“FIFTY FIFTY” are back in the same way that Jewelry or Rania have returned under the same branding over the years, with four new members in tow along with Keena. Despite the ongoing dispute, calls to boycott FIFTY FIFTY coverage haven’t really moved me despite sympathizing with the former members, as completely avoiding scummy K-pop companies would result in this site shutting down entirely. Anyway, things are off to a safe start with “Starry Night“, continuing the easy-listening vibe to the group with a bit of a dreamy texture as well.
While this is a fine direction, and I realize it’s a pre-release, I’m not sure it’s necessarily an ideal first impression for what amounts to essentially a new group. It’s airy and floaty and mostly pleasant, but I wasn’t left with much to remember about the top-line or song in general. I’m also not sure if it’s my headphones or not, but the mixing seems a bit muddled (especially the vocals at the end), and that’s an important facet of easy-listening matching the description since it can get grating instead.
Mostly I’m interested to to see if stanning a company CEO can lead to results — and whether they can capitalize on the apparent good will in Korea — but musically this is certainly a step backward from the original lineup thus far.