Nine months ago, LE SSERAFIM released their long-anticipated first studio album, Unforgiven. The 13-track project mainly served as an unapologetic manifesto from the quintet. "Through this album, we kind of talk about how regardless of what people think, or regardless of people's prejudices, we're going to conquer," Huh Yunjin told Teen Vogue about the project back then. Their new mini-album, titled Easy, tells another side of the story: the quintet's innermost fears and vulnerabilities on their way to conquering the world.
Released on February 19, Easy sees LE SSERAFIM tap into their insecurities to craft a linear story that begins with an unruly stance — showcased via the rock 'n' roll intro track "Good Bones" — and ends with an earnest and time-tested confession to fans, known as FEARNOT, as their driving force.
Sonically, LE SSERAFIM get a bit more experimental on this new mini-album. After incursions into Latin pop and reggaeton with "Fire in the belly" and "ANTIFRAGILE," the quintet goes for trap-tinged "Easy" — accompanied by a music video shot in Los Angeles that boasts renowned visual artist Nina McNeely as director and choreographer — to lead the project and look to Afropop for inspiration (which seems to be a new trend K-pop) with Amapiano-adjacent "Smart." Still to come is an English version of the title track, which was just announced and will arrive only four days after the mini-album's debut.
Ahead of Easy's release, Teen Vogue caught up with the members of LE SSERAFIM to chat about the influences and challenges in their new mini-album, their reaction to being in the Coachella 2024 lineup, and their manifestations for the year ahead.
Teen Vogue: First of all, congrats on another great album. I know you recorded a lot of Unforgiven in Japan. Where did you record this one, and when did you start working on it?
Huh Yunjin: Actually, all of the recording for this album was done in Korea at HYBE, so it was very smooth. But the recording process itself, I think, was the longest out of all the [projects] that we've done so far [because] we were very meticulous. I think that was the most memorable thing.
TV: Were you extra careful with preparing this one since it came after your debut studio album and the success of “Perfect Night”? Or was it for other things that you were trying to be meticulous about?
Kim Chaewon: Yes. “Perfect Night” was received with so much love, which we are very happy and delighted about, [but] we did feel a little bit of pressure because it did so well. That said, I think “Perfect Night” went a long way in us kind of transitioning in our journey of music. I was very happy about that transition. We wanted to do a very good job this time [and show a new side to FEARNOT], so that's why we worked really hard on this album.
TV: Though you semi-introduced it with “피어나 (Between you, me and the lamppost)” from Unforgiven, the theme of the album is kind of new for you. Easy explores your “never-before-seen anxiety and vulnerability behind the stage.” Why did you pick the theme, and why did you feel like now was the moment to tackle it?
Kazuha: We have always sung very strong, confident, self-assured types of songs, but even those people who are really self-confident have their own vulnerabilities. They can be weak sometimes. They're not always confident. I think that happens to everybody. We wanted to show a very candid, down to earth side of us, showing fans that we are also ones who do have vulnerabilities and we do feel weak sometimes. I think when we show them our vulnerabilities, we can connect more with the fans.
TV: Getting real now, what anxieties do you face, both daily with work and outside of work? What makes you vulnerable? What are the moments where you have felt like you're not enough, and how do you get over those rough patches?
Sakura: I guess it's different every day. One day, I feel like I can do anything. I feel I'm omnipotent. But when we have to prepare a new album or if there's some new challenge that comes my way, I do feel fear and I do feel vulnerable. That said, I think it's that pressure that really motivates me and that helps me grow and put out really good results, so I try to enjoy those vulnerabilities and fears.
TV: “Easy,” the title track, is a reflection of everything you have achieved so far being the outcome of hard work and effort. Looking back, and I know it's not been two years since you debuted it, what has been the hardest or toughest period for you as part of LE SSERAFIM?
Kim Chaewon: Every time we try to prepare for a new album, we feel like we have to show a new facet of ourselves, so we are put in a position where we always have to prove ourselves. We think really long and hard about how we can do that [and it makes us feel somewhat uneasy], so, yeah, I think it's almost every time we try to come up with a new album.
TV: Constant reinvention. Constant pressure.
Huh Yunjin: True.
Sakura: True, true.
Kim Chaewon: True, true, true.
TV: Talking about the visuals of this album, I thought you had outdone yourselves with the concept pictures for Unforgiven, especially “Bloody Rose.” I'm still obsessed with those pictures. But you also have some really good ones for this album. You have underwater shots, you have new hairstyles, balletcore, everything. Even the “Good Bones” trailer with Eunchae falling down the stairs is super remarkable. Do you have a favorite shot or a favorite visual concept for this album, and explain why it's your favorite?
Huh Yunjin: We had the white swan, black swan concept. It was [called “Featherly Lotus”], the second concept that dropped. One of my shots for that one was underwater, and it was my first time doing an underwater photo shoot. For our last trailer, we did a filming thing when I dived, but, yeah, [this one was extra special]. The shot came out amazing. I think it will be one of my favorites for a while.
TV: How was that whole experience? Did you have to hold your breath? Was it easy?
Huh Yunjin: There was a big water tank. I think we shot this back in late fall, so it was pretty cold. We tried heating up the water, but it was so cold that it just wouldn't. It was really freezing water, but we got the [shot.] We actually only had five minutes to get this picture. I went into the water, and we just... I don't know. I think the teamwork was really well done, so we got it down.
TV: Made it look easy…
Huh Yunjin: There you go!
TV: What about the rest of the members, do you have a favorite shot of yours that you particularly love?
Sakura: Well, I really liked the trailer this time. I love the color palette, and I think it really captures all the messages that we wanted to convey. We shot it all separately, but then when we saw the output, I think it's the best trailer that we've had so far. I really like it.
Hong Eunchae: [I really liked the] “Sheer Myrrh” [concept pictures]. Easy captures our innermost vulnerabilities and anxiety, and I think “Sheer Myrrh” aesthetically reflects these feelings.
TV: Since we're talking about favorites, do you have a favorite song on this album?
Sakura: I love “Good Bones." The lyrics to the song are so strong that I was like, “Can we actually sing these lyrics? Are we allowed to?” Because it's not the classic girl group style. I think it's a very candid version of what we want to say to everyone out there. And it's a rock song, so the mood escalates throughout the song, which I really like. Before, we had kind of serious kind of songs, but this time around it's really different. I really love this song.
Huh Yunjin: I think I like “Easy” the best. I don't know; I just really liked it from the first listen, and I think I grew to like it even more while dancing to it. The dance is really fun. I think it's the most fun out of all of our choreo so far.
Kazuha: I choose “Smart.” “Smart” talks about our ambition to be the winner of the world. I really love the candidness, and I think it is representative of who we are as LE SSERAFIM. Also, the performance is going to be really fun.
Kim Chaewon: My favorite is “Swan Song.” I love the words to it. It's about how it looks like swans just float elegantly on the lake, but underneath, they're working so hard to keep floating. I think it's the message that we'd like to convey, and I really resonated with it as LE SSERAFIM. I think all artists actually feel the same way about how we work really hard behind the scenes. There are so many struggles, but we have to show the perfect output to the viewers. I really resonated with the lyrics of the song because of that. I think it really captures well the vulnerabilities and the fears that we have behind the stage.
TV: You performed "We got so much," the last track on the album, in front of FEARNOT before releasing it. Had you recorded the song before, or did you decide to include it after? What does that song mean to you?
Hong Eunchae: We performed “We got so much” as a surprise to our fans at our first tour, FLAME RISES, last year. We had recorded it with the plan of including it in this album, but as a song dedicated to our fans FEARNOT, it felt like it made the most sense to perform it live first on our tour. I participated in writing some of the lyrics for “We got so much,” and the words came naturally to me because I have so much I want to say to our fans. I mean every single word I wrote, and I can't say them enough. I hope our fans enjoy listening to it as much as I do!
TV: Since your debut, you've been slowly but surely crafting your own unique sound and concept. What do you feel have become the trademarks of a LE SSERAFIM song or album as a whole? If you had to create a recipe for the perfect LE SSERAFIM project, what would you include in that recipe?
Huh Yunjin: Well, first of all, I think you would need an intro with our trilingual narrations. [Pauses to think.] And our honest narratives melted into the lyrics or the sound in some way. I think that will be forever constant in our music — [or at least] I hope so.
TV: So a solid introduction and then space for experimentation with honesty as the guiding thread?
Huh Yunjin: Yes, definitely.
TV: Sonically, this mini album feels a lot more laid back than your previous projects, except for the intro, which is very rock and roll, without fully going into ballad territory. How was it doing more R&B and Afropop-inspired songs? What new sides did you want to show your fans with this project?
Huh Yunjin: I think we never really have a set, what do you call it? We never go into the album-making process thinking we're going to do this kind of style. We're going to take out all of this or replace it, whatever. I think it just came naturally with the kind of idea or message that we wanted to convey. When everything came together, this kind of music suited it the best. We're always just trying to show various sides of us and experiment with styles that we haven't tried yet, and that happened to be R&B and hip-hop this time. It was very fun.
TV: Aside from the five songs on the mini album, “Easy” is also going to be released as an English single after the album comes out.
Huh Yunjin: Yesss.
TV: What made you want to release the title track in English as well this time around?
Kim Chaewon: We chose to release an English version of “Easy” because we wanted more people to listen to it. I think the song really conveys the message that all of our achievements were only possible because there were our struggles and hard work behind the scenes. I think that message can give courage to a lot of people out there, so we just wanted to make sure that a lot of people could listen to it and resonate with it.
TV: Yunjin kind of already teased this a little bit earlier, but the performance for the title track is supposed to be very unique to each member and then with movements that are not often seen performed by girl groups. You worked with Nina McNeely for it. What were some of the challenges that you faced while preparing this new style of choreo?
Sakura: We're usually known for our synchronization when it comes to our choreos, but this time around, we wanted to go a little bit freestyle and let the members all kind of unleash their own vibe within the song. [In terms of dancing,] our title track “Easy” is pretty much hip-hop style. The choreo looks really easy but it's really hard to get all the details right and to look really cool with that choreo. So, I think it really captures the message of the song, which means we made it look easy. [Laughs.]
Huh Yunjin: So true.
Kazuha: True, true.
TV: Now that we talked about the album a bunch, let's talk about other things. You're playing Coachella in a couple of months.
Huh Yunjin: Oh, my God.
TV: What was your reaction to finding out that you were one of the festival's performers, and when did you find out?
Huh Yunjin: We heard last year, at the end of last year. It literally felt like the biggest present at the end of the year. It was absolutely surreal. I still can't believe it. Even when I used to live in the States, it was hard for me to imagine even going to Coachella as someone to watch the show. But hearing that we're going to be able to perform there is absolutely [wild]. I still can't wrap my head around it. It's the greatest honor. We're so excited and we're going to put in all that we can to give the best performance that we can. And we're so thankful for everybody who's supported us and who's invited us and is looking forward to our performance.
TV: How are you preparing for it? If you can give me a little teaser. I know you did your first tour last year, so do you feel more confident on stage, or are you still pretty intimidated by the desert?
Huh Yunjin: I think definitely stamina- and physical-wise, it's going to be very taxing, I think, and very difficult. [Even] going from our tour where we were able to build up some stamina, we're going to have to work out a lot, get that physical training in to be able to take on the stage in the desert. This will be our second festival, after BlizzCon 2023, which was an amazing first time.
TV: You guys are the fastest Korean act to ever get a spot on the main Coachella calendar. How does that make you feel?
Kim Chaewon: I never in my wildest dream that I thought we would go to Coachella in such a short period of time. It's really like my dream stage. I feel like I'm living my dream. We want to do a really good job, so I feel a bit of responsibility to do it well, but we want to really try hard to make it an amazing performance.
TV: 2024 is just starting, but you have a lot of exciting things coming down the pipeline. If you can manifest what you want your 2024 to look like with just one word each, which word would you pick?
Huh Yunjin: Ours.
Kim Chaewon: Crazy.
Sakura: Easy.
Huh Yunjin: And?
Kazuha: Hot.
Huh Yunjin: Ours, crazy, easy, and hot.
TV: The very last thing to say goodbye. I would love for you to tell the member on your right something that you're most proud of them for in the two years that you have been together.
Sakura: [In English.] There's so many. There's so many. [In Korean.] There are so many things that I'm proud of about Yunjin, but one thing is that she knows how to express her feelings and communicate. She even wrote a letter to me. When she's trying hard to communicate and talk to me about how she feels, I also get the courage to talk to her about how I feel, so I'm really happy to have her. I'm really proud of her.
Huh Yunjin: [In English.] Thank youuuu. Oh, Chaewon. There's also a lot for Chaewon. I'm thankful for all of my members, but Chaewon unnie is always very professional. In every situation, we're all tired, we're all drained out, but she has this incredible power to, in the snap of a finger, get her stuff together and lead us. She's kind of the mood maker I feel like in a lot of situations, and I'm very really thankful for that.
In certain situations, she's very serious, but also, when we're just together when it's just the five of us, she's also very playful and laid back. It's really easy to laugh when I'm around her and I think laughter sometimes is truly the best medicine. I know she's older than me, but she feels like my best friend, and it's really fun to be around her.
Kim Chaewon: [In Korean.] You are going to have to give me the translation later.
All: [Laugh.]
Chaewon: Zuha always works ceaselessly and so hard to get better. Even when we are taking a break, she just practices on her own. I love how she's always so diligent, I'm so proud of her for that. She's also always very thankful for everything, and she has this positive mindset. I think the positive people are the strongest people, so that's something I really like about her.
Huh Yunjin: True.
Kim Chaewon: True, true.
Kazuha: For Sakura, I'd say there is so much to learn from her. When we were preparing for this album, when we were shooting the trailer and doing the album jacket shoot, I could see that she's so expressive and there are so many layers of charms that she has. Every time we take on a new challenge, she tries to show a new side of her, which I think is very impressive. And she is the oldest among us, so maybe it could be more difficult for her to show her true sides and talk really frankly about things, but she always does. Because she's so honest with us, we can also feel safe talking very honestly. She's so down-to-earth and candid. I love this team together.
TV: Eunchae, as the maknae, what is something you are most proud of your unnies for? And what is something you are proud of yourself for?
Hong Eunchae: My unnies each have their unique strengths and charms that highlight their individuality. They are capable of countless things, and I feel proud to witness it all. I am most proud of myself when I confidently perform on stage in front of the audience — I enjoy every part of it!
Editor's note: This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. Most of LE SSERAFIM's answers have been translated from Korean via an interpreter. Due to scheduling conflicts, Hong Eunchae was not present during the interview; she provided her answers via email.
