Le Sserafim

LE SSERAFIM Biography by Marcy Donelson Unforgiven The self-assured, bass-heavy dance-pop of K-pop group Le Sserafim was established by Source Music and HYBE Corporation in the early 2020s. Led by Kim Chae Won and Sakura Miyawaki of Korean-Japanese girl group Iz*One, Le Sserafim reached the Top Three in both South Korea and Japan with their debut 2022 EP Fearless topping charts months later with Antifragile. They topped charts in Asia and the U.S. once again with their first official full-length, 2023's Unforgiven. An anagram of the phrase "I'm fearless," Le Sserafim launched in early 2022 after confirming the participation of Japanese singer Sakura (Sakura Miyawaki) and Korea's Chaewon (Kim Chae Won). Both women had competed on the reality show Product 48 in 2018, leading to places in the lineup of the chart-topping girl group Iz*One. The 12-piece released four platinum-selling EPs between 2018 and 2020, and their 2020 debut album, Bloom*iz, reached the Top Three in Korea and Japan. Chaewon and Sakura would repeat the chart feat with Fearless, the May 2022 debut EP of Le Sserafim, on which they collaborated with singers Kazuha, Huh Yun Jin, Kim Ga-Ram, and Hong Eun Chae. The EP's title track debuted at number nine on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart. A week after the debut's release, Kim Ga-Ram parted ways with the group, reducing Le Sserafim to a quintet. That October, they issued their second EP, Antifragile. The genre-blending set featured electronic, reggaeton, and arena rock touches, topping charts in Japan and the U.S. The group repeated that feat in 2023 with the release of Unforgiven, their debut LP. A blend of previously released tracks from Fearless and Antifragile (presented as "2023 Versions"), the set also included fresh songs including the title track featuring Nile Rodgers.