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glitteryvLe Sserafim is a 5 (originally 6) member group that debuted a little over a year ago. As the first official HYBE girl group in a long time, expectations couldn't be higher. Especially once folks learned some of the young women that signed with HYBE/Source Music. Its name is an anagram for I'm Fearless.
The makeup was interesting: 1 semi-professinal ballerina (Kazuhua), 2 newer trainees (Eunchae and Kim Garam), 1 veteran trainee (Yunjin), and 2 former bandmates circa IZ*ONE (Chaewon and Sakura.) It's worth pointing out that, w/r/t the last two members, this was the 2nd group that Chaewon debuted one and the third one for Sakura. As I understand it, Sakura wasn't keen on re-debuting AGAIN but the Hybe/Source Music offer was too good to pass.
In any case, shortly after debuting, the group got caught up on past bullying accusations (for Kim Garam) that, had it been another company, would've probably sunk the group. Instead, Le Sserafim continued debut era as 5 unofficially until late July 2023 when it was announced that Garam was out for realsies.
Le Sserafim went on doing their thing, supported by Chaewon (as the leader) and Sakura (as the matunnie.) They've done two full comebacks (for actual albums vs. eps or digital singles.) The latest one ("Unforgiven") had a pretty solid title track...and the most unexpectedly AWESOMECAKES b-side ever: "Eve, Psyche & Bluebeard's Wife".
This Jersey Club-inspired song took over as one of THE biggest hits of 2023. I couldn't help but make the connection with the (Black and brown) ballroom scene + I liked the way the long title worked w/r/t the themes (of women pushing past taboos and forging a new path) of the song. IIRC, it had something like 5 or 6 remixes with a ton of folks including my girl BIBI.
The MV
Trigger warnings: the camera work is non-stop. There are lots of flashing lights too.
No one knew there was going to be an MV, but this song ended becoming so big I feel it almost eclipsed "Unforgiven"'s status? Some ppl have said they wished this song had been title track instead, but I'm not wholly convinced abt that.
The Dance practice
My fave live performance
Trigger warning: Typical Korean music show camerawork (zooming in and out, tilting); flashing lights; busy background graphics; fans are singing-screaming along
Another fave (but not live) performance
Trigger warning: Typical Korean music show camerawork (zooming in and out, tilting); flashing lights;
This is perfect if you want to get a clearer sense of the choreo in action, so speak.
The docus
Le Sserafim released a 4-part documentary called The World is Your Oyster that tracks most of the beginnings of the group. OTOH, I like that it's on the shorter end (a little over an hour long) and available for free on YT via the group's official channel. OTOH, it's a sort of retcon on how Le Sserafim came to be as Kim Garam has been edited out of the narrative. There's also ZERO mention of the bullying scandal and its aftermath.
It's been a while since I first watched it, but I know that the most that gets shown of her is, like, an arm.
Anyways, winterosy (one of my fave K-pop channels on YT) did a BRILLIANT 34-min video essay on Le Sserafim's discography and their thematic storyline. I'm in total AWE of not only what winterosy says but also the editing.
Do yourself a favor and check it out if you're curious abt LSF or if you're a casual fan of theirs or just of girl groups in general. Winterosy gets to the point of why this group is among the top 4th gen girl groups and, chances are, will remain there for (hopefully) a long time.
The makeup was interesting: 1 semi-professinal ballerina (Kazuhua), 2 newer trainees (Eunchae and Kim Garam), 1 veteran trainee (Yunjin), and 2 former bandmates circa IZ*ONE (Chaewon and Sakura.) It's worth pointing out that, w/r/t the last two members, this was the 2nd group that Chaewon debuted one and the third one for Sakura. As I understand it, Sakura wasn't keen on re-debuting AGAIN but the Hybe/Source Music offer was too good to pass.
In any case, shortly after debuting, the group got caught up on past bullying accusations (for Kim Garam) that, had it been another company, would've probably sunk the group. Instead, Le Sserafim continued debut era as 5 unofficially until late July 2023 when it was announced that Garam was out for realsies.
Le Sserafim went on doing their thing, supported by Chaewon (as the leader) and Sakura (as the matunnie.) They've done two full comebacks (for actual albums vs. eps or digital singles.) The latest one ("Unforgiven") had a pretty solid title track...and the most unexpectedly AWESOMECAKES b-side ever: "Eve, Psyche & Bluebeard's Wife".
This Jersey Club-inspired song took over as one of THE biggest hits of 2023. I couldn't help but make the connection with the (Black and brown) ballroom scene + I liked the way the long title worked w/r/t the themes (of women pushing past taboos and forging a new path) of the song. IIRC, it had something like 5 or 6 remixes with a ton of folks including my girl BIBI.
The MV
Trigger warnings: the camera work is non-stop. There are lots of flashing lights too.
No one knew there was going to be an MV, but this song ended becoming so big I feel it almost eclipsed "Unforgiven"'s status? Some ppl have said they wished this song had been title track instead, but I'm not wholly convinced abt that.
The Dance practice
My fave live performance
Trigger warning: Typical Korean music show camerawork (zooming in and out, tilting); flashing lights; busy background graphics; fans are singing-screaming along
Another fave (but not live) performance
Trigger warning: Typical Korean music show camerawork (zooming in and out, tilting); flashing lights;
This is perfect if you want to get a clearer sense of the choreo in action, so speak.
The docus
Le Sserafim released a 4-part documentary called The World is Your Oyster that tracks most of the beginnings of the group. OTOH, I like that it's on the shorter end (a little over an hour long) and available for free on YT via the group's official channel. OTOH, it's a sort of retcon on how Le Sserafim came to be as Kim Garam has been edited out of the narrative. There's also ZERO mention of the bullying scandal and its aftermath.
It's been a while since I first watched it, but I know that the most that gets shown of her is, like, an arm.
Anyways, winterosy (one of my fave K-pop channels on YT) did a BRILLIANT 34-min video essay on Le Sserafim's discography and their thematic storyline. I'm in total AWE of not only what winterosy says but also the editing.
Do yourself a favor and check it out if you're curious abt LSF or if you're a casual fan of theirs or just of girl groups in general. Winterosy gets to the point of why this group is among the top 4th gen girl groups and, chances are, will remain there for (hopefully) a long time.
