'Dispatch' breaks down the relationship between FIFTY FIFTY, Jeon Hong Joon of ATTRAKT, & Ahn Sung Il of The Givers

In a new exclusive published on July 4 KST, media outlet Dispatch broke down the process through which the girl group FIFTY FIFTY was created by the hands of Jeon Hong Joon and Ahn Sung Il.

◆ How did FIFTY FIFTY begin?

According to Dispatch, three key figures were involved at the beginning: Jeon Hong Joon, Ahn Sung Il, and KAMP. 

1) Jeon Hong Joon is the founder of ATTRAKT. Born in 1964, he has management experience working with musicians such as Jo Kwan Woo, Yang Soo Kyung, Yoon Mi Rae, Bobby Kim, and Ha Sung Woon.

2) Ahn Sung Il is the CEO and chief producer of The Givers. He is known to have produced music for J-Walk, Eun Ji Won, Rumble Fish, etc. Singer Son Seung Yeon (Sonnet Son) is currently an artist signed with The Givers. 

3) KAMP is a concert management agency based in the United States. It is known for hosting numerous K-Pop music festivals overseas. It is managed by CEO 'K'. Ahn Sung Il was an employee at KAMP in 2019. 

These three figures came together in 2019 at 'KAMP Singapore 2019'. Jeon Hong Joon was enamored by the power of K-Pop, and suggested to 'K' of KAMP, "Let's create a global K-Pop group."

The 'FIFTY Project' officially launched in November of 2019. "Jeon Hong Joon suggested the girl group project. KAMP decided to assist with global marketing. It just so turned out that one of our employees, Ahn Sung Il, had a background in producing, so [KAMP] sent him over to oversee the project at ATTRAKT. He was still an employee receiving pay from KAMP at that time," one insider told Dispatch. Alongside Ahn Sung Il, employees 'B' and 'L' of KAMP were also assigned to the 'FIFTY Project'. 

◆ Who formed the group FIFTY FIFTY?

Jeon Hong Joon began recruiting trainees from December of 2019 through the end of 2020. 12 trainees (2020) → 5 trainees (2021) → 4 trainees (2022). The number of trainees were cut down through monthly evaluations.

Overseas partners from KAMP participated in the monthly evaluations twice, exercising input in the team's formation. However, in January of 2021, KAMP stepped down from the 'FIFTY Project' after a disagreement with Jeon Hong Joon. With KAMP no longer involved, Jeon Hong Joon sought another agency willing to be involved in overseas promotions. 

In May of 2021, Ahn Sung Il, 'B', and 'L' resigned from KAMP. Shortly afterward, they founded The Givers.

Jeon Hong Joon told Dispatch, "I was looking for a team that would take over the role KAMP had played in the project. Ahn Sung Il said that he was my man. When I considered the tie-in from KAMP, I had no reason to reject his offer."

◆ Who nurtured FIFTY FIFTY's skills and talents?

Jeon Hong Joon was in charge of handling costs and securing investment. As PD, Ahn Sung Il was in charge of training the members.

On average, it costs about 2 billion KRW (~ $1.5 million USD) per year to produce a girl group. 

"But I didn't want my artists to feel small. I got them a dorm in Gangnam. 3 rooms, 2 bathrooms. The rent was ~ $2,075 (USD) a month. I hired them instructors for every area they needed training in." According to Jeon Hong Joon, FIFTY FIFTY received lessons in vocals, music theory, rap, dance, English, health and fitness, and even acting. The lesson fees amounted to ~ $23,000 (USD) per month. 

Jeon Hong Joon invested over 1 billion KRW (~ $770,000 USD) in MV production alone. Ahn Sung Il PD called the shots on how these MVs would be produced, while Jeon Hong Joon did his best to pay for the costs. Altogether, the cost to produce MVs for "Higher", "Tell Me", "Lovin' Me", and "Log In" was over 500 million KRW. The cost to produce the "Cupid" MV alone was 250 million KRW. As previously reported, Jeon Hong Joon put up with the costs by selling his imported car, his luxury items, and even cracking into his retirement. 

Finally, FIFTY FIFTY debuted in November of 2022.

◆ Who was responsible for FIFTY FIFTY's success?

In April of 2023, FIFTY FIFTY entered Billboard's 'Hot 100' with "Cupid". It remained on the chart for 14 weeks, the longest record for any K-Pop girl group in history. 

Following FIFTY FIFTY's success, the members collectively gave a shoutout to "Si Ahn PD-nim". The nickname is short for Sung-Il Ahn.

Ahn Sung Il PD himself also credits some of the success of "Cupid" to his producing skills. "It had to have K-Pop as its base. But at the same time, a song that people wouldn't immediately recognize as K-Pop." 

In fact, "Cupid" was composed by Adam Von Mentzer, Mac Fellnder-Tsai, and Louise Udin, students at a music school in Sweden. Ahn Sung Il took this song and rearranged it to have a K-Pop quality. 

◆ Who profited from FIFTY FIFTY's success?

Based on the registered copyrights to "Cupid", SIAHN (Ahn Sung Il) holds 28.65%, 'B' holds 4%, Song Ja Kyung (Keena) 0.5%, and The Givers 66.85%. The Swedish music school students are not listed as composers of "Cupid". 

Dispatch has confirmed that Ahn Sung Il bought out "Cupid" from the Swedish music school students at $9,000 USD. In turn, the PD will profit nearly 95.5% (28.65% + 66.85%) in royalties from its plays and downloads.

◆ Who attempted to poach FIFTY FIFTY?

Jeon Hong Joon's biggest mistake was putting 110% of his trust in The Givers. For example, employee 'B' of The Givers was in charge of managing the members, including communicating with their parents. 

'B' was the one who delivered updates on Aran's surgery, and also the one who suggested that the FIFTY FIFTY members all receive a vacation for about 2 weeks from May 10 ~ 28, while Aran recovered from her procedure. Jeon Hong Joon felt uneasy about the long vacation at first, but agreed to give the members a break until May 25 after 'B's convincing. 

According to the Kakao Talk messages exchanged between Jeon Hong Joon and Ahn Sung Il above:

Jeon Hong Joon - "The exact diagnosis? How did the surgery go? Are the employees communicating well with the members' parents? So that they do not feel uneasy. I prayed this morning as well! For it to go well." 

Ahn Sung Il - "Yes. The surgery is scheduled as the fourth procedure of the day. 'B' is in charge of handling communication with the parents, but yesterday I personally spoke with [Aran's] mother. There's no need to reveal the exact diagnosis, I plan on specifying just the location where the physical issue is, and that [Aran] underwent surgery for it. After the surgery concludes, [she] will post a photo [for the fans]."

Finally, Jeon Hong Joon said through tears, "My blind trust in The Givers was the cause of my ruin. When I asked if I could visit the practice room, 'B' would say that 'The members do not feel comfortable with you there'. I didn't want to interfere with their practice, so I decided not to go. But how I wanted to go see them in-person!"

Jeon Hong Joon will attend a court hearing to determine the validity of FIFTY FIFTY's exclusive contract with ATTRAKT on July 5 KST.