On the second installment we take a look back at the group Fiestar. Fiestar was a 6-member girl group from LOEN Entertainment (formerly Kakao M). The group consisted of members Jei (leader, vocalist), Hyemi (vocalist), Yezi (rapper, maknae), Linzy (vocalist), Cheska (rapper) and Cao Lu (dancer, vocalist). The group would be active from 2012–2018.
3 out of the 6 members would have experience in the public eye before the groups debut in 2012. Members Cao Lu and Yezi would both have experience in the music industry, with Cao Lu winning a Chinese singing competition and released a solo album titled Cat in the mid 2000’s. Yezi was an underground rapper before fame and was a popular rapper among the Korean rap scene in the early 2010’s. Jei also experienced pre-debut fame where she was a fashion model.
Pre-Debut and Debut:
Fiestar would release their first song in early 2012, when the group would duet with the singer IU on the song ‘Sea Of Moonlight’ for a LOEN Entertainment collaboration album. The song would go on to chart decently on the GAON charts. The group would also go to collaborate with raper Tiger JK on his single ‘Wicked’ in early 2012 as well.
Fiestar would make their official debut on August 31st 2012, with the song ‘Vista’, which would peak at #27 on the Gaon charts. However their would be little to no promotion for the song.
The group would return to the music scene November 9th 2012, with the single ‘We Don’t Stop’. The song would peak at #67 on the Gaon charts and be the first official song the group would promote on music bank.
The group would close out the end of 2012 with many of the members making their television debuts. These appearances included shows such as 1000 song challenge and Weekly Idol (on SBS and MBC.M respectively).
A Switch Of Labels And Cheska’s Departure:
Fiestar would have a year long hiatus from music before returning to the scene with the single ‘I Don’t Know’ which performed alright on the Gaon charts. The group would then go on a hiatus again after concluding the songs promotion tour a few weeks after the songs release.
In September of 2013 documents from LOEN Entertainment were released stating that the company would be debuting a new sub-label titled Collabodadi, and that Fiestar would be transferred over to that company. Although this announcement was release two months before the song ‘I Don’t Know’ was released, many did not find out about the change in companies until after the songs release (which caused more buzz than the song itself).
In March of 2014 LOEN Entertainment would release a press statement that Fiestar member Cheska was terminating her contract with LOEN and Collabodadi and would be leaving the group. No mention as to why she wanted to leave the group would be released at the time.
The First Projects Without Cheska:
The first project that Fiestar would release after Cheska’s departure was the song ‘I Love Korea’, which was released on June 16th 2014, and was used as a theme to the 2014 Fifa world cup. The group would follow this song with the song ‘One More’ which was released on July 1st 2014. This single would quickly be removed from promotion of tv over many tv companies considering the song to be to sexually explicit in nature.
The Black Label EP:
‘Black Label’ (EP)
Released On: March 4th, 2015
The group would go on another hiatus before releasing their first EP titled ‘Black Label’ in 2015. The project would peak at #7 on the Gaon charts and become the most successful project of the groups career. The project would also go on to be their highest rated project in their career, with many praising the smooth but catchy vocals and instrumentals.
The Last Projects Of Fiestar:
In September 2015 the sub-label Collabodadi would dissolve and the groups contracts were then transferred back to LOEN Entertainment.
A Delicate Sense EP:
‘A Delicate Sense’ (EP)
Released On: March 9th, 2016
After another long hiatus the group would return with their second EP titled ‘A Delicate Sense’. Just like the groups first EP, this project would also reach the top 10 on the Gaon charts, peaking at #9, however they would not recive the same praise as they did with their first EP.
Fiestar’s last single as a group would be titled ‘Apple Pie’ which was released on May 31st, 2016. The song would reach the Gaon charts but be the least commercially successful song of their careers. However since its release the song has become a fan favourite to western Kpop fans, and became one of the groups most known songs by far.
Fiestars Sudden Disbandment:
After the release of the song ‘Apple Pie’ in mid 2016, Fiestar would end up once again going on a hiatus. Many fans of the group would ask both the members and the company when the next comeback would be, however both parties would say that there was no content in production and that there was no date where the group would start working on new music. Members such as Yezi and Cao Lu would respectively start their own solo careers in music and tv, while other members would work on smaller non music related gigs, as well as modeling jobs for a range of brands. This hiatus would continue on until May 30th 2018, when LOEN Entertainment announced that all 5 remaining members of the group would terminate their contracts with the company and that the group would be disbanding a year earlier than expected. Both LOEN and the remaining members would not comment on the sudden disbandment. The legacy of Fiestar at that period of time would be known for the groups solo accomplishments, and for being a ‘what could’ve been in Kpop, however in 2020 some information would come out that would change the legacy of the group forever.
Cheska’s Tell All On The Industry:
On March 1st 2020, Cheska would go on a hour long tangent on her twitch channel talking about why she really left Fiestar and why she exited the music industry as a whole. During her live she would accuse Fiestar members Jei and Yezi of bullying the other members and admitted that most of the girls in the group did not like each other to the point that verbal abuse was common most days they were together.
She would also go on to admit that she originally was supposed to be on the show Unpretty Rapstar, but declined the show due to not wanting to work with ghost writers. She would end up passing the offer to Yezi to smooth over the conflict of Yezi being upset that IU wanted to work with Cheska over Yezi.
Cheska would also go on to admit that most of the girls in the group did not actually want to be apart of a girl group and rather stuck around as long as they did because many of them just wanted to be famous. (This also includes Cheska, who admitted that she also had the same mindset while in the group).
- This information was all alleged, however it is something noteworthy when discussing the life of the group Fiestar.
Link To The Full Transcript of Her Accusations:
The Legacy Of Fiestar:
The legacy of Fiestar is an interesting one. A group that became more known separately than as a group, and a group who’s legacy is unknown by many, and by the ones who do remember the days of Fiestar are left with a sour taste in their mouth over the accusations by both people formerly in the group, and people who came in contact with the members during the groups six year run.
Authors Notes:
Material from this article was taken from the internet with the intent to be used for entertainment purposes, none is that of my own.
