It’s been a few days since LE SSERAFIM’s Huh Yunjin wrote in her journal. Earlier in the week, she and the four members of the K-pop group—Kim Chaewon, Sakura, Kazuha, and Hong Eunchae—had traveled from Seoul to Los Angeles for their performance at Coachella. “We’ve been so busy with rehearsals since landing,” the artist told Cosmopolitan. But Yunjin did journal while she was on the plane. "It’s one of those places,” she said. “I was just in my thoughts watching videos of us practicing our performance. And I was writing about reality, and our expectations and dreams, and how this is a really big moment for me where I can see those two things bridging.”
The dream-meets-reality Yunjin speaks of is LE SSERAFIM performing at Coachella less than two years after the group debuted. “Coachella has been a long time dream of mine, so it’s a true honor to be performing at this point in our career,” Kim Chaewon said. Just hours after we chatted over Google Meet, the quintet took center stage at the Sahara Tent for the first of two performances. Dressed in sleek leather and a sequined, checkered black-and-silver pattern, they strutted onto the platform. Flashing behind them in white bold text was their group name along with “I’m Fearless”—LE SSERAFIM is an anagram of these words.
And over Coachella’s first weekend, LE SSERAFIM was fearless in more ways than one. The festival marks one of the first times the group has performed in the U.S. (we continue to patiently impatiently wait for a tour here). Across the 40-minute set, the artists sang and danced with passion and engaged the crowd in a language that’s not, for most of them, their first—Yunjin was the only one speaking in English during our interview. The group’s courage has extended beyond the stage. Following their set, LE SSERAFIM received some criticism directed at their singing (we're not going to link to the comments here but trust us, they’re harsh.) Two days after the performance, eldest member Sakura made a lengthy post in Japanese to the fan platform WeVerse.
“I prepared seriously for this stage, I suffered in the midst of it while having fun, and I think I was able to show everything I had on the day itself,” a translation by X user @IAmOnlyWhoIAm reads. “I might not be enough in the eyes of someone else, but there’s no such thing as a perfect person for anyone.” Sakura adds that it was LE SSERAFIM’s best performance yet, and “that is the unshakeable truth.” And fans have started to post videos of the performance in their defense, saying they really did sound great in person.
Ahead of that Saturday performance, LE SSERAFIM spoke to Cosmopolitan about the most anticipated songs in the setlist, hearing about Coachella from BLACKPINK’s performance in 2019, and their hopes for the audience at Sahara Tent—one of their biggest crowds yet.
When you first heard you would be performing at Coachella, what was the one LE SSERAFIM song that you were like, this has to be included in the setlist?
Kim Chaewon: “Fire in the Belly!” It's one of those songs that really hypes up the audience and it makes us enjoy the stage as well. So that's something that we really wanted to include in our setlist.
Kazuha: “Eve, Psyche, & the Bluebeard’s wife.”
Yunjin: Ooh, definitely!
Kazuha: We've seen that it went really viral, and we felt that a lot of people in the audience that don't know LE SSERAFIM would still recognize that song.
It really was everywhere! I also wanted to ask, LE SSERAFIM has a lot of performing experience. How does Coachella feel different from other music shows you’ve been a part of, or your own concerts?
Kazuha: Coachella is one of the biggest stages that we've ever been on, and so we really focus on how we can grab the attention of all the people in the audience.
Yunjin: I think there's definitely a lot of people who don't know us and our music. So we made it kind of a goal of ours for this performance to be able to showcase who we are and have a representative setlist introduction to LE SSERAFIM.
Yeah, I think what’s special about festivals like Coachella is that it’s a gathering of music lovers of all genres. Do you have different hopes for people watching you who are FEARNOTs [LE SSERAFFIM’s fans] and people who are not?
Sakura: We just hope the stage today really captures the essence of who we are as a team, as LE SSERAFIM.
Chaewon: I hope people in the audience really have fun watching our performance and clearly remember it as a truly enjoyable experience even after they go back home.
Do you remember the first time you heard about Coachella? What was your impression of it?
Hong Eunchae: I first got to know Coachella through BLACKPINK's performance in 2019. And with the sheer number of people in the crowd, it seemed like another world.
I’m wondering if you’ve watched videos of their Coachella performance for research or to get inspiration?
Yunjin: [nods] Their stage mannerisms, their confidence. We wanted to see how the crowd reacted to K-pop. We're sure that there's going to be a lot of people who don't know who we are in the crowd, so we wanted to see how people would still be able to enjoy the festival even if they don't know K-pop. BLACKPINK’s crowd was so hyped up, so we were kind of reassured that yeah, we might be able to get people hyped up.
I’m sure you’ll be able to. Also, YouTube has a livestream for Coachella. What does it mean that FEARNOTs around the world who can’t make it in person can watch your performance?
Yunjin: It's so great that this can be livestreamed because I know that a lot of our FEARNOTs were all anticipating this performance. And they were all as hyped up as us. The fact that fans in Korea can see our stage at a very reasonable time too, it's 2:50 p.m. on Sunday. We're very thankful that so many international people who support us will be able to tune in.
The set will be around 40 minutes long. Most of your choreographies require a lot of stamina and core strength—I know from personal experience learning them! What’s the plan for pacing your energy across the entire set?
Yunjin: It’s the trickiest thing, but adrenaline? I think adrenaline will keep us going.
Chaewon: I worked out even harder to prepare for this stage.
Yes, there’s always a lot of interest in your group’s workout routines. I’m curious, is there one part of the performance that you’re most nervous about getting right for today?
Kazuha: We are showcasing a new song today. So I think we're nervous to see what the fans' reaction will be like to that song. [Editor's note: They performed the new track titled “1-800-hot-n-fun.”]
Sakura: We’re performing with a live band for the first time, so it was difficult at first to get used to the rhythm and beat in terms of choreography. We also practiced singing along with the band as well.
Both are so exciting! Can you tell me more about the process of working with the live band?
Eunchae: The band that we're working with, they really exude a lot of energy. And I feel like while we're on the stage, we'll be getting a lot of energy from them as well.
And finally I have to ask—as I’m sure many fans are wondering—when are you touring the U.S.?
Sakura: Ooh.
Yunjin: I don’t know, hopefully it’s sooner after Coachella!
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2024-04-16 20:06:00Z
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