In signature Le Sserafim fashion, the fabulous five open “Easy” with lustrous, thundering guitars that knock you off your feet. It’s a Le Sserafim runway, and you’re their most awaited guest.
Le Sserafim has always presented a flawless, fearless persona. They’ve made their brand as powerful performers, brandishing bombastic tracks and chart-topping hits in just their second year as a group.
But the first track off their third mini album “Easy,” is more than its catwalk-worthy garage bass. “Good Bones,” inspired by the viral poem of the same name, is where the five finally fight back. “You think it’s OK to degrade someone just because they’re true to themselves?” member Yunjin spitefully declares.
Spunky sonic speech
In 2024, Kim Chae-won, Sakura, Huh Yun-jin, Kazuha and Hong Eun-chae find their place in a world where people throw rocks at things that shine.
“I’d love to blow everybody’s mind with this album. This time around we poured everything into the album and showed something new in terms of music, the theme and the performance. I’m confident that this is going to be a new beginning for Le Sserafim,” youngest member Eunchae told the press at their global media showcase for “Easy” on Feb. 19.
As vitriol drips in the early verses of their spunky sonic speech in “Good Bones,” their title track can be considered the complete opposite.
The effortless “Easy” is the quintet’s charisma wrapped in a smooth trap beat. It’s a moment of clarity, a realization that the girls have made their countless hardships “look easy,” and now, this fearless quintet won’t give naysayers the satisfaction they crave.
Le Sserafim standout
The subtle-yet-sure fierceness that made their debut a standout shines in this R&B track, as the five take control of their narrative, choosing to show what it takes to be in their place right now: top of the charts, with an upcoming Coachella debut. The seemingly blase vocal inflections, layering and smart use of autotune take it to a new level—an easy listen, but a difficult one to forget.
“Our lead single ‘Easy’ is all about our determination to make things look easy, when actually nothing is easy,” leader Chaewon explained.
“Compared to our previous albums that focus on our confidence and audacity, ‘Easy’ delves into our innermost thoughts and emotions. I feel like this album really embodies our personal stories. It’s something we’ve never tried before,” Kazuha added.
Le Sserafim revels in these vulnerabilities. They channel their ruminations on the ups and downs of fame in the sinuous “Swan Song,” a deceptively chill R&B cut. It’s a dark realization of the greed that comes with glory, and the bittersweet aftertaste of success: “Even if I get so much love, I’d still want more / I’m scared, greed is killing me / If I stop writing the stories, they’ll shame me.”
Rhythm and blues
“’Swan Song’ talks about how while we might seem like we’re gracefully enjoying what came to us easily, we actually worked so hard behind the scenes to achieve everything we have,” Yunjin, who penned the lyrics along with Chaewon and Sakura, explained.
The rhythm and blues then shapeshift into the amapiano-infused “Smart,” where the girls bask in their growth. It’s guts and glitz rolled into one dance track, their years of hard work and dedication culminating into this hit-in-the-making’s bridge: “Some say, ‘That’s all luck’ / I say, ‘No, it’s not luck’ / My sweat is not lying.”
And the girls take their work as idols to new levels, gaining a reputation as performance queens.
New beginning
Yunjin told the press all about the literal blood, sweat and tears it takes: “The title track ‘Easy’ can be quite physically demanding so I made sure I worked on singing it live on stage. I would sing while running 3 kilometers every day to make sure I had that stamina.”
The album then ends with the optimistic “We got so much,” which debuted during the quintet’s first-ever concert tour “Flame Rises” in 2023, where they finally met Fearnots (their fandom name) all over Asia. It marks a new beginning for the girls, and is the quintessential K-pop ode to fans done right.
Some fans’ introduction to Le Sserafim may be from the 2023 smash hit “Perfect Night” but most members have been in the idol industry for a long time.
Survival shows
Sakura (who has been an idol for a decade), Chaewon and Yunjin have gone through the motions of survival shows and company changes, all three being former contestants of the infamous “Produce 48.” Kazuha, whose initial road to the stage was through being a prima ballerina, had to leave behind her sturdy pointe shoes when she chose to debut as an idol. Eunchae trained for years to perfect her dancing skills and is now currently hosting “Music Bank,” working hard to push the group to the public’s consciousness.
Safe to say, we’ve seen what these girls have gone through, and the past two years have been anything but easy. (We suggest watching their debut documentary, “The World is My Oyster” on their Youtube channel.)
“So far, we’ve been flaunting our fearlessness and audacity, but we’re actually not born with them. Everything we’ve achieved so far is the outcome of hard work and effort. We always think about how we can do things better so we wanted to talk about the countless nights of dedication and struggle behind the scenes,” Kazuha said.
Fearless facade
So it comes no surprise that the girls were heavily involved in the production of this album, writing lyrics and adding a personal touch to their songs. Le Sserafim’s catalog has always been about themselves, a soundtrack of their journey. Underneath the fearless facade are just five girls, eager to share their stories with the world.
“Personally speaking, Le Sserafim always have shown this fearless and undaunting side. That fearlessness of Le Sserafim is also me, but those vulnerabilities are also me. Through Le Sserafim, I can show my vulnerabilities. But being Le Sserafim, also helps me overcome them,” Yunjin told the press.
For newcomers to the church of Le Sserafim, “Easy” is the perfect initiation rite. It’s the right amount of wispy whimsy that makes it an instant earworm.
The direction of this album may come as a surprise for longtime listeners, as “Easy” may seem like a departure from the usual flashy Le Sserafim fare. But in five tracks, the girls further prove that they’re more than just their nascent hits. They show off their protean artistry as they channel the subtle charm and nonchalance that helps “Easy” scratch the musical itch you didn’t even know you had. “Easy” is ephemeral with only five tracks, which makes it easy listening by design. Because what are fears if not fleeting?
“I think Le Sserafim tries to tackle different styles with each new album to find our own color,” Kazuha told the press.
Binary pains of fame and artistry
“Easy” is a reclamation, and a liberation. The five tracks tackle the binary pains of fame and artistry, growth and success. It’s a focused run-through of the five’s vulnerabilities, a raw yet spunky invitation to look beneath the surface.
“I think one of the things about Le Sserafim is being fearless. And if you look at the lyrics of ‘Easy’ you can really see that we are actually working really hard and fearless, so ‘Easy’ is very Le Sserafim actually. The genre can be different, but the essence is still Le Sserafim,” Sakura explained.
Le Sserafim is one of the very few K-pop groups to have three songs chart on the Spotify Global Chart at the same time. They’ve reached new heights with the longevity of “Perfect Night,” selling over a million records since 2022. The quintet is also set to take on the biggest stages of their career, making their Coachella festival debut in April. It’s a lot of pressure for a group that’s only in their sophomore year, and the quintet is determined to live up to expectations.
They’ve made it simple and easy in the album’s introduction: “I can make it.” And there’s no doubt that Le Sserafim will.
This story originally came out on the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
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