“Bro this is huge”: FIFTY FIFTY getting a New York Times Square billboard by YouTube HQ showcases their incredible growth potential

Rookie K-pop girl group FIFTY FIFTY is showing no signs of slowing down, and for all the right reasons. The four-member group is currently being advertised on two impactful billboards -- one in New York's Times Square and another at Sunset/Doheny in Los Angeles -- until April 13.

The singers’ smooth romantic track Cupid is making Billboard Hot 100 history as well. They have become the fastest K-pop group to debut on the Hot 100 chart and stay on the same list for multiple weeks. Even then, their LED ad in New York's Times Square came across as a surprising achievement for the group and their fans.

Cupid is the title track from their most recent music album, The Beginning: Cupid, released on February 24, 2023. The song’s explosive popularity, also thanks to short-form video content such as TikTok and Instagram Reels, helped the group earn a global spotlight in the competitive K-pop industry.

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K-pop fans celebrate FIFTY FIFTY’s achievement of getting a New York Times Square billboard sponsored by YouTube

Saena (19), Aran (19), Keena (21), and Sio (19) debuted as FIFTY FIFTY in mid-November 2022, with their single Higher from their debut album, The Fifty. The group entered the industry with a relatively new agency called Attrakt.

Within just four months of their debut, the four-member girl group went viral for their song Cupid, which was part of their single album, The Beginning: Cupid, released in February of this year.

The Cupid singer’s explosive virality presented them with their first Billboard Hot 100 entry on March 28 at No. 100. The Hot 100 is considered one of the few toughest music charts for K-pop artists to enter as it ranks the most popular songs in the United States.

Cupid’s recognition even led to YouTube’s headquarters putting up FIFTY FIFTY on a giant billboard in New York's Times Square. This also arrived when the group was only five months old, leading to much fanfare in the K-pop fandom.

Considering the K-pop industry is currently dominated by HYBE girl groups and IVE’s catchy, instantly-viral songs, FIFTY FIFTY’s Billboard entries came as a pleasant surprise to many.

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FIFTY FIFTY agency CEO shares he sold his car to cover production costs

Meanwhile, in a phone call interview with Hankyung, Attrakt’s CEO Jeon Hong-joon shared that he had no money for the Cupid singer’s global marketing, let alone aim for a Billboard Hot 100 entry. He also mentioned that the track popping on TikTok as a challenge propelled them to international popularity.

“I hadn't even thought of Billboard. There was no global marketing cost, so I visited local label companies and asked them to listen to our music at least once. They are high school and college students, and since they listen to a lot of music on their cell phones, they only thought about the Spotify rankings. But then, at the TikTok Challenge, 'Cupid' popped up."

CEO Jeon added that he sold his car, ate cheap meals, and sold tea at stalls to cover the group’s production costs. He mentioned that he reviewed 300 songs for the group’s first album alone.

While rookies FIFTY FIFTY still has to pass hurdles in the Korean domestic market, their incredible performance on Billboard Hot 100, 69 million streams on Spotify, and thousands of videos on TikTok reflect their recognition in the US music market.