The sprawling Fifty Fifty saga continues with two distinct acts. The re-formatted Fifty Fifty continue to promote with label Attrakt, most recently releasing title track Pookie. Meanwhile, the three former members who left the agency amidst legal issues have re-formed and re-debuted as ablume. To be completely honest, I’ve never cared about the music enough to form a strong opinion on all this controversy. To my very casual ears, it just sounds like we’ve now got two groups performing the same Fifty Fifty-esque sound.
Echo is hazy and understated — a breezy mid-tempo bop that isn’t miles away from the success ablume found with 2023’s Cupid. There’s a bit more guitar and a welcome key change at the song’s climax. A second verse switch-up also pulls them into new territory even as it struggles to fit nicely within the rest of the track. But overall, it’s clear what the producers were aiming for here. K-pop’s overall tone has become much drowsier over the past few years, but Echo sounds more like I’m listening to some twinkly bedroom pop from an indie band.
The song opens with an unnerving bed of laughter that stretches for an uncomfortable amount of time. From here, Echo‘s main touchstone is soft (veeeerrrrry soft) rock. The group’s harmonies are nice and add needed texture to the chorus, but with the vast majority of K-pop’s girl groups targeting a similar sound there’s nothing about this track that makes me excited to rush back for another play.
| Hooks | 8 |
| Production | 8 |
| Longevity | 8 |
| Bias | 7 |
| RATING | 7.75 |
The Bias List // K-Pop Reviews & Discussion 
They’re capable of a really pretty vocal tone, but a lot of this sounded super sharp to me. For whatever reason, I was hoping for something more dreamy/fantastical a la OMG’s Closer, so I’m very whelmed.
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how a long for someone to take up oh my girl’s song
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They successfully kept the Cupid sound, but this one doesn’t have the same easy catchiness or style.
Also, weirdly, their vocals are not as distinct as they were in their old material, which is a shame as the uniqueness of their voices appealed in the broader kpop gg world where so many vocalists sound so similar.
7,8,8,8 = 7.75
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Yeah, lolz, now we have two groups with the fifty-fifty douns. Do you suppose they are splitting their audience too.
Its hard to hate on a song like this which is just a nice easy breezy pop fluff. Not one I would seek out, but I am sure it could find its place on streaming lists and pop radio.
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Cupid was good – but what was truly special for me were the first 3 songs on their debut EP. I’ve been really looking forward to this – and this new one will do me well. I love Aran’s voice, and this is instantly identifiable to me as the “Fifty Fifty” sound. I wish they’d released a more substantial EP, and I’d love it if they could get back to the relatively more sprightly sounds of Lovin’ Me and the city pop of Tell Me.
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Wasting Aran’s voice
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What is with the vocal production here? Like everyone else said before, one of their strong points are their vocals but this song just doesn’t do justice and showcase their vocal capabilities.
Btw, I would take Pookie over this.
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While fifty fifty got to keep their name and the rights to their successful song, I assumed this group would’ve had an advantage by having the members who sang most of “Cupid”.
They have pretty good vocals with tones more distinct relative to other groups, but the vocal production on this song is bad. I suppose it’s a result of echoing (no pun intended) “Cupid”, but it sounds like a cover at times. Honestly I might listen to the instrumental on it own more than the actual song 😬
It’s insane how much this tries being Cupid, but it doesn’t have the catchy lyrics, as many gorgeous harmonies, and the melody doesn’t have as much time to breathe
The song is a great fit for the season though, and I appreciate them leeching off of themselves while still sounding different from most girl groups right now. It’s very 2014
ablume is an awful name for a kpop group. Up(down?) there with FAVORITE, EPISODE, and WEEEKLY
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ablume is a really good name, i don’t get it. it’s a wordplay on abloom – flowering. blume is the german word for flower.
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Whenever I see the name, my mind instantly wants to read it as “album,” but I may be unique in that regard!
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None of that is actually saying what makes it good, you’re just explaining the name. I hate the name because it’s just album with an e and is a pain to search
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Guitars like Chuu’s Honey Bee, general feel like Fifty Fifty II’s SOS.
Ngl I think they have nice voices but everyone’s whole “OMG Aran’s voice is so unique” has to be a lie. The three girls all sound the same? Yeah, no one was quite doing it in the kpop soundscape at the time, but they did have three girls out of a four-girl group doing the same voice.
That final key change was a choice.
Anyway, I think this is less suited for a debut and seems more like an anniversary track.
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Although the rap part did not entirely match the song vibe–I’m tired kpop trying to push at least a rap verse in all their songs–the overall vibe is fantastic.
The song is fun, clearly intended as a summer track. The lyrics are simple and cheerful but also have a deeper meaning taking into account where they are coming from.
Overall I think the song was a very good choice and seems like a present from the artist to the fans. The vocals were on point too.
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Honestly, I love the song. It reminds me of a mixture between Cupid and Magnetic, and I mean that in the best way possible. All 3 girls sound very distinct and are all great. It’s really catchy and upbeat sounding (and in a year like this, we desperately need that). The rap verse is a bit weird, but I still like it and think it sounds cool. And almost every song sounds great with a final key change. It honestly feels like the next step from Cupid, and after almost 2 years, I’m okay with it. I would have wanted this sound anyways. So yeah, great song.
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This song is amazing, the production, the lyrics and everything. It shows how ablume was really the driving force for Cupid’s success. This showcases their talent and charisma. This is the comeback of the century.
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The song sounds so amazing and easy to listen to. Im very excited to hear more of whats to come from them and will DEFINITELY be supporting these girls. They deserve it.
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Mixing is kind of off-putting. The vocals sounded like background vocals. There was no lower harmonies. It sounded like a pre-release. it doesn’t have a hook. A simple easy listening song overall
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I didn’t like how they layered/blended nearly all of the vocals in the song. I also predicted the key change since the song sounded like it was trying to be Cupid 2. I thought it would be funny if it also had a key change at the end, and then it did lol. Regarding the controversy, I don’t have many thoughts either. I didn’t like how some people wanted to boycott and hate on the new Fifty Fifty, though. Honestly, I don’t see any of these girls as being at fault in any way. I see them all as victims, whether it be victims of the company or the industry overall. It must be really tough being a young woman in an industry that treats you like a disposable commodity. Especially when you’re young, have no power, and no real way to advocate for yourself. Even if the ablume girls “betrayed” Attrakt or whatever, so what? I find it very difficult to think of them as scheming villains. They probably just wanted the best for their group, and I think they have the right to try to get that.
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