'Learning from our mistakes': Le Sserafim begins road to redemption with 'Crazy' EP

K-pop

'Learning from our mistakes': Le Sserafim begins road to redemption with 'Crazy' EP

Published: 29 Aug. 2024, 18:24 Updated: 29 Aug. 2024, 19:35

YOON SO-YEON
yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr

Girl group Le Sserafim performs its new song "Crazy" during a showcase held on Aug. 29 at the Yes24 Live Hall music venue in eastern Seoul. [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

Mistakes happen, but what’s important is how you deal with them — Girl group Le Sserafim is evidence of this, displayed by the members' true professionalism and courage during the group's showcase on Thursday.

“We realize that our Coachella performance was somewhat lacking and it gave us, both as individuals and as a team, a chance to learn a lot,” Kim Chae-won, leader of the group, told reporters on Thursday during a showcase held at the Yes24 Live Hall in eastern Seoul for the group’s upcoming album “Crazy.”

The album comes four months after the quintet held its much-criticized performance at the Coachella music festival.

Le Sserafim came under fire for the disappointing vocal skills of its members during its performance at what is known as one of the biggest music festivals in the world. Member Sakura defended the performance, calling it “the best performance” in the days after, which sparked further criticism from the public.

“We were lucky enough to be on numerous stages quickly after our debut,” Kim continued slowly, saying each word with intent.

Girl group Le Sserafim during the Coachella festival in April [COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC AND ARTS FESTIVAL YOUTUBE]

“But Coachella was the biggest event for us, which made us excited and unable to hold our pace. We had shortcomings, and it made us realize that our lifelong goal would be to always experience new things and learn from them. We told each other that we’d try harder to show our improvement, and we believe that this album will be the very first step toward that goal."

“We hope you watch us improve with affectionate hearts,” added the leader.

“Crazy” is the first release in six months since the quintet’s third EP, “Easy,” in February. The new album contains five tracks: the title track, “Chasing Lightning,” “Pierrot,” “1-800-hot-n-fun” and “Crazier.”

Le Sserafim did indeed put emphasis on upping its game for the new album, especially regarding its dance performances.

Girl group Le Sserafim performs its new song "Crazy" during a showcase held on Aug. 29 at the Yes24 Live Hall music venue in eastern Seoul. [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

“There is a part of the song where we have to hold our legs up in the air and keep dancing,” member Hong Eun-chae said. “The move was really hard so we exercised a lot to develop our core muscles. We even practiced singing with one leg up in the air in the recording booth. We tried all we could for the live stage and honestly, it wasn’t easy.”

Still, the members seemed fully determined to make up for the last miss.

“We really wanted to show you that we’re going to take one step at a time and keep on learning from our mistakes,” member Huh Yun-jin said. “We believe that ‘Crazy’ will be the first step, and we’re going to pull off every schedule with the aim of delivering the best performances and music for the fans.”

Hong also apologized for seemingly mocking a high school fan last year during a livestream session. She told a fan, who was studying for their SATs, “Oh, you have to go to school. That must be so hard,” resulting in negative feedback from younger fans for being inconsiderate and sarcastic.

Girl group Le Sserafim poses for photos during a showcase held on Aug. 29 at the Yes24 Live Hall music venue in eastern Seoul. [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

“I thought lightly of the situation because I thought I was just having a casual chat with the fans,” Hong said. “I realize that I should be careful to people closer to me, and I just didn’t think it through. I am sorry for the disappointing remark I made and the immaturity I displayed. I will try to be more responsible and prudent in the future.”

During all the fuss, the members realized just how crazy they are about their job — singing, dancing and being on stage with the fans — hence the album title “Crazy.”

“We’ve actually been preparing for this album since last year,” Huh said. “And we all agreed on how lucky you would be to love something so much that you’re crazy about it. The fact that you can love something so much just seems so beautiful, and we realized how much we cherish everything we have right now. The album started there.”

The EP contains five tracks: the title track, “Chasing Lightning,” “Pierrot,” “1-800-hot-n-fun” and “Crazier.”

Girl group Le Sserafim performs its new song "Crazy" during a showcase held on Aug. 29 at the Yes24 Live Hall music venue in eastern Seoul. [DANIELA GONZALEZ PEREZ]

“Crazy” is an EDM, house music track that depicts the moment when you meet the person who makes you crazy. The song is topped off with stylish dance moves that are inspired by voguing. “Pierrot” is a track that samples legendary Korean diva Kim Wan-sun’s 1990 song “Pierrot Laughs At Us.” The lyrics are about enjoying the present rather than worrying about things that won’t happen. “1-800-hot-n-fun” is the girl group’s second English-language track, after its hit “Perfect Night” was released last October.

“We really want to show how much Le Sserafim has improved with this album,” Kazuha said. “We’ve challenged ourselves with new styles of music and performances, so we hope you look forward to what we have to show.”

For the last track, “Crazier,” member Huh took the helm as the main producer of the song, which is in stark contrast from “Crazy,” to talk about the not being able to love like crazy, even when you want to.

“I believe we are all born with the seed of passion within us,” Huh said. “But as we live our lives, we end up changing ourselves based on what other people expect from us and tell us. That brings us down and makes us hesitate when it comes to the moment to fulfill our dreams. Having said that, it becomes even more precious to be able to be crazy about something. I hope that my song helps people uncover the courage to achieve what they want in their lives.”

BY YOON SO-YEON [yoon.soyeon@joongang.co.kr]