K-pop quartet Fifty Fifty are currently sitting pretty on the Billboard Hot 100 and Spotify's Global Songs chart with their surprise smash, "Cupid."(opens in a new tab) The runaway hit and its accompanying dance challenge have swept TikTok and launched members Saena, Keena, Sio, and Aran into the international internet spotlight less than five months after their November 2022 debut.
We asked the bubbly newcomers to dish on their favorite YouTube videos, what they watch to relax, and whose "Cupid" dance challenge TikToks they've had their eye on. The group spoke with Mashable from Seoul over Zoom, switching smoothly between Korean and English and supportively oohing and aahing after each others' answers.
After all, who needs cupid when you've got your girls by your side?
1. Victorian-era ASMR
Mashable: Hi ladies! I'm obsessed with ASMR and was so excited to see Sio pick this as one of her favorite videos.
Sio: It's my favorite. I like roleplaying ASMR, like hospital or hair cut sounds. My other favorite channel is Massage ASMR.(opens in a new tab)
Aran: I love ASMR. I listen to it every night... rain sounds or hand movements or other visual [triggers]. To be honest, I'm not a huge movie fan, like I won't actively go to theaters to catch up on the newest ones. But when I'm in the subway or walking on the street, I like to turn on a movie on my phone and put my earphones in and then I listen to the movie audio, almost like white noise when I'm moving somewhere.
I do that, too!
Aran: Really!? It's a bit like ASMR.
Exactly! What's something you watched recently when you went for a walk?
Aran: Do you know that movie Little Forest?(opens in a new tab) There are two versions of the movie — a Japanese version and a Korean version — and I recently have been loving the Korean version. The sounds are really peaceful, a lot of cooking and chit-chat sounds.
2. Cat vlogs
Aran, you picked this cat video as one of your faves.
Aran: It's my favorite channel. It's so fun. I love that cat and their life, and their mother's life. The creator lives in America, she used to live in South Korea.
Do you just watch it because it's calming, or is it just nice to see a cat playing?
Aran: Honestly, it's just nice to see a cat [laughs].
Would you ever want to get a cat together as a group?
Aran: [Makes heart shapes with her hands] Of course, eventually!
Sio: [Raises hand] I have a cat allergy.
Oh no! What about a dog?
Saena: I really love dogs! In my hometown, I have two cats and two dogs.
Keena: [Raises hand] I'm really scared of dogs.
So we have Saena who loves animals, Sio who is allergic to cats, and Keena who doesn't like dogs. So maybe you guys...get a fish?
[All laugh]
Aran: That's good!
Sio: A hermit crab! That'd be very cute.
3. Live music performances
Keena: A snippet of this IU performance was recommended to me by the algorithm and, after watching it, I was so impressed that I searched for and watched the full concert recording. I wanted to see her really huge, impressive opening stage, and it really got me.
Aran: Just like Keena, I've been watching concert videos. I watched RUEL's "Painkiller" stage(opens in a new tab), and that performance is really insane, it's so amazing. His energy and the crowd's energy are so impressive to me. Since then I've been searching for a lot of concert stages, usually from American or UK artists.
Why specifically American or UK artists? Is it because they do things a bit differently than K-pop?
Aran: Actually, you're right, the mood of K-pop is different, I think. [With American and UK acts] usually they are solo, right? And solo stages are not easy. [Saena nods in agreement.] I think [they are harder] than group ones. The ones I've watched are amazing, really professional. I want to learn from them.
4. K-Pop girl group content
Saena, you sent a Blackpink video. Do you have a Blackpink bias?
Saena: Oh! It's so hard to choose, I can't pick one. I love all the members. They have so much charm and such big energy, and that gives me energy. I've learned a lot from their performances, music, and attitude. I really respect Blackpink. I watch so much on YouTube: vlogs or content of other [K-pop] groups. And I watch our own channel [laughs].
Which groups make your favorite content?
Saena: It's so hard to pick, there are so many! Blackpink, Itzy, Aespa...
Sio: Le Sserafim.
Saena: Le Sserafim! Lots of K-pop girl groups.
You're a K-pop fan yourself!
Saena: Yes! I'm a K-pop fan.
Now that you have debuted, have you been able to meet some of these groups in person?
Saena: When we are doing the music shows and live broadcast stages, we will kind of run into each other, but I don't think we've really had the opportunity to have a conversation with them. It's just been saying a quick "hi."
One day!
Saena: Yes, one day!
5. K-dramas
Keena: I especially love K-dramas. This one, Taxi Driver, has already finished broadcasting, but I'm rewatching it from the beginning because I love it so much. It's about five people who are ordinary taxi drivers during the day and become heroes at night. They don't have superpowers, but they use their knowledge to seek justice and help others, and the main character is really smart. I find the show more relatable because they don't have superpowers. And when they are working as drivers during the day, they'll give words of wisdom and comfort to their passengers, so it's a very beautiful and comforting drama.
When you have time to relax, what do you do?
Keena: I love watching YouTube, of course, but also I like to watch movies and dramas when I'm alone as well. I'll usually catch up on whatever has just come out in theaters or on TV. And then if I really love a movie or drama, I'll watch it multiple times.
Sio: When I have rest time, I read books. Novels or sci-fi, and a lot of poetry recently. I just started a classic novel, Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse. I enjoy a little bit of peace and quiet when I rest. That's what I prefer. So I like to set the mood, turn everything off, and just focus on reading. Reading a good book makes my heart full and comfortable. I love that about it.
I saw somewhere that you wanted to write a book yourself one day.
Sio: Yes, I'm definitely interested, but I think I need more practice. So I'm just writing things in a diary format for now. But hopefully someday I'll write a novel or poetry.
I've always impressed by people who enjoy poetry, because it can be very hard to understand. I've never read it much for that reason.
Saena: Me too, it's so hard! I don't like it.
6. "Cupid" challenges on TikTok
Your song "Cupid" is so popular on TikTok. What do you all watch on the platform?
Aran: I think it's really different for each of us. I've been watching acting videos or people dubbing voices. I recently watched this silly one.(opens in a new tab)
Sio: I've been watching a lot of lunchbox-packing videos where the creator will cook and pack lunch boxes and give you the words of wisdom along the way.
Keena: I like to monitor our content and love watching new dance challenges to our song. I also watch snippets of new dramas on TikTok, and if I find it interesting I'll move on to watching full episodes. That's how I usually find out about new dramas that I haven't watched yet. And you know those stop motion cooking videos? I watched one(opens in a new tab) where there's real-life vegetables that turn into blocks as soon as they're cut. I watch those a lot, and I also like miniature cooking videos.
Is there a particular "Cupid" dance challenge or cover you watched that is especially memorable?
Aran: There are some challenges that are really funny, people who dance really powerfully to the song but with no expression on their face.
Keena: I think one of the first challenge videos that I saw was from Yeoreum from WJSN,(opens in a new tab) and I just loved it. She was so witty and had really cute expressions. I was so thankful that she did our challenge. That's the video that's stuck in my head.
Sio: There is one channel, Innah Bee, that uploads dance videos as Shorts, and I've been actively watching her videos since before our debut. Then I saw her dancing to my part of "Cupid!"(opens in a new tab) It was so surprising and so cool.
Saena: The first video that comes to my mind would be New Hope Club's(opens in a new tab), because they covered our song and did a dance as well. I've always looked up to them. I really like their music, and the fact that artists I look up to are covering our song is so strange but such an honor at the same time.
