Fiestar

Fiestar
Fiestar in September 2024
Fiestar in September 2024
Background information
OriginSeoul, South Korea
GenresK-pop
Years active2012 (2012)–2018
2024 (2024)–present
LabelsKakao M
Members
Past members
  • Cheska

Fiestar (Korean: 피에스타) is a South Korean girl group, composed of Cao Lu, Jei, Linzy, Hyemi and Yezi.

Fiestar began their career prior to debut by releasing a duet with label mate IU titled "Sea of Moonlight" in July 2012 for LOEN Entertainment's collective label album and later gained domestic success after entering the top ten of the Gaon Digital Chart. The group later officially debuted on August 31, 2012, with the single album "Vista".

Fiestar concluded their career in May 2018 after four members decided not to renew their contracts with the label.[1][2]

On August 27, 2024, Fiestar announced they would reunite to release a single on August 31 to celebrate their 12th anniversary debut.[3]Fiestar officially released their first independent single, "You're Pitiful", a remake versions from their first EP Black Label (2015).[4]

History

[edit]

Pre-debut

[edit]

In July 2012, LOEN Entertainment announced it would be debuting a six-member girl group named Fiestar in August.[5] The group members, who came from South Korea, China, and the United States, had trained together for two years and individually for an average of four years.[5]

The oldest member, Cao Lu, had previously debuted as a soloist in China after winning a 2004 CCTV singing contest.[6]

The group's leader, Jei, had modeled for online clothing stores[citation needed] and appeared in the music video for Infinite's 2011 single "Paradise".[7]

Linzy had been a trainee under YG Entertainment and was reportedly intended to be a member of the group 2NE1.[7] In 2010, she recorded a song for the Korean drama Obstetrics and Gynecology.[8]

Cheska, who is Korean American, auditioned for JYP Entertainment in 2008, but did not join the company due to opposition from her parents. She was later discovered by Kim Chang-hwan, the producer behind Clon and Kim Gun-mo, who convinced her parents to let her come to South Korea.[6]

Yezi started her career as a backup dancer for singers Park Mi-kyung [ko] and Hong Kyung-min.[9]

2012–2013: Debut and further releases

[edit]
Fiestar in October 2012

Before their official debut, Fiestar released a duet with label mate IU for LOEN Entertainment's collective label album. The track was titled "Sea of Moonlight" and was a domestic chart success.[10] They also collaborated with Tiger JK for the pre-release song "Wicked".

The group released their first official single, "Vista", on August 31, 2012. The tracks from the corresponding EP all charted on the K-pop Billboard Hot 100.[11]

Fiestar's second single "We Don't Stop" was released on November 9, with the B-side track "Sweet Love" featuring ballad singer Kim Yeon-woo. Live promotions for the album began on Music Bank the following day.[12] Alongside group promotions, Jei appeared in TVN's reality program Romantic and Idol, and alongside IU for the comedy show Gag Concert along with Jei, Cao Lu and Linzy. Vocalists Linzy and Hyemi appeared on KBS's 1000 Song Challenge, and the group as a whole made appearances on Weekly Idol and Dream Team 2. They also endorsed HIM Magazine.[13]

In 2013, Linzy played Sharpay Evans in the CJE&M Korean musical adaptation of High School Musical, sharing the role with The Grace's Dana. The show began on July 2 at the Blue Square Samsung Card Hall.[14] The same year, Fiestar also participated in a video series entitled "Fiestar's A-HA! For the Global K-Pop Fan"[15] as well as endorsements for the Samsung Galaxy S4.

On August 27, a pre-release single, "Whoo!" featuring Eric Benét, was released online. Despite there being no live promotions for the single, it was a chart success.[16]

In September, LOEN Entertainment created the sub-label Collabodadi, under which Fiestar would continue to release their music.[17] On November 1, the group released the single "I Don't Know" on the EP Curious, making their stage comeback on Music Core the following day.[18] Following promotions, the reality television show Channel FIESTAR! aired on SBS MTV.[19]

2014–2015: Cheska's departure and Black Label

[edit]

On March 20, 2014, LOEN Entertainment announced that Cheska would be leaving the group and would not be replaced by any new members, and Fiestar's comeback was scheduled for mid-July after being postponed due to the Sewol ferry tragedy.[20][21]

On June 16, a single in collaboration between The Friends and Fiestar for the 2014 Brazil World Cup titled "I Love Korea" was released.[22] On July 1, the music video for the single "One More" was released.[23][24]

Fiestar in January 2014

On March 4, 2015, Fiestar's first mini album, Black Label, was released with the title track "You're Pitiful". Six months after the album's release, on September 22, Collabodadi was dissolved, with LOEN Tree becoming the sole in-house label of LOEN Entertainment. Thus, Fiestar returned to LOEN Tree after a two-year run under Collabodadi.

On December 17, Cao Lu appeared on Radio Star as a guest along with rapper Jessi, Got7's Jackson, and Lena Park as part of the Outsiders special. She gained national attention for her appearance on the program and became the number one trending topic on Naver, with Fiestar also trending.[25][26]

2016–2018: Last activities and disbandment

[edit]

In March 2016, Fiestar released their second mini album A Delicate Sense.[27] The album consists of six tracks, including lead single "Mirror". Notably, all the members also participated in the production.[28]

On May 31, 2016, Fiestar returned with the digital single "Apple Pie".[29]

On May 15, 2018, after a year of no group activities, it was announced that Fiestar had officially disbanded following the expiration of four of the members' contracts on April 30 and Cao Lu's contract would be expiring on May 31.[30][31]

On May 29, 2018, former member Cheska announced via her Instagram that she was leaving Korea and quitting music. She thanked her fans for supporting her, but stated that she decided to walk away as "music was slowly killing [her]".[32]

2024–present: Reunion

[edit]

On August 27 it was reported that Fiestar would reunite with the release of a new song on August 31 to commemorate their 12th debut anniversary. On August 29, Fiestar appeared together on Cao Lu's YouTube channel and confirmed that they would reunite with the release of a remake of their 2015 single "You're Pitiful", their first independent release. Cao Lu also cited that the single's copyright was already bought by her.[33] Their remake single "You're Pitiful" was officially released on August 31, with a new style which combined "UK Garage" and "Rage Pop" genres.[34]

"One More" controversy

[edit]

Fiestar's single "One More" was banned from broadcast by MBC for its supposedly risqué lyrics. While the song had originally passed scrutiny from the three major broadcasting stations (KBS, MBC and SBS), backlash from public commentators forced the networks to review the song's content. While their representatives claimed that the song was innocuous, the group re-recorded the song and changed the lyrics.[35] The controversy spawned from the lyrics prompted MBC to crack down further on songs with ambiguous or easily misconstrued lyrical content.[36]

Members

[edit]
  • Cao Lu (차오루)
  • Jei (재이)
  • Linzy (린지)
  • Hyemi (혜미)
  • Yezi (예지)

Discography

[edit]

Extended plays

[edit]
Title Album details Peak positions Sales
KOR
[37]
Black Label 11
A Delicate Sense
  • Released: March 9, 2016
  • Label: LOEN Entertainment
  • Format: CD, digital download
Track listing
  1. A Sip In Your Lips
  2. Mirror
  3. Mr. Black
  4. Thirst
  5. Come And Go
  6. Mirror (instr.)
 9

Singles

[edit]
Title Year Peak chart positions Sales[a] Album
KOR Gaon KOR
Hot
[40]
Digital
[41] 		Album
[37]
"Sea of Moonlight"
(with IU) 		2012 12 — 10 LOEN Tree Summer Story
"Vista" 27 9 28 Vista (single)
"We Don't Stop" 66 21 58 We Don't Stop (single)
"Whoo!"
(with Eric Benét) 		2013 58 — 80 Non-album single
"I Don't Know" 63 17 63 Curious (single)
"One More" 2014 51 — 57 Non-album single
"You're Pitiful" 2015 60 — Black Label
"Mirror" 2016 80 A Delicate Sense
"Apple Pie" 84 Non-album singles
"You're Pitiful 2024 ver." 2024 TBA —
Note: The Billboard K-Pop Hot 100 was introduced in August 2011 and was discontinued in July 2014.

Other charted songs

[edit]
Title Year Peak chart positions Sales Album
KOR Gaon
[41] 		KOR
Hot
[40]
"Wicked"
(feat. Tiger JK) 		2012 57 71 Vista (single)
"Sweet Love"
(feat. Kim Yeon-woo) 		70 — We Don't Stop (single)
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that region.

Soundtrack appearances

[edit]
Title Year Album
"So Tight" 2014 My Lovely Girl OST Part 7
"Miraculous Ladybug" 2015 Miraculous Ladybug OST
"Save Me Tarzan" Golden Tower OST Part 1
"#Like" 2016 Centerpole OST

Other appearances

[edit]
Title Year Album
"Such A Woman" (by Zia) 2014 Such A Woman (repackage album)

Videography

[edit]

Music videos

[edit]
Year Song title Album Released Length Director/Production House Note
2012 "Sea of Moonlight" (with IU) LOEN Tree Summer Story July 26 3:43 Hwang Soo-ah
(LOEN Entertainment In-house / Film Production Korea) 		Special collaboration
"Vista" Vista August 31 5:11 Debut music video.
"Vista (Performance Ver.)" September 4 3:34
"We Don't Stop" We Don't Stop November 8 3:40 Jo Soo-hyun
2013 "I Don't Know" Curious October 31 3:46 Kim Young-jo, Yoo Jun-seok
(Naive Creative Production) 		[55]
2014 "I Love Korea" - June 16 6:27 World Cup cheering song
"One More" One More (single) July 1 3:18 Seong Won-mo, Park Sang-woo
(Digital Pedicure) 		First official release without Cheska
2015 "You're Pitiful" Black Label March 4 3:57 Lee Gi-baek
(Tiger Cave Studio) 		[56][57]
2016 "Mirror" A Delicate Sense March 9 3:59 Hong Won-ki
(ZANYBROS)
"Apple Pie" Apple Pie (single) May 30 4:05

Awards and nominations

[edit]
Year presented, name of the award ceremony, award category and the result of the nomination
Year Awards Category Result
2012 4th Annual Seoul Success Awards Best Rookie of the Year Won
2012 Arirang's Simply K-Pop Awards Super Rookie Idol of the Year Won
All the Kpop - World-Class Rookie Awards Rookie of the Year Won
Knock-Out Award Won
22nd Seoul Music Awards Rookie of the Year Award[58] Nominated
Popularity Award[59] Nominated
2015 25th Seoul Music Awards Bonsang Award Nominated
Popularity Award Nominated

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Sales figures for tracks are based on digital downloads, except noted.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ ""새로운 출발" 피에스타, 6년만에 해체..차오루 외 4人 각자의 길로 [종합]".
  2. ^ "피에스타 차오루 제외 4人, 페이브와 전속계약 만료 [공식입장]". Mtvdaily.asiae.co.kr. Archived from the original on March 29, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  3. ^ "뉴스 : 네이버 Tv연예".
  4. ^ "뉴스 : 네이버 Tv연예".
  5. ^ a b "아이유 소속사 '로엔', 6인조 걸그룹 'FIESTA' 8월 데뷔". Herald Business (in Korean). July 19, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  6. ^ a b "봉인 풀렸다, 새 걸그룹 '피에스타' 마구 솟구치다". Newsis (in Korean). August 31, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2024 – via Naver.
  7. ^ a b "[쿠키人터뷰] 신예 피에스타, 자연스럽고…실력있고…믿음가고…". Kuki News (in Korean). October 16, 2012. Retrieved September 24, 2024.
  8. ^ "Obstetrics and Gynecology OST Album Info". Melon.
  9. ^ Jang Mi-ran (March 9, 2016). "'주간아이돌' 예지 "과거 홍경민 박미경 댄서출신"" ['Weekly Idol' Yezi "In the past, backup dancer for Hong Kyung-min and Park Mi-kyung"]. Newsen (in Korean). Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  10. ^ "Loen Tree releases "Sea of Moonlight" ft. IU and FIESTAR". Allkpop. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
  11. ^ "Fiestar's Vista ranks high on music charts". Archived from the original on September 21, 2013.
  12. ^ "We Don't Stop".
  13. ^ "Fiestar Activities 2012".
  14. ^ "Ryeowook Luna Jaejin Choa and more sing for the OST of high school musical".
  15. ^ "Fiestar's A-HA!".
  16. ^ "Fiestar releases Whoo! + ranking high on music charts".
  17. ^ "FIESTAR on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  18. ^ "FIESTAR say 'I Don't Know' with the release of their comeback MV + single album". Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  19. ^ "Fiestar to have their own reality show, titled "Channel FIESTAR!"".
  20. ^ "Collaboddadi's Facebook Post on Cheska". LOEN Entertainment Inc. Facebook. March 20, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  21. ^ serendipity (March 19, 2014). "FIESTAR's Cheska to leave the group". allkpop. 6theory Media LLC. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  22. ^ "The Friends Releases 2014 Brazil World Cup Cheer Song MV "I Love Korea" Feat. Fiestar". Soompi. June 17, 2014. Archived from the original on June 16, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  23. ^ "FIESTAR Knocks Out the Boys with Sexy New Music Video "One More"". Soompi.
  24. ^ "FIESTAR Teaser Images Released Ahead of "One More" Comeback". Soompi. June 30, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  25. ^ "China's Cao Lu makes her mark on Korean TV". The Korea Times. February 25, 2016. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  26. ^ "Cao Lu picks 'Park Shin-hye' as role model". Kpop Herald. Retrieved May 9, 2016.
  27. ^ "피에스타, 티저이미지 기습 공개…청순미 大폭발 : 스포츠동아". February 28, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  28. ^ "[Album & MV Review] FIESTAR - 'A Delicate Sense'". Allkpop. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  29. ^ "KPOP NEWS - Fiestar to Release New Single 'Apple Pie' | Mwave". mwave.interest.me. Archived from the original on May 20, 2016. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  30. ^ "[공식입장] 피에스타 측 "차오루 제외 4人 계약만료"…사실상 해산". Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  31. ^ "[단독] 피에스타, 지난달 전속계약 만료…차오루만 남는다".[permanent dead link‍]
  32. ^ "Francesca MinJi an (MJ) on Instagram: "Happiness 😄"". Archived from the original on December 24, 2021.
  33. ^ "뉴스 : 네이버 Tv연예".
  34. ^ "뉴스 : 네이버 Tv연예".
  35. ^ "FIESTAR's "One More" Banned by MBC for Threesome References". Soompi. July 10, 2014. Archived from the original on June 30, 2018. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  36. ^ "FIESTAR to Release New Lyrics for "One More" After MBC's Ban, MBC Cracking Down on "Ambiguous" Lyrics". Soompi. July 10, 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  37. ^ a b "Gaon Album Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  38. ^ 2015년 05월 Album Chart [May 2015 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  39. ^ 2016년 04월 Album Chart [April 2016 Album Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). p. 2. Archived from the original on August 16, 2016.
  40. ^ a b "Billboard K-pop 100". Billboard. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  41. ^ a b "Gaon Digital Chart". Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  42. ^ 2011년 Download Chart [2012 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). p. 2. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016.
  43. ^ "Gaon Album Chart - September 2012". Archived from the original on October 24, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  44. ^ Cumulative digital sales for "Vista":
  45. ^ "Gaon Album Chart - November 2012". Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2014.
  46. ^ a b Gaon Download Chart - 2012년 11월 [Gaon Download Chart - November 2012]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 22, 2014.
  47. ^ 2013년 36주차 Download Chart [36th week of 2013 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean).
  48. ^ "Gaon Album Chart - November 2013". Archived from the original on December 12, 2013. Retrieved March 17, 2014.
  49. ^ Gaon Download Chart - 2013년 11월 [Gaon Download Chart - November 2013]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 13, 2014.
  50. ^ 2014년 07월 Download Chart (국내) [July 2014 Download Chart (Domestic)]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). p. 2. Archived from the original on October 5, 2016.
  51. ^ 2015년 03월 Download Chart [March 2015 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  52. ^ 2016년 03월 Download Chart [March 2016 Download Chart]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). p. 2. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016.
  53. ^ Cumulative digital sales for "Apple Pie":
  54. ^ Gaon Download Chart - 2012년 8월 [Gaon Download Chart - August 2012]. Gaon Music Chart (in Korean). Archived from the original on April 16, 2014.
  55. ^ studio-naive on Tumblr Archived November 22, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  56. ^ "피에스타, '짠해' 뮤비 티저 영상 추가 공개 '업그레이드 변신'(Fiestar, MV 'You're Pitiful' teaser was opened, 'Upgrade Transformation')". 10asia. March 2, 2015. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  57. ^ "T I G E R C A V E". Retrieved March 12, 2016.
  58. ^ "[Seoul Music Awards] Nominees for the 2012 Seoul Music Awards". 2012 2012 Seoul Music Awards. seoulmusicawards.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012. Retrieved November 30, 2012.
  59. ^ "코리아그랜드세일 기념 제22회 하이원 서울가요대상". December 3, 2012. Archived from the original on December 3, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2024.
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