Fan Chant: LE SSERAFIM on Pop Culture Villains and First Studio Album UNFORGIVEN
The post Fan Chant: LE SSERAFIM on Pop Culture Villains and First Studio Album UNFORGIVEN appeared first on Consequence.
Welcome to Fan Chant, a weekly column for K-pop fans, stans, and newbies alike. Each week, I’ll be rolling out interviews, lists, and all kinds of content to keep you in the loop on the latest and greatest from our friends in Seoul and beyond. Also, make sure to subscribe to my companion newsletter!
They’re fearless, they’re fun, and the ladies of LE SSERAFIM are absolutely crushing it. After an exciting 2022 introduced the five-member act to FEARNOTs everywhere, the members of the Source Music group are capitalizing on the momentum of their debut year. Their first studio album, UNFORGIVEN, has officially arrived, featuring a catchy new title track with an early contender for most fun choreography of the year.
The album pulls in themes of heroes and villains with nods to mythology. “We truly believe every song on this album represents a part of us and our journey so far,” says HONG EUNCHAE, the youngest member of the group.
Watch the absurdly fun music video for “UNFORGIVEN” feat. Nile Rodgers below, and read on fora Q+A with KIM CHAEWON, SAKURA, HUH YUNJIN, KAZUHA, and HONG EUNCHAE.
Congrats on your first album! How does it feel to have an official project with seven brand new tracks to share with FEARNOT?
SAKURA: Thank you! It feels absolutely amazing to finally have our first studio album out. We’ve been working so hard for this moment, and to see all of our efforts come to fruition is just incredible. We’re so excited for FEARNOT and for everyone to hear the new tracks we’ve put together.
HONG EUNCHAE: We tried out a lot of new styles and genres for this album, and we truly believe every song on this album represents a part of us and our journey so far. We hope FEARNOT will be able to connect with this album as much as we do. We also can’t wait for everyone to see how we bring the tracks to life on stage!
One of the themes of the album is: “Alone, we meander. Together, we venture.” What are some good memories each of you have from recording or preparing for the album all together?
KIM CHAEWON: I honestly love every single time we get to practice together. I know all our members put everything into being better artists and performers and without having to say it out loud, I love that. Because we know we are working together towards the same goal, it always is a joy.
HONG EUNCHAE: I personally tried really hard and practiced to make sure I recorded the tracks until I was satisfied with how it came out. I wanted to be sure that our message was clearly delivered across. And when doing that, all the members were really supportive and they encouraged me so much. All the nice words and advice are something that I want to cherish forever.
“Unforgiven” is such a bop, I love the chorus. The line, “Unforgiven/ I’m a villain” is so fun. Who are your favorite villains from pop culture?
SAKURA: Elphaba from Wicked.
HUH YUNJIN: I actually have always had an affinity for villains, they’re far more interesting to me than heroes. Their stories are so complex, because nobody is born a villain, villains are made. My favorite villain though is probably Loki. My dog is named after him.
HONG EUNCHAE: Randall from Monsters, Inc.!
What are some goals you might have as a team for the next few months, besides finishing promotions for this album well?
KAZUHA: Improving our vocals and dance skills as artists remains our top priority. Always. In the long term though, we want to work on developing our unique style and sounds as well so that when people hear a song, they can almost instantly recognize, “Oh, this sounds like LE SSERAFIM!”
HONG EUNCHAE: We want to see and connect more with FEARNOT. We want to make them proud with all our music and performances, and so I hope they can see how far we’ve come, and be excited for how far we will be able to go. FEARNOT fuel us to keep going, whether it’s virtual through social media or seeing them at concerts in person.
Are there any goals or hopes for the next few months that each of you have that have nothing at all to do with work?
KIM CHAEWON: I want LE SSERAFIM to go on tour! We want to try performing on bigger stages and aim high, because we know this will help us improve and motivate us as artists, and as individuals. I also want to keep trying to write my personal stories and messages and express myself even more through music and performances.
KAZUHA: I want to finish the book I’m reading right now.
What is one great memory you have from spending time together lately?
SAKURA: I will never forget filming our music video in Thailand. The weather was hot and the diverse range of scenes was a challenge, but it was all worth it to see the outcome at the end, and we could not have come out with better memories with each other than that.
HUH YUNJIN: We went to our pop-up store the other day actually! It was late at night but we took a photo at the photobooth altogether and it was really nice. It was our first photobooth picture together since pre-debut, so it was meaningful to get another family picture exactly one year later.
Is there anything about this album you really want to share with FEARNOT that we haven’t touched on yet?
KIM CHAEWON: While preparing for this album, we paid special attention to the overall message of the songs since we wanted to convey a positive and empowering message to FEARNOT and everyone who’s listening. We hope our music can be an oasis in your everyday life.
HONG EUNCHAE: We poured our hearts and souls into this album, so we really hope that our fans can sense the passion and dedication that went into it. We’re super excited for everyone to hear it, and we promise that it will be worth the wait!
ICYMI: DAWN “Dear My Light” Interview
Photo by Cho Gi Seok
Last week, I caught up with soloist DAWN to discuss his most recent release, “Dear My Light.” Dig into the interview here.
Song Rec of the Week:
This new video from aespa is too fun, and the song is such a blast; in fact, the whole third mini-album from the group, MY WORLD, is worth digging into this week.
Fan Chant: LE SSERAFIM on Pop Culture Villains and First Studio Album UNFORGIVEN
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