Korean Pop Entertainment agency ATTRAKT has recently come under fire after the FIFTY FIFTY Barbie OST was rumoured to be cancelled. Owing to their legal dispute, things have been in the air for the band. They were expected to be present at the promotional events with the leads. However, this altercation has caused any future movement with this project to come to a standstill. While the official Twitter handle of the band has not shared any news about this, there have been other official sources sharing that the music video has definitely been cancelled.
The Cupid singers, Sio, Saena, Aran and Keena, were expected to collaborate with the artist Kali on the song Barbie Dreams back when the artist list was revealed by the official information channels of the movie. However, there has been an internal dispute with the agency when the FIFTY FIFTY lawsuit opened up. This can of worms led to a lot of animosity within the company, not allowing the artists to make their public commitments as they were expected to.
There has been a large dispute with Ahn Seong-il, the CEO of Dougiverse, the production company that was expected to make the video. They have been painted as the innocent intermediaries stuck in this conflict created by the band members because they filed the lawsuit. The CEO mentioned that he would be quitting the job if the production did not move on schedule. All of the players in this lawsuit have been pointing fingers at each other. FIFTY FIFTY claims that the agency had violated its contract and destroyed any trust created by it.
For the Korean Pop band, this project was supposed to be an opportunity to make it big on the world stage after being a relatively small group that gained massive traction after their single Cupid was released. The music video has garnered over 100 million views, and they have charted multiple times in the Billboard Top 100 and 200 charts (global). Meanwhile, ATTRAKT has been pointing fingers at Dougieverse for violating their contract and breaching trust too. Warner Music Korea also got sucked into this after some external agency came in and offered to sell FIFTY FIFTY.
This trifecta of blame and confusion has caused members of the band to retrieve from all kinds of social events, including the second day of KCON LA on August 19, 2023. The agency had clearly mentioned that they would not be appearing for this event because of the internal conflict between the agency and the band. ATTRAKT was the one negotiating all the interaction between the Barbie team and the band. The band will be featured on the soundtrack, but they will not be filming any kind of music video for the same.
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Barbie The Album artists’ lineup is brilliantly prolific, including singers and rappers from various genres. Artists like Ava Max, Charli XCX, Dominic Fike, Dua Lipa, FIFTY FIFTY, GAYLE, HAIM, Ice Spice, Kali, KAROL G, Khalid, Lizzo, Nicki Minaj, Pink Pantheress, Ryan Gosling, Tame Impala and The Kid LAROI are confirmed to be featured on the album. It has also been shared that Mark Ronson (perhaps Uptown Funk may jog memories) has been serving as the executive music producer for the film.
The film, Barbie, is written by Greta Gerwig and Noah Baumbach and stars Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Issa Rae, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Simu Liu, Emma Mackey, Ncuti Gatwa, Hellen Mirren, Will Ferrell, America Ferrera, Alexandra Shipp, Kate McKinnon, Dua Lipa, Scott Evans, Nicola Coughlan and Ritu Arya, alongside other cast members.
FIFTY FIFTY Barbie OST Lineup
Cupid by FIFTY FIFTY is currently streaming on Spotify and other music streaming platforms. The Barbie movie will be arriving in theatres on July 21, 2023.
What do you think of this cancellation? Do you think ATTRAKT is to blame for the controversy? Let us know in the comments below.