It’s always been my dream to become an artist who performs on stage, and we can create music for a long time. That remains my dream to this day. Like the title of our digital single, Too Much, my goals [are the same] – to deliver and create music that is very diverse and different, there’s no limit in terms of genre and sound when it comes to music.
Sirikul: You did your World Tour last year, visiting the U.S., and Chanelle Moon’s hometown of Los Angeles! When can we expect to see you again?
Chanelle Moon: As soon as possible! We want to go back to LA and give a performance. To do another concert and perform live is a personal wish of mine that all the girls can also agree on. We definitely want to perform on stage – and cheer for the Dodgers!
FIFTY FIFTY’s digital single album, Too Much Part 1, is available on all streaming platforms. Physical albums can be purchased at select retailers.