Fiestar

History

In July 2012, LOEN Entertainment revealed plans to launch a six-member girl group called Fiestar the following month. The members hailed from South Korea, China, and the United States, and had spent two years training as a team, with each member averaging four years of individual training beforehand. Jei, who served as the group’s leader, had previously modeled for online clothing stores and appeared in the music video for Infinite’s 2011 track “Paradise.” Linzy had trained under YG Entertainment and was reportedly being considered for a spot in 2NE1; in 2010, she contributed a song to the Korean drama Obstetrics and Gynecology. Cheska, a Korean American, auditioned for JYP Entertainment in 2008 but her parents opposed her joining.

She was later discovered by producer Kim Chang-hwan, known for his work with Clon and Kim Gun-mo, who persuaded her family to allow her to move to South Korea. Yezi began her career as a backup dancer for singers including Hong Kyung-min. Prior to their official debut, Fiestar teamed up with label mate IU on a duet called “Sea of Moonlight” for LOEN Entertainment’s collective label album, which became a hit domestically. They also worked with Tiger JK on a pre-release track titled “Wicked.” On August 31, 2012, Fiestar dropped their first official single, “Vista,” and every track from the accompanying EP landed on the K-pop Billboard Hot 100.

2012–2013: Debut and further releases

Their second single, “We Don’t Stop,” arrived on November 9, with the B-side “Sweet Love” featuring ballad singer Kim Yeon-woo. Live promotions kicked off the next day on Music Bank. Beyond group activities, Jei appeared on TVN’s reality show Romantic and Idol and joined IU on Gag Concert alongside Cao Lu and Linzy.

They also endorsed HIM Magazine. In 2013, Linzy performed as Sharpay Evans in CJE&M’s Korean musical adaptation of High School Musical, sharing the role with Dana from The Grace; the show opened on July 2 at the Blue Square Samsung Card Hall. That year, Fiestar also featured in a video series called “Fiestar’s A-HA! For the Global K-Pop Fan” and promoted the Samsung Galaxy S4.

"One More" controversy

Fiestar’s track “One More” was pulled from MBC airwaves over lyrics deemed too suggestive. The song had initially been cleared by KBS, MBC, and SBS, but public criticism led those networks to reexamine it. Although the group’s side insisted the lyrics were harmless, Fiestar went back into the studio and altered them. This incident pushed MBC to enforce stricter rules on songs with lyrics that could be twisted or misunderstood.